Day trip to Hudson!

My friend, Julie, was here in Minnesota about two weeks ago for a visit...a visit that included lots of great conversation, good food, and artsy fun! We kicked things off by taking in the opening reception for the Textile Center's Figuratively Fiber show. Julie had a piece in the show--that beautiful, vibrant piece you see through the window. The show is up until April 16th, so if you're local you might want to check it out. (You can even see Julie's piece from the street as you drive by on University Avenue). Here's a detail pic of Julie's piece.

The piece is titled For Pele: Playing with Fire. She wrote about it here. I may be a bit biased, but this is my favorite piece in the show. Really, it's one of my favorite pieces of Julie's--I love all that vibrant color!

We also made a quick trip to the town of Hudson, Wisconsin. I love this town. Not too small, not too big...and it has a very vibrant art scene. Our first stop was at the Phipps Art Center. Currently (thru April 3rd) their galleries feature the work of six different artists. I fell in love with these mixed media pieces created by artist Daphnae Koop. They were created using repurposed wood and glass. Incredible.

And then there were these whimsical pieces by Susan Feigenbaum. Pictured below is both sides of this fun piece.

 
We wrapped up our trip to Seasons on St. Croix Gallery in downtown Hudson. This place is a goldmine--filled with light that shows off all the fantastic artwork. It's a nice mix of gallery and retail space. I like that they generally have a little show on one side (either featuring an artist or a themed-show; currently the show features artwork with a "food" theme). They also feature works in several mediums--painting, fiber, glass, ceramics. They even have glass and ceramic studios on site--sometimes you can see artists at work!

Small paintings

Some days I just feel like painting small pieces. I worry sometimes that it's a waste of time, but I enjoy doing them. They may start out as studies for larger pieces, but more often than not, they are paintings all on their own. Working on them is a form of meditation. I can hold the piece in my hand, think about things like color and composition, and just forget the rest of the world.

I am thinking of opening our new space for April's Lowertown First Friday and featuring my collection of small paintings. This event is scheduled for Friday, April 1st: 6-9 pm. 

Waiting...

I'm moving about as slow as this turtle these days. It's quite gray outside and we are still talking snowpack and windchills here. 

But I think the real reason for my malaise is a bad case of "post-grant-itis". Yes, I did get my very first artist grant submitted! It was a relatively easy grant proposal (in comparison to others that I've heard about!). Still it required my dedicated attention for several days. It was all completed via an online submission process (quite easy actually). When I finally hit the "submit" button late Tuesday night, the sense of relieve I anticipated was more like an "OMG! What now?"

The truth is, I can do nothing but wait.  Wait for some news on whether or not I make it to the finalist round for the grant (It will be a 4-6 week wait. I submitted it with NO expectations, but keeping my fingers crossed anyways.)

And wait for spring. She's slow in coming this year. We've made it to the #7 snowiest winter of all time (for our area). Whoopee. I'm not looking for any records to be broken. I'm already anticipating flooding (again). We actually need spring to come rather slowly, but I think everyone is getting a little antsy.

And best of all, my shortest wait is for my dear friend, Julie to come for a visit this weekend! She has one of her pieces in the Textile Center's Figuratively Fiber show opening this Friday! 

So for all of you waiting for spring as I am, I'll share pics from a visit I took a few weeks ago to the Como Conservatory. It was wonderfully warm and moist (I could feel my hair curl up and frizz). And luciously green. Plus there was a little surprise at the end.

Are you ready for the surprise? As I rounded the last corner, heading to the exit door, I looked up and saw this: 

He didn't move a bit!

Temporality: Opening Reception

B3 in front of T's encaustic piece

I had a great time Friday evening at the opening reception for the Temporality exhibit. The best part was celebrating the evening with my fellow protegees: here we are above trying to compose ourselves for a group shot!

 

The exhibit space (at the Grain Belt Bottling House which is now home to artist studios) is huge! There was art up on the second floor as well!

 

 

And after the reception, hubby and I were off to a screening of MCAD student senior film's projects. My hubby had the most screen time--appearing in three (or was it four?) films. More great fun seeing my hubby on the big screen. 

Definitely a night we both got to enjoy  "living the dream" for a bit.

 

 

Temporality

Time is On Her Side / Debra Roisnestad

I'll be taking a bit of a break from grant writing this evening to attend the opening reception for the WARM member show. This is a great opportunity to enjoy the work of 65 talented Minnesota women artists. Here are the details:

Temporality Opening Reception

Friday, March 4th

5 - 8 p.m.

Grain Belt Bottling House

79 13th Ave NE

Mpls, MN

I will be at the reception on the early side of things, because then I'll be off to join my husband in a preview of one of the film projects he appeared in! 

If you are unable to take in the show tonight, you can still catch throughout the month of March. The show will be up till March 31st. The exhibit can be viewed during building hours: Monday-Friday, 8-6 p.m.

  

My piece that will be in the show

Psst...

Hey there...I want to paint, in the worse way. The sun is streaming in the studio, just calling me to paint. I also want to blog...I have lots of pics and things to share...

But it all must wait a bit. If I painted or blogged right now, it would really be more of a diversionary tactic from the project I really need to accomplish. In less than a week, I need to submit my first ever individual artist grant. I set this as a goal about a month ago and I'm not letting myself off the hook! 

The application isn't too complicated...I just need to sit down and write! But geez, you've all been there--isn't it amazing how many other things you can find to do when you have a deadline looming in front of you!

But enough procrastinating! I'm sitting down to start writing this very minute! And until I'm done, you won't see anything more from me! 

Au revoir!