This is our fourth visit in a series of AVA Studio Chats.
Maggie “mayfly” Kundtz Joseph is a visual artist who has had a studio at AVA for ten years. Her practice includes both painting and assemblage sculpture. Her paintings are sourced from plant life and imagination; she is not concerned with realism and her process is driven by an intuitive response to paint and canvas. Her assemblage sculptures are made using found objects, she is interested in the idea of their rebirth, as new life blossoms from old objects. Maggie has worked as an AVA instructor since 2017 and is the Senior Art Program Coordinator at AVA. She values open-studio classes as an opportunity for people to experience joyful learning and creative self-expression. “As a teacher, being present and listening holds space for students to courageously reach in and express what’s needed for their journey”. She believes that creativity has the means of authentic discovery and transformation, allowing space to heal and grow. Maggie is currently working on creating a community gallery space for her fellow studio artists out of a large hallway space on the third floor at AVA. She hopes that this space could be used for casual gatherings, organizing large bodies of work, and solo and group shows for AVA studio tenants. Maggie earned a BFA from the University of Michigan in painting & photography, and her Master’s in photography from Maine Media College. She created the artist persona, mayfly, to better embody the ideas of ephemerality and transformation in her art.
