“Procession (The People Make the Party)” by Lauren O’Neal. — Photos by Maile Blume

By Maile Blume

For over 35 years, Brickbottom Artists Association (BAA) has created a space for artists to live and work together in a tight-knit community. Chris Mesarch, one of the founding members of the association, said on the importance of art-making for the community, “It’s really a way of life…that’s the glue that holds us together.”

Chris Mesarch with her piece “Finally It’s Autumn.”

Prior to moving to the Brickbottom Artist Building in 1988, Mesarch and fellow artists had been living in lofts downtown, but were continually displaced when the  spaces were renovated. “We wanted permanent housing,” said Mesarch. After years of organizing — and with the help from grants and outside organizations — the artists were able to purchase two semi-abandoned buildings, which were once used as a cannery and a bakery.

When Mesarch first moved into the Brickbottom Artist Building, she practiced the art of Japanese fan-making. About 15 years later, she became a painter. Now, she is currently working on a graphic novel and writing a blog.

Charlotte Kaplan with her piece “The Scrambler.”

“It doesn’t end,” said resident and artist Charlotte Kaplan on the practice of creating art. Kaplan was working in architecture when she came across the opportunity to buy a condo in the building. “It was just serendipity,” she said. Over the years, Kaplan became a full-time artist and teacher.

Kaplan creates art through a political lens, and is interested in the possibilities of different materials. “I’ve made a lot of work with eggs,” said Kaplan. “This is a good example of, you know, the result of living here. There was a woman who used to live here who was Czech, and she started making an exhibit of painted eggs…if I didn’t live here and she hadn’t done that and said, ‘Oh, Charlotte, why don’t you do something,’ you know, who knows what would have happened.” 

Martha Podren, a founding member of BAA, said, “There is something that kind of magnifies and intensifies work when there are other people working around you, and so I think we have been able to give each other that atmosphere.”

“Comic Strips: Blue Hair” by Martha Podren.

Podren is interested in using lines to express herself and said, “I think line and strokes are so evocative of feelings in a way that sometimes paint doesn’t even do.” She seeks to allow her authentic self to emerge in her art, and like Kaplan, seeks to push the possibilities of the materials she works with.

Like many artists in the Brickbottom Artist Building, Podren worries about the amount of development happening around the area, and how it will affect traffic and the lives of residents. She also said that rising real estate prices have made it difficult for artists to live in Somerville. “You know, we were lucky enough to purchase the units at below market rates, but people now coming to Somerville, artists who are in the same position that we were in, could not afford this,” said Podren.

“Wild Soda” by Jack Energy.

Jack Energy joined BAA last year. “It’s a treasure,” he said of the longstanding community. Energy added, “[There’s] a lot of new, cutting-edge art and craft science here too because you have some really science-based, inventor-type artists, so you see some really interesting works.” Energy, whose work often plays with angularity and textures, said that he is excited to integrate robotics, soundscapes, and interactivity into his future work.

Patsea Cobb, a longtime resident and artist, with her piece “Blue Jay” which she originally made for her daughter’s street performance with Shadow Parks Department, a performance group based in New York City.

Like Energy, artist Lauren O’Neal also recently became involved with BAA. O’Neal enjoys creating works with mirrors and said, “I particularly like mirrors that are not whole because our identities are certainly always in motion and always shifting, and they shift depending on how our bodies shift, where we turn, and what we pay attention to.”

O’Neal added that the Brickbottom Artist Building has created a steady way for artists to interact with one another. “You know you are going to run into people just every day getting your mail or going to the gallery or going out into the courtyard and I think that connective tissue for a community is really lovely,” said O’Neal.

“The Laundry Day” by Alexandra Rozenman.

Gallery curator Alexandra Rozenman, whose art blends “the styles and symbols of folk art, Russian Underground Conceptualism, illustration, and Jewish art” according to her website, said that she hopes that the summer show “Carnival” will bring a sense of relaxation to the gallery visitors. She said that she was inspired to create a show based on the carnival theme in order to do something different from what is going on in the world.

“It’s a good quilt of good images and absolutely different ideas and approaches to the theme,” said Rozenman, who encourages people to visit the Brickbottom Artist Building at 1 Fitchburg Street. The exhibit will be running until July 29, and the gallery will be open Thursday through Saturday, from noon to 5:00 p.m. Visit: https://brickbottom.org/