Hot Grads In The City

This Saturday from 5:00pm- 8:00pm the Northern Illinois 2010 Graduate Students are having a group show in Chicago! The event is in a beautiful gallery space located on 230 W. Superior St., Suite 200 in the River North area. For those of you that will be around for Art Chicago we will be just down the street. Stop by and see some great art and have a glass of wine!

Yesterday we started the set up. I was a bit stressed because there was a lot of pressure to bring my house but I have not figured out a travel plan for the house yet so I couldn't do it. But tomorrow we are going back and I plan on doing a wall installation of some sort. I love doing things like that so hopefully it will go smoothly and I won't be a stress case.

A funny thing happened Tuesday. Right after I posted about Monica Canilao I received an email from Cinders Gallery about an opening with Monica coming up. Click on the link to the Cinders Gallery blog to see some installation shots. Looks like it will be a great show.

I had a few questions in regards to the comment by the critquer of my work, about it being too clean. He wasn't being mean in this remark. I think he just wanted to see the house become a little more DIY looking. You know, handmade wallpaper, handmade furniture. I liked the idea and was all for it but only had a week until I installed my show and knew I couldn't pull it off. But it's something nice to think about for the future.

ARGH! THE FUTURE!!

haha. on that note, have a great Thursday!

My friend Cassie's MFA reception is today. If you are in the area come to Gallery 214 to see some beautiful work!

Inspiration

Can I share something? I've always loved working in mixed media but I've always felt like I get a little too safe with my work. I do feel like in the last couple of years I've started to come out of that but I still feel like I make very clean work. I had a critique recently on the house I made for my show and was told that it was "too clean." I instantly knew what this meant because I know how safe I can be with my materials. Sometimes I get too precious with what ever Im working on and am too afraid to ruin it. I push myself and push myself and I think I'm getting better but there is an artist I always look to for inspiration. When I first saw Monica Canilao's work it I knew that in my own work I just wasn't getting it quite right yet, but she totally was. I found her work even after I started using manilla envelopes. It was exciting to see someone else using these found papers and in such a lovely and thoughtful way. I read an article about Monica once and was so inspired by her work ethic. She is always making things and it shows in her work. The amount of labor and love that goes into her pieces is evident.

Now that I'm finished with my show and wondering what's next I find myself turning to Monica Canilao's work for that extra push I need to get my fingers moving and my mind motivated. It just takes a little and I'm ready to get back into the studio!

This image is from an exhibition Monica did with Swoon. See more here.
These next two images are from the Needles and Pens website. This is where I first learned about Monica. I bought a book of her work and carry it around with me everywhere. If you haven't been to the Needles and Pens website check it out and discover even more amazing artists!

I hope this inspired you.

Reception!

Wow! I've had a really crazy and busy and wonderful week. Last Thursday was my reception for my show. Several of my friends and a bunch of my family all came to town and made it a grand occasion. Here are some photos from the reception. This is the last official week of school before finals week. I have a lot of loose ends I have to deal with which is a little stressful but after that I'm no longer a student. I'm not sure how I feel about that yet... So I'll leave you with photos....

This is my cousin in the house. She spent most of the reception sitting at the desk. A lot of people asked if that was purposeful. She was perfect in the home.

My friends stayed all weekend long. We ate too much food, went to see The Giving Tree Band, drove to the train station twice and had the best sushi in town. Yesterday I spent the day having friend/family withdrawals.

Wednesday all the graduating MFA grads are going to Chicago to set up for a group show that will be opening this Saturday. More details on that soon.

In the meantime I'm off to work on my Thesis and preparing for a big Etsy update!

Not Yet A Home

Wow! It's been a wonderful mostly stress-free weekend and my show is now up in the gallery.

Introducing:

Tomorrow I will try to get my artist statement posted to explain a little bit more about my work.

Thursday is the reception! I can't wait!!

Darren Houser's Thesis Show

Yesterday my classmate Darren Houser had his thesis show reception. Darren and I were the only two printmakers that came into the program in 2007. We both got to share the highs and lows of grad school and I have always been grateful for his friendship. Darren's show was beautiful. Here are some photos and check out his website to see more of his work. Click on the photos for a larger view.

Wayne Kimball

Last week I had the absolute pleasure of meeting someone who I think of as a celebrity in the printmaking world. Mr. Wayne Kimball came to our school as a visiting artist! If you are not familiar with his work check out his website and be prepared to be amazed at his beautiful and highly technical litho prints. Mr. Kimball had been trained at Tamarind as a master printer and recently retired from teaching at BYU. He was quite a charming visiting artist to have around. He showed us a demo on litho washes and gave an artist talk that was perfect. He showed off his sense of humor and great skill and talent. Overall I'm very pleased and grateful to have had the opportunity to meet Mr. Kimball and see his work in person and hear him talk about it. Look around on his website and pay attention to the titles of the pieces. The humor can sneak up on you, which is always the best kind of humor to have... the sneaky kind. Photo of the artist via Lizzy House.



Artwork photos via Frogman's website.

It's Coming Along

For the past two days I've been framing my work and surprisingly am almost done.  I can't believe it! I thought that would be the biggest stress. I got super excited today when I started seeing it all come together.  Here is a sneak peak with my camera phone.  There are weird glares on the frame because of the lights.

Here are my fellow classmates giving me the thumbs up!  The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter and brighter!

The Final Countdown

Argh!! I have a million things to do this whole week. This Saturday I put up my show. I think I got a bit of a stomach virus Saturday night that really put me out of commission yesterday. After a day of eating saltines and drinking ginger ale I'm back at it and ready to work. My blog postings will probably slow down this week. We'll see what happens. Meanwhile I want to recommend a really funny blog to you called Third and Delaware. For those of you who love fashion, this blog breaks down all the amazing fashions on the show Roseanne. It's really funny and snarky and a good read for those who are fans of the show. Or those who hate the show. I am a fan of Roseanne. My mom once said she hates the show because she thinks Dan overacts. That kills me! I love Dan!

Okay, I'm dorking out and procrastinating. Please please wish me luck this week!

Emotions

Thank you thank you everyone for the sweet comments on my last post. I have been sort of down lately and it perked me right up. I guess coming to the end of my graduate schooling is scaring me more than I thought. I question myself constantly, Am I good enough? Do I deserve this degree? I second guess everything, I make up mean thoughts from other people, like I think they think I'm not good enough. It's really been an emotional battle. This whole grad school experience has been an emotional battle. I'm terrified! What's next? I constantly fight off insecurity and worry and fear. I tiptoe around others because I'm terrified of doing something wrong, sometimes I feel like I'm doing nothing right. I cheer myself up by thinking what I'm feeling is normal but it's still so scary. All I have ever wanted was to be good and successful with art. I feel like I have constantly fought the odds, fought against others who didn't think I was good enough or would make it. Now that school is almost over time will tell what happens to me. I know I have to keep up that same fighting spirit I have always had, the spirit that makes art that feels right to me and keeps trying and trying to put it out there until it lands on the right eyes. It's all I want so I will keep moving on and trying and trying but I will always be a little bit terrified.

Sorry to get so real and emotional. I've just had this achy monstery sad feeling inside me. I thought this would be the best place to relate this because I'm sure we all get insecure, right?

Now I don't want to be a Friday downer. I'm getting a haircut today and then going to Chicago for one of my professor's art opening tonight. This will cheer me up. Plus, I will be finding out in the next few days if I got into an art thing that is really really important to me. Please keep your fingers doubly crossed.

Thanks for everything. I truly am grateful for you guys that read my blog. I feel like I am part of a really wonderful community.

Happy Weekend.

This is it!

Here are some more updates on my home. I have a critique today with a visiting artists and then I plan on taking this apart and preparing it for travel. That makes me really nervous but it has to be done. My show goes up in a little over a week. I'm terrified. Frightened. Excited. Scared.