Conversation with Courtney Blazon
Open AIR Artist-in-Residence 2020
Historical Museum at Fort Missoula
Blazon models her sketchbook filled out while in-residence at Fort Missoula.
Open AIR: Please tell us a little bit about yourself.
Courtney: I am a graduate of Parsons School of Design where I studied Illustration. I moved to Missoula in 2005, where I sought to pursue art full time in a smaller and more relaxed environment than an east coast city. It proved to be a wonderful move for me, and I was able to become a full time artist by 2009. I have been a working artist for over a decade now, and am very invested in my career and in my community.
Courtney working in her studio at the Fort.
Open AIR: How would you describe your practice?
Courtney: I am a full time artist and illustrator living in Missoula. I split my time between working on commissions and illustrations to financially support myself, and making personal work for museum and gallery shows to mentally support myself. I work in different mediums depending on project, splitting my time between digital, pen and marker, and wax crayon/oil pastel drawing. Rotation of materials helps to keep me fresh, since I work for twelve plus hours/seven days a week.
Open AIR: What interests you about this site, and what do you plan to focus on during your residency?
Courtney: I am interested in the Historical Museum because 90% of my work is research-based and related to real-world events and people. I have always had a strong interest in the stories of women throughout history, and I am particularly interested and have been for quite some time, in the lives of women who came to Montana and worked at brothels, either as sex workers or as proprietors of the brothels.
I would like to research a body of work about the area of Missoula known as the "Badlands", the infamous houses on West From Street, most notably run by Mary Geim, or "Mother" Geim. I think being at the Historical Museum would give me a chance to research what Missoula was like in that period, as well as provide some insight specifically into the lives of women in that time.
I am open to this project expanding beyond this subject, as many of my projects tend to start narrowly and expand as I learn and connect, but this general theme is of interest to me and I think could provide important fodder for a body of work that I would love to create.
Courtney’s desk at Fort Missoula studio.
This interview was conducted remotely. Thank you, Courtney!
You can see more of Courtney's work here.
This residency is made possible by a collaboration between Open AIR and The Historical Museum at Fort Missoula.
HMFM intersects with some of Missoula County’s fascinating history including early Fort history dating from its establishment in 1877 in the midst of the Indian Wars; the exploits of the all African American 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps, the century or more of the forest products industry’s culture and innovations; and the World War II internment camp that once held over 2200 Italian and Japanese nationals.