Kate Renee - Painter

Kate Renee

Kate Renee
Minneapolis, MN

Email: katerenee@katerenee.com

Website: www.katerenee.com, www.thesuctioncup.com

MNartist.org profile: www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=185648

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/KateReneesArt
Twitter: @KateReneesArt

Etsy Page: www.etsy.com/shop/KateReneesArt

Bio~ 

My name is Kate Renee and I am a professional acrylic painter working out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. My work is brightly colored lowbrow character paintings on birch wood panels and covered in resin. I paint edgy works with a veneer of cute. They are most recognized by my googily eyes and satirical titles.  

I graduated from the University of Minnesota with a BA in Fine Arts, Art History, and a minor in Design. I have worked with various galleries in the Twin Cities including: Altered Esthetics, Larson Art Gallery, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, The American Swedish Institute and the Katherine E. Nash Gallery. During 2013-2014, I am a protégé in the Women’s Art Resources of Minnesota (WARM) Mentor Program and mentored by Jill Waterhouse.

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

In January 2013, I was awarded a Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant and I recently completed my Beauties Behaving Badly Series. January and February 2014, I am exhibiting these 12 new works in a solo exhibition with an accompanying catalog at Gamut Gallery. The Beauties Behaving Badly series is a parody and commentary of classic fairytale and literature characters created in a graphic lowbrow style. These paintings challenge the typical role the female character played in their historical protagonist position by challenging society’s expectations. This series uses a visual media to speak about social issues including those found in children’s entertainment, public media, and the portrayal of traditional and non-traditional women’s roles.

What is different from these pieces and my past work is pretty vast. I am using a new substrate for my paintings and have been utilizing birch wood panels for the basis of my work. I still utilize acrylic but now cover the top of the painted surface in 2-4 layers of resin. The resin flattens the image completely and also soaks into the wood to enhance the grain. Because of this absorbent quality, I have been using the wood grain like a color. For example, all of the female figures’ skin tones are wood grain. These works have more developed figure shapes and backgrounds to the pieces than earlier works.

How did you decide to become an artist?

Art has always been a part of my life. I began as an artist at a young age; refusing to eat breakfast until I had finished coloring in my coloring books. I also began to paint at a young age on the tub walls with shaving cream dyed with food coloring. During my childhood, I continued to be creative with craft sales in my front yard (much like a lemonade stand but with art), coloring fuzzy posters and making Perler bead fridge magnets. I reconnected with my desire to be an artist during high school. Some of my high school photography traveled to an exhibition in Izumi, Japan and exhibited at the Minnesota State Capital. I made the decision to pursue a professional arts career in college. After my first semester of school, I transferred colleges and ended up at the University of Minnesota to study art, art history and design. 

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

I try to live my creative life by a quote by Anthony Bourdain. He said that if you wanted to get ahead you need to work like you are behind. I also parallel that with insights from my mentor who said to make sure you always take care of yourself and to enjoy the process. 

And another bit of advice that I have followed, is to get a lawyer. It’s impossible for artists to navigate the art world without knowing, learning or needing some sort of legal help along the way. There are numerous creative legal firms who can assist you. Lawyers are not as expensive as you think. Springboard for the Arts offers a Legal Clinic for about $20 a couple of times a year and has additional legal services and suggestions too. Most basic phone calls to a firm will be free if you have a few questions. I have even had a free consultation with a lawyer. Check out these firms below for legal help you may need:

Kunkle Law: http://kunklelaw.com/
Davis Law: http://davismeansbusiness.com/
Friedman Iverson Law: http://www.friedmaniverson.com/

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

I have learned very quickly to become a shameless promoter. I do a ton of marketing work and create a variety of promotional products to help get my name out there. I think the marketing is just as important as the art; both need to work in tandem. I am always trying new ways to get my name and my work out there. It’s crucial to make yourself as visible and accessible as possible. People do not want to search hard to try to find you or your work; make it easy for them. It’s okay to be out there, to express your individuality and to share what you do. That’s what is going to get people interested in the artwork and essentially make a sale. A little bit of repetition is okay too; just don’t overdo it. Sometimes people need to see things a few times before it catches their eye or before they remember a detail. And make sure that you can manage and update all of your marketing strategies…no use doing 20 different things if you can’t keep up!

Here’s just a quick snapshot of what I do for marketing. 

Multiple Facebook Pages:

https://www.facebook.com/KateReneesArt
https://www.facebook.com/TheSuctionCup
https://www.facebook.com/BeautiesBehavingBadly 

Twitter: @KateReneesArt

WordPress Blog: www.thesuctioncup.com

Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/in/katerenee
MNartists.org: http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=185648
Etsy: www.etsy.com/shop/KateReneesArt

Website: www.katerenee.com

Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/u/0/108522227595832574442/posts
Newsletter Sign Up: http://katerenee.com/contact.html
Special Events: RAW shows 

Local Artist Interviews:  Writing artist development articles: 

LAI interviews: http://www.local-artist-interviews.com/2011/04/kate-johnson-painter.html

Personal mailings: Custom address labels with promo content on them, custom thank you cards, custom invitations, blind mailings to friend and family with free promo products

Licensing Art Work:  Checkbook covers and checks 

Custom made freebies: buttons, pens, stickers, Water bottles with custom Kate Renee labels, business cards, Favi cards

Variety of products: T-shirts, prints, paintings, catalog books, calendars

PR: Write my own press releases and mail them out

Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy? 

Kara Hendershot: http://karahendershot.com/
Amber White: https://www.facebook.com/TangledAntlers
Jill Waterhouse: http://www.jillwaterhouse.com/
DC Ice: http://dcice.com/
Michael McGraw:  Blog / Website 

I am also a part of an artist group called the Artaversaries. We exhibit a group show of work based off of the traditional themes of anniversaries. Our first show was artwork with a theme of paper. Our second show will be work related to cotton. It is comprised of: 

The Artaversaries: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Artaversaries/406438019463387
Mark Elton: http://markelton.tumblr.com/
Marnie Erpestad: http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=262076
Julia Helen Rice: http://juliahelenrice.blogspot.com/
Kristy Childress : http://www.ravelry.com/designers/kristy-childress
Mary Foote: http://www.local-artist-interviews.com/2012/07/mary-foote-painter.html

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

I am always taking Arts Management training classes at the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council. http://mrac.org/ I have participated in 3 RAW: Natural Born Artists events this past year and will be in another in 2014. https://www.rawartists.org/ I also did my first art fair this past fall and will be partaking in some additional art fairs in the near future. 

I try to be at my studio daily and that is in Northeast Minneapolis in the Marshall Street River Lofts. You can always find me there and my studio is always open to visitors!

My exhibiting has been a bit quieter this past year due to the focus on completing a new series but I have exhibited plenty at Gamut Gallery during 2013 and 2014. http://www.gamutgallerympls.com/

I am also participating in the Women’s Art Resources of Minnesota (WARM) Mentor Intensive Program and I am at many of the WARM events in the community. My mentor is Jill Waterhouse and I have 4 lovely sister protégés: Barbara Bridges, Anne Kleinhenz and Jennifer Palmquist. www.thewarm.org

I also attend the monthly Artist Way Meet Up at the Northeast Library with Amy Egenberger and Heather Koshiol. http://www.meetup.com/Artists-Way-Meetup/  I would recommend any artist to attend the Meet Up!

You would also find me in book stores! I love reading self-help books and artist development books. Here’s my new favorite.

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? 

The typical sites: 

www.MNartists.org

www.springboardforthearts.org

www.mrac.org

www.mnstateartsboard.org

www.minnesotanonprofits.org
www.thewarm.org

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

Beauties Behaving Badly 

A solo exhibition by Kate Renee at Gamut Gallery
January 18^th – February 22^ndOpening: January 18^th from 7-11pm
Closing: February 22^nd 7-10pm
Attendees will receive a free catalog of the exhibition

Gamut Gallery is located at: 1006 Marquette Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55403
(612) 701-8272 There is a public parking lot diagonal from the gallery or directly across the street below the Hilton Hotel. 

Kate Renee is a fiscal year 2013 recipient of an Artist Initiative grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Kate Renee

Image List:

1. Alice In Wonderland: I’m Late Too, White Rabbit!

2. Little Bo Peep: I Thought I Lost My Sheep (I Lost My Virginity Instead)

3. The Princess And The Frog: The Princess And The Frogg

4. Tinkerbell: Supersized Thighs

5. Little Miss Muppet: Along Came A Spider

6. Little Red Riding Hood: Who’s Afraid of The Big Bad Wolf

Amber White - Book Artist

Inside a Shell

Handmade book with Snapping Turtle Shell

Amber White

Altered Esthetics Featured Artist

for 

"Formed by Nature"

May 2012

Name:  Amber White
City/State: Shoreview, MN
Email: tangledantlers[at]gmail[dot]com
Website: tangledantlers.com  

Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/amber-white/24/593/b01
MNartist.org profile:  MNArtists.org/Amber_White
Facebook page:  facebook.com/TangledAntlers
Etsy Page: tangledantlers.etsy.com

Bio~ 

 My early years were spent in central Minnesota, surrounded by nature and people who know how to live off the land. With a family history encompassing farming, hunting, fishing, trapping, and physical labor, I grew up with a healthy respect for the natural world and took to working with my hands. My first sort of creative training took place somewhere between the ages of 8 and 10 in my dad’s garage, where he and my uncle bravely allowed me to raid their tool chests for my experimental bird houses. This was around the same age I became adept at filleting fish, around the same age I encountered Jana Sterbak’s Meat Dress and Chuck Close’s cigarette-smoking Self-Portrait at the Walker Art Center during an elementary school field trip.

These experiences fueled a desire to learn more about art and to continue creating with my hands. Wanting more than fish fries and birdhouses (though I still love both), I left my hometown to attend the University of Minnesota Morris, where renewability and sustainability are core values. I completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in both Studio Art and Art History, with a focus in photography and book arts.

These days I live and work in the Twin Cities, though I still find time to escape and venture farther north. A local non-profit art gallery, Altered Esthetics, has been my main roost for the past few years. After completing an Assistant Gallery Director internship in 2010, I applied to join the board of directors as the Director of Group Exhibitions. Since January of 2011 I have managed over a dozen diversely themed group exhibitions. Altered Esthetics believes in art for art’s sake and provides opportunities for a wide range of creative types from students to emerging artists to working professionals.

 Moose Journal

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

Currently I am producing handmade & hand bound journals for artists and writers. This differs from many of my past projects in that my main undergraduate concentration was photography. Since I no longer have regular darkroom access, I do sometimes shoot digitally, but I find that bookmaking satisfies my need for hands-on interaction with paper and repetitive processes. I sell these books in my Etsy shop “TangledAntlers” and I have been known to take up personal requests such as a natural wedding guest book and a Tanzanian kitenge-covered travel journal. My favorite materials to use are old dictionary pages and paper wasp hives.

In the past my photographic work has focused on family and rural tensions between man and animal. I have often incorporated natural or animal materials into mixed media pieces and book art pieces as a way to salvage and upcycle the waste or scraps forgotten by my family members who hunt and trap. I collect and reuse what I can so that the animal is used to its fullest potential and can live on somehow through art. 

Hand-bound Journal with Wasp Hive Cover

"What is Art?" is certainly too big of a question to ask here, but what do you hope your audience takes away from your art? What statement do you hope to make?

Wait!! Going back to that “What is Art?” question, I can tell you what art is not. Art is not limited to what museum curators or wealthy collectors consider to be art. Art is everywhere, in all communities, for all people.  As far as my book art goes, I simply hope that the audience takes away a curiosity for the natural world, and a little more love for the handmade.

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

The advice given to me from other artists and colleagues can be boiled down to a few key points: Be persistent. Don’t let the fear of rejection stop you from creating, the way it stops so many others. We all have dry spells and times of rumination and that is perfectly okay. Always talk about your ideas or work with others, take yourself seriously and others will follow. Do what you know you can do, do it often, and do it well.

Dad and Uncle Rick in the Garage, Silver Gelatin Print

Tell me about your work space and your creative process.

I am thankful for my father-in-law allowing me to take over his former wood shop next to his basement utility room. There I am able to store all my “stuff” and keep things lying out on a table where I can return and work as needed without the interruption of packing things up and putting away. I do most of my binding and gluing there, which is great because it allows me to keep things in a separate space away from my dog, his fur, and other disturbances.  

Book binding very much has to be done in stages, so I will spend days just tearing paper, some days just sewing, and some days gluing or waiting for glue to dry.  After all the steps are completed and I have several books done, I set up my camera and photograph them all.

 Storage and workspace 

Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy?
Jess Larson has been an instructor, mentor, and friend of mine since 2005. She creates subversive embroideries that reinterpret domestic objects and social messages directed towards women. http://www.jesslarson.com/

Margaret Gamache has been a friend of Altered Esthetics I believe since the very first years. She is a mixed media artist, a good soul, and I always appreciate her sharing of family history.

http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=174413

A photographer who lived and worked in Minnesota for many years, Celeste Nelms photographs and interacts with discarded objects. 

http://celestenelms.mosaicglobe.com/gallery/1375

Judy Onofrio’s bone sculptures celebrate the organic beauty in life & death.

http://www.judyonofrio.com/

Erin Hernsberger’s gorgeously printed photographs combine fascination and repulsion. I especially enjoy the series Dissect. 

http://www.erinhernsberger.com/

The women of Cave Paper are doing some incredible things with paper!

http://www.cavepaper.com/

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

MN Center for Book Arts  http://www.mnbookarts.org/

North House Folk School Grand Marais  http://www.northhouse.org/

Altered Esthetics   http://www.alteredesthetics.org/

Northtrup King Building  http://www.northrupkingbuilding.com/

Untitled

Pheasant feathers, wheat, and wasp hive paper on handmade coyote fur & tea paper

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?

Local Artist Interviews, of course! http://www.local-artist-interviews.com/

I also love MN Artists http://mnartists.org/

Northeast Minneapolis Arts District http://northeastminneapolisartsdistrict.com/

NPR News Arts & Life  http://www.npr.org/sections/arts/

What can we expect to see from you in the future?

This May (2012) I am the featured artist for “Formed by Nature” at Altered Esthetics [alteredesthetics.org], and you can expect to see many more exhibitions curated by myself and the awesome curatorial intern team at AE until the end of 2013 when my board term is complete. In August of 2013 I will be guest curating a group exhibition featuring Twin Cities’ artists at HFA Gallery on campus at U of M Morris.

When I have time off from managing exhibitions, I plan to continue my own work in binding books and potentially creating a line of other handmade paper products. In the future I also hope to have a small studio to provide portfolio documentation services to other artists.

Amber White