Showing posts with label Faye Passow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Faye Passow. Show all posts

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
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Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Marlaine Cox - Metal Artst


Marlaine Cox
Scope.   
Metal, spring steel, magnifying glass, 
Look(again) residency:  Low tech/high joy collaborative, 2013


Name:  Marlaine Cox
City/State:  Minneapolis, MN
Email: marlainecox@gmail.com 
Website: marlaineblog.wordpress.com   
MNartist.org profile: http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=186466 
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Marlaine-Cox-Metalworks/192381700785215
https://www.facebook.com/lowtech.highjoy 
Etsy Page: Scrap Yard Siren 

Bio-
Marlaine Cox is a Miami born metal artist who transplanted to Minneapolis in 1990 because her car broke down while driving through.  After settling in to the eternal winter she began constructing found object assemblages, finding inspiration in the broken tools, farm implements and detritus around her. She never managed to fix the car but continued her life anyway.



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

My work is mostly about transforming salvaged bits and metal scrap into functional objects.  I like the challenge of turning a broken tool into a new and unexpected use while trying not to manipulate the objects too much, letting beauty of the original forms show.  My goal is to fit as few parts together as elegantly as possible.  If the objects become humorous or absurd by my subtle manipulations then even better.
Right now I’m working with artist, Karen Kasel, as part of a creative placemaking team called low tech/high joycollaborative.   We are in the middle of a six month artist residency called Look(again) at TuckUnder Projects .  We created scoping devices from salvaged metal, inviting visitors to peer into the yard, finding unexpected oddities and small surprises.

Karen and I have collaborated in the past(The Shanty of Misfit Toys) http://www.artshantyprojects.org/  so formalizing this partnership is very exciting. We explore details in the environment that are often overlooked.

I’m also working on a series of wall sculptures for an upcoming exhibit at Gallery 360, opening on August 24, 2013.  My compulsion is to inject a ‘function’ into everything I create so these purely decorative sculptures are a departure for me.  To combat this, the pieces will have some kinetic component in them, a pulley or a hook, so they still ‘function’ just a little.



How did you decide to become an artist?

When I was a kid I was preoccupied with manipulating my environment. I built hidden book shelves and cubbies in the bottom bunk & I transformed our patio into a ramshackle greenhouse, building shelves into the screen walls and filling it with plants from the yard.  I carpeted my high school locker.  Since I was a bookworm I just thought I would be a writer or teacher or work in publishing.  It wasn’t until I moved to Minnesota when I was 23, disgruntled that college sucked all the fun out of reading and writing, that I realized how much I loved working with my hands.  I loved the immediacy of it, and getting out of my head.



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

Try to create something beautiful every day, no matter how small or ephemeral.  The artistic process doesn’t need to be filled with angst and suffering, it can sometimes be simple creative activities that have nothing to do with theory or art history or big ideas.

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

I sell my line of post-industrial accessories at Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/scrapyardsiren 
and in local shops: http://www.ilikeyouonline.com/ 
http://www.gallery360mpls.com/ 
http://www.gallery360mpls.com/ 
I accept commissions: http://marlainecoxmetalworks.com/



Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy?

David Sollie  http://www.bockleygallery.com/artist_sollie/index.html 
Karen Kasel  http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=2485
Julie Buffalohead https://www.facebook.com/pages/Julie-Buffalohead-Artist/191704760864481 
Faye Passow http://fayepassow.com/ 
Peter Haakon Thompson  http://www.peterhaakonthompson.com/ 
Jan Elftmann http://www.corktruck.com/ 

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

Franconia Sculpture Park http://www.franconia.org/ 
Chicago Ave. Fire Arts Center http://www.cafac.org/ 
Art Shanty Projects http://www.artshantyprojects.org/ 
The Ledge Gallery  http://www.theledgempls.com/ 
Walker Art Center  http://www.walkerart.org/ 

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? 

MN Artists http://www.mnartists.org/ 
L’etoile http://www.letoilemagazine.com/ 



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

August 1, 2013: Low tech/high joy collaborative continues the Look(again) residency at TuckUnder Projects
 
August 2, 2013: AlteredEsthetics-Time Honored Exhibition-I’ll be showing three pieces from my post-industrial accessory collection

August 24, 2013:  Gallery 360- Wall Sculpture Series

Tuck Under Gallery


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Thursday, May 24, 2012

Michelle Lee - Printmaker


"A Ghostly Reminder" - Screenprint
Michelle Lee

Name: Michelle Lee
City/State: Minneapolis, MN
MNartist.org profile: www.mnartists.org/Michelle_Lee


Bio~ 
I discovered screenprinting while earning my Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in graphic design at MCAD. I just fell in love with it. Now, I screenprint and do some relief and letterpress printing. For my day job, I work as a book designer at Free Spirit Publishing, and I feel so lucky to have a creative job. I also teach in the Continuing Studies department at MCAD (I'm the teaching assistant for the Open Edition Printmaking Seminar and I teach the "Digital Goes Analog" class). I've also taught several DIY screenprinting workshops. My work has been shown locally, but mostly I like just making it and giving it away!

"Cornfed" - Screenprint

Tell me about your work? What are you currently working on? How is this different from past projects?
I'm a printmaker who focuses primarily on screenprinting, though I've been doing more relief (linoleum cut and letterpress) lately as well. I try to have several projects going at once, and I work on things that make me happy, or inspired, or angry. If there's no emotion behind it, there's no drive to get the work done! I recently finished a signage series, where I photographed lots of signage and screenprinted each one small, in kind of a postcard style, with a similar palette and a lot of detail. 

Right now I'm working on a "Perfect Moments" series, which are somewhat-degraded photographs of the moments in your life when you're supposed to be happiest, but when that pressure is often enough to make it quite the opposite experience. This work is fairly different from the signage pieces because the "Perfect Moments" are brightly-colored and also more abstract. 

I'm also starting to work much larger, and my three new bike pieces, "The First Commute of Winter," "You Spin Me Right Round," and "A Ghostly Reminder," are my first forays into large prints. ("You Spin Me Right Round" uses 7" records in the print, which is something I'd like to do more often.) I'm planning a few more large prints to be completed soon. Working large is such a different experience—since I pull all my prints by hand, it uses different muscle memory and different techniques. It forces me to work in new ways, which is good.

Finally, I'm trying to do more drawing-based screenprints and loose screenprints using tools like waxed paper for quick and abstract stencils. This is pretty much the opposite of my highly detailed, controlled signage work and it's a lot of fun.

"Perfect Moments Series: Birthday," screenprint

How did you decide to become an artist?
I think I was about 5 or 6 and drawing with my grandfather... some of my favorite childhood memories were of making art with him. As far back as I can remember, I've always known I'd pursue visual art in some way.

What was the best advice given to you as an artist? 
"This isn't working. Start again from scratch." 

When I was in design school, this was advice given to me by an instructor 2 days before a major deadline. Frustrating to hear at the time, but it turned out to be fantastic advice! Today, if I'm futzing and futzing with a piece and can't get it to work, I'll still often scrap it and start over. I sometimes take a deep breath and advise students to do that as well.

"Tomatoes: Before and Tomatoes: After" (diptych), screenprint


Many artists struggle to find ways to sell their art.  How do you sell your work?  How do you market yourself?
Can "badly" be an answer here? :) Honestly, this is something I need to be better about. Most of my marketing comes from word of mouth and having some of my work in local galleries like Altered Esthetics. When I was in the State Fair art show last year, that was terrific for many reasons, one of them being marketing. I also have small work (like cards) at the Grand Hand Gallery and Design Collective, which is really fantastic - I like those stores a lot. Sometime soon, I also want to put some small work on Etsy.


How do you come up with ideas for your work?
For some reason, being in motion is a great idea generator. I tend to come up with my best ideas while riding my bike. The lightrail or city buses can also be great places to come up with ideas and sketches for projects. If I'm ever stuck, I'll typically take my bike out and ride until I come up with a solution!

"First Commute of Winter" -Screenprint

What's inspiring you right now?
Bikes and gardening. I know, I know, everyone's thinking about those things now that it's spring, but I've been planning out my garden in InDesign since January!


Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy?
You know, I'm always getting inspired by local artists, but I'm terrible with names! Some of the artists who have a large body of work that I love are Aesthetic Apparatus (aestheticapparatus.com), Amy Rice (www.amyrice.com), and Faye Passow (www.fayepassow.com), whose very witty works always make me laugh. I'm often inspired by work that the Continuing Studies printmaking students at MCAD produce, too.


If I were to follow you around to see art in Minnesota, which places would we go? What would we see?
We'd start in the Warehouse and North Loop Districts of Downtown Minneapolis, looking at all the old signage, especially the old hand-painted, partly-faded signs on the brick facades. I know it's not "technically" art, but being a graphic designer, I absolutely love old signage. The old hand-painted fonts are incredible, and the textures they have when they're old and peeling are so compelling!

From there, we'd stop at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts (www.mnbookarts.org), where there's always certain to be something amazing in the display case and the gallery. We'd have to make a stop at the Minneapolis Institute of Art (artsmia.org) to look at the screenprints and Japanese art. As long as we were in South Minneapolis, we should definitely look at all the murals, especially in the Corcoran neighborhood. We'd swing through Northeast to check out some of the small galleries (like Altered Esthetics, www.alteredesthetics.com), and if there was time, we'd drive out to some old small towns in rural Minnesota to check out the old buildings and old signage there. And then we'd be tired.

"Don't Mourn, Organize!," screenprint

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? 
My consumption of the Internet can be kind of random, but here are some sites I use:
. .. and I hate to admit it, but facebook.com

Michelle Lee


Do you have any exhibits to promote in the near future?
I'll have one of my new pieces, "A Ghostly Reminder," at the Altered Esthetics Bike Art VII show in June. The opening is June 1, 2012.

I also had some work in the Casket Arts Building during Art-A-Whirl in the Vesper College space.

I'll have work in an upcoming exhibit at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts titled "Under Pressure," too. The dates aren't set in stone, but it should be in the late summer/early fall.

Michelle Lee is the Altered Esthetics 
Featured Artist for "Bike Art Vll"
Opening Reception:
Friday, June 1, 7pm-10pm
Artists’ Discussion:
Saturday, June 16th, 1pm-3pm 
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