Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Lahli Trevis - Illustrator

Lahli Trevis

Name: Lahli J. Trevis 
City/State: Minneapolis, MN
Email: lahlitrevis@yahoo.com
Website: www.incognitagirl.blogspot.com
MNartist.org profile: http://mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=135251
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/lahli.trevis


Bio~ I grew up in rural Minnesota, spent my teens in the suburbs and moved to Saint Paul to attend the College of Visual Arts for illustration. Since a very young age I have always been writing stories and drawing pictures for them. 



Tell me about your work? What are you currently working on? How is this different from past projects?
My current work is mostly writing and illustrating. One project is a novel and the other is a graphic novel (INCOGNITAgirl). I use a lot of pen and ink, but for larger stand alone pieces I collage with old pages from book, embroidery, even dye typewritten text. I mainly portray figures as a form of character study or scenes. My work is heavily narrative based. I also have a children's book, "Dieter is Lonely" available on lulu.com. For that book I kept my illustrations very simple and monochromatic in lieu of older children's fiction. 

How did you decide to become an artist?
Drawing is always something that came naturally for me, but I didn't decide that was what I was going to do until my junior year in high school. I realized there wasn't anything else that I was passionate about and if I was paying for college myself I wasn't going to let anyone tell me what to study. 


What was the best advice given to you as an artist? 
Find your niche. 

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

I exhibit my work in some local shows, but I don't sell a lot of art. Creating an Etsy page is on my to do list, but it is difficult to manage and update a web presence when I do not have the Internet at home.


Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy? 

James Powell. http://jamespowellart.blogspot.com/

If I were to follow you around to see art in Minnesota, which places would we go? What would we see? Museums! I don't just mean the Minneapolis Institute of Arts either, although the MIA has some beautiful pieces I make sure to see every visit. I find its Photography gallery always changing with great photos from their collection. But what I find most inspiring about the Twin Cities is its history. I would recommend a walking tour with Larry Millett ( ) to learn about the changing architecture as the Twin cities grew. Or a visit to MN History center, Mill City Museum or the Science Museum were art tells a story and educates the public. If you look closely at some of the exhibits' credits you might see some familiar local names, I know I did!



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? 

I like to check out MNartists.org, Vita.min and City Pages for Twin cities events. However, I also follow many of my college classmates and artists I have met on Facebook. I find that is the best way to find out about artist created, grassroots style exhibitions that aren't advertised in large publications.

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

I am participating in Altered Esthetics' March exhibition, 'Dust Jacket'. This year marks the tenth anniversary of Altered Esthetics and the gallery is celebrating by taking each of its monthly exhibitions to a new location in the community.  
(Read more AE featured interviews…)

March's exhibition will by hosted by:
Eat My Words book store.
1228 2nd St. NE,
Minneapolis, MN 55413
Event Dates: 
Thursday, March 6, 2014 (Gallery Hours) to Saturday, March 29, 2014 (Gallery Hours)
Opening Reception: 
Friday, March 7, 2014 - 6:00pm to 9:00pm
Artists’ Discussion: 
Saturday, March 15, 2014 - 1:00pm to 3:00pm


Lahli Trevis

Image List:
1. Annabell
2. Sample of INCOGNITAgirl
3. Prisoner
4. The Interrogation
5. Thoughts
6. Speakeasy Socialite

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Allen Brewer - Painter

Allen Brewer

Name: Allen Brewer
City/State: St. Paul, MN
Email: abrewer at mcad.edu
Website: allenbrewer.com

Bio~ Allen Brewer (b. 1974) lives and works in St. Paul, MN, balancing studio practice with teaching assignments at MCAD. Recent exhibitions include … 3rd MN Biennial: curated by David Petersen and John Marks, VERBATIM: at the MAEP gallery of MIA, Mpls, and SCHAPES N SHPACES: solo painting exhibition at Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts, Fond du Lac, WI.

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

I’m currently working with the semiotic meaning of form, color and context in painting. I incorporate language as mediation for my paintings, so I find inspiration and possibilities there, but more recently I’ve been trying to communicate another (non-spoken) lexicon within/via painting itself. Past projects (VERBATIM) depended upon a foreign voice or textual prompt to build the work, forcing me to consider material, intent and the paradoxical nature of language (being both limiting and expansive in it’s meaning and usage). My new direction relies more on intuitive gestures and ambiguity rather than clarification and description.

How did you decide to become an artist?

When I was 4 or 5 I made up my mind that this is what I would “be”. At 17 I considered a career as a professional French horn musician, but ultimately, art proved to offer more flexibility.


What was the best advice given to you as an artist?
“Don’t ever lie to yourself”.

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

I don’t really rely on sales, but I have sold work in galleries and private commissions. Fortunately, teaching provides a comfortable substitute, allowing for more time in the studio actually working, which I am finding more valuable than sales.


Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy?

I have many good friends who also push artistic expectations, and their names can be found in this very site. That said, aesthetic appreciation shifts from time to time as my own understanding and education expands, so the list continually grows.


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



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?

I don’t bother with the web to find local events or artists, it’s all word of mouth or just showing up to the (many) openings at museums and galleries that occur weekly. I generally peruse the web to find events and artists in NYC, Europe and otherwise, but locally speaking, there is more value in physically participating in openings and after-parties.

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

I am showing a chronological survey of paintings from the last 4 years in Fond du Lac, WI at the Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts until April 11, 2014. 

The show is called SCHAPES N SHPACES, the work can be seen here: http://allenbrewer.com/section/319201_exhibitions.html


Allen Brewer


Image List:

1. Infinity, paintings, found objects, 2014
2. Fists, acrylic on canvas, 2014
3. Green Thumb, acrylic on wood, 2014
4. Reincarnate, acrylic on canvas, 2013
5. National Wrecking Co., acrylic on canvas, 2013
6. Pesher, found wood assemblage, 20147. Image of artist
7. Image of the artist

Friday, February 7, 2014

Carolyn Halliday

Carolyn Halliday

Name: Carolyn Halliday
City/State: Minneapolis


Bio~ 
Carolyn Halliday’s work has been featured in the book Knitting Art: 150 Innovative Works from 18 Contemporary Artists and in numerous regional and national juried shows over the past 17 years.

She is Lead Mentor for the Textile Center Mentor/Protege Program, and a Mentor in the WARM (Women’s Art Resources of Minnesota) Mentor/Protege Program. For more than a decade she promoted artists’ peer critique by teaching and facilitating the Critical Response model, through WARM and the Textile Center. She has been a teaching assistant for the Women’s Art Institute (WAI) at Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and was recently interviewed for inclusion as a featured artist in a book currently being written about the WAI.

Minneapolis resident Carolyn Halliday, a 2013 fiscal year recipient of a Mn State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant is showing the culmination of work make possible by this grant at Studio 214 of the Casket Arts Building Feb 6- 28.

Based on themes of Ecology and Evolution, she collaborated throughout the year with two ecologists who will be present at the February 6 opening event, and the February 8 artist panel. Halliday calls herself a fiber artist because she uses the language of textiles to create sculptural work from non traditional materials.  Her work usually involves the knitting of wire and objects found from nature or human debris. During the past year she developed ways to work with gut which includes a small house knit from strips of gut on which she  transcribed excerpts from Darwin's notebook. 

Halliday has been showing her work throughout the nation for 15 years with recent shows in Austin, Texas and Massachusetts.  She is a featured artist in the book  Knitting Art: 150 Innovative Works from 18 Contemporary Artists  and in the book current in process How to Be a Feminist Artist:  Investigations from the Women’s Art Institute.  Her work has also appeared in Surface Design Journal and Interweave Knits.  Concurrent with “The Poetics of Evolution” she has work at the Catherine G Murphy Gallery at St Catherine’s University and the Anderson Center in Red Wing, MN.



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

I use the vocabulary of textiles to create sculptural forms that often reference nature or the body.  Hand knitting non traditional, often recycled materials such as wire is a primary technique.  My work grows from simple elements of the detritus of humans and the natural world.  Current work is also informed by an ongoing dialogue with two ecologists in my life.
How did you decide to become an artist?
Passionate longing.


What was the best advice given to you as an artist? 
A mistake repeated becomes an element of design.
Many artists struggle to find ways to sell their art.  How do you sell your work?  How do you market yourself?

Casket Arts Building Studio 214


Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy?

Erika Spitzer Rasmussen  ericaspitzerrasmussen.com/
Elizabeth Garvey  http://elizabeth-garvey.com/


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


In addition to www.Local-Artist-Interviews.com, where do you go online for good art resources, whether to find a new artist?

Monday, February 3, 2014

Janet Groenert - Barrier Tape and Wearable Electronics

Janet Groenert

Name: Janet Groenert
City/State: St Paul MN
Website: N/A
MNartist.org profile:  http://mnartists.org/Janet_Groenert
Twitter: @grownert

Bio~ Janet Groenert was born in San Diego California in 1957. She received a BFA  from  the  Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Janet’s wearable work has exhibited nationally and internationally and was featured in Threads magazine. She recently finished a research and planning grant from Forecast Public art and is working on a commission for Habitat for Humanity. She lives and works in the Twin Cities. 



Tell me about your work? 
In last 10 years have been exploring barrier tape and wearable electronics. 

The barrier tape pieces have the tape hitched to mesh forms as clothing, in embroidery frames  as a bear pelt and as indoor and outdoor installations.

The availability and variety of the barrier tape, its’ temporary intent, the common and uncommon printed messages, the texture that occurs from the cutting or tearing strips then hitching it onto mesh to form a dense area, the drape of the 3” strips when longer, the visual reference to flowers, fur, ribbon and connections to those elements in culture. How the message is obscured when hitched, the linear nature of the material  create  a cloud map of connections for me. People recognize caution tape. It is 
in common usage.

Electronics is a slower process for me. I am exploring Arduino, Lilypad and Aniomagic components.  I am working on  a piece that will have a audio. Eighteen conductive fabric switches will activate the sound elements.

What are you currently working on?
This month I am working on two collaborative projects, the Pedal Bear Art Shanty at the White Bear Center for the Arts and  White Bear Lake and a commission for the new Habitat for Humanity building on Prior and University Avenues in St Paul.



How is this different from past projects?
I tend to work alone at home. Both current projects require the help and input of many people.
Part of the Pedal Bear Shanty mission is to reuse and recycle materials. Our team of 12 artists have collected large sheets of plastic used to envelope scaffolding at construction sites, and shipping wrappers for furniture and protect large merchandise and pallets of items delivered to home building stores.

Many people in Minneapolis and White Bear Lake have spend hours cutting the plastic into strips for many other people to hitch on the the mesh pelt for the bears.

Our Habitat for Humanity proposal has  Ericka Dennis and I interviewing staff, volunteers and home buyers about their experience with Habitat. I have been attending  home dedications to meet the home buyers children and collect drawings from them. I also made a Quilt Block Design game in Scratch (http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/14358015/). Families, volunteers, and staff have designed quilt block patterns for the project. The Quilt is made of building materials , copper pipe, images printed on Tyvek(housewrap) and survey colors. 


How did you decide to become an artist? 
Since I was a young child I have  gravitated to making things, to express, to acknowledge, to interpret, to understand, to explore. My process of making requires planning,execution and evaluation along with periods of repetitive work. Making is a mind body experience.

Or it could be I liked getting in trouble for getting glue on the wall to wall carpet. 


What was the best advice given to you as an artist? 
Get started, persevere, explore, experiment, try new techniques, have  a community, listen to the world, seek out resources, apply for grants, above all keep working, work every day no matter how little. 


Many artists struggle to find ways to sell their art.  How do you sell your work? 
Exhibitions and publications have generated the most sales.
I have a day job at the Science Museum of Minnesota. It requires the skills I have as an artist and I am exposed to a  ton of things I bring back  to my art work. 

How do you market yourself?
Not much, I have a site at www.mnartists.org/groenert


Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy? 
There are so many i can't even remember them all...
Hussein Chalayan   http://chalayan.com/art-projects/ an artist's perspective on clothing 
High Point http://highpointprintmaking.org/  basketball court floor and ironing board prints don’t remember the artists names
Open Eye Figure Theatre   http://www.openeyetheatre.org/ the wide range of puppeteers that they host is awe-inspiring
Liz Miller http://www.lizmiller.com/ for the scale and repetition
Doug Argue  http://dougargue.com/  scale and poetry of the work
Barebones Productions http://barebonespuppets.org/   rawness of  materials and inventiveness
Hottea    http://www.flickr.com/photos/hotandtea/   use of public structures
Erica Spitzer Rasmussen   http://ericaspitzerrasmussen.com/  female body metaphors

If I were to follow you around to see art in Minnesota, which places would we go? What would we see?
Oh god. My personal art mythology is a non linear associative map of connections and influences.
I hear about interesting things on MPR and in City pages and from friends. I am a member of Textile Center, MIA( Minnesota Artist Exhibition Program), the Walker and Support the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, so I visit when exhibitions or speakers interest me. I also attend exhibitions my friends and colleagues are in to support them.

In the last few years have been making tiles at iron pours that brought me to Franconia Outdoor Sculpture last February. I continue to go out and experience the changing sculpture park.
Walk to the Minnesota Museum of American Art. I have enjoyed the exhibitions they hold of local artists and keep tabs on the new gallery space on the corner of Robert and 4th Streets. Sometimes it is just through the window others times inside for shows, talks and events.

Minnesota Center for Book Arts because I have friends who love type and paper.
Forge for the beautiful furniture designs I cannot afford
Susan Hensel Gallery 
Third Place gallery for the work and community, 
Soap Factory --  love to see how artists use of the raw space
I like to see installations, textile work, I went to MIA to hear Nick Cave http://www.soundsuitshop.com
State Fair Art Exhibition

I am curious about techniques artist use. Neighborhood art crawls provide a list of artists.  I pick one or two, usually by their medium, to see. Last time  I visited Tish Murphy, a textile artist who works with rug hooking. I had seen her work at the Textile Center. 



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? 
http://forecastpublicart.org/   Public Art Review
Hit the local museum websites.


Do you have any exhibits to promote in the near future?
Hug it Out, at altered Aesthetics  http://www.alteredesthetics.org/gallery-events/exhibitions  at the Republic in 7 Corners / Mpls.  The opening reception is Friday 2/6/14 6-10pm.
http://artshanties.com/ Through out February

Janet Groenert



Image List:
1. Flowers
2. Pelt
3. Caution Tape Dress - Photo by Larry Labonte
4. Danger Dress
5. Obi
6. Pedal Bear
7. Image of artist