Art Crawl-Spring 2009

Life promises to be plenty busy in the next month or so. I apologize in advance for being a bad blogger. But then if you know me, you know 1) that my blogging here has already slacked off and 2) that I do the bulk of my blogging these days at my art blog. Heck, I haven't even written in my baseball blog yet this season.

This weekend I was busy preparing for next weekend's art crawl. Hundreds of artists in St. Paul open up their studio to the public this coming weekend. I've done it a few times now and it is always a wonderful experience. If you have never gone to an art crawl I highly recommend it. You get to meet the artists. There is lots of great art. Free treats. Sometimes wine. Great people watching. Friday night there are generally street performers outside. It's like going to an art museum, but skipping the middle man and going directly to the artist.

There's always lots of last minute preparations. Of course, I always put things off. This weekend, in addition to finishing artwork, I was painting our studio door (with chalkboard paint...cool project), painting the frame of a mirror, and of course organizing...There's still lots to do, so I'll be busy all week.

So if you're looking for something to do this weekend, stop by my studio. I'll be serving up those little meatballs on Friday night (and other treats Saturday and Sunday).

Check out my art blog for more behind the scenes info, as well as a cute video made during the 2007 art crawl.

Art Crawl weekend

I am busy (very busy) with final preparations for the Fall Art Crawl. I'm anxious for the prep work to be done and the crawl to begin. I'm excited about family and friends visiting my studio. I wonder what new visitors will have to say about my artwork. And as a bonus I'm selling (or trying to sell) some the necklaces I've recently made.

Feel free to stop by. If you stop over at my art blog you can click on the links to learn more about the crawl and read my tips for exploring the crawl.

Hope to see you there.

Weekend mix

Another busy weekend--juggling time with kids, time with husband, and even some time for myself. (To see what I've been up to during "me time" check out my art blog--you'll learn more about this painting "Force of Nature". )

Joel's been taking care of his daughter more this past week, because her mother has been out of town. In fact, we spent a few nights apart, so he could take care of Bree at her place (which means he was staying overnight at his ex's house, which is a little strange...but makes more sense in the long run). Friday night Joel came home for several hours so we could go out to dinner and then spend some time together.

Saturday afternoon Joel brought Bree here for the remainder of the weekend (Bree normally stays with us from Saturday afternoon till Monday afternoon). Noel was here to watch Bree on Saturday afternoon, so we went out to catch a movie.

This is the summer of the action-adventure, and more often than not, action-adventure based on a comic book hero. That works for some folks (including my husband). But I was wiped and wanted something slower paced. And preferably a small theater not crammed with people.

We found a great movie at Edina's Landmark Theaters. We saw "The Visitor"...small, independent film that I hadn't heard of, but got great reviews. Well-deserved, I would add. It was just a nice quiet film, that told a story well. Check it out if you get the chance.

Tomorrow--back to work. I wish the weekend didn't go by so fast.

St Paul Art crawl a success!

Despite the uncooperative weather, I had a great weekend having my studio open for the art crawl. I know "the numbers" were down compared to some other years, but I thought traffic flow was respectable. Some of the weekend highlights:

• My friends and family who came by the studio. Thank you for coming!
• Both my kids insisting that I not sell the paintings I created when they were young. I guess they will be their inheritance one day. (No worries--no paintings sold, but I wasn't expecting that)
• One woman who told me she came to my building because she liked the image of my work that was printed in the catalogue. Also the thank you from the woman who appreciated my artist statement. It's nice when you put yourself out there and people notice (favorably).
• All of the wonderful conversations I had with different folks. It was encouraging and energizing.
• The thrill of selling the cards I made (featuring prints of my artwork) and my candle holders. It was nice that they were so well received.
• And last, but not least, the incredible support of my husband--who helped me set up and sat with me all those hours at the crawl. Thank you.

I'm glad I did the crawl and I look forward to participating in the fall crawl--the second weekend in October. Hope to see you there!

Art Crawl prep

My working space at the studio

One of my favorite new works

Very busy week here. I am preparing to open my art studio for the St. Paul Art Crawl this coming weekend. (For more details about the crawl, check this out.) Sunday and Monday I painted the walls of the entryway to the studio. I definitely prefer painting canvases over walls. Painting walls is so much harder on your body and definitely not as good for this soul. Still it was nice to finish that project. Since Joel & I live in an apartment, our daily living space is all white or off-white walls. I hate that. Painting the studio was my opportunity to put some vivid color up on the walls. And since it was the studio, I picked more intense, get-my-creative juices-flowing colors...shades of bluish-purple and fuchsia. I love spending time in my artist-cave (my version of the "man-cave").


Now that the walls are all painted, I can focus on getting the artwork up on the walls and making everything neat and tidy.


You're welcome to stop by and take a look. I'll be taking pics to share later, but I would love to see family and friends walk through the door.

See you then!

Painting away

It's been a little crazy in my life (more on that later), but regardless of everything else that is going on, I am trying to stay true to a few of my own personal goals. Sure, along with everyone else, I made a New Year's resolution to lose weight and get fit, but I also made a different sort of resolution...to be spending more time in my art studio painting and preparing to be open for the Spring Art Crawl.

This past week I've been painting away, trying to get a few pieces ready to submit for the poster competition for the spring art crawl. I think I have a couple of pieces that I will submit for consideration. I am not entering the competition with the expectation that I will win--there are plenty of artists entering this competition (winning or being a finalist would be a bonus). This is more about meeting a personal goal--not only do I want to be producing more art, I want to actually exhibit my work and not just have it sitting in a closet.

There seems to be a ton of books out there right now focused on lists of things you should do before you die, places to see...there is even the new movie Bucket List with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson where the two of them go out and do the things they want to do before they die. Well, not to be morbid, but working more on my art, exhibiting my art, and just taking myself more seriously as an artist is one of the most important things I want to do in my life before I die. I have never expected to make a living making art, but I wouldn't mind selling a few pieces and I sure as hell would love to see my work exhibited. I am not getting any younger, but I'm hoping I still have a lot of life in me to get this done.

I'm on my way.

Georgia O'Keefe exhibit

Joel met me after work tonight and we headed to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts to see the special Georgia O'Keefe exhibit. Two of my favorites in combo: The Institute of Arts and O'Keefe.

It was a small, but incredible exhibit. It was amazing to see so many (about 42) Georgia O'Keefe paintings at one time. I love looking at her work: her use of colors and shapes. This particular exhibit zeroes in on O'Keefe's focus on abstraction and in particular, the circular form. This included some of her flower paintings (such as the one in above) and pelvic bones pieces. In some respects, I don't care what her subject matter was, I marvel at her use of color and tone. But I stood in awe before paintings that I've seen pictured in book after book. On one hand, I was amazed that most were smaller in size than I imagined. I think her work is so huge to me, that I always imagine her work to be gigantic in size. Many are quite small actually. And on the other hand, I was struck by how powerful (and beautiful) her work still is. Pieces I've always admired were more striking in person than I could even imagine.

Needless to say, I enjoyed the exhibit and will be back before it's gone. It's there until January 6th...so get there if you can.

I also seized the opportunity to become an MIA member (something I've always wanted to do). It seemed like the perfect time, since the membership came with tickets to the O'Keefe exhibit, plus an O'Keefe exhibit poster and MIA canvas bag.


On a side note, we made it home in time to catch James Taylor sing the National Anthem before tonight's World Series game (in Boston, Taylor's home town). Now I am quite biased, but I thought he did an exceptional job. He made the song his own, instead of trying to do it like every other person has done it. He kept it within his range and made it sort of folksy (which James Taylor does ever so well). Hey, if I could set up a link to his rendition, I would, but you'll just have to take my word for it. It was great.

(I am having trouble with the formatting of this post...try as I might, it's running as one long paragraph...I will try to fix it again tomorrow).

Art Crawl weekend

Amanda Gullixson, Carleton Lofts

Alexandra Rozenman, Lowertown Lofts

Caprice Glaser, Jax Bldg

Barbara Evan, Jax Bldg

It's a busy weekend in our neighborhood. Twice a year, in October and April, art studios in St. Paul's Lowertown neighborhood open their doors to art fanciers and curious urbanites. This corner of St. Paul becomes one big art gallery. It's an interesting look into the world of the artist. It's an opportunity to see an artist's work in the studio where the work is created. Some studio spaces are living spaces as well.

It's also a cheap date night. Joel took me on my "first" art crawl in the Spring of 2006. At first, it was very uncomfortable for me traipsing into people's work spaces and worse, their living rooms. I felt like an intruder and wanted to make my way in and out without conversation. Well, that's not really possible alongside Joel. Joel had already lived in this neighborhood for several years and actually knew several artists that had their studios open. By the end of that first evening, I became more comfortable and was able to speak with various artists about their work.

It is, in part, the artist community in Lowertown that made me want to live here. If you asked me what was the first thing I ever wanted to be, I would answer "painter". That desire was born when I was young girl--probably around 8 years old. I remember looking at a poster that my oldest brother brought home from college of a Renoir painting and thinking that I wanted to be able to do that. I already loved spending hours "coloring", drawing, and painting with those cheap watercolor sets.

I was raised in small towns and there were no art museums. Fortunately, art classes were offered even in the early elementary grades. In high school, I forfeited "study hall" in order to take an extra hour of art classes. Initially, when I got to college I majored in journalism (writing was another passion and journalism seemed a more reasonable way to make a living), but before long my desire to create art took over. When I realized I could take art classes to satisfy elective requirements I was hooked. And soon my major changed.

I have never "made a living" as an artist (or as a journalist either, for that matter). In fact, there have been many years when I really wasn't making art at all. But I always found ways to "be creative"--whether that meant painting, making cards or some sort of crafts, or whatever I could do while raising two children on my own. And my kids will tell you, I dragged them to every art museum I could (it payed off, both my kids will go to the Art Institute or other museums with or without me).

So, now that my kids are "grown", it's time to return to some real art-making. Once Joel and I decided to settle in Lowertown, we started looking for a small art studio...a place where he can write and I can paint. Last January we found a wonderful space in the Jax building...which just happened to be my favorite building to visit during the art crawl. The building houses a rich community of artists.

I've started to do a little bit of painting and my goal this winter is to finish some new paintings for the first time in years. Last spring Joel and I opened our studio--Joel exhibited some work of local comic artists and I had some older paintings up. It was an interesting experience. This fall we decided to pass on opening. I didn't feel ready. I want to do it right...when I have new work to exhibit. So this fall, we're experiencing the art crawl again as observers...but next spring (mark your calendar: April 25,26,&27) I plan to be ready. And then the artwork you'll see posted on this blog will me my own.

(For art crawl information, click here.)