Michael McGraw - Photographer

Michael McGraw

Michael McGraw

www.michaelmcgraw.info

Twitter: @localartistint

FB: My Page
email: mcgrawphoto@gmail.com

Bio~
Michael McGraw is a Minneapolis-based photographer, mainly self-taught, though he has studied under some awesome wedding photographers. Having retired from the wedding photography business, people rarely make an appearance in his photographs.


"My subjects are local, personal, and natural. I look for subjects with a balance of pattern and chaos, beauty and flaws. To me, this reflects internal struggle, growth, and transformation."

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

I am working on a couple projects right now. I have a series of cloud photographs that I think are really fun. They are fairly closely-cropped shots of sections of clouds exploring color, density, and shape. I have a hard time deciding if I prefer color or black and white for these images.

I am also processing hundreds of pics from a recent trip to Iceland. Seeing the floating ice in the glacial lake, Jokulsarlon, was one of the most amazing experiences I have had.

Past projects include a study of ice formations on the Mississippi river from the Lowry bridge, which is on hold for now since the bridge was torn down, and a study of urban trees--Crab Apples, Russian Olive, and Buck Thorn. I am still woking on this project, but am taking a break after 2 years of thinking about trees all the time.


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

After meeting a couple times with an advisor with Springboard for the Arts in lowertown St. Paul, they told me to print large, and if I didn't have good enough equipment, then to get better equipment.


At the time I was shooting aerial-like photographs of ice on the Mississippi river and printing them at around 16x20 inches, maybe a little bigger. They just did not have the impact I was going for until I began printing 20x30 inches and larger. Of course, not all photographs have to be large; I still have a weakness for a nice, small, intimate portrait.

Tell me about your working space and your creative process?

As a nature-based photographer, I work outside, usually around North Minneapolis. I prefer my work to be as locally focused as possible and do not think I need to head to the Boundary Waters to get a good shot of a tree. Dowling Avenue is perfect for me because of all the varieties of crab apple trees lining the Crystal Lake Cemetary.

I have a home office where I do all of my computer work, converting RAW photos to JPG. I share this space with my wife, Sally, so we get to spend a lot of time together working on our own projects.


I have a studio space in the Northrup King Building in NE Mpls that I share with Megan Bell Honigman who is an amazing painter. It's really nice to have a permanent space to hang my work since there is just too much to hang in my house. I definitely recommend renting a studio space for anyone with a lot of work to show.

In regards to my creative process...I like to drive around until I see an interesting tree, stop, and see what happens. I play around with selective focus by standing really close to the trees and using a long lens to create a shallow depth of field. It's a pretty meditative process, very peaceful. I never really know what is going to look good until I look at the images on my computer. I usually crop my tree photos square so I get to fine-tune my composition once I get home.

Which Minnesota artists do you enjoy?

The list would definitely be too long if I named everybody. Just paging through the NEMAA (arts association) directory or through MNartists.org would remind me of dozens of artists that I enjoy. But to name a few I would include--

Lindsy Halleckson (painter),
Maren Kloppman (ceramics),
Caitlin Karolczak (painter),
Theresa Handy (painter),
Alyssa Wendorf (watercolor),

and then photographers--
Meg Ojala,
Terry Evans,
Joann Verburg

I am learning about so many more Minnesota artists through this site that this question is really getting difficult. I click on all of the links in the other interviews and it has really expanded my view of art in Minnesota, but those listed above has been long-time favorites of mine.

If I were to follow you around on an “art day” in Minnesota, which places would we go? What would we see?

We would start at Midway Contemporary Art, head to SooVac, the Walker Art Center, the Weinstien Gallery in south Mpls, and then to the Minnesota Artist Exhibition Program (MAEP) Gallery in the Minneapolis Institute of Art.


If we had two art days, I would make sure to get to the artist buildings in NE Mpls. My studio is in the Northrup King Building (#274), so we would start there. There is so much art to see at NKB and the surrounding buildings too, like Altered Esthetics in the Q'Arma Bldg. It would also be fun to head to the Fraconia Sculpture Park north of the Twin Cities.

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?

These days, I find out about new artists through Facebook. People's Facebook pages link to blogs and websites, and then people's blogrolls direct me to other artists and art resources.

SpotArt Gallery shows a lot of new and local art each month, and throws an awesome reception, too, so I always check out their website to see which artists are exhibiting next.



Because I have been so locally focussed for the LAI website, I haven't really looked at websites that feature artists from anywhere else in the world. MNartists.org is a great place to start to find out about Minnesota artists. And http:/www.Local-Artist-Interviews.com and its Facebook page are also good sources.

Do you have any exhibits or any interesting things going on in your life or coming up in the near future (2011)?

I have an exhibit at the Coloplast Headquarters in North Minneapolis. They are hugely dedicated to art in their space and purchased many, many pieces from Minneapolis artists when they built this building. Their conference rooms all have hanging systems built in and lots of natural light. It's not open to the public, so good luck seeing the work, but if you work there, check my out on the second floor by the engineers.

And each year I exhibit in my studio (#274) in the Northrup King Building for Art-A-Whirl which is the 3rd weekend in May each year, and at Art-Attack which is the 2nd full weekend in November.

Michael McGraw
http://www.michaelmcgraw.info/
On Facebook
Local Artist Interviews on Facebook

Alyssa Wendorf - Watercolor Artist

What We Do When There Is Nothing To Be Done

Alyssa Ann Wendorff

B.F.A - University of Minnesota, 2005

wend0138@umn.edu
http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=61860 Alyssa on Facebook

Proud to be a regional artist, Alyssa Wendorff was born in Rhinelander, WI and raised in Madison, WI. Having attended the Univ. of Minnesota in the Twin Cities, Alyssa now lives in St. Paul, MN where she continues to explore notions of site and place. Her work focuses on the shape, experience, and memory of the Midwestern landscape.

"Landscape is the shape of the world. It is the place where experience begins and returns. For me, Landscape is also the shape of memory. It is the place where my mind rests, obsesses, and remembers." - Alyssa Wendorff

Blowing Through

What are you currently working on? How is this different from past projects?

• My latest work is taking a more linear turn. My compositions are becoming spare, and color is taking a backseat role. Basically, I’m trying to simplify for a while and see what happens. At the moment I’m working on a group of larger-scale line drawings based on horizon. I also recently tried my hand for the first time at water based Japanese-Style Woodblock printing, which may be fueling this fire.

We are Not Separated From the Sky

Tell me about your working space and your creative process?
• My workspace is very small. I live in a studio apartment and work there as well. This has definitely limited my scale and choice of media. In college, when space was never an issue, I was working on large paintings, pouring watered down acrylic onto canvas on the floor. Now I work mostly with watercolor and drawing materials, on a much more condensed size of surface, usually paper or board.

My process is pretty straightforward. I don’t journal much or use my sketchbook as much as I probably should. I do take photographs occasionally, though I rarely have them out when working on a piece. Instead, I work from impressions I’ve collected and stored away in my mind, of place, shape, color, atmosphere, etc. I start with one mark, maybe a line or blob of color, and build from there. The process of working with the image as it evolves, as opposed to against it, towards an unforeseen end is what interests me most. I might be most of the way through a work before I even realize what the end result is going to be, or what the image is going to ultimately represent. It is rare that I start a piece with a preconceived notion of what it will be in the end. If I do, it usually turns out to be a disaster.

Stripped Away

If you could excel in some different artistic arena, what would it be and why?
• Music! I love music. I love to sing, and I have always wished that I had stuck with those piano lessons I hated practicing for so much when I was a kid. I wish I could play the banjo.

What was the best advice given to you as an artist?
• This came from my mentor in college, and he heard it from his. He warned me that once I graduated from school and was no longer paying people to do it, that no one would care if I ever made another painting. This really hit home with me, and he’s absolutely right. It’s a hard old world out there for creative minded people, and there is certainly no clear path to professional success as an artist. You can’t just apply for three or four jobs as painter, and choose the one with the best benefits package. An artist must be prepared to be ignored and undervalued at every turn. To be successful, you have to believe in the validity of what you are doing, and continuously find your own reasons to keep working. The only way anyone will look or listen is if you make them, and if you don’t have the toughness and motivation to take the knocks, it won’t be long before you’re working as a banker and painting as a hobby, if at all.

How important was your formal artistic training in your development as an artist?
• Extremely. It loosened me up and gave me perspective. It also beat the ego out of me, “You might be best representational artist in the room, but who cares, what else do you have to offer?” Good point…

Should You Ask Me Whence These Stories, I Will Tell You

What opportunities have you found for displaying your work in Minnesota? What have been your best resources for identifying these resources?
• Other than online resources such as Spring Board for the Arts and MNArtists.org, I’ve had my best luck through word of mouth or friends, and friends of friends. Though I’m not so good at it, it’s true what they say about networking. I’ve also learned the truth of the adage, ‘Nothing ventured, nothing gained.’ Don’t sell yourself short, always apply for opportunities you think sound promising, never sell yourself short: You never know when you may get a chance you didn’t really think would come your way.


Which Minnesota artists do you enjoy?
• Alec Soth is far and away my favorite Minnesota artist. His photos manage to capture such a poignant feeling of person and/or place. It doesn’t matter how many times I look at one, it will always make me feel something new.




If I were to follow you around on an “art day” in Minnesota, which places would we go? What would we see?
• I can’t help it; I love the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. There’s something about big old art museums with such a wide range of work: I could wander around for an entire day and be perfectly absorbed. And I can go back anytime, it’s like visiting old friends. Going there brings me to my artistic center.

Washing Away

What was the last exhibit you saw and what were your impressions?
• I was recently in NY City, and went to the Guggenheim. First let me say that the building itself is an inspiring place to be. I’ve never been in building better suited for viewing art. There I saw and exhibit of multi-media paintings by Julie Mehertu that were extremely striking. Her work is so energized and full of subtle layering: Seeing them in person (they are HUGE) was awe-inspiring. I’m a landscape-based artist, and so is she, I suspect, and it is interesting for me to see divergent points of view within the same general genre that I’m working in.




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?
• Springboard for the Arts and MNArtists.org are always good jumping off points. I like to search for random terms in Google Images, and follow artists’ blogs and random trails of thought to all kinds of strange places: You never know what you will stumble upon in the early morning hours. Also, I am addicted to Etsy. I fiend for good craft and design: Color and texture are big inspirations for me.


Do you have any exhibits or any interesting things going on in your life or coming up in the near future?
• I am just ending a three-month, one-woman show at Emmons & Olivier Resources Inc., a local environmental firm. There are quite a few corporations in the Twin Cities area that have their own art collections and art directors, that also sponsor rotating shows for local artists at their offices. This is a great opportunity for artists to sell their work, and for people outside the art community to be exposed to contemporary local artists that they may never otherwise encounter.

Alyssa Wendorff

Links to Artists and Resources:

Alyssa Wendorff (MNArtist.org) (Facebook)

Alec Soth/Facebook

Mpls Institute of Arts (MIA)

MNartists.org/Facebook

Springboard for The Arts / Facebook

Emmons & Olivier Resoruces, Inc