Upcoming Solo Show - Material Experiments
I’ve been a little quiet here lately, as I’ve been busy making work for my first show of 2023!
Material Experiments will open on January 7th at Cahoots in Ann Arbor. I’ll be giving a brief talk on the process and work in the collection at 12 pm, with the possibility of a Q + A session afterwards.
About the Work: The work selected for Material Experiments is a combination of some familiar pieces and brand new work. The common thread is experiments. I’ve always been more interested in the making of the cookie dough than the cookie, and this collection echos that. Each piece examines a relationship with material, asks/answers questions about marks and stands as little monuments to process.
About the Space: Cahoots is a tech co-working space + cafe here in Ann Arbor, in the old Kleinschmidt insurance building (seriously cool facade). I was so excited to be asked to show work here, the interior oozes innovation and the cafe offerings are always delicious.
About the Show: The opening talk will start at noon on January 7th. Come early and grab a drink from the cafe! Parking in the area isn’t too bad, there’s a garage at 4th and Washington (just down the street) and occasionally street parking once you turn off Huron.
Drop me a note if you’re planning on coming, I’d love to see you there!
First Open Studio Weekend
This weekend I opened the middle garage door, put out some signs, hung some new work, laid out some snacks and held the first open studio in the new space.
I kept it on the smaller end of attendance, just to make sure logistically I wouldn’t be bothering the neighbors too much. The alleyway can get a bit tight, so I wanted to make sure we could easily all fit inside if necessary.
It was such a great event. I met so many neighbors, saw some friends I haven’t seen since the early days of the pandemic, and a few pieces even found new homes. I love having people into the space, it’s always so great to hear what they see in the paintings, or how they interpret the work. Those conversations are my absolute favorite.
This was also the second event that showcased the new collage pieces. (The first one being the Rostrum 312 show ) so I was eager to hear the responses to the new work.
This was also the first time the Glyph collection was shown together. (All except the pieces mounted on paper) At the end of the weekend these will be boxed up and shipped down to Jenner McGinn Studios, where they will be a part of a pop-up at the end of the month.
Huge thanks to everyone who stopped by, next time I’ll get the word out a little far-er and wide-er, but this was a good run-through for a larger event. Chewy even made an appearance at the end of Friday night (see the chairs keeping him in the studio). I’m so grateful for this little art community, thank you so much and always for your support <3
Switching Spaces in the Studio
When I had my parents into the studio for the first time after the construction was complete my dad asked why I hadn’t set up the painting space to be upstairs, you know, with all that natural light. At the time I wanted more space to spread out, I was working on multiple projects all with the same general deadline and needed a big space to let everything dry. After 6 months of working on the bottom floor and bringing visitors past all that mess to see the ‘gallery’ upstairs - I decided my dad was in fact, correct as always.
So I started swapping the spaces.
I budgeted 3 days for the full swap, like someone who had never moved around a studio before. 1.5 months later (thanks covid!) it was done.
The biggest additions were two new walls to display work on in the new ‘gallery’ area downstairs. Built by my husband and our good friend, these can be shimmied about on their casters and repositioned to change up the flow, or give me different sized areas for photographing work. I’m so thrilled with these.
Painting upstairs is a dream. Yes, it’s a bit smaller but it’s so much easier to manage the space mentally. I can move around the tables to separate different projects and it’s so perfectly bright up there.
I’ll be having my first open studio in the fall - stay tuned for more info!
Movement, Texture and Meandering; Oxbow I
I started Oxbow I (I anticipate more of these to come) as an exploration into marks made in wet paint, dragging textures and more build-up than I usually work with. A dalliance, a meandering.
As I worked on this painting I thought about water cutting through land, doubling back, eroding and going forward again. I’m sure there’s a metaphor in there somewhere.
The river cuts the path based on sediment - not to create something ‘beautiful’. For Oxbow I, I let my arm take easy paths, make easy movements and drag/dig into the wet paint.
I think all the flying we’ve been doing has started to affect my work.
How to Pick Plants for your Studio!
Having greenery around me as I work is incredibly important to me. Well, having greenery around me *all the time* is incredibly important to me really - but even more so when I’m working.
I use my plants for sketches, for neg/pos space studies, color inspiration and to provide little moments of visual peace from their spaces in the studio. For me, a space without plants is a space without a soul.
Choosing plants for my space came down to three things, light, humidity and general care requirements, and if you’re looking to add a few green friends to your space - these can help you too.
Light: Check out the lighting in your area, which direction do your windows face? No natural light? Better invest in a few grow lights. I have one southern facing window in the loft (no natural light on the bottom floor right now, so I’m not putting any plant friends down there) so I’ll congregate most of the plants in that area. If you aren’t sure about your light there are light meters you can purchase, or start with a low-light tolerant plant like a ZZ and see how they do.
Humidity: I have a cheap little meter to measure the humidity in my space as I have lost one too many prayer plants to significant drops. In the winter my studio is humid, in the summer it’s relatively dry with the AC running. Check the levels in your studio before getting a plant that requires high humidity. It’s not too hard to add a small humidifier - but that can be tricky in a studio space where there are materials that might not enjoy a lot of moisture in the air. For my purposes, all plants that require high humidity will live in my plant space at home where I can more fully control the levels.
General care: Does the plant require a lot of routine maintenance? I water by the finger-check method, so I check the plant friends about once a week in the summer and once every 2 in the winter. I can’t have something that will require constant moist soil as I may not be around with the right frequency to keep it happy. I also don’t want something that will get super huge in the in this space. It’s still an art studio afterall, as much as I would love a jungle I have to consider collectors dropping by and open studio nights – these might be hard to do if my guests have to dodge vines.
SO! The plants I went with for my space are:
ZZ plant: these are low light tolerant, drought tolerant and have been just so easy. They store water in their base, so if I’m out of the studio for a week they will be just fine without me.
Pothos: I love Pothos. I’ll say it again, I LOVE Pothos. They are so easy and come in so many beautiful varieties. Just remember the more white they exhibit, the more light they will need. If you have super low light try to steer towards the Jade (all over deep green) varieties. I have a neon in the studio currently, but I’m propping a marble queen and manjula from my collection at home to add to this space.
Hoyas! I currently have a rope and a carnosa queen in the studio, but will be watching these closely in the summer months as the humidity reacts to the airconditioner. I don’t keep the ac on while I’m away, so as long as it doesn’t drop too much these should be fine. If you want these plants to flower give them access to bright indirect light, otherwise just enjoy their waxy weird leaves.
Along the same lines, my monstera adansonii will also be under humidity-surveillence as the summer goes on. They tend to like more than 60% humidity, not sure if the studio will stay that way so if it looks to be getting too dry it will go back to my plant room at home.
I also have two varieties of sansevieria. Typically these are labeled as ‘low-light’ plants, but that doesn’t mean it needs low light. I have better luck with these in bright light, they grow so much stronger/taller. I have a whale fin and a laurentii and these will have no trouble with the shifty humidity thankfully.
Finally, I have a small string-of-hearts. I don’t usually go for succulents, but these are so great for negative/positive space studies with all the hanging stems. It would probably appreciate a little bit stronger light, but I’ll keep that in mind as I water and make sure not to saturate it.
And that’s it for the current collection. I just added these larger shelves to accommodate more in the future, but I’ll wait for the end-of-summer sales I think.
Featuring new work; ‘Conserve’ 18 x 24, acrylic on canvas. Inquire here for availability.