Large sculpture process images...

So now that Chthonic is installed, I have a little room to share what the making of this work was like. It really was the best year of my life, all the way around. I feel so lucky to have had it. All I did was make work, assemble food for my family, sleep with a cat under the covers, and start again. I was fortunate that I could take a semester off of teaching to make it happen. And that my family is not bothered by the filth we clearly live in. Anyway, here are some images of the sculpture Lumber in process in my studio over a period of months.

I worked with another artist friend to build the skeletons. We started with 1” conduit pipe that I bent into the gesture. The pipe then actually goes into an electrical box and is set with a screw. At the ground, the conduit comes into a drilled 2x4” that has been secured to plywood. Then we set screws through the 2x4” to the pipe. It worked pretty slick! She took up nearly the width of my studio. I did not plan well.

And getting her through the door was a whole other thing! Luckily I had handy, thoughtful helpers who kept me from freaking out. We removed the horizontal floor braces, turned her on her side so she was a U, and then threaded her through the door! Now she is hanging at Mia!

"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

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!