News

an interview on mnartists.walkerart.org

So my family and I bought a house, moved and are trying to sell our old house. Needless to say it has been a little nuts. Somehow I forgot to post a link to an interview I did with arts writer Sheila Regan on mnartists.org. You can see the interview here. The site as a whole is amazing, and if you don’t know about it, I would spend some time. It is a platform of the Walker Art Center that has a 20 year history of supporting Minnesota artists. It relaunched in 2021 featuring more arts writing and maintains a comprehensive list of both Minnesota and national artist opportunities. If I didn’t live in MN, this is still a site I would check regularly. Thank you Walker Art Center and the McKnight Foundation for supporting artists!

mnartists-nicolehavekost-chthonic

My favorite thought that speaks directly to the making of this work “to understand that your body is yours, but it’s also something else, took me a long time to come to.”

Thank you Sheila for the great conversation!

This is Colossal goodness....

How have I not mentioned this here?!? On February 1, my exhibition “Chthonic” was featured on thisiscolossal.com which was a dream come true! I have been admiring this site for years, trying to figure out how/what to submit. And then Mia has a marketing department and asked for my wishlist of places to reach out to…and hear it is…A Monumental Collection of Slouching Figures Considers the Effects of Aging on the Body

Spend some time looking through the archives…you won’t be disappointed!

"Chthonic" at the Minneapolis Institute of Art

So it has been over a year since my last blog post…and a pandemic, online teaching, an election and two exhibitions. The last post the acceptance or my (how many?) proposal for the Minnesota Artist Exhibition Program at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. There was so much in between, but that is where I am starting now. From that day on I put my head down and got to work. It was the most fulfilling creative endeavor of my career. I am just so thankful for all of it. By the end, I could hardly get around my own studio, and I had moved two figures into another friends studio when I ran out of room. We needed a 26’ truck to deliver the work and it had to spend a week in the deep freeze after arriving at Mia; felt can have larvae and it had to be frozen before going into the museum proper. Then I had the best help for two weeks of install. We got it finished right as Governor Walz shut down entertainment and hospitality venues for Covid. But it opened this last Thursday, and I am thrilled that people are getting a chance to see it! I will post more about the making, installation and exhibition in the coming weeks!

Title text and door way into second gallery space…

Title text and door way into second gallery space…

Supine, Sway and Lumber

Supine, Sway and Lumber

Twine, Sway, Supine, Lumber and Settle

Twine, Sway, Supine, Lumber and Settle

Trunk and Nourish

Trunk and Nourish

MAEP Exhibition at Minneapolis Institute of Arts!

So about six months ago, I posted about a proposal I was putting together for the Minnesota Artists Exhibition Program at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. I was rejected a year ago…which was disappointing as I thought it was my best proposal to the program to date, but not a surprise as it was my sixth or seventh rejection. MAEP is a program with three deadlines a year, and only one exhibition awarded per deadline. With every rejection, I would call the program administrator/curator to get the details on the panels response to my program. And with the panels comments about my proposal, I would make adjustments and wait for the next deadline. With this last rejection, I did find out that I was a finalist, so I was getting closer. And I did feel like I had made the best proposal possible, but when the curator offered that some images for scale on the felt sculpture would help, I figured I would give it one last go. My art buddy, Chris Rackley, was kind enough to bring his photo kit to my studio and model with my sculpture for images! I also had images of work installed in a recent exhibition and I had some newer work related to the things I wanted to explore with the exhibition, so I swapped out nearly all of the images for those, and included sketches of the proposed sculptures, my video of the work in the space and the floor plan. And then I waited. There were about five weeks in between the proposal deadline and notification, so I couple of days out from the notification deadline, I started checking my emails a little too frequently. There were no emails. But I was at my friend Chris’ house with two other artist friends helping him with an upcoming project deadline, and when they all went upstairs to eat lunch, I thought I would just check quick. And there was an email that I would be having the July 2020 MAEP exhibition at the MiA. This is big. And I was able to share the first news of it with my most favorite artists in the world. They have been there editing my proposals since the very beginning two years ago when I started applying. We hugged, ate chocolate, and then I basically shook with fear and smiled the rest of the day. If you would like to see my name on the MiA website, the link is here.

New school year, teaching and grants....

I never mean to let this much time pass between entries, but where did the summer go?  It seems like I spent all summer applying to things, and now I am starting to hear back.  I sent off my proposal to the MAEP program, and after talking with the program administrator, I think I am getting closer.  I've got some adjustments to make for the 10/31 deadline, and I think I am hopeful.  I've been rejected for a Juried Exhibition that looked like a good opportunity, and two academic residencies...and I am still waiting on a lot.  I did have my SEMAC grant proposal accepted for support of new work I intend to exhibit next summer!  $5000!  I am so thrilled.  My friend MaryBeth also got one for $2500!  We both just got our paperwork in and should receive a check on 9/1/17.  I am actually going to get paid to make work....a large piece I posted planning pictures of earlier this summer.  I can't wait.  

acceptance letter grant

And it turns out if you just keep applying to stuff, the rejections start to sting way less.  

I just found out last week that I have a Drawing 1 class at RCTC, so I have been in planning mode for a couple of days.  Luckily, Drawing is one of my favorite things to teach, and I can do it without much trouble, so I am not worried about prep.  

And finally, my son is about two weeks off of his own school starting.  Fifth grade.  He will be walking himself home in the afternoons as I won't be home.  Missing out on the walk makes me a little sad; that was one of my favorite parts of the day.  And about the only time he tells me anything of significance.  I guess I should be getting used to that.