Artist in Residence 2017 – Celeste Moreno

With two days left until applications are due for our 2018 Artist in Residence program, we wanted to highlight a previous recipient and how they utilized their 6 month membership to explore and better their craft.

Celeste Moreno began her studies at Iowa State as a Graphic Design major but felt like something was missing from her coursework; it was science.

Her discovery of the Biological and Pre-Medical Illustration program at Iowa State University was founded in part by a drawing professor she had who took an interest in her desire to expand her studies to add the scientific aspect.

With her degree in hand, she now plans to pursue her goals of communicating science in unexpected and impactful ways.

When we asked Celeste about how she found our makerspace and Artist in Residence program she had quite a bit to say.

“I found out about Area 515 shortly after I figured out that there was a phrase, a movement, that described my love for experimenting with different materials and technology in my artwork: “maker”. I learned that there were spaces called makerspaces where makers could go to access a wide variety of tools and tinker in a shared workspace. Best of all, I learned that there was a makerspace and community of makers in my community: Area 515. However, I was a little intimidated by the advanced tools in the space, most of which I hadn’t used before. Additionally, I couldn’t justify paying a monthly membership for a space that I didn’t feel like I was educated enough to use.

When I saw the Artist in Residence program I felt like it addressed all of the concerns I had about joining Area515: the membership was taken care of, the education was provided, all I had to do was bring my creativity to the space and make art! Because of the space, technology, and people that I had access to during my residency I was able to create artwork that would have been nearly impossible to make on my own. Additionally, the pieces I created during my residency fostered a lot of connections to individuals in the surrounding community who had similar interests. The art I created at Area515 acted as a bridge and led me to unexpected friendships and connections with people who I might not have met otherwise.”

While Celeste’s time as one of our 2017 recipients has come to an end, she still remains a member of Area515 and showcases her work on her instagram, @sciartistceleste and her website, createspacevisuals.com

Applications for the 2018 Artist in Residence program close March 30th.

To apply, Visit: area515.0rg/air2018