Progress on a new felt figurative sculpture....

I am excited to share that I am making a new piece for a new gallery in Minneapolis for their inaugural exhibition about motherhood. There is not a lot else I can share about the gallery at this time, but I do have some progress pics! It is so nice to have a big open space again to make things instead of trying to squeeze one in amongst the others! Here is how they start:

with conduit pipe and the anchors.

draping the felt

I figure at this point I have 20-25 hours still of stitching felt, and then I would like to add hooks and eyes. I am thinking the hardware will go from the ground up on the legs and neck. Or maybe the belly. Stay tuned!

Punk Rock quilter Ben Venom....

How did I not know about Ben Venom? Have I been living under a rock? He combines punk rock, tattoo and counter-culture notions in amazing quilts made of recycled materials. I so wish I could see one in person! The color and pattern combinations are brilliant and I am so curious about the up close stitching detail. The are also HUGE! Maybe I should make a quilt?!?!?

Fly By Night

I am the Night Rider

Iron Fist

Once Bitten Twice Shy

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!

Jerome Fellowship exhibition....

So pleased I was finally able to see my studio mate, Sophia Chai’s work in the Jerome Fellowship Exhibition at MCAD this week. I may be biased, but it was a fabulous show. I only ever see small increments of change in the studio and then at the end there are these amazing photographs which play with how we perceive photography. And I love the framing of the photograph with the same color of paint on the wall, it puts us in the space with the original painted wall in a way that is really interesting. Hope you get a chance to see the exhibition! And there will be more images of the other artists work coming soon.

Upcoming exhibition at the Phipps Center for the Arts...

I am excited to share that I have an upcoming solo exhibition in Gallery 2 at the Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson, Wisconsin, opening February 26. Artists Susan Gangsei, Fawzia Khan, Susan Solomon and Christopher Palbicki will also be exhibiting in the Center’s other galleries. I hope you will have a chance to attend!

I created a new series of drawings for “Den Mother” this last fall on the most beautiful gesso you can spread on a board. It is like butter. I will never go back to anything else. The boards are 10x10” and the drawings made in ball point pen. I love me a ball point pen. I think I am ready to explore this series in graphite with powdered graphite so I can get larger, softer areas of tone.

These images will soon be available as prints in the shop!

"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…

Supine, Sway and Lumber

Twine, Sway, Supine, Lumber and Settle

Trunk and Nourish

Create! Magazine, Issue 15

So excited to be included in Create! Magazine, Issue 15, juried by Paradigm Gallery in Philadelphia. Such wonderful artists to share a space with!

Lisa Congdon, cover art

I discovered Beth Beverly, a taxidermy artist in the issue! Please visit her interview here, to learn more about her process.

Beth Beverly

Proposal for MAEP at MIA....

So while I have been gone, I have continued applying for the Minnesota Artists Exhibition Program at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. There are three deadlines a year, and with each deadline, one exhibition is awarded by the panel. I can’t tell you how many times I have applied, but every time I do, the proposal gets better. And every time I get a rejection, I call the program administrator to get panel feedback about my proposal. There was a deadline in October, and I got close. Real close. So I convened what we call the Art Justice League, three dear, generous, talented artist friends for chips and gauc and we tightened that baby up. There was talk, some swearing, I took notes and the phrase “juicy titties” came up; a productive meeting. And then one of these artist/friends offered to help me create a digital video of my proposed work in the space. Mostly I sat next to him and pointed at stuff while he made After Effects look easy! He made a sweet little video of my proposed drawn sculptures in the space. I could not have produced a better proposal. I submitted it 2/22/19. I am waiting for the decision. Fingers crossed.

The video is too large to post here, but this screen shot will give you an idea. It was amazing! Thank you for all of your help and support!