Mother for you I made this

(2013) Performance Premiere 

Part performance and part activism, Mother for you I made this is aimed at activating a conversation about the failed mental health care system in America through memories of my childhood as I lived with and unknowingly cared for my schizophrenic mother. This hour-long solo is built from a series of performances I made as gifts for my mother over a seven year period.
Audiences were guided through forgotten public spaces by ushers and given a personal audio sound score composed by Paurl Walsh. Weaving conversations between myself and my mother with sounds from the actual landscape.
Mother for you I made this was commissioned and produced through Velocity Dance Center‘s Made in Seattle dance development program with support from 4Culture, ArtsFund, and the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture.
Collaborator credits: 
Paurl Walsh Sound/composition. 
Christopher Stewart Sound Tech. 
Christian Swacker Stage manager. 
Kim Lusk Tech Director.

Mother TEDX Rainer:

Tonya Lockyer + Ezra Dickinson TEDX Talk Macaw Hall 2014

Gifts for my mother, interview with Ezra at TEDX

Mother press reviews:

Seattle Dances: Ezra Dickinson Quietly Provokes

Seattle Star: The Art of Changing How We Talk About Mental Disorders

Seattle Times: Haunting look at mental illness, laid bare on the streets

City Arts: Ezra Dickinson Triumph and Tribute

The 12th Avenue Project: EZRA DICKINSON DANCES A DUET WITH SEATTLE

The Stranger: No Two Performances Will Be the Same

Mother press quotes:

Seattle Dance Annual: Reviewers recall highlights of 2013

Mother press preview/interview links:

The Stranger: Q&A with Ezra Dickinson
Seattle Met: A Fiendish Conversation with Ezra Dickinson
Kiro Radio: In “Mother For You I Made This,” a Seattle Dancer Finds a Stage in the Streets
KUOW Interview: Weekday & Weekday With Steve Scher (Interview starts at 38:30)
Seattle Channel: Art Zone with Nancy Guppy (Interview starts at 6:30)

Mother press photo essay of performance:

City Arts: Ezra Dickinson Takes to the Streets with an Emotional Tribute to His Mother

 

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Photo Dan Hawkins

Photo Tim Summers

Photo Dan Hawkins

Mother performance excerpts:

Pacific Northwest Performance Platform. APAP, Gibney Dance, NYC. (2019)
For this showcase I chose to perform the section from “Mother” where I wrap a 150’ foot block printed cloth poem, pulled from my stomach around a grove of trees, in this showing I asked audience members to stand onstage in place of trees as I wrapped the length of the poem around and in between them. I was quite pleased with the result, as the length of the cloth poem filled the stage to complete capacity and used the space and the audience in a way that no other performers did during the showing.
Velocity Bash. Velocity Dance Center, Seattle WA (2019)

 

Pacific Northwest Performance Platform. APAP, Gibney Dance, NYC. (2018) 
The Incredible Intensity of Just Being Human exhibition. City hall, Seattle WA (2015)

The Incredible Intensity of Just Being Human exhibition. Highline College, Dem Moines WA (2015)

TEDX Rainier. Macaw Hall, Seattle WA (2014)
“My”. Art Share. Centennial Hall, Sitka AK (2005)
“My”. Cornish Benefit Concert. Poncho Theatre, Seattle WA (2005)
“My”. 12 Minutes Max. On The Boards, Seattle WA (2005)

Dinosaurs And Sea Hawks

(2014) Video, short film.

Inspired by creating performance gifts for my schizophrenic mother ‘Dinosaurs and Sea Hawks’ is another gift in my ongoing performance work. The dinosaur mask is intended as a reminder of childhood and quite literally a mask to hide from the harsh reality of the world through my mother’s eyes. Directed, filmed and edited by Linas Phillips. Written and acted in by Ezra Dickinson. Sleeping under a bridge is a man and his dinosaur mask. Waking up, he walks into the heart of the city and puts on his mask. A friend, a stranger, a kindred soul emerges and the mask is passed off and traded. The man watches and then walks away with a Sea Hawks hat.

 

Screenings:
(2015) In Flight Film Stream, Alaska Airlines. 
(2014) Film Screening, Seattle International Film Festival, Seattle WA 
(2014) Film Screening, Milwaukee Film Festival, Milwaukee WI 
(2014) Film Screening, AMFEST, Moscow Russia
(2014) Film Screening, Next dance Cinema, Seattle WA
(2014) Film Screening, Jaipur International Film Festival, Jaipur India 
(2014) Film Screening, Mumbai Shorts International Film Festival, Mumbai India 
(2014) Film Screening, Shorts Premier, Chile

Mary’s Place

(2017) Commissioned public art mural, Urban Artworks, Seattle WA. 

Mural painted to beautify the temporary play area for children of residents of Mary’s Place. Commissioned through Urban artworks. This work was painted freehand using acrylic brush paint, rollers and paint sprayer. I am always quite happy to create works that enliven those that have fallen on hard times. It felt quite powerful to give this simple work to the kids making their play area all the more realised. 

Listen

(2015) Short film (Related project with Mother Film and Performance) 

This short is a combination of footage from Mother for you I made this, and new footage filmed with permission in Seattle City Hall Council Chambers. Fillmed by Ryan Adams, Jacob Rosen and Doug Arney. Editing by Doug Arney and Ryan Adams. Sound by Paurl Walsh.

Screenings:
(2016) Film Installation in exhibition The Incredible Intensity of Just Being Human. ArtEast, Issaquah WA.
(2015) Film Installation. The Incredible Intensity of Just Being Human exhibition, City Hall, Seattle WA (premiere)

 

Bowls of Words

(2019-present) Ongoing project of ceramic bowls

One thing that has always attracted me to pottery is the potential permanence that clay possesses. In the first stage of this idea, I threw, fired and glazed thirty three bowls, decorated with one of three sentences ( I WAS BORN A WOMAN, IT IS A SERIOUS THING JUST TO BE, MASTERS WERE FEARFUL) I felt spoke of who we are as a society at this time. Inspired by ancient texts, ceramic law cones and the discovery of these artifacts in modern day. With these Bowls of Words I aim to create a document that could be discovered in the future by another civilization. Currently for 2020 I have thrown over 100 bowls, some porcelain, some terra cotta, with the three sentences ( I LOVE YOU, WE ARE ANIMALS, FREE THE FUTURE). The selection you see here are currently for sale for $50 per bowl plus shopping if needed. For inquiries email Ezra at: baldieoner@hotmail.com 

FREE THE FUTURE

WE ARE ANIMALS

I LOVE YOU

Mother Father What Have You Left Us

(2019) Commissioned public art mural, Mosquito MT, Leadville CO. 

Painted with the assistance of artist NKO while in residence at Artville in Leadville CO. 13,000 feet up in the mountains on an old abandoned radio shack, this message speaks to past generations asking them how have they cared for the world that is being handed off to younger generations? Painted with Enamel paint, the message will stand as a visual voice in the cold high land of the mountains. 

Bring Back The Salmon

(2019) Commissioned public art mural, Art in Parks, Seattle WA. 

Working together, Nahaan Edie and I designed a native formline salmon, as a rain-activated, ground stencil. Working with the Office of Arts and Culture Art in Parks, we settled on Alki Beach Park as our project site. We used RainWorks to stencil a temporary non toxic clear coating which is only visible during Seattle’s rainy weather. The stencil design we created was roughly 4’ long and 2’ tall. This installation is meant to bring attention to the loss of native salmon in this region as a result of overfishing, dam’s blocking salmon runs and pollution. We possess the power to change the fate of the northwest salmon. 

Ol’Burgdishy

(2018) Commissioned public art mural, Seattle Center Sculpture Walk, Seattle WA. 

For this mural I received a public art grant from the Office of Arts and Culture and Seattle Center Art Interruptions. Initially I wanted to work with a rain activated clear coating that would break down over the course of four months to a year and is biodegradable in the Seattle center fountain. I could not get clearance for the location, which kicked off a lengthy back and forth regarding what location could be used. Ultimately, we settled on the steps of the Key Arena and I got to work on a draft. The final design took into consideration the shape of space and how color would cascade down and direct the eye of the observer while traveling over the massive work. I painted the whole mural using rollers over the course of two days with the help of Taylor and Natan.
 

Ecolibrium Farms Mural

(2019) Commissioned private art mural, Ecolibrium Farms, Redmond WA.

Beautifying the exterior of refrigerator containers located on the farm, creating a vibrant clear beacon for folks driving into the farm. Painted with rollers and brush, acrylic and enamel paint.

Core 14

(2019) Improvised performance. Zebulon. Los Angeles CA

Asked to perform in Chantael Duke’s improvised performance score, movement artists were paired with musicians in different duets and other combinations and given a set amount of time to improvise together.

Photography by: Rebecca Green