Happy belated New Year, though we’re only 61 days in, so I’m not THAT late ; )
After a rough end to 2018, I am happy to report that 2019 is off to a promising start. I’ve got some artwork in exhibits in Chicago (coming soon) and Evanston (an extended stay), a lot of work in progress, and as of later this month I will be starting a new job!
I will be working full-time as an art instructor for the residents of Misericordia! I was not looking but when I saw the posting for this job online I knew I had to pursue it wholeheartedly. My art and work life has always been cyclical, and for most of my professional life I have had a separate full-time or part-time job while maintaining my art practice in my studio. The last few years I worked in my studio full-time and taught at the Oak Park Art League, but after last year I felt big changes on the horizon, and here they are! I am so excited and honored to teach at Misericordia and eagerly look forward to getting started later this month!
Meanwhile, I’ve got a couple of artwork happenings around the area in March. First, my show, Lore, at Gather, has been extended through the end of the month. If you find yourself downtown Evanston stop by 602 Davis Street to check it out. It is mostly the same work I had in my show at the Oak Park Public Library last April, but with a couple of pieces I finished later in the year.
The second happening is for the launch party for an exciting new business a couple of my friends have started, called Curated Home + Office, in which they match businesses and individuals with regional and local art. Their launch party will be next Sunday at Relic Furniture Gallery in Chicago, from 3-5:00 pm. I will have a piece at the launch exhibition, among pieces by a dozen or so other artists.
I’ve also got quite a bit of work in progress; a huge painting (48″ x 36″) I started back in 2017 (here it is in every iteration since day one), and then four little paintings (8″ x 8″) in the begining of a series of ancestry-inspired work. I started them last January when I was visiting my parents in PA for a couple of weeks.
I’m calling this one, “Forget Me Not.” It is acrylic, collage, image transfer, and oil pastel on canvas.
Here are bits and pieces of the small family history pieces so far:
Lastly, though I’ve stopped teaching regular classes at the Oak Park Art League, I hope to offer workshops and private classes in mixed media and watercolor once I get settled in at Misericordia. THANK YOU to people who have taken my classes at OPAL over the years, and to those who supported the program there. I miss you already and hope to see you soon. XO
Pop-Up Exhibit with The Groundwater Collective
I am part of a group exhibition coming up this weekend at the Carriage House Gallery in Oak Park! We are taking over the gallery for one weekend only, this Saturday and Sunday, October 12 & 13, for a pop-up show! We will be there hosting an open house for both...
Alaska! And upcoming classes
Summer started early with a visit with my mom in the Philadelphia area for the first ten days of June, then the last two weeks of June we traveled to visit my brother and family in Anchorage, Alaska! It was such a special trip, starting with the unbelievable luck we...
Spring Classes and the 100 Day Project So Far
Yesterday was the second Mixed Media Accordion Sketchbook Workshop at the Oak Park Art League, and it was just as fun as the first one! Thanks to all who participated and helped them both sell out!! I will definitely be scheduling more workshops along these lines in...
Sketchbook Workshops and the 100 Day Project
Two fun things going on at the moment - First, I am teaching two Mixed Media Accordion Sketchbook Workshops at the Oak Park Art League, one this coming Sunday, February 25, from 10:00-2:00, and the other a few Sundays later on March 10. The first one sold out and...
December Show & Collaborative Experiment
My work can be found at the Carriage House Gallery in Oak Park for the month of December, and I've got two new pieces in the show! They are mixed media pieces I started as class demos this fall, and liked them enough to keep going and build them into their own little...
Artwork at CrossFunction in Oak Park
Friday morning I was in Oak Park to meet with my critique group, which, as always, was a few hours of nourishment for my soul. I sure do love these three women (Galen, MaryJo and Kelly), and every time we meet I recognize how our artwork is an extended conversation of...
Artwork at CrossFunction in Oak Park
I dropped off eight paintings today at the lovely Art Deco Arcade building at 1033 South Boulevard in Oak Park today, and they will be up in the main lobby for the next couple of months. This location really is beautiful to take in, from the Prairie Style building...
And Just Like That it’s the Middle of July!
Studio day last Friday with my friend Jill Kramer, where she taught me tea towel printing with hand-carved stamps we made (jillakramer.com) I never really intend to create only seasonal posts, but that has definitely been the pattern of my website updates for a few...
Drawing at the Conservatory and Other Springtime Adventures …
A few weeks ago I had the good fortune of being invited to accompany my friend Jill to the Garfield Park Conservatory to draw, and it was a really sweet couple of hours we spent going from greenhouse to greenhouse, taking it all in and sketching all kinds of flora. I...
Season of Reflection & Gratitude
Happy New Year! If you know me you already know the loss endured by my family in 2022, and while that really does define how I will remember the year, it has still been a year worth celebrating. Like every year, there were adventures, successes, failures, gifts, and...