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
“Lore” at the Oak Park Public Library
I have a show now up at the Oak Park Public Library! It is called "Lore," inspired by the Norse/Scottish/German folklore of my heritage. It is up until April 27, and there is a public reception on Sunday, April 15, from 3:00-5:00 pm. All are welcome! There will be...
Happy Holidays!
Wrapping up 2017, I've got a bunch of paintings at Gather in Evanston. I've combined several from my most recent series with some of the alphabet paintings from 2014. They live together nicely as both series have a colorful, story-like thing happening, so it's like...
We Are Enough/Solidarity and Survivorship
The October juried exhibition, We Are Enough, was combined with another curated show titled Solidarity and Survivorship at the Oak Park Art League, and I had pieces in both. Both are moving testaments to life and acceptance and harsh realities and celebration, and I...
Shows!
A lot is going on all of a sudden, as seems to happen every year around this time through the month of October. It's exciting, though, working on so many things at once! First, I am thrilled that this piece, "Story," has been awarded an Honorable Mention by judge Ames...
It’s July! Where has time gone?!
Well, I know where the past two weeks have gone, anyway. I have been immersed in two consecutive art camps with a few dozen 5-8 year olds making undersea worlds and a city neighborhood, among other things. Watching kids make art is a delightful way to spend a few...
“Spontaneous” at Gather
I have a show going on until mid-January at the wonderful gallery/community kid art space, Gather, in Evanston, Illinois. It is a show of work I would call spontaneous, in that it is based on the idea of a painting-a-day, and so I spent most of October making...
“By the Sea” Art Camp
I had the honor of spending last week with fourteen 5-8 year olds, exploring life By the Sea, a camp idea inspired by my residency in Shetland earlier this year. This isn't the first art camp I've taught but it's been several years since the last one, so I was a...
Exhibition From My Residency in Shetland: June 24 – July 26
I am busy finishing artwork and framing it to get ready to install this exhibit in a few weeks at West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park. I will have about thirty pieces total, half of which I completed in Shetland and half I completed over the last couple of...
Acrylic and Mixed Media at the Lighthouse
I have three pieces in the Places & Spaces show at the Oak Park Art League, which runs until June 4. They are all from my residency and all three are mixed media pieces on birch board: I finished these three pieces toward the end of my residency, I guess I...
Watercolors: Part 2
Moving on to individual watercolor paintings, most of which took longer than 30 minutes to complete, and some of which I might frame ... As I have mentioned previously, I had the good fortune to meet Shetland artist Peter Davis and see his watercolors up close and...