Monday, September 28, 2015

Terri Myers Wentzka - Drawing and Watercolor

Terri Myers Wentzka


Name:  Terri Myers Wentzka
City/State:  Shoreview, MN
Email:  terri@naturalhistoryarts.com
Instagram:  terriwentzka

Bio:  Terri Myers Wentzka is a drawing, watercolor, and collage artist whose work is inspired by mysteries of the natural world and by mundane human detritus. She received her BA in Painting from the University of Minnesota, and has returned to making art after spending many years as an award-winning writer and filmmaker. Her work has been exhibited at numerous local venues, including the Banfill-Locke Center for the Arts, the Bloomington Center for the Arts, and the Minnetonka Center for the Arts.

Tell me about your work? What are you currently working on? How is this different from past projects?
Right now I’m finishing work for a show that opens at TuckUnder’s Leaky Sink Gallery on October 8. This will be my first site-specific installation, so it’s challenging my thinking in some different ways and I’m enjoying that process. I’m also getting ready for Art Attack (at my studio in the Northrup King Building) the first weekend in November, and for a show at the First Unitarian Society at the end of November. While all that’s going on, I’m noodling about ideas for the new series I’ve recently started, which is about protection. Some of the early, small pieces will be at TuckUnder, but I’m also planning to make a number of large drawings next year. They’ll be bigger than anything I’ve done to date, since I’ve always worked relatively small. So I’m doing tests, and research, and figuring out how to proceed.



How did you decide to become an artist?
It wasn’t really a decision. I always knew I was an artist, despite the years I spent attempting to do other things. So the decision wasn’t to become an artist, but rather to allow myself to return to art. I never feel quite right unless I’m making art, even if I’m doing something else creative, so I simply had to.

What was the best advice given to you as an artist?
Draw. Actually, this is good advice for anybody, even non-artists. It’s not possible to draw too much, no matter what medium you work in.



Many artists struggle to find ways to sell their art. How do you sell your work? How do you market yourself? (Include links to your Esty store, finartamerica.com, your website, etc.)
Selling art is hard. Most of my sales have been during studio crawls:  Art-A-Whirl and Art Attack. I’m currently stepping up my efforts online with Facebook and Instagram and learning all I can about art sales and marketing.

Instagram:  terriwentzka

Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy? (Provide links)

Scott Wentzka  http://wentzka.com
Terry Genesen Becker  http://terrygenesenbecker.com
Mary Bergs  http://marybergs.com
Jantje Visscher  http://jantjevisscher.com
Brandon Kuehn  http://brandonkuehn.com
Wing Young Huie  http://www.wingyounghuie.com

For every person I’ve listed, there are probably five more wonderful artists I love, but I have to stop somewhere!



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

I don’t know if I’m a good person to follow anywhere (I might hide if I know you’re up to such a thing), but these are some of the places I like to go:
Groveland Gallery  http://grovelandgallery.com
Artistry at Bloomington  http://btacmn.org
Bockley Gallery  http://bockleygallery.com
2001: A Space  http://2001aspace.com



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?

Hyperallergic  http://hyperallergic.com

Those are a few. There’s so much information everywhere these days that random tidbits seem to come from everywhere. Many bread crumbs to follow.



Choose one:
Do you have any exhibits to promote in the near future? What can we expect to see from you in the future?
My solo show, Hideaway, opens October 8 and runs through November 15, in the Leaky Sink Gallery at TuckUnder Projects. It’s all recent work that reflects upon the real and illusory ways humans and other creatures protect themselves from all manner of threats, while also exploring the mysteries of bathroom cabinets and found papers. The show will include drawings and watercolors that allude to scientific studies in their composition, but upon taking a closer look it becomes obvious that each one incorporates the text of someone’s discarded grocery list or other scribbled notes. Hideaway takes advantage of the mysterious nooks and crannies of the Leaky Sink Gallery, with art and collections of objects of uncertain purpose hidden away in cabinets for visitors to find. 


If you are promoting an event, by what date do you want your interview/profile to be online?
My opening at TuckUnder is October 8 from 6 to 9 p.m. It would be wonderful if you could post this interview sometime between Sept. 30 and October 2.  Thank you very much!!


(Include dimensions and year made if applicable)
Image List: 1. Not Home, 2015, 22 x 14”
2.  
Scattered, 2015, 5 x 4”
3.  
Bean Guardian, 2015, 11 x 8”
4.  Protected, 2015, 10.75 x 8”
5.  
Osprey Eggs with Erased List, 2014, 11 x 9.25”
6.  
Curiosity Cabinet #1: Three Eggs & a Cootie Catcher, 2014, 11 x 14”
7. Image of artist

Sunday, September 6, 2015

Evan Ishmael - Mixed Media


Evan Ishmael

Name: Evan Ishmael
City/State: Minneapolis, MN
Emailinfo@evanishmael.com
Websitewww.evanishmael.com
Facebook page: Evan Ishmael Fine Art
Etsy Page: EvanIshmaelFineArt


Bio:
I am an artist based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In my collection of untitled works, I explore the unique and idiosyncratic medium of flame to compose visual images on canvas, wood and glass and paper.  The residue that’s left behind creates formations in soot reminiscent of the vast landscapes of ethereal worlds, experimenting with form and composition by using hard edges and, most recently, the addition of color and wood in my latest works.


Tell me about your work? What are you currently working on? How is this different from past projects?
I'm currently exploring a series of work in collaboration with my wife. We are using my signature soot style along with ink washes, to create new, abstract compositions. She is an amazing artist in her own right, but this has been our first attempt at an art collaboration. We're both really looking forward where this series is going to take us. 
In the past, my work has always centered around the exploration of form. It started as an attempt to explore a new medium and has evolved into a fascination with larger, more complicated compositions. I begin each piece by envisioning myself building an organic object—sometimes a towering form, other times delicate or minimal ones. I continue to push my own limits with size as well as content; constantly pushing the boundaries of an intensively restrictive medium. My goal is for the piece to entirely encompass the person interacting with it, and I want for the viewer to imagine the work perpetually expanding into space beyond the canvas in front of them.



How did you decide to become an artist?
It's never really been something I had made a conscious decision to do. It has always been something I've just had to do. I don't know what else I'd be doing with my life. Accounting? 

What was the best advice given to you as an artist? 
When I was a teenager I read Steven Pressfield's "The War of Art." Among a lot of valuable advice, what I got out of it was that the most important part of being an artist is just putting in the time, regardless of the quality of the product. The quality doesn't matter if you can't even get yourself into your studio.



Many artists struggle to find ways to sell their art.  How do you sell your work?  How do you market yourself?
I sell most of my work through my shows and from my website. I've recently set up profiles on Etsy (EvanIshmaelFineArt) as well as Vango (Evan Ishmael). I'm excited to see if this opens up new avenues to sell work. 


Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy? 
I'm a huge fan of HOTTEA (@hotxtea on Instagram). I've also been loving the works of Morgan Pease (www.morganpease.com) and Russ White (www.russ-white.com), who are both based here in Minneapolis.


If I were to follow you around to see art in Minnesota, which places would we go? What would we see?
I love checking out new work at Waiting Room Gallery in Loring Park, as well as Public Functionary and Gamut Gallery. Sometimes I'll find myself popping in and out of Circa Gallery and Burnett Gallery, too, just to see what's new.  But I also love wandering through downtown alleys trying to find new street art. There is an alley between 1st and 2nd Ave near Washington that always has some amazing new stuff. 



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? Well, I curate several locations around the metro, so MnArtists.org has been an invaluable resource for finding new artists. Aside from that I've had great experiences finding new artists on Instagram or visiting large scale venues like the State Fair Fine Arts Exhibition. 


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

My next show is at the Southern Theater in Minneapolis (1420 S Washington Ave, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55454) in September 2015. It's titled "Sootloose and Fancy Free". The reception will be September 11 from 5:30-7pm, and will include several different series of my work from the past 3 years.




Image List:
1.Blue on Wood, 2015, 42"x42"
2.Yellow on Wood, 2015, 42"x42"
3.Blue 2, 2014, 22"x30"
4.Blue 1, 2014, 30"x36"
5.Orange 1, 2014, 20"x34"
6. Untitled 13, 2013, 36"x48"
7. Image of artist