This is Tongass Voices, a series from KTOO sharing weekly perspectives from the homelands of the Áak’w Kwáan and beyond.
It’s been over a year since Rebecca Hsieh moved into her new studio space downtown. Since then, she and three other artists have formed Heads in the Clouds Collective, a growing community space for anyone in Juneau to learn a new art medium – or make new friends.
The four artists work there and also host workshops or camps. As Hsieh explains, community is central to the collective’s ethos.
Listen:
This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.
Rebecca Hsieh: So, we’re Heads in the Clouds Collective, downtown. There are four artists who share this space. And so there’s Tess Olympia, and she owns Juneau Woolies, she’s back in that corner. And then this is Glo Ramirez of Glo Ink, and she does everything, I think. A lot of things. She illustrates, she has clothing, she’s got earrings. That’s Grace Corrigan from Sundew Print. She’s about to teach the printmaking workshop.
This beautiful mess is mine. I’m Rebecca Hsieh of ReccaShay Studios. And I do mostly like crocheting, just a lot of fibers.
I, when I was 10, for Christmas I got one of those really typical crochet kits that had a little book. And I remember looking through the book trying to figure it out, and I could not, so my uncle actually figured it out and then pseudo taught me, and it’s just something that I’ve always come back to. And before I moved to Juneau, as a young adult, I kind of picked it up again.
When I first moved to town, I actually worked at Kindred Post, and I don’t think I would have pursued art if I didn’t work there and make the connections I did because everyone was just so supportive. And so I just started making more and getting connected in the art scene. And then like having a market for the first time. And then people bought stuff, and I was like, ‘oh my god.’ And so then, I just keep making stuff that really make me happy and make me smile.
I just wanted to crochet a hot dog that was like our height. So what’s gonna happen is, in that room in the JAHC, one side is going to be all the eastern foods I grew up with. And so I’m gonna make a dim sum table and all that, and then on the other side will be all the Western foods.
I think Juneau has been the most supportive place, in the sense that sometimes I think people can like gate keep grants, or market opportunities, or show opportunities, like exhibition opportunities. And here, whenever I’ve talked to any other artists, people are just so willing to share that information and be like, ‘Hey, I think you’d be great for this,’ even though they might be aiming for the same thing. But it’s just like, people are here to lift each other up. And so I try to do the same, like promoting other people’s work and all that.
This is what I do full time, so I’m in here the most and everyone kind of comes on their own schedule. This space actually was a nail place beforehand. So I think around a year and a half ago, I actually used to be in a studio across the hall and it flooded. And so we had to move all our stuff — or I had to move all my stuff — in here with another artist, but I’d been kind of eyeing the space just because the views are really nice.
Just slowly started reaching out to other artists that I was friends with to see if they’d be interested in having a more focused artists space where we can kind of collaborate and you know, make this a community place. We’re trying to open it up and like, collecting other artists to teach in here, because we just want to, you know, make this a big community space where people can learn and create.
