Mail Art Exhibition at the 407 Gallery

Lia from Art Junk

Jennifer from Wee Hoo

France

Bill from Art Contemplations

Germany

I installed the Mail Art exhibition today at the 407 Gallery (University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Campus, Studio Arts Building 407) You can see it there through November 1st.

Thank you to all the Mail artists who sent me something for this show--I really appreciate it! If you sent me something within the last month, you should be getting something in the mail from me soon!

It took me about 4 hours to install it, with the help of my friend Elana (thanks Elana!!)
Will be back with pics of the installation soon.

I will be sending out a list of participants to all of those involved. Included will be addresses, expect for those who have requested not to have their address listed. If you are part of this show and you DO NOT want your address listed, please let me know right away. Also let me know if you have changed your address since our last correspondence!

The show looks great and it has been a lot of fun. I am still open to trading Mail Art with anyone. It will then be on display in my office in The Eclipse Gallery on a rotating basis, or in my home if I really like it! Maybe a future themed show will come into being someday...

Exhibition Opportunity

I thought of a great idea for an exhibition the other day, and now that I am opening The Eclipse Gallery I can make it happen! So this is a call to all you artists, designers, and craftspeople out there.

50 States, 50 Artists, 50 Mediums

One artist or designer from each state in the USA will represent a different medium, bridging the gap between the traditional fine art world and other arts disciplines, including craft, design, architecture, performance art, etc.

Open to all professional artists living or working in the United States. Open to any and all mediums in the art, craft, and design communities. See below for examples of accepted mediums.

How to submit: Send a short biography (including your address & e-mail), artist statement, a few words about why you want to be in this show, 10-20 images & information (including medium, dimensions, & price), and any links to your work on line to sarah@theeclipsegallery.com. Important: You must write “Submission for 50 Show” in the subject line of the e-mail or I will think it is spam. Attachments are fine. E-mail submissions are preferred.

Deadline for submissions: April 15, 2009. Show is scheduled for October 16, 2009 – March 8, 2010 at The Eclipse Gallery. Location: 507 Fourth Street (Hwy 42), Algoma, Wisconsin, 54201.

Mediums accepted, but not limited to:
Painting, Drawing, Sculpture, Digital, Ceramics, Mixed Media, Knitting, Jewelry, Metals, Found Object, Glass, Plastic, Photography, Crochet, Paper, Quilting, Felt, Wearables, Architecture (such as models, plans, photos), Graphic Design, Film/Time Based, Installation, Furniture, Baskets, Typography, Sand, Rock, Performance, Music, Spoken-Word, Text, Artist Books, Zines, Mail Art, Encaustic, Watercolor, Sewing, Mosaic, Fresco, Graffiti, Illustration, Altered Book, Printmaking, Silk Screen, Product Design, Wallpaper, Textiles, Etc.

Any questions, feel free to e-mail me. Thanks :)

More Love for Faythe: Handmade Nation

The Craftivism show was awesome, and Faythe happened to take some great pictures of the installation and opening, so check them out on her Flickr.

I was pleasantly surprised to be able to buy a book (and get it autographed) that Faythe co-wrote with Cortney Heimerl. Handmade Nation: The Rise of DIY, Art, Craft, and Design is an intriguing look at a slice of makers from the USA, and I read the entire book in one sitting. Find the book here. But to get it autographed you will have to find Faythe--you might catch her at Paper Boat Boutique & Gallery if she isn't traveling.

The book is based on a documentary that Faythe filmed, which is coming out soon.
Click here to watch the trailer!

Craftivism: Reclaiming Craft & Creating Community

This show opens today at the Lawton Gallery in Green Bay, WI. I helped set the show up as part of my degree in Gallery/Museum Practices. It is guest curated by Faythe Levine, the owner of Paper Boat Boutique & Gallery in Milwaukee. It just so happens that she know my artist friends Paul and Tashana Kjelland, which was super cool. The Paper Boat Blog is also a great site and I would highly recommend checking out Faythe's projects.

I was, of course, very excited to see this show come to Green Bay, because Craftivism and DIY culture directly influences my artwork and my vision for The Eclipse Gallery. To read more about that, click here to visit my gallery's blog.

It is so exciting to live in the midst of this culture, and to contribute. I know a lot of my readers are not local, but if you are--don't miss the gallery opening tonight at 4:30.

A quote from the show catalog: "I believe this is just the beginning of something much larger. I think that through the emergence of the DIY, art, craft and design community, we will continue to see growth and exciting developments. For me, craftivism is about the desire to produce change through the passion of creating..." --Faythe Levine

A few highlights of the show include Kate Bingaman-Burt's Zines "What Did You Buy Today?"
Mellissa Vogley Woods Sun Bonnet Quilt Squares
Stephanie Syjuco's Counterfeit Crochet Project
Photos of Jennifer Marsh's International Fiber Collective Wrapped Gas Station
Betsy Greer from Craftivism.com
And more...

Make sure to visit the International Fiber Collaborative website. Their new project for the 2009-09 year is constructing a life sized Fiber tree, the theme being "Interdependence". The project is open to Kindergarten--Adult levels, artists and non artists. Jennifer Marsh will be collecting up to 30,000 leaves made from people all over the world. The leaves must be 2 1/2 inches at the widest point, to 4 1/2 inches from end to end. Leaves must be fiber related and are due by March 20th, 2009. For more info visit the website link above.

Artist Statements: the good, the bad, and the horrible

There are varied opinions as to the importance of artist statements, but I happen to find them--if they are well written--to be very helpful, interesting, and add greatly to my understanding of the work and the artist. That being said, a bad artist statement can really throw me off. However, it doesn't bother me at all when an artist chooses not to write one.

Bad artist statements are either badly written or they don't add anything to my understanding of the artwork. For example, a statement that I read recently went like this. The red is the artist's words and the black is my critique.

Having experienced painting and drawing for many years, the ultimate reflection within ones work is drawing. Don't cite how long you have been making art. Nobody really cares. And this sentence would make more sense if you said "within my work". Make your statement specifically about your art. The line is an integral part within the structure of making art. The idea of the line is of the upmost importance. No kidding. Don't underestimate your audience. If people care enough to read an artist statement, most likely they know the importance of line in art. Also it's utmost, not upmost. My work begins with that line and continues to learn the fabrics of the drawing to the painting. Don't use metaphors that make no sense. Although my work is constructed with an abstract frame it is fundamental to achieve all possibilities to push further my philosophy of the two acts. Huh? The stronger the line the richer it becomes, therefore new ideas and sensations are formed. So only strong lines are rich? Where are these new ideas and sensations forming? How can one paint without the exploration of drawing? First of all, lots of artists have created masterpieces without relying on drawing. Second, don't ask questions in your artist statement, especially dumb ones. Looking at the painters of Venice to Arshile gorky, the art of the past makes you understand and inspire your art and the importance of the line and paint, today and tommorrow. Never cite other artists in your statement, especially a broad generalization like this. Second, don't assume that everybody else has the same opinion as you do. The art of the past doesn't inspire all artists. For example, Marinetti, a founder of Italian Futurism, urged artists to start afresh and ignore all tradition.

I'm sorry to critique that so harshly, but I get a lot of e-mails from emerging artists, wanting to become part of The Emergence Project. Unfortunately, the vast majority of these artists have horrible artist statements. I haven't accepted any of those artists. On the other hand, I have read statements that were so good, I accepted the artist's work even though I had trepidations. I quickly discovered that was a mistake and moved on. I do have a couple artists at The Emergence Project that have little or no words to say, and that's just fine. My advice to artists is--if you are bad at writing, or don't know what to say--don't worry about the statement. The other option is to have someone help you write one.

In fact, if you e-mail me at sarah@theeclipsegallery.com I would be happy to proofread your statement and make some suggestions.

If you are a good writer, but don't know where to start, I would suggest reading lots and lots of artist statements to get a feel for it. There are some great ones at The Emergence Project. Also, explore what your art means to you. Do some automatic writing about your work. Then go back and, just like you work into an artwork, work into your statement. Have several people proofread it. Before you do anything with it, live with it for awhile. Write it on a piece of paper and tape it to your mirror. Also, write a statement before you need one. Don't write one just because you are entering your work into a show, etc.

What brought this whole post about was reading the beautiful catalogue for the art faculty exhibition for the University of Wisconsin-Madison professors, which was at the Chazen Museum of Art. The statements from the artists were amazing, as was the artwork. (It was refreshing to see such great work by living Wisconsin artists!) I could go on, but this post is too long already. Look for a post about the art faculty exhibiton soon. I have to leave you with one statement from that catalogue, however. This is how it's done!

John Hitchcock

My current artwork consists of hybrid mythological creatures (buffalo, wolf, boar, deer, moose) based on childhood memories and stories of growing up in the Wichita Mountains of Oklahoma. I explore notions of good and evil, cycles of death and life. My depictions of beasts, animals, and machines act as metaphors for human behavior and cycles of violence. My artwork is a response to intrusive behavior by humans toward nature and other humans.

The moral of the story is--be concise! Nobody wants to go view a show, and spend a ton of time reading the statements. People just want a quick look into your mind so that they can better understand your art.

By the way, if you want to see a super amazing site, visit John Hitchcock's!

Please Take My Survey

Everybody likes taking a survey, right? Well, maybe not, but I would really like you to take mine! I am trying to officially decide the name of my new art & design gallery, and I would love your input.

Click here to help me out, and I would very much appreciate it! It could be your good deed for the day. Just think of how warm and fuzzy you will feel afterwards!

At any rate, Thank you!

A Few Zine Reviews

First Song is a gorgeous illustrated poem by artist Aijung Kim. This small artist book is packed full of visual delight! I enjoyed it very much, but was even more struck by Aijung's website, as all of her artwork, including paintings, prints, sculpture, and her artist books are amazing. Her website design is also one of the best I've seen in a long time! Check it out at www.aijungkim.com or visit her shop.

Birch is a collection of drawings by Justin Madson (from neighboring Oshkosh, WI no less). His drawings are fun, unique, and cohesive. I happen to love his characters! He also sells original art, comics, and prints. Visit http://www.justmadbooks.com/ and/or his shop.

Obsolete is a wonderful book of poems that is intriguing to read. The book is very professionally done, an all-around delight! Visit Katie's website, http://www.thelalatheory.com/!

Click here for more info on Obsolete. She also has many other zines that I am now thirsty to check out here.

Mail Art!

From Gloria Federwitz, Wisconsin

I can't believe that this is the first Mail Art that I have received from my home state of Wisconsin! I really loved these two postcards Gloria sent!I guess I haven't really been promoting myself very much in Wisconsin though. I really should.

The other day I was thinking about how the outside world sees artists and galleries in Wisconsin, and I came across a blog post where somebody from Chicago was talking about how he thought that people didn't take Chicago artists seriously. I thought--well, then there isn't any hope for Wisconsin artists! However, I don't agree with him about Chicago artists. After all, there are many artists from Chicago that were widely recognized as successful, great artists, like Ed Paschke (who happens to be one of my favorite artists ever).

And as far as Wisconsin artists goes, I think we have a lot of great artists up here as well! My hope is that more people will stop being so pretentious about buying art at the "major hubs" like New York, for example. After all, in this globalized economy, with the advent of the Internet, anybody can see that artists come from every corner of the globe, and that you don't have to be in New York City to be a great artist. One of my favorite galleries in Wisconsin is the Tory Folliard Gallery in Milwaukee, for example. One of my old professors from college, Mary Alice Wimmer, is represented by them. She does amazing work, and I am so glad to have learned her watercolor techniques! I've also seen another one of their artists in action--Dennis Nechvatal.

I could go on and on about how I think that many professional Wisconsin artists are underrated. All of them have had to at least exhibit in Chicago to get any credibility. And I understand that's how it works right now. But I want to change that by opening a gallery that brings in cutting edge artwork. Too many galleries in Wisconsin only show what they know the local people will "like". Wisconsin needs more challenging art.

So the point is, I am going to start promoting my projects in Wisconsin and start getting more involved in the Wisconsin art community. I have to say, there are some great Wisconsin arts organizations in place already! And I do already have two Wisconsin artists on The Emergence Project, Amy Schmutte and David Kwasny.

I want to let it be known that I am looking for more Wisconsin artists and artisans. The plans for my gallery and handmade design store have recently been expedited, and we are tentatively putting the grand opening date for next summer!

That being said, even if you are not from Wisconsin and you are interested in selling your art or handmade goods in Culture Eclipse, feel free to contact me. I prefer to take work on consignment but may buy some things wholesale as well.