Growth.

Goodbye, 2018!! I will actually miss this year.  I learned so much that it feels like it was two years long.  You know how it was when you were a kid, where the days stretched by endlessly (but in a good way)? That’s the way it was for me. New Year’s Day seems like a loooong time ago.

I had two incredible things happen this year – the first was that I was asked to have a solo exhibit at the Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts, right here in Fond du Lac.  This is something that I never thought would happen in a zillion years – it wasn’t even on my radar! There was more than one time this year when I thought I’d probably get an email saying they’d made a mistake and that they’d have to rescind their offer.  But here we are, only three months (and seven days, but who’s counting?) until my show opens. I will have 200 tiny drypoint prints in the exhibit – a print a day, chronicling my day from April 1-October 20 of 2018. As of this writing, I only have ONE more to finish!  I am also creating a companion book that people can use as a guide when going through the exhibit – 200 is a LOT to go through!  It’s called “200 Days: A Life in the Quotidian”. I’m very excited about it and to be honest, quite proud, too.

“Northbound Train”, one of the 200 drypoints in my upcoming exhibit at the THELMA!

The other extraordinary thing that happened this year was my TEDx talk for TEDx Fonddulac! I decided to go for it when the proposals opened early in January. I had applied in 2017 also, but I thought I’d keep trying until I actually got in. I’m surprised it only took me two years! My talk was entitled, “Channeling your Inner Kid for your Career”, and it was about making my tiny art the focus of my art, and being true to oneself. Here it is, if you’d like to view it for yourself!

I had never practiced this much for anything, EVER. I would record myself on my phone and then listen to my drafts while I was on my walks or even while working. Poor Brian was the recipient of my freak-outs and would listen to my talk every night and critique my performances. I couldn’t have done it without him!

To say this was a highlight of my year is a ridiculous understatement. I can honestly say it’s a highlight of my life.  I am so grateful to Sarah Spang and the TEDx Fonddulac crew for giving me this opportunity. It’s also a huge milestone for me that I can still watch this video without cringing.  To me, that means that I did a pretty decent job.  🙂

Smack dab in the middle of the year, my whole family had a very scary thing happen – my mom got a cold. Now for most of us, this is nothing more than an annoying inconvenience. But my mom has advanced COPD, so that cold developed into pneumonia, which triggered a heart attack because one of her valves was 98% blocked. The first night, she went into organ failure and I came home and wrote her obituary.

I don’t even like this overused word but I have to use it – miraculous. It’s still shocking in the best possible way that she’s still with us, and doing amazingly well – like nothing ever happened, really! She had a stent put in and survived that procedure as well. She also has Alzheimer’s, so she can’t remember any of this. I don’t think that’s a bad thing!  😀

Why am I telling you this?  Well, I realized where my priorities lay. For a while, I thought we’d be planning a funeral and all that entails. And that’s all that mattered.  I have to say that to have two enormous projects to come home to and focus on was a life-saver for me. But in the end, I realized my fear of failure – for everything – was pointless. It was a not-so-great summer, but it taught me that I need to just plug away and DO IT. And yeah, some people won’t like the work I do, or the talk I give….and that’s okay! All that matters is that I try.

So I’m going to call that “growth”, and I made it my word for 2019, because I want to continue on this journey of discovery. How do I want to grow in the coming year?  I want to be more professional. I want to continue what I finally started this year, and that is a daily work practice, where I work for 6-8 hours/day on my art (and not beat myself up about the fact that I came to this realization so damn late in my art career). I want to clean and organize my studio! I want to do more residencies. I want to boldly try new things in my printmaking. I want to teach more, because I got my mojo back this year! I want to sell more. And I’ll even admit that yeah, I want more recognition for my art, if I deserve it. I don’t want to call my Thelma exhibit the pinnacle of my career, because I’m too young for that.  But it’s a huge deal for me. (Here’s the event on Facebook, if you’re so inclined to attend the reception! I’d love to see you there!)

Here’s to a wonderful 2019 for all of us!!

 

The Year of Firsts!

What can I say about 2017? For a while, it could go straight to hell. It started off not-so-great, with several sad personal events happening in the first couple of months. I am happy to report that by the middle of June, the year began correcting itself in terms of my personal life. That is a huge relief.

But in most ways, it was amazing! Professionally, I think I can honestly say that it was my best year ever. It was the first year I more than doubled my sales, which I hope to repeat in 2018. It was the first year I had a booth at the IgNight Markets in Green Bay and The Artery Holiday event in Kimberly.

My booth at The Artery holiday market in Kimberly, Wisconsin, in December

It was the first year I worked almost exclusively in series, and I absolutely LOVE IT.  Looking back, I have no idea why I constantly limited myself by only doing one-offs. But I’ve done three series this year (Painted Desert, The Collagraph in Miniature, and The Detritus Project), and one mini-series (Color Collages), and a few others here and there for a total of 152 pieces (YIKES! I guess it was just a feeling that I was busy this year!). I’m working on a new series for my solo exhibit at ArtSpace Collective in Oshkosh – another first for me, as I just joined ArtSpace in October! It’s a group of 14 artists in and around the Oshkosh area, and they’re just lovely people. I’m so excited to be a part of this group!

I’ve already talked about my amazing Treehaven experience, and some of my teaching experiences, and I had three fabulous residencies this year – the first two were one-day school residencies where I either demonstrated a reduction linocut (at Friendship Elementary in North Fond du Lac), or led a day-long collage workshop for some art club students (at Brandon Middle School). I also had my two month-long library residency at the Appleton Public Library, where I showed my Detritus Project exhibit and had a class, demo and lecture about The Detritus Project (more about that project, here!).

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This past summer I was invited by printmaker extraordinaire Christine Style to participate in The Wisconsin Idea Alphabet, which was a group of about 50 or so printmakers, each assigned a letter of the alphabet.  I got the letter “Y”, which I entitled “Yessiree Bob!”, a tribute to that great Wisconsin statesman, “Fighting” Bob LaFollette.  You can see my block in the photo below, with the remainder of the alphabet!  It was such a wonderful weekend and I’m so honored to have been asked to be a part of such a great project.  I didn’t mention the best part – it was a steamroller print!  We printed right on the dock by the Hardy Gallery in Egg Harbor, Door County!  So great.

I also was accepted into Issue 35 of my favorite magazine, UPPERCASE! It was all about data-driven art, and I made it with a few of my collagraphs! This is my fourth time in the magazine and it’s always an honor! Thank you, Janine!  🙂

Another unique experience this year was being a part of a design team with Kevin Rau of Rauhaus Design + Letterpress to create the invitation for one of my sister’s friend’s daughter’s wedding. I drew the tree image and Kevin made a photopolymer plate of it and also letterpressed the entire invite! It was such a cool project, and I’m happy to have been a part of it!  😀

I was commissioned by my in-laws to do a grouping of pieces to complement their living room decor. As is ALWAYS the case, I freeze when asked to do commissions, and starting this year I decided to limit my commission work only to those people who I know or who know my work well enough to know how I work and what they’ll get. It’s a process that’s fraught with peril for me, but in early November I finally finished the project! It’s a nine-piece set of monoprints in the same colors as their furniture. I have to say, I was really pleased with how they turned out but more importantly, my in-laws were thrilled. That meant so much to me! I was sort of possessed when making these pieces and they’re in a style I never work in, so I’m very glad they were happy.  🙂

A series of nine monoprints made for Brian’s parents

One amazingly positive event that happened personally was the addition of our sweet twin puppers, Peggy and Maude! (Yes, it is a given that any pups who are part of our family will have their own Facebook page.)  🙂 They are twin Pommies and we love them dearly. We adopted them on October 4 and they have added so much to our lives.  They’re our sweet babies and we love them so. It’s so nice to have puppers in the house again, and these ladies are only two, so we hope to have them for many years to come.

Maudie (left) and Peggy, hoarding their squirrels and other stuffies. 😀

I don’t know how I can top this year – I mean, there’s really only one time that one can be immortalized in a bobblehead!

Brian surprised me with this amazing gift for my 49th birthday!  🙂

Happy 2018, everyone! Here’s to a fresh start with lots of art!

 

 

 

 

 

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Best/Worst

Life is funny.  In the times where it’s even-keeled, we just sort of chug along, don’t we, not really thinking about much of anything except our own plans.  Whether it’s work, the weekend, what to have for dinner – it’s just so easy to be complacent.  I think this is where most of us spend a majority of our time, and honestly?  I think it’s a great place to be.

But then Life comes along and kicks your ass.  It could be the death of a beloved pet, something awful happening with your career; your partner or kids becoming ill; your parents’ aging and myriad issues that brings; or maybe it’s a combination of crises. Whatever the “thing” is, you’re all of a sudden thrust into Survival Mode, where you can’t even see past the day or hour at hand.  Sure, Life is still happening, but it’s all kind of a blur now.

Life can also come along and bestow upon you some of the most amazing experiences you can imagine.  It might be the best year you’ve ever had at your job; it might be that you’re marrying your best friend; it might be that you’re finally going to have a kid that you’ve been waiting for your whole life. Whenver “things” like this happen, Life seems to fly by in a whirlwind of activity – stressful in its own way, as most of Life is still happening, too.  Laundry still has to be done.  🙂

This has been my year so far.

Let’s get the crud out of the way first.  Our beloved Pommie, Dudley, left us on February 25.  He’d been my constant companion for the last 5 years and 9 months. He very rarely left my side, and his absence created a loss I wasn’t quite ready for. ——————————                            During this time, we were also adjusting to having my mom here in Fond du Lac – she moved up here in January, as it was clear she couldn’t live by herself anymore.  So we set her up at a lovely apartment in an assisted living space.  She was chugging along until the middle of February, when she passed out after having what turned out to be her last cigarette – her oxygen level was at 60% and the docs discovered her COPD was now advanced emphysema.  She was in the hospital for 5 days and afterward, needed more services.  All seemed to be going okay until this past Thursday, when we were at the grocery store and she took a terrifying fall, which crushed her shoulder bones and two vertebrae, plus part of her tailbone.  She will be in a rehab facility for 8-10 weeks, and is in a great deal of pain. All of this is compounded by her worsening dementia. —————— Lastly – this may sound like absolutely nothing compared to the two other “things” I’ve mentioned, but we also said good-bye to Carol, my beloved 1997 Toyota Corolla, on February 21.  She had been my trusty (VERY trusty!) sidekick since May of 1998.  That car saw me through the birth of my second niece (and some very smooshy memories of my first niece’s experiences with her new sister); my divorce; my dad’s death/funeral; and served as our “second” car when Brian and I got our van.  She did manage to reach 200,000 miles before we parted ways, and her final act was a donation to our local public radio station (via the Car Talk Vehicle Donation Program). I’ll be honest – I cried.  I had so many amazing adventures with this car and for a while, it seemed like I’d have her with me forever.

BUT!!  BUT!!  YOU GUYS!!

Holy smokes – it has been the most amazing year EVER for my art.  EVER.  Since January 1, this is what I’ve done:

• I created 30 pieces (one per day, January 1-30) for the 30x30x30 show at Var Gallery (which hangs this week!).  This was my first-ever real “collection” of works. I created pieces that I rust-dyed and then stitched, followed by a layer of beeswax.  Here’s one of them, for a sneak peek:

Painted Desert IV, rust-dyed muslin, machine embroidery, encaustic wax

• I finished/installed my two shows at UW-Fond du Lac that I created specifically for this site: The Collograph in Minature/Pervasive Plastic.  This opportunity, which was so generously given to me by art lecturer Wendi Turchan, was a dream come true – to be able to show on a university level was something I never imagined I’d be able to do.  I also created pieces that were site-specific, and I’m so proud of them.  Here’s one of my collographs and a piece from the Plastic show:

  

  Prairie (monoprint and collograph) and The Whole World is Plastic (tree branch, plastic bag strips, plastic bag)

• On my third attempt, I was finally accepted into the Small Print Show at UW-Parkside!  My piece, A Canopy of Branches, was chosen to be one of the prints. Unfortunately, the weather and my health were both icky the night of the reception and I was unable to drive to Kenosha to see the awesome show.  But here is my piece!!  I’m so happy I got in on this one, because it’s a reduction linocut I’m really proud of.

  

  A Canopy of Branches, reduction linocut

• I am currently in The Humor Show at Riverwalk Art Center with my friends Nicci Martin and Susan Fiebig!  I am so happy to be one of the three chosen for this exhibit by curator/owner Kathryn Dreifuerst.  I can guarantee that this is going to be not only hilarious, but just a fabulous show. My portion of the show is called Bad Hair Daze, which is comprised of eight different embroidered collages featuring horrible ’80s hairstyles (here’s one of them!).  Our reception is this Friday night from 5-8 p.m. – hope to see you there!  😀The “She’s so Unusual”, from the Bad Hair Daze collection (embroidery, collage)

Lastly – I have to thank everyone who’s made this year, as trying as it’s been, so great.  Firstly – my family.  They’ve really rallied and helped so much with my mom.  Everyone has her back and it’s been so wonderful having their awesome support. I rely so much on my sister, Jenn, because no one knows me better and of course, we have the same mom.  🙂 Our “sister days” have been a life-saver.  Also, my art friends – what a wonderful group of people I know in Fond du Lac and the Fox Cities.  I know the best people in the world and I’m so proud and honored to call them my friends.  🙂 They have been so understanding when I’ve had to cancel things due to illness this year or last minute things that have come up with my mom.  I can only hope to be half as understanding as these great people.  I could name names, but you know who you are.  ❤

And lastly – my amazing husband, Brian.  To say that I couldn’t do any of this without him is the Understatement of the Year.  He has been my rock and I am so grateful and honored to be his wife, and astounded by his unflinching generosity in everything he does.  He’s truly the best.  ♥

2016 – The Year in Highlights!

WHAT.

The year is over.

Okay, in many ways, the year was a long one.  I think that happens when you’re learning new things, and I sure did!  But when I think back to December 31 of 2015, it feels like a couple of weeks ago.  Back on that day, I had chosen a word to define what my year would mean, and that was “direction”. Indeed, my year took MANY directions!  It feels like each month brought a new and exciting chapter to my art, so that’s how it’ll be chronicled!

January – When I look back at last January, it comes to me in two words: Individual Art.  I had SO many of my one-on-one classes that month!  It was the perfect way to ease into the year.  I love my Individual Art classes, because not only do I get to hang out with some fabulous people and have them learn or perfect a skill they’ve wanted, but I also learn from them.  I know every teacher feels this way (or should!).  🙂  This month also marked the first time I taught at Moraine Park Technical College for Life-Long Learning!  What a great “first” for me.  SO fun.

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February – I had applied for a Wisconsin Visual Artists show at Villa Terrace back in January, and found out on February 4 that my piece, “Narcissus”, had been accepted!  I was THRILLED.  This was a huge deal for me, as I had just recently started painting and it felt great to have the piece liked enough to be included in this show.  It was a 3-group show called “Making a Scene”.  Definitely a highlight of my year!  🙂

 

This was an amazing month for another reason, too – my Detritus Project exhibit, which I created and curated, made its debut at the Langdon Divers Gallery inside the Fond du Lac Public Library!  I had the idea for this show way back in 2012, thanks to my great friends at Library as Incubator Project, but it finally became a reality as a community art exhibit in February.  I loved every single minute of this show.  🙂 Check out the AMAZING entries!  😀 This year also marked my second year of curating the Langdon every month.  It’s so great to see all of the different art and artists come through this lovely gallery!  🙂

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March – I was able to be a part of another fantastic show in March, this time with the super-cool Kate Mothes and her amazing youngspace.  This was one of Kate’s pop-up exhibits, which only ran for a few weeks in March at this great space on Main Street in Green Bay.  I feel like this show gave me street cred like I’d never had before!  Such fantastic artists involved, and most were much younger than I am (not difficult, at my age!).   The show was called Remote View and was juried by Kate and Claire Abitz (you’ll hear more about these two movers and shakers later in the year).  AWESOME.  🙂

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April – April brought with it yet another show, this time at one of my all-time favorite galleries, Two Fish Gallery in Elkhart Lake!  The exhibit was called Altered States and the idea was for the artists selected to talk about a point in their art where they made an alteration, or change, in their way of working (or a new technique). My piece, “Fashion Plate”, was juried in!  🙂  I met so many of my Facebook friends this evening, and made some new ones, too!  This was one of those exhibits and evenings that just was so perfect. That same evening I participated in one of Knaak + Juarez Studio’s Blank Canvas events, and began my most ambitious art projects of 2016.  (More on that piece, later!)

 

May – I had the very distinct honor of jurying the student show at UW-Fond du Lac this year!  It was so fun, and really difficult!  Art professor Wendi Turchan and her students curated this show, and it was fantastic.  We wound up buying five pieces for ourselves!  This was the first time I’d ever juried a student show and the process was a life lesson for me as well.  As artists, we’ve ALL been there, where we either didn’t win an award or just not selected for a show, period.  I’d juried before, but never in person and it really is never about a piece being “good” or “bad”, as there are SO many variables!  You can see here how I had a difficult time choosing the award recipients!

I was also in Stevens Point in May for two reasons – I had a wonderful stint as Artist-in-Residence for Tosha Tessen-McDonald’s art classes at McDill Elementary for three days in the middle of May, and I was also in a show at Riverfront Art Center there called All About Trees!  I felt so welcomed in this delightful town – and what a surprise to run into a former Fond du Lacian, Casey French, who I ran into at the Portage County Library!  He was so kind as to give me a tour of UW-Steven Point’s art department, where his girlfriend was finishing up her art degree.  SO fun!  😀

 

The last “art thing” to happen in May was a game-changer in my studio…..

(Check here for that blog post!)

June – ….and because I had purchased that game-changing etching press in May, June was ALL about classes on how to use it!  I took three classes in June at Jack Richeson, where I bought the press.  And since I’ve already blogged about it (see the link, above), I won’t rehash, but here’s another monotype I did in the class, which took about two seconds with a Q-tip and two colors of ink.  I can’t wait to delve further into the wonders of this press in 2017!  😀

June also marked the beginning of Pop Up Fond du Lac, a new initiative that promotes “tactical urbanism”.  This group is great!  They have different “pop-ups” all over the city, and the first one was a two-day crêpe cafe in an unused building downtown.  I volunteered to be the curator for art on the walls, so it looked like a “real” café for two days!  I had awesome artists friends involved in the event, and the place looked great!  😀

 

 

July – YAY!  July was ALL about papermaking, which is one of my favorite things to do (and teach!).   I taught papermaking at Lakeshore Art Supplies in Sheboygan for a fantastic group of ladies, and I also taught papermaking with plant fibers at my friend Nicole Schauer’s CSA, Good Earth Farm for a group that had amazing ideas!  Then, after nearly three years of planning, the Idea Studio opened in the Fond du Lac Public Library!  This was a huge deal, as it’s one of the most innovative makerspaces in a library in the country.  I demo’d papermaking in the kitchen portion of the space, which as you can see is just incredible.  Everyone loved it!

Brian and I also had a joint show at Ubuntu Art Space!  It’s always fun to have a show but to be in a show with your talented husby?  It’s the best.  🙂 We had our reception during July’s Tour the Town Art Walk in downtown Fondy.  Thanks for having us, Sue!  🙂

August – Well, besides the most amazing week of my art career thus far at my residency at Standard Projects in Hortonville (which I documented here, here, here, here, here, and here), which I seriously cannot overstate what it did for me. I think the other highlight was teaching a solar printing class for some of the residents of Lake View Place, an assisted living/senior apartment complex right here in Fond du Lac.  I had met one of the arts & crafts coordinators at our annual Prairie Fest, and Karen asked me if I did solar printing.  Since I did, I told her I’d love to teach, and I did!  It was a wonderful experience, and as you can see, the residents did beautiful work.  🙂

 

September – This was sort of my “month off”.  I did a lot of biking this month, because it was SO beautiful.  I did create this linocut, which is actually a little corner of my living room!  I love how it turned out.

I also taught another of my collage classes at MPTC!  I always have such a great group.

October – this fall was amazingly awesome in terms of the sheer variety of classes, events, and exhibits I was involved with.  October started it out wonderfully!  I led a “Monoprints, Two Ways” class for some of the members of the Fond du Lac Artists’ Association – this was a full-day class where we created monoprints with the Gelli Plate in the morning….

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….and monoprints with my etching press in the afternoon!  I just love what transpired!  😀

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I also taught a Monoprint class at MPTC – the Gelli plate is a wonder, and everyone loves what it can do!  😀

At the end of October, I set up my little corner of the Grand Kakalin in Kaukauna for the “Take me to the River” exhibit/event, which was put together by Jean Detjen.  This was the first time I’d met Jean, although we were Facebook friends before.  What a powerhouse!  It was such an amazing experience.  I can’t wait to work with her again.  And it was so fun to have so many of my Wisconsin Visual Artists – NE Chapter friends involved, too!  😀

November – November was the month of shows! It started out with Warped Milwaukee, which is one of my favorite shows ever.  This was the 6th year that I was a part of it, and I hope to do more!  Here’s the piece that I made for this year’s show, where the theme was “Elements”.  I call it “Wild Calla Lilies”. It’s made with solar-printed fabric and found materials, and then machine-stitched (disregard those grid marks!)  😀

The following week was the reception for “Adornments”, which was a show where I was featured at Two Fish Gallery in Elkhart Lake.  I had a whole wall!!  This is one of my most favorite displays of my work EVER.  🙂 Thanks so much to Pat and Karen Robison for their support!  😀

Later on in the month, I found out that my very ambitious 2-color reduction linocut that I had started in April (and finished in October), “A Canopy of Branches”, made it into the Small Print Exhibition at UW-Parkside!  This is such an amazing show, and it’s the first time I’d made it in! I am really happy about this.  The show starts in January – I can’t wait!

December – the year rounded out in a really fun way – I taught a holiday card class at the Berlin Public Library….

….and an Encaustic Collage class at the Plymouth Art Center (you can read that blog post here!).  🙂

I also found out I’ll be in two more shows in January! The EcoSquared Show at Hatch Art House in Madison is another of my favorite shows – I’ve been in it 3 out of the last four years.  Here are the two pieces I made for the show!  The pieces need to be square and they need to be created from upcyclced materials.  I made these by printing vintage letterpress plates onto fabric and then embroidering them, and making the “buildings” from old clothing tags.  It was SO fun and I plan on making more!  😀

And last, but CERTAINLY not least – I found out that I was one of the 30 artists for the 30x30x30 show at the Var Gallery in Milwaukee!!  The gist of the show is that 30 artists create a piece a day for 30 days – a great exercise for a humdrum January!  I had an interloper in my photo showing my cut pieces that I’d start this month.  🙂

Today marks my SEVENTH anniversary of being a full-time artist.  When I decided that day to make this a reality, I never would’ve imagined all of the amazing people, places, events, artwork, opportunities and experiences I’d have.  Never in a million years did I think it was going to be this fulfilling, rewarding, tough, and fun.  Here’s to another fantastic year!

The perfect end to an amazing week. :)

Remember summer camp, or your particular equivalent?  That week you spent, possibly away from your loved ones, where the days just sort of melted away and you enjoyed yourself beyond measure, met and made new friends, and relished your time, knowing that at some point your time there would inevitably draw to a close, even as you began your mid-point countdown?

That, my friends, is exactly how it felt at Standard Projects this past week. 🙂

You’ve probably surmised this already if you’ve been reading my blog posts from my adventures here.  I tend to hyperbolize, but I can’t help it!  When I’m enthusiastic about something, I want the whole world to know.  🙂

Friday was my my “cleaning up loose ends” day.  I had brought so much with me to work on, and had sort of spread my projects around to every corner of the building (upstairs AND downstairs).  I packed my car so that I wouldn’t have to do it on Saturday morning.  And after that was done, I allowed myself to finish one deconstructed collage and create another for another example for the Deconstructed Collage workshop to be held on Saturday morning.

In the meantime, Claire was busy creating a gorgeous leather cord for the tiny weaving pendant that I had created on Thursday!  Didn’t it turn out beautifully?  I just love it.  😀

Friday night was a lot of fun!  There were two gallery show openings – one for the Create! show at Jack Richeson, and the other for our friend Sara Willadsen at The Draw (both are in the Appleton area, which is conveniently only about 15 miles from Hortonville).  I went to the Create! show first, because I have two pieces in the show, including this etching that I did a couple weeks ago.  I was very happy to have it included!

While I was there, I sensed that someone was behind me – and a little too close, too, as I could hear them breathing.  I turned around to see who the weirdo was, and VOILA!!  There was my wonderful husband Brian!!  He’d surprised me!!  It was so great to see him.  We’re not apart very often and I missed him!  😀  It was an absolutely delightful surprise.  So we caravaned to The Draw next.  Sara’s show is fantastic!  I’m a big fan of her work and actually own one of her earlier works.  😀  (FYI: The Create! show is up until October 1, and Sara’s show at The Draw is up until September 25.)  Brian and I had a lovely dinner together, and I wisely went right to bed when I got back so that I could mentally prepare for Saturday’s workshop.

And what a spectacular workshop it was!!  We had four wonderful people attend, and it was just the perfect way to cap off the week.  Here are some photos from the class – and check out the GORGEOUS collages created!!  I love how everyone’s is totally different.  And who doesn’t love a messy collage table?  It was just fantastic.  🙂  I want to give a MAJOR shout-out to Kate Mothes of YoungSpace, who organized this workshop for the end of the residency.  She’s so great about creating events!!  Thank you so much, Kate!  😀

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After the class, I gathered the last of my things, said good-bye to all of the wonderful folks who are making Claire’s place home, either permanently or for a few weeks, and spent my drive home reflecting on the week and how great it was.  I’ve never felt so creative, and I really want this feeling to last.  A lot of it had to do with the vibe of Standard Projects, which is one of openness, freedom, creativity, and collaboration – and most of all, support.  Claire is also extremely generous!  She made dinner for us, and breakfast, almost daily, with fresh veggies and herbs from her garden.  DELISH.

If anyone is reading this is currently on the residency circuit, or is thinking about where to go for their next residency – this is it.  I think you’ll find it to be a charming, friendly, creative, wonderful space, and so dang clever.  I had the best time, and I just might make this a yearly mecca!!  Thank you SO much, Claire!!  😀

 

 

My Amazing April. :)

Holy smokes!  What a whirlwind!

I just finished one of the most amazing months of my art career!

It’s a month I’ll never forget because it’s the month when I began my Individual Art classes.  And in April, I had EIGHT of them.  I am so grateful to Pat, Carol, Catherine, Michelle, Erica, and Chris for being my guinea pigs!  So far, so great – I LOVE teaching these one-on-one (or sometimes two) workshops.  Not only does the class taker get all of the supplies to him or herself, but I also get the wonderful experience of getting to know these wonderful folks a little better.  Plus – full disclosure here – I probably learn more than they do.  I mean, if you’ve been reading my posts, you’ve seen their work.  WOWZERS!  🙂

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I also had two separate shows and receptions in April, and they were back-to-back!  It was a whirlwind weekend!  The first was for my show with my friend Amy Jarvis called “Dog +Wood”, which was held at Glas Coffeehouse in Sheboygan.  We had an amazing turnout and so much fun with friends!  Sadly, neither Amy nor I took any photos of the evening, but my fabulous husby Brian came through in the pinch!  😀  Thanks, Brian!  ❤

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I also had a reception for my solo exhibit at the Thrasher Opera House in Green Lake the very next evening!  It was such a lovely night.  I was busy talking to friends and new friends the entire two hours!  Maria Diedrich was a perfect host.  Thank you, Maria!  Unfortunately, I also don’t have any photos from that reception, because I was too busy talking!  🙂  So I’ll just show you some from the set-up of this particular show, which is currently running and up through May 27!  If you’re in the Green Lake area, be sure to check it out!  🙂

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We had some crazy-good weather in the middle of the month, and it landed perfectly on our Tour the Town night!  I was stationed at Book World this past month, and it was just a beautiful, fun, lucrative evening!  (Those are fun nights, aren’t they, artists?)  😀  Some of my friends from The Reporter came to visit, which was so lovely.  I hadn’t seen them in too long!  (For those of you who don’t know my history, I used to be the Finance Clerk at our local newspaper, The Reporter.  I loved that job but left it to concentrate on my art.)

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I also gave a talk at UW-Oshkosh this month!  My friend Karina Cutler-Lake, who’s a professor there, wanted me to talk about how I incorpoarte maps into my artwork for a class she’s teaching called “Experience Mapping” (where was this class when I was in college?).  I loved it!  I created a Keynote presentation specifically for the class, and the students seemed to enjoy it.  What a lovely way to spend a Thursday morning!  Thanks for asking me, Karina!  🙂

And last, but CERTAINLY not least – I was so totally fortunate to take  the Globe Printing Workshop at Hamilton Woodtype and Printing Museum!!  Oh my heavens – I got to spend the entire day playing with their collection of type and vintage cuts from the now-defunct Globe Printing Co. in Chicago!!  Every time I go there it feels like home.  So not only did I get to make this super cool Record Store Day poster (which happened to be the same day), but I also got to see the most incredible collection of lithographed Russian propaganda posters probably ever assembled.  (They are a museum too, after all!)  What an amazing day!!

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It’s events and experiences like this that make my career so unbelievably rewarding.  I will always remember this month as nothing but pure magic.  To be continued!  😀

Judging one’s Art

What an interesting week!  I was on the giving AND receiving end of having one’s art juried.  That’s never happened before, and it brought fresh, new perspective to the jurying process!

Any artist who puts him or herself “out there” has been through the jurying process.  And it can be exciting, or it can maybe ruin your day.  Well, allow me to shed some light on the process and possibly help you see what it all entails!

This past Thursday, I was invited by my friend Frank Juarez to help jury a call for artists for his magazine, Artdose Art Guide. In every issue this year (quarterly), there is a different, juried “show” of a different medium.  The current magazine shows excellent photography.  I was one of three artists asked to jury the collage entries.

There were 30 entries from 11 artists.  I honestly (and quite foolishly) thought we’d get through it in an hour.  HA!  The entries were so intriguing, and the work so good, that it was nearly impossible to choose the eight entries.  Eight out of 30!

It wound up taking Cooper Diers and me (and Erika Block, from her satellite location) over 2 hours to decide!  It was agonizing at times!  In the end, the decision was based on so many factors besides whether or not the art was “good”.  How do you eliminate entries when ALL the art was good?

On the flip side, I was also on the receiving end of a juried show.  I wish I could say that it ended well but alas, I judged and was judged.  🙂  Here are the two pieces I entered into a small print show:

   

It was a national show, so I figured that it was a long shot.  They had to choose only 80 prints out of 407 entries!  That means that 327 others got the same news I did.  I’m sure I’m in excellent company.  And I’ll never know how close I came to being chosen.  Maybe it wasn’t close at all, or maybe one of mine was the last one eliminated.  But I do know this – it won’t stop me from entering next year’s show.  Because after this week, I realized first hand that it’s not about how good you are, but what the jurors are looking for.  Maybe someday I’ll get lucky!  😀