Women Artists

Hello!

I have been very lucky in my life. I grew up in an artistic family, with parents, grandparents and other relatives happily creating all around me. More recently, I found the Women’s Art Registry of MN (WARM) and discovered even more people who live lives full of art.

In case you didn’t know, a new cycle in the WARM Mentor Program will start in January. Maybe you’re one of the fortunate ones who has signed up to be a protegee? If you are in the Twin Cities and are ready to reach for the next level in art and life, click on the WARM website. Timing is important; the program only opens every two years.

Layl McDill & a peacock Silly Milly cane

This is my former mentor, Layl McDill of ClaySquared. She is constantly creating new work and then just as steadily, she sells it. Ms McDill teaches classes at her gallery. She’s fun to be around and extremely easy-going. And oh so patient.

Brenna Busse at the Powderhorn Art Festival

Brenna Busse is also a mentor. Two of my friends were her protegees during the last cycle and both felt like they had won the lottery with her. Ms Busse is intentionally spiritual and values-driven. She’s also a smart business woman. I like her because she’s positive and forward-thinking. Ms Busse would keep you on track, if she was your mentor; she’d help you see the big picture and stay true to your heart.

Delayne Hostetler, in character

Delayne Hostetler isn’t a mentor in WARM, though she easily could be. Instead, she’s been my role model for beau coup years. (I’m not even going to say how many years because I don’t want to embarrass either one of us. Let’s just say, a good loooong time.) She’s an amazingly warm and talented woman with a Wicked sense of humor and a delicious dark side.

Ms Hostetler is a Master/Mistress at the MN Renaissance Festival, producing art of the highest quality. She has her own shop there, called Mayfaire Cottage, selling framed and unframed prints, cards and other paper goods. Walking into her shop is like being transported to olde England. It’s delightful, with flowers and fairy touches where least expected.

Robin Hood, copyright Delayne Hostetler

Isn’t this fun? I love her cards because I get to share a bit of the magic with friends. I probably visited her shop during my first trip to the Renaissance Festival. Frankly, I was so overwhelmed that I’m not sure what I saw. I do remember spending a fair amount of time blushing, due to the comments of some of the strolling entertainers.

Ms Hostetler is not only an established artist, she’s also a thoughtful and generous friend. These are all gifts from her! I’m pretty sure the thimble is one-of-a-kind; it has a Christmas blessing on it. And the booklet is a delight because it’s made with all my favorite things collaged inside. There are two entire pages dedicated to tea and treats! I love it. A fabulous birthday surprise from many years ago.

Best Friends, copyright Delayne Hostetler

The large print, Best Friends, is available on Ms Hostetler’s website and yes, it too was a gift. I swear I didn’t badger her for it. The little booklet commemorates our friendship with personalized, colorful drawings.

I’ve had this sun and moon on my walls for many years. The sun has a sand texture and the moon is glossy. Again, I’m pretty sure they’re unique.

If you have an artist in your life, you may have art from them. Congratulations! You are probably an art supporter. In some way you have touched them and in return, more art is created. Artists create work as a response to life. Not to pay the bills. Not to fulfill a quota. We work because our hearts need the release art brings. That’s a wonderful feeling, but rarely does it pay the bills. Or if it does, it’s because somewhere, earlier, someone believed in us and helped get our business started.

There’s a wonderful 2008 documentary that will be shown on November 17, at 7 pm at MCAD in Minneapolis. It’s called “Who Does She Think She Is?” and is sponsored by WARM. No cost, but a donation is appreciated. Click on the title or go to TheWARM.org for details. Help support our artists!

Thanks for all you do. —Chris

 

Fall for St Croix Art

Hello again!

Saturday I went to Hudson, WI and not only visited The Phipps Center for the Arts, but also the Spirit of the St Croix Art Festival. It was a beautiful day for it.

The art festival was very entertaining. Lots of booths to look through, tasty, melty cheese curds, live music playing familiar favorites, trees just starting to turn yellow and red and the riverbank as a backdrop to the bandshell. It was a fun way to spend a fall afternoon. I even saw the unloading of a kiln, with children’s art getting a bit of a raku-glaze treatment. I love it when adult artists take the time to honor kids’ work. This potter fired all these small, very individualized bits of clay and then described to the adults how they could display the pieces, even those with cracks, to best effect.

At The Phipps Art Galleries I saw several cool exhibits. I was fascinated by Carol Warner’s series of copper vessels. Click on her name! Under the Metal Gallery, the first four sculptures are of her “Molten” series of which some are at the gallery. They’re tantalizing. (I wanted to touch them, which is often a problem for me. Hands in pockets, hands in pockets.) They’re also large. Many are the width of a traditional wok. A few of these are inspired by sea creatures. I liked “Branching Anemone” particularly; it looked more like glass on top. (If you haven’t had your quota of art envy and need to push yourself, check out her Fiber Gallery. She also appears to have mastered that medium in an equally confident way.)

"Gardening with Three Little Monsters," by Layl McDill

As most of you know, Layl McDill is my mentor through the Women’s Art Registry of MN (WARM). Here’s a photograph of a recent postcard of hers so you can see one of the pieces currently in The Phipps exhibit. It’s big, maybe three feet wide.  Two of the monsters are perched on the dragon’s tail while the third is neatly carried in a basket.

That’s the part I enjoy the most about her art. You discover gems whenever you take the time to look closely. If you don’t linger, you come away with a sense of color (bright), pattern (intense) and creativity (unexpected). But there is so much more! For example, the dragon has a star necklace and in the stem of the flower/tree are windows where little bees peer out while the base features a repeating hiker and hearts.

The image above is what The Phipps put on their postcard. I think it’s called “She Blew Away the Doldrums.”  At the top of this piece is a bridge-like structure. Ms McDill uses a similar construction in “Saving the Salamanders,” including a castle front with 3-D boulders.  In “Too Many Wigs Story Landscape,” there’s a monkey that actually swings from a tree and storyboards with cartoon illustrations.  The Phipps has displayed these pieces on the wall and on pedestals of differing heights in a way that both smaller and taller folk have plenty to see.

I also want to highlight Linda Deg Lee’s paintings which are acrylics on canvas.  She’s doing very organic-looking abstracts that remind me of cells in the body, neural networks and sea organisms.  Her work “Primordia” is a large, vertical piece in blues and greens.  Is it just me or does it remind you, too, of a spinal column?  A tentacle of an octopus?  A highway buzzing with cars?  So many references packed into one canvas.

The hardest part about The Phipps Art Gallery is that each exhibit only lasts a month!  I’ve missed more shows that way.  But it also keeps that space fresh and current and creates more opportunities for artists to show their work.  If you get a chance, before Oct. 24th, head to Hudson, WI and check out the art.  Don’t miss their galleries and stores on the main drag (Second St).  There’s a lot to see in this town.  Even the Hudson Hospital has healing art exhibits.  It’s a fun town to visit and now that it’s fall, the colors are one more reason to go.  Road trip!

—Chris

WARM Art Show a Hit!

The reception for the WARM Mentor Program Exhibition at the Bloomington Theatre & Art Center last Friday night was a lively success. It runs through Friday, Oct. 8th.

First, a caveat or two. I’m in the show, so I’m likely a bit prejudiced. Also, there were two plays running that night, so it’s possible that not everyone in the crowded gallery and lobby was there for the show. Still, spirits were high with artists, guests and visitors connecting in an animated way.

"The Bandaged Place," by Katherine Pohlman

Katherine Pohlman’s mobile is large at 36 x 36 x 36; it’s also quite ethereal, for a work of that size. The space between each heart, dangling from clear nylon line, allows movement and changing perceptions of the viewer. The copper spiral at the top provides balance, beauty and also references an ancient symbol of life. The fact that each heart contains chickenwire at it’s core is a delicious dichotomy that was intentional.

"Runt," by Angela Sprunger

Angela Sprunger created this as a monoprint. As I’ve mentioned in a past blog, the camera I use is a Canon digital. It’s not meant to take photographs of art and definitely not of art in galleries with specialty lighting. I’ve color-corrected to some extent, but you can tell how unsuccessful I was. The walls are a yellow-tone, not pink. When you view this in person, you’ll be able to see what Ms Sprunger’s work really looks like. She also has a colorful intaglio/screenprint with delicate line-work called “Dive In.” Think of the image above as a teaser.

"City Viewer, 2010," by Debora Miller

When you go to the exhibit, don’t miss Debora Miller’s peephole installations. They require a willingness to risk the unknown just to view the two works, because you have to lean in and focus on each one. I was happy to see the step stool underneath so that people of all heights could check them out. I managed to miss the image on the left the first time, because it’s around the corner. While the two don’t tell a complete story, they do broach the topic of what is included in an urban landscape. (Another teaser!)

Ms Miller is generous with her images on her website. She’s also willing to show some vulnerability by documenting and sharing her experiments as well as her completed works. Her series titles are almost as arresting as the works themselves: “Untitled Cleavage/Symmetry,” “Interrupted Sky,” and “Accretion.” Check them out!

"Untitled I," "II" and "III," by Susan Carlson

This is so frustrating! I can’t begin to show you these three pieces properly. I could color-correct until the cows come home (can you tell I originally hail from Iowa?) yet I won’t be any closer to presenting this accurately. Susan Carlson works with fabulous Japanese tissue paper, folding, inking and manipulating until the multi-layered works find the right mixture of design, color and texture. Each of these pieces has tiny beads (those definitely don’t show up here) that glisten as you move to get closer.

Center: "Imperfeccion perfecta #2," by Maria Elisa Lux

Maria Elisa Lux must be a teacher at heart. (Click on her name and you’ll go to her MNArtists.org gallery.) This is one of three sets of framed pieces she’s exhibiting in the show. In this group, she gives us two beautiful pen and color pencil sketches to show how she works to arrive at her designs. The top sketch shows three hearts in differing color combinations, not obviously connected to this mosaic. The bottom shows the shapes she does finally choose.

Ms Lux is willing to share her process with us. On the sketches she shows notes, swatches of color and a few of the many choices she explores. By including the sketch at the top, she hints at a deeper meaning to the three repeating shapes. The red part of the mosaic is actually glass standing on end. Maybe the deep red is referencing the vitality of a real heart, a mass of corpuscles pulsing within its constraints? As ever, it’s just a guess.

By showing the art of the protegees who are exhibiting in this show, I’m hoping to wet your appetite enough to lure you to the Bloomington Art Center, so you can it see for yourself. What I haven’t shown is any of the mentor’s art. Hee hee! There are 12 more artists not included in these posts and several of them have multiple pieces on display. One includes a ladder. Another has an ape, a turtle and a tree. Yet another has lovely, large blocks you’re actually encouraged to move! So much more waiting for you. Come see!

Until next time… —Chris

Protegees in the News

Hello again!

The reception for WARM’s The Art of Mentoring exhibition is fast approaching. Tomorrow, Sept. 17th, from 6 to 9 pm at the Bloomington Theatre & Art Center, you’ll be able to see the work of 19 protegees just finishing the 2009 to 2010 mentor program and that of their 12 mentors.

The range of styles is wide. There is fine metal work and collage (see below), pottery, installations, paintings, fabric, rice paper and beads, oil, acrylic and chickenwire (in a mobile), to name a few of the materials and formats. At times, there is a hint of influence from mentor to protegee (and sometimes the other way around), but for the most part, the work reflects each individual woman’s internal dialogue with her medium.

"Present Perfect Continuous," by Ann Viveros

Ann Viveros understands color and has been creatively combining it with mandalas in many of her paintings over the past year.  She also works on a large scale.  This piece takes up most of a wall at four feet by four feet.

"Final Exit," by Amy Tillotson

Amy Tillotson (MN Artists.org link) uses acrylics and collage very effectively in work that reflects bits of the world around us.  Like many types of art, the fragments hint at larger issues and can be interpreted in many ways.  With my background in commercial art and crafts, I would review a gallery of her work differently than someone with a master’s degree in fine arts and they would see things that a newspaper reporter might not.  Again, like all art, it’s subjective.  The best we can do is to interview the artist, when possible, and find out her intentions.  Even then, she might have been influenced by her subconscious and not know “why.”

"Polymer Clay House No. 49" and "Marketing My Art"

Here’s my work in the gallery.  It looks so much better there on a classic pedestal and shelving unit, with official labels, than on the couch at home.  Pretty swanky!

The second piece, “Marketing My Art,” includes portions of three printouts that show the websites I’m currently using.  This was a huge part of my learning curve with my mentor as I want to eventually create a market for my pieces, so I thought I should represent the online work I’ve done.  The Bloomington Art Center was kind enough to put a part of my artist’s statement on the pedestal to help explain this piece.

"The First Threshold," by Ellen Starr

Isn’t this gorgeous?  It’s by seriously intense Ellen Starr.  She’s always looking for new ways to interpret traditional spiritual themes.  It might help some of you to know that she loves steampunk.  (Click on the link for the Wikipedia reference to the term.)  Steampunk blends the Victorian love of elaborate detail with mechanical and technical references.  Ms Starr also covets gadgets (her tool shop is incredible) and intricate symbolism.  You’ll be able to see inside these doors at the exhibit for a peek at a small, delicate painting.

This is another glimpse of what you’ll see tomorrow night at the reception to the WARM Mentor Program exhibition.  Oh!  There’s also going to be food.  Come on.  That fact should overcome any lingering doubts about whether or not to attend.  Great art, many first-time artists showing their work in public and *free food!*

Life is good.  — Chris

LoLa Art Crawl

Welcome back!

Is it ever too hot for art? I wondered that a bit on Saturday as I checked out a few of the 46 locations listed in the League of Longfellow Artists Art Crawl (LoLa) in Minneapolis. I managed to visit 10 different locales featuring at least 29 artists. Honestly, if the last three weren’t so incredible, I would haven given in and gone home long before; it was over 90 degrees. As it was, I feel lucky to have seen such fantastic work… practically next door!

This is the second year for the LoLa art crawl. I read about it in our local newspaper and saw that it featured a fellow WARM artist so I determined not to miss it this time around.

The LoLa folks did an outstanding job of advertising this crawl. Bright yellow yard signs and huge postcards with an easy-to-follow map of all the sites and thoughtful listings of artists and addresses on the back. And, if you click on their link above, you’ll see images of most, if not all, of the artists that participated. Kudos to everyone involved in putting this together. It’s a very professional package.

I started the day by visiting Fireroast Mountain Cafe to see Kat Corrigan’s latest paintings and also her FRANKENSWEATERs, which are great fun (named for the Mary Shelley monster, not the politician). Ms Corrigan had lots of paintings I hadn’t seen before, which shouldn’t surprise anyone who knows her. I continue to be impressed by her output and high standards. (In one of these posts I’m going to have to address “artist envy” because I’m feeling it a lot these days.)

Also at Fireroast Mountain was Christy Binoniemi, a needle-felting artist of great skill and delicacy. She was selling a sweater with a bird felted into it (I wanted it), sweet, small woolen animals (3 to 4 in.) and many “flat” images. (“Flat” being a relative term, when someone works primarily in fiber.) I have several friends I could buy gifts for here.  Her business card shows a beautiful little black and white chickadee (?) against a blue-green sky.

In the course of my wanderings, I also stumbled onto Katherine Clayton’s studio and art. She’s an illustrator, textile designer and crafts-person all rolled into one. In fact, I assumed three artists were showing at that location because her interests are so varied. She makes copper-looking art deco tiles and switch-plate covers, paintings, illustrations, gorgeous, long-lasting floor coverings and also sculpture, including an inventive piece featuring fiber over a treadle sewing machine.

Al Wadzinski’s garage studio is just beyond Ms Clayton’s and is filled with sculptures and parts in process.  It’s so cool!  The link is to a 2008 Midwest Home Magazine article about him, while the NY Studio Gallery website shows nine of his works.  “Cortez” or “Laura’s Lion” would be my choice to have in the house and look at over and over, but “Chicken Little,” “Gargantua” and “Rat Mask” are initially more striking.  He’s also got a lovely bird-like piece in Robyne Robinson’s home with the unimaginative, but accurate title: “Found Sculpture.” (If you go to this link and then click under the heading “Art on the Wall,” you’ll see more of Ms Robinson’s extensive collection.)

Despite the heat, I saw three more really amazing artists that day and I was appalled when I realized I came THAT CLOSE to not seeing them!  Horrors.  I’ll post about them the next time.  I know you all need a break and I’m due for some lemonade myself.

Take care! —Chris

Art of Mentoring

Welcome back!

Being mentored is a weird and wonderful experience. The wonderful part is having someone focus completely on you and your work. That’s also the weird part. I’ve gotten pretty good at distracting people who try and get too close to me. It’s almost second nature now to maneuver them to talk about themselves, so to allow someone to probe a bit and to gather more information, well, it’s an unsettling, uncomfortable experience.

I recommend it though. It’s been 20 months. Who guessed a person could change and grow so much in such a short period of time, especially an adult?

Obviously The Women’s Art Registry of MN (WARM) knew the power of this arrangement and has been promoting it every two years with a new cycle of mentor/protegee teams. And now they are celebrating not only the end of this particular cycle, but also the program itself in its upcoming exhibit: The Art of Mentoring.  The show opens September 3rd and runs through October 8th at the Bloomington Theatre & Art Center on West Old Shakopee Road.

"Essentials," by Judy Fawcett

“Essentials” is the work Judy Fawcett is entering into the upcoming exhibit. I met Ms Fawcett at one of the first WARM events I attended, a retrospective of Mimi Holmes’ work. Ms Fawcett is gentle, not aggressive, and cheerful, not moody, yet her works belie her quiet demeanor and are rife with symbolism while her skill with light is positively scary. Check out her MN Artists.org website to see “Near My Window” for mystic imagery, “Spring Fling” for suffused light and “Under Construction” for a bold combination of both. (For those of you who appreciate the difficulties of painting glass, check out “Harvest Hues 2.” That Ball canning jar is simply wonderful.)

"trauma of duality," by Roxanne Richards

Ms Richards works primarily in dry pastel, creating a unique, painterly style through her use of Isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol. In this piece, the title refers to her experiences of growth during the mentor/protegee program and how it sometimes pushed her into two conflicting viewpoints.

Of Ms Richards’ pieces on the MN Artists.org website, “into life” is my favorite. It has all the rich color and depth I’ve come to expect from her works, which to my mind make them highly collectible. I see it as a creation piece: the center of a pumping heart or the beginning of the universe.  I further imagine that the swirls on the right speak to the creativity of human endeavors.  (As the viewer, I will always bring my expectations and experience to every artwork I encounter.)

I was surprised to see no caps in either of the above titles.  It’s a little thing (like an e.e. cummings’ poem is a “little” thing), but it does make me view the works more closely and look for a link of commonality. Lowercase removes specificity. Ms Richards told me “that one of the most important things I learned in the mentor program was from Loretta [Bebeau, another mentor]. She had made the comment that ‘the more personal a piece is, the more universal a piece is.’ “  By sharing this discovery with me, Ms Richards exemplified two dynamic aspects of the mentor program: she accepted learning opportunities from other WARM members and she forwarded to others what she found valuable.

Like Ms Fawcett and Ms Richards, I’m at the end of my mentor/protegee program and like them, I’m unsure what lies ahead.  What I do know is that I have a wealth of resources at my fingertips that I didn’t have before I joined WARM and more connections in the art world than I could possibly have hoped.  It’s a good beginning.

See you at the exhibit!  —Chris

Powderhorn Art Fair

Hi everyone!

Currently the back deck thermometer registers 88 degrees, in the shade.  For those folks who didn’t already notice, it’s hot outside!

If you’re like me, you nip out in the summer for a quick walk to the creek or a nearby business, but use public or private transportation (air conditioning!) for everything else.  But what about those brave, amazing souls who work outside in this weather?  Our police and fire personnel, utility, solid waste, street maintenance crews and postal carriers brave the wet and cold every winter as well as the heat (and wet) each summer.  Thank you, stalwart service providers!  Our communities would be sorely challenged without you.

I was at the Powderhorn Art Fair in Minneapolis on Saturday where I saw lots of art and a great deal of natural beauty. It was also where I witnessed the quiet strength of another group of workers who brave the weather each summer: the fair artists.  Despite the rain of the morning and the heat to come, these people had set up their shops and were generously answering the questions of all who entered.  How could they be so cool when it was so hot, so willing to sit for hours without a break and still so patient with the crowds?

Rita Beyer Corrigan is one of the calm, friendly artists the heat didn’t seem to affect.  Rita creates rich, colorful pastels of both local and European settings.  She’s also the mother of Kat Corrigan, of “30 Dogs In Thirty Days” fame.  Kat has a strong online presence that features both her appealing acrylic paintings as well as her conversational style of writing.  If you’re interested in learning more about the process of trying to paint while dealing with the daily challenges of family life, you’ll enjoy her blog.  (Like me, she’s an English major.  Unlike me, she manages to keep up with her posts and her artwork without all the excuses.  Oh well!)

This is Brenna Busse!  She’s a mentor to two of my art buddies through the Women’s Art Registry of MN Mentor/Protegee program.  She’s very gifted and thoughtful.  You’ll find her art under “mixed media” at the Grand Hand Gallery (east end of Grand Avenue, in St Paul).

These are pieces from her new collection called “Sacred Circles.”  They make me think of St Francis of Assisi.  So tender!

Brenna’s website lists upcoming shows in Milwaukee, Chicago, Rockford and Peoria, IL.  She’ll be outside for a number of them.  I honestly don’t know how any artist does it.  It could be rainy, windy or cold.  Yikes!

Here’s another shot of the Powderhorn Art Fair, from the other side of the lake.  I wanted you to see how the trees shade the paths and help provide such a fantastic setting for this event.  If you haven’t gone to this fair in the past, I highly encourage you to check it out next year.  It’ll probably be the first weekend in August again, so you can mark it on your calendar now.

Also coming up is another yearly event, also outdoors and under the trees: the MN Renaissance Festival!  I go for three reasons: I need the laughs, I crave the food and I get to see Delayne of Mayfaire.  Heads up folks, it’s coming right up!

Hope you’re where it’s cool and comfortable and enjoying a frosty beverage.  I am.  –Chris

St Croix Art

Hi everyone!

I was in Hudson, WI and Stillwater, MN on Saturday, enjoying two very different forms of art on a rainy, drizzly day.

St Croix River on a Sunny Day

Susan Armington is the curator of the just ended exhibit “Shedding Light” at The Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson. (I know, I know. Why didn’t I go to the opening in May so that I could have clued you in? Timing’s everything.) Ms Armington is also a WARM member and mentor so she offered to host our monthly WARM Coffee and talk about the exhibit.

Even though I’ve always thought of myself as an artist, I often don’t understand art. Does that make any sense? I need to have some context, especially for abstract art, and finding out what the artist intended or what their life was like helps me appreciate what I see. That’s why I love books and movies about all types of artists. They have such different experiences and responses to the world.

So the opportunity, once a month, to hear an artist speak about her work is a hugely compelling reason to get me out of my chair and into lots of galleries, both big and small, traditional, corporate, coffeehouse, whatever.

Ms Armington wanted to pull together artists who approached art from a scientific lens. Or science with an artistic edge. There’s an intelligent, thoughtful essay about the exhibit called “Edge of Reason” written by Christina Schmid, one of three managing editors at Quodlibetica, a visual and literary tour de force online magazine about the arts. She better explores the juxtaposition of art and science in this exhibit and, as a bonus, has great images of many of the artworks.

If you have the time and energy, watch the YouTube video “Shedding Light” of the installation and grand opening of the exhibit. It’s really the only way to get a sense of Jantje Visscher’s work, as her clear plastic mylar strips don’t translate well to 2D photographs.

I was disappointed the video didn’t follow the tape timeline Ms Armington had created that connected all of the galleries, starting at the Atrium and continuing along the floors and walls of galleries One, Two and Three, ending with a graphic representation of an oil rig, also created out of black tape. The timeline began with representations of protozoa, then a number of colorful, other-worldly paintings of plankton. If you have any doubts about how beautiful plankton can be, you can take a peek at The Census of Marine Zooplankton website. Some are simply stunning.

After the Phipps, I went to Stillwater to Big Pink, home of an ardent community theatre activist, Jon Skaalen, and longtime friend. (We’ve known each other 25 years now!) Mr Skaalen was once again hosting an afternoon of entertainment, this time to raise funds for the upcoming MACT FAST Fest, a short play festival, held in Alexandria, MN on June 19. I’ve been to his home for a piano recital from an exciting young artist from the country of Georgia (near Turkey) and for an outdoor play on the hillside. He’s the quintessential host, affable, intelligent, generous. He always provides an impressive spread of food and beverages and, more importantly, a wide variety of fascinating performers.

I enjoyed the performances by the actors, especially the original short play “Ring Dem Bells,” with the surprise ending and “Tea Party,” that seemed to skewer a popular politician (M. Babababa = M. Bachman?) in an Oprah-inspired interview. Many guests discovered the masseuse who volunteered for the event and whose tips helped swell the donation coffers.

I must say, if you ever get an invitation from Mr Skaalen for any party at Big Pink, you should go! You’ll have a lovely time, get to experience a real Prairie Style home and meet amazing people who live and breathe their art. If you love community theatre, become involved in MACT. It’s a great way to network and to find the auditions you’ve been secretly craving.

Until next time! –Chris

Art in The Twin Cities 2

Welcome back!

Last Saturday, May 15th, I attended Art-A-Whirl. Hopefully most of you know what that is, but some may not. For those of you who do, feel free to scoot further down the page.

Art-A-Whirl is presented by the NE Minneapolis Arts Association (NEMAA) and is billed on their website as “the largest open studio and gallery tour in the United States.” Like the St Paul Art Crawl, they too have a fall event, only the name is different: The Fall Fine Arts Show.

The AAW event is located in 11 landmark studio buildings, 10 art galleries, 14 smaller stand alone buildings and 28 associated venues. Most of the buildings have multiple studios; the Northrup King Bldg has over 190 artists. Even the relatively small Q.arma Building has 18 arts-related studios and the Keg House has 10.

As usual, I had to make some tough choices right away; I knew I wouldn’t see everything. That’s the hardest part of these events, but it’s made easier by knowing that I’ll choose different buildings next time. Alternating keeps everything fresh!

I started off in the small Keg House because I wanted to see my mentor’s art. Layl McDill, of ClaySquared, has transformed her gallery space into a workshop studio. When I visited she had an impromptu class of clay makers, mostly children, hard at work. The other half of ClaySquared, run by husband Josh Blanc, had a full gallery of tiles on display as well as samples in process which I could examine.

In the same bldg I also visited the Brain Injury Association of MN’s gallery of art. There was a live demo’ by an artist who was working despite a debilitating stroke and, on the wall, a number of fine arts pieces that I wanted to take home, including Brian Foster’s “art to stand on.”

Although there was more to see, I walked to the Grain Belt Building to view the Polymer Clay Guild’s exhibit. I need to join this organization! They have monthly meetings I’m interested in; definitely on my to-do list.

From there I met Kat Corrigan, a former WARM protegee, and fun artist. She paints soulful dogs (blue!), the most delicious trees and intense skies (more blue!) and she’s a member of L7, a group that was kind enough to strongly urge us, the newest protegees, to form small groups to support and inspire each other throughout (and after) the mentorship program. I hold a special spot in my heart for these seven artists because I daily benefit from the group that resulted.

I left Kat to see Deb Splain’s work across the atrium. I’m not sure if she knows of the envy she generated with her piece “Mending Souls” at our first protegee meeting last fall. She has texture that defies description (I won’t try) and a seemingly endless ability to put deep symbolism into her paintings. And she’s just getting started!

To me that touches on one of several gifts I’ve gotten from the Women’s Art Registry of MN’s mentor program: 1) I’ve met and got to interact with successful, working artists that treated me like an equal, 2) I’ve met 20 artists at the beginning of their careers, got to watch them develop and then leap far away from my expectations and 3) I received access to visual arts that I only dreamed about before joining. There’s always been an active arts’ scene here in the metro’ area; I just needed to have it pointed out.

Next time: The third and final installment of Art in The Twin Cities. Thanks for visiting! –Chris