Patricia Dunn-Walker - Mixed Media

Kiosk, 30”x30”, mixed media

Patricia Dunn-Walker

Name: Patricia Dunn-Walker

City/State: Rochester, Minnesota
Website: www.patriciadunnwalker.com
MNartist.org profile:Walker, Patricia Dunn
Facebook page: Patricia Dunn-Walker

Tell me about your work? What are you currently working on? How is this different from past projects?

Before making this body of abstract work, I painted a series of female heroes which were part of the WARM exhibit series in St. Paul and at the Rochester Civic Theatre. I also paint many traditional subjects, landscapes, still-life, and portraits.

Right now I am working on a body of non representational work. My most recent paintings are about textures and colors of printed recycled material including labels, magazine ads basically anything with ink. I’ve also created  a group of small informal paper/resin pieces.  Any printed material that comes in the house could potentially wind up on my canvas. Sometimes I just enjoy print and texture so much that I don’t want to bother with representational subject matter.

Birchway, 30”x30”, Acrylic

How did you decide to become an artist?

As with a lot of people, it started when I was a kid. I liked to draw, paint and make things such as cards, books, and dioramas for school history projects. Making art helps me organize my world. When it came time to choose a career I decided to go to school to become a graphic designer. I worked in the field for around ten years before switching my focus to fine art. I feel that design still strongly influences my work. I love type, shapes, colors, textures. There’s a great synergy between design and abstract painting.

Refraction, 3”x4”, Paper/Resin

What was the best advice given to you as an artist?

“Don’t put your art away” given to me by Ann Grimmer, my first painting teacher.

“Art is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.” (It’s a cliché for a reason!)

Many artists struggle to find ways to sell their art.  How do you sell your work?  How do you market yourself?
www.patriciadunnwalker.com

Sometimes marketing and sales of art work can seem like a well kept secret. It seems primarily hit or miss for me. If my work is showing in the window of the Rochester coop gallery I often make a sale. When I have art shows I make sales. Marketing my work is an ongoing project for me.

Sophie, 18”x24”, Acrylic

Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy?

Brian Frink  http://www.poorfarmart.com/

Ruth Kolman Brophy http://www.ruthkolmanbrophy.com/

Romi Wilhelm, Lanesboro, Minnesota

If I were to follow you around to see art in Minnesota, which places would we go? What would we see?

Minneapolis Institute of Art www.artsmia.org

Walker Art Center www.walkerart.org

Rochester Art Center www.rochesterart.org

SEMVA Art Gallery www.semva.org

I would also like to just drive around in some of the neighborhoods in Mpls/St. Paul and see what we bump into.

From Time to Time, 30”x40”, Acrylic

In addition to www.Local-Artist-Interviews.com, where do you go online for good art resources, whether to find a new artist, or to see what is going on in the art world locally and otherwise? 

Women Art Resources of Minnesota  www.thewarm.org

Rochester Art Center www.rochesterartcenter.org

College of Visual Art www.cva.edu

Minneapolis Institute of Art www.artsmia.org

Walker Art Center www.walkerart.org

Rural America Contemporary Art (RACA) www.facebook.com

Horizon, 3”x4”, Paper/Resin

Do you have any exhibits to promote in the near future?
I am in an exhibit called Color Stories with Carla Thompson at Northfield ArtsGuild. It opens September 28 and runs until October 26, 2012.

Bryan Young - Painter

Bryan Young

Painter

Bryan Young 

bryanyoungstudios.com

Tell me about your work? What are you currently working on? How is this different from past projects?

Night Ice.

My current work is based on the neighborhood ice rinks near our house. I decided to work on a series of paintings of the rinks and broom ball players who play there at night. Last winter I would sit in my car with my painting supplies in the rink parking lot and paint scenes of players, cars, snow, and occasionally the outhouse. Some of the work that was done on location was then brought back into the studio and enlarged or used to create a larger painting from a series of smaller ones. When working at night in the car,I would sometimes paint 'etudes' or small studies to capture a certain light effect or scene and then bring those into the studio to create a larger work. 

For five years I had driven by the rinks and thought how interesting they looked lit up at night with players in bright colored uniforms running around making patterns in the snow so I decided to spend some time exploring the concept. I have worked on the idea for two years now, and I don't feel I have exhausted the possibilities, so this winter I plan to continue the project. 

How did you decide to become an artist?

I have always considered myself to be an artist, but I don't really know what that means. I have always enjoyed the challenge of working on things and trying to get them "right," although I often don't know what that means either. 

What was the best advice given to you as an artist? 

Make the work you want to make. Be careful of both praise and criticism. 

Many artists struggle to find ways to sell their art.  How do you sell your work?  How do you market yourself?
I have largely relied on galleries but have not had the best experience. Over the past few years I have not put forth much of an effort to market myself and have just enjoyed the process of painting work that I find interesting. My website is bryanyoungstudios.com

Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy? 

I don't follow any Minnesota artists...not enough time, but I I regularly visit The Museum of Russian Art and love their paintings. 

If I were to follow you around to see art in Minnesota, which places would we go?  What would we see?

In the winter I spend a great deal of time snowboarding and nordic skiing with my family. In the summer I  am often at the little league baseball fields or traveling with my family. As I get older these things have impacted my art as I attempt to paint the daily scenes of my life rather than trying to invent something new to create. It has also pushed me in new directions as a painter trying to paint something that might not be that interesting as subject matter as something special. In the art world I spend quite a bit of time at the Russian Museum of Art because the artists represented there were able to make beautiful paintings from daily life. That to me is interesting.

Do you have any exhibits to promote in the near future? 

NIGHT ICE: Bloomington Art Center, Atrium Gallery, September 13 through November 2.

1800 W. Old Shakopee Rd

Bloomington, MN 55431

BTAC

Amelia Biewald - Painting, Sculpture, Installation

Amelia Biewald

Name: Amelia Biewald
City/State: Minneapolis, MN
Email: ameliabiewald@yahoo.com
Website: www.ameliabiewald.com  

Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/amelia_biewald_artworks/
MNartist.org profile

Bio~

Amelia Biewald was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN. She attended the Rhode Island School of Design as an undergraduate, and the Minneapolis College of Art and Design for graduate school. She has been working as a visual artist in the areas of painting, sculpture and installation and has been fortunate in receiving awards, residencies, and fellowships for her artworks. Some notable awards include a Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture Fellowship, a Smack Mellon “Tops Picks” Award, a Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s Space Program Award, the Schick Residency Award at Skidmore College, a Bush Foundation Artist Fellowship a Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Assistant Fellowship and a Jerome Foundation Artist Fellowship. She has worked with the public in the visual arts on many occasions, and has held positions as visiting artist/professor at Skidmore College, the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and the College of Visual Art. Amelia’s work has been exhibited internationally, and is currently exhibiting at Rosalux Gallery in NE Minneapolis. 

Artist Amelia Biewald’s recent works explores the fantastic visual possibilities of Elizabethan England. A time that saw extremely elaborate but exceedingly uncomfortable stylized clothing, with heavy ornamentation and silhouettes based on geometric shapes and patterns. Influenced by imaginative histories and fashion scandals of this Golden Age, Biewald’s mixed media paintings and sculptural installations mock this duality. From her visual obsession with the neck ruff, an iconic fashion accessory of the age, to her manipulation of both traditional and invented artist materials and techniques, her sensuous surfaces draw the viewer into this alluringly theatrical and voyeuristic costume drama. Biewald’s work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally. She has been a recipient of various artist grants and fellowships, including the Bush Artist Fellowship, a Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Award, and a Jerome Artist Fellowship.

Inspired by his recent time in the rural Deep South—a landscape dotted with deteriorating infrastructures of forgotten mill villages, faded hues of old commercial signs, and the overgrown structures of a once thriving agricultural base, Jonas Criscoe visually explores the oxymoron, “Beautiful Detritus.” Through his densely layered mixed media compositions, use of distressed and worn surfaces, and graffiti-like drawings, Criscoe’s work conveys his interest in society’s disposable mind-set towards progress and nature's ability to reclaim the things that we abandon. A native of Austin, Texas, he received his MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2008. His work has been exhibited throughout the United States, notably the Texas Biennial and the International Print Center in New York. Criscoe has also been featured in various art publications, including Art Lies and New American Painting, and most recently was a West Prize acquisition recipient.

(Detail)

Together, these artist’s works engage dualities that are present in both art and culture. Through their subtle manipulation of various art media, techniques, and processes, both Biewald and Criscoe create elaborate compositions and surfaces that convey an aura of touch, and a sense of history to the viewer through the materials and subject matter that they employ.

Tell me about your work? What are you currently working on? How is this different from past projects?

I have always been fairly obsessed with art and fashion histories and my recent works explore the fantastic visual possibilities of Elizabethan England. All the pattern and construction was extremely elaborate AND exceedingly uncomfortable! My favorite item of that time is the ruff. A complex, stiffly starched accessory that framed the face and could make your head appear as being set upon a dinner plate. This is the work I have included in my show at Rosalux in September. I am showing paintings, drawings and sculptural works. I have some works on paper which I really like and I don't often include in my exhibitions- they started out as sketches for sculptural works and I just kept working on them to make them finished drawings.

How did you decide to become an artist?
I was obsessed with horses when I was a kid and still am. I could draw a pretty good life-like horse by the time I was about 3 and I just kept at it. I spent a lot of time drawing down in the basement, and the horses became other animals, unicorns and dragons. I have such an overactive creative imagination no one else would take me. I did sort of want to become a plastic surgeon, but I'm not sure my clients would be ok with my inventions.

What was the best advice given to you as an artist? 

Sometimes it is better to attack an idea than over think it.

Many artists struggle to find ways to sell their art.  How do you sell your work?  How do you market yourself?

I try to show as often as I can and also apply for a lot of grants and residencies, etc. You might not get the grant, but your work is shown to people who often want to work with you in the future and know collectors who would like your work. I also show with a gallery in New York which helps a lot.

Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy?

I like a lot of work here- it's a great art city! A few names that come to mind are 
Terrence Payne http://rosaluxgallery.com/my_portfolio/terrence-payne/, 
Jennifer Davis http://www.jenniferdavisart.com/info.html, 
and Melissa Loop http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=47543

If I were to follow you around to see art in Minnesota, which places would we go? What would we see?

I would go to the MIA and see what is up for the MAEP. That space is so awesome I would love to do a huge installation there sometime. I would then go and look at the interiors or period rooms they have. I love art history so I could be in there for hours. I would then go to the Walker and see if they had the Paul Thek's Hippopotamus sculpture out. Love that.

In addition to www.Local-Artist-Interviews.com, where do you go online for good art resources, whether to find a new artist, or to see what is going on in the art world locally and otherwise?

Actually I get so many invites and notifiications just in my email and Facebook that I just use the links provided. I like that most galleries now have pages for all their artist so you can figure out what is new that way too.

What can we expect to see from you in the future?
I have a work in progress that is going to be pretty amazing- a huge full body mount deer that I mounted upside-down. This is going to be the basis of a huge mixed media installation.

Do you have any exhibits to promote in the near future?

“Nature’s Beast” Works by Amelia Biewald and Jonas Criscoe at Rosalux Gallery

Exhibit runs: September 6th – September 30, 2012 

Opening Reception: Saturday, September 8th, 6:30 – 10:00PM

Rosalux is a cooperative art gallery that was founded in Minneapolis in 2002. The gallery is home to twenty artists whose work is well known both nationally and internationally, featured in various major collections, and who have individually received numerous prestigious awards and grant recognitions.

Gallery Hours: Saturdays and Sundays 12-4PM, admission is free. For more information on the Rosalux Art Collective, visit www.rosaluxgallery.com.  
https://www.facebook.com/rosalux.gallery/events

Mickey Smith - Photographer - Minnesota ExPat

Mickey Smith

Minnesota to Aukland New Zealand

Name: Mickey Smith

Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Website: www.mickeysmith.com

Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/mickeysmithart

Etsy Page / Retail Pages: 

http://www.invisible-exports.com/

http://www.aperture.org/equivalents.html

http://www.20x200.com/artist/20-mickey-smith

Why did you leave Minnesota?

I left Minnesota for New Zealand, via New York. My husband is a Kiwi. We spent nearly a decade together in Minnesota, knowing we would eventually end up in New Zealand. Aaron wanted to experience New York before leaving the US, and living in New York again was a chance to further my art career. 

Tell me about your new city of residence? 

Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand, population of the entire country is 4.4 million. Auckland is a port town (as a Duluth native, the familiarity is a comfort) and has a forward thinking, international feel. In contrast, we live in walking distance of three beaches, two volcanos, and an amazing fish-n-chips shop. New Zealand artists tend to exhibit throughout the southern hemisphere, which is exciting. It was hard to find my place in the New York art world - the sheer size can be overwhelming - so I'm looking forward becoming part of a smaller art community and finding a bigger studio.

How has your art changed since moving from Minnesota?

I was looking for gallery representation when I left Minneapolis and ended up being the first artist to have a solo show at INVISIBLE-EXPORTS in 2008. The directors were interested in my installations at the time, and continue to encourage me to explore that side of my work. The push has given me the confidence to work outside of the medium. When I left Minnesota I considered myself a photographer, not an artist. I might have considered myself an "artist" earlier, but I can't draw for shit. Our two-year old regularly takes crayons out of my hands and gives them to his dad. 

If you come back to Minnesota for one weekend and you need to see your old favorite places, where would you go to see art? 

It was sad to see the Minnesota Center for Photography close, a real loss for photography locally and regionally. I would head to the Walker and  Minneapolis Institute of the Arts, with a stop off at The Black Forest to visit the Avedon at the bar.

Who are some of your favorite artists still living in Minnesota?

Minnesota has a posse of great photographers I love, but for a few decades now Paul Shambroom has been a huge inspiration. Everything Alexa Horochowski  makes is magic. I hope to become as prolific one day.

If you could transplant one aspect of the Minnesota arts community home with you, what would it be?

A tossup between the photographers and the individual artist funding.