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William Schaff

Warren, R.I. — William Schaff is not your typical Water Street merchant — in fact he’s not a merchant at all despite the storefront windows full of artwork and the tax bill the town keeps sending his way.
Schaff is an internationally known artist, and his “storefront” adds to the funky art scene on this often overlooked street edging the historic district along the waterfront.
Soft-spoken and humble, it’s difficult to reconcile Schaff with the bold graphic images of skulls, religious symbols and animal art that cover virtually every surface of wall space.
Keys, religious statues, animal figurines and other oddities that might spark an artist’s imagination fill in the spaces between Schaff’s art.
This is not art for the tourist looking for a scenic watercolor and Schaff is wellaware of that fact. “As nice as the people are in this town, this isn’t the kind of artwork people here buy,” said Schaff. “But the town keeps saying I’m a store and sending me a tax bill.”
Schaff said his work is more popular internationally, particularly in Australia, where he just shipped a $450 piece. His edgy pieces are also popular among alternative bands: one of the walls in his studio is filled with the cover art for alternative bands such as The Eyesores and Okkervil River.
Schaff followed another artist friend to Warren in search of a less expensive alternative to Providence. He bought the property he lives in now six years ago and rents out the two top floors and lives in the back of the first-floor studio.
“This is a blue-collar fishing town and, even with new people and new businesses moving in, it’s still unpretentious. That’s pretty remarkable considering it’s stuck between Barrington and Bristol,” said Schaff.
Like many artists, Schaff has had the odd second job and sometimes third job to finance his choice of pursuing a less mainstream arts career. One of those jobs was playing the quad drums in an 18-piece brass band that’s also garnered international acclaim. What Cheer Brigade, with its eclectic range from Bollywood- to Balkan-inspired pieces, has toured Europe and has a regular following in the states, said Schaff. As part of that band, Schaff said he regularly wore a monkey mask because he doesn’t like publicity.
While Schaff’s art may not fit with the area, he may be a kindred spirit with other artists on the street who are creatively financing their art careers.
Leigh Medeiros lucked into a living situation that allowed her to open Yes Gallery and Studio on Water Street. “Both floors were being rented as commercial space, and I couldn’t afford this space and the rent on my apartment,” said Medieros.
But after looking at the tiny second floor and realizing it had a kitchen she and her boyfriend decided to move in and give up their apartment. “It’s tiny and I have no storage space but it was the only way I could afford to open this gallery.”
Medeiros, an artist herself, represents about 30 artists from all over the country and as far away as a Japan. The current show is a collection of small pieces ranging from whimsical to more serious.
“I love the vibe here. There are a lot of artists here who are very talented,” said Medeiros. “There’s a real grass-roots movement between the artists and the business owners. It’s a real community environment.”
The waterfront community’s architecture is part of what attracted Medeiros to the area but the building where she works and lives may hold some of the most intriguing stories. According to Medeiros, it’s been a general store, a brothel and the studio of noted Rhode Island artist David Macauley, author/illustrator of numerous children’s books including “Cathedral” and “The Way Things Work.”
“I love it here. It’s not run-down, and it’s not slick,” said Medeiros.
Anna Cote, who recently opened Modern Printed Matter just off Water Street on Miller Street, was also attracted to the artsy vibe in this part of Warren.
A self-taught artist, Cote gave up a career as an environmental engineer to pursue an arts career and started out making graphic-printed papers and artwork in her home.
“Everyone in my family is involved in the arts,” said Cote. “I always did graphics on the side.”
At first she worked part time and spent the rest of her time trying to expand her graphics business, selling products on the internet and contacting retailers.
Her graphic, nature-inspired designs (also called Modern Printed Matter) appear on paper products, stationery, calendars and clothing. Since she started pursuing her graphics line in 2006, she’s managed to market her products to 350 retailers.
“I was working from home and my inventory was taking up too much space,” said Cote. “My husband said it’s time for you to move out.”
That’s when Cote found the store formerly occupied by the boutique clothing store Dish, which moved to a new site on Water Street and began selling her designs and other graphic-inspired clothing, giftware and stationery.
Cote, a Bristol resident, began looking in that town for a site but ended up in Warren. “I was looking for a space in Bristol, but it wasn’t the right fit for me,” said Cote. “My stuff is for a more funky crowd.”

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Brooklyn-based songwriter Beth Wawerna seems to be spending a lot of time lately with Okkervil River front man Will Sheff. We were first tipped off to Bird Of Youth via a YouTube video of Beth offering a stripped-down rendition of “Pop Lie” for Okkervil River’s The Stand Ins covers project, which also features performances by A.C. Newman of the New Pornographers, Bon Iver, David Vandervelde, and Jack Ladder. But now it appears that Beth has a full album in the works as an “official” MySpace page has launched giving us three original tracks. Possibly more impressive is the band she’s assembled around her, considered a group of “friends and admirers” it includes Will himself and original members of The Mendoza Line, Nada Surf, The Wrens and Royal American.


As her bio (written by Timothy Bracy) suggests, “Beth possesses a rare voice whose alchemy of innocence and experience transports you on contact. While it’s fair to say that there’s some echo of the plain-spoken confessions of Joni Mitchell in Beth’s songs – there’s at least as much Mick Jagger, and on the girl-group style “Stop Staring,” she could be Dorothy Parker writing for Brenda Lee. She may have been wounded in love, capsized in passion, burnt out from exhaustion and blown out on the trail, but there lies beneath the wreckage a true rock and roll heart – a grit and gallows humor that places her a country mile from any number of wispy-voiced indie-girl confections of the present era.”

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