Intensive Winter Art Residency

This winter I had the exciting opportunity to occupy a fantastic industrial style studio space, minutes from my home! I treated it like an artist residency, working 6 days a week, not wanting to waste a minute of this wonderful studio space.

My intention was to explore some new materials and techniques, as well as scale up my work. I figured that if everything went really well, upon departure I might have a new body of work. At the very least, I would have expanded my knowledge base, my artistic toolbox, and my studio practice.

Working in a large space, turned out to be a game-changer. One benefit was that I could investigate multiple ideas, materials, and techniques simultaneously. I rotated through many canvases and continued to develop my ideas with soft fiber sculpture that I began last year. In addition, I took a few detours, playing with encaustic monotypes for the first time and working on paper.

Without question, the number one benefit was the ability to see how all the work related to each other as I moved along. For me, this was very informative and helped me to make decisions that I felt strengthened the direction of the work as I moved forward.

Upon departure, I had a solid group of about 12 paintings that held together as a new series, as well as, couple of fiber pieces that I was happy with.

Next, I will be photographing the work, naming each piece, and updating my website. I’m grateful for the opportunities lined up to show my work this summer. More on that later.... 

Handmade Brushes Using Natural Materials: connecting with my natural environment

Inspired by Australian artist Lorna Crane, I made some handmade brushes with materials I foraged from the forest.

This was such a fun project! It felt so free, where there were no rules and no way to get it wrong.

8 Reasons I wanted to try this

✔️ it disrupts habitual marks (introducing surprise)

✔️ it provides unique marks (not store bought)

✔️ it’s fun (and that’s good for the soul) 

✔️ it connects me to the land where I live (❤️Montana)

✔️ it links me to the artists/people who came Long before me (before brushes were manufactured)

✔️ its resourceful (and I like that)

✔️ it’s also like cross training for an athlete (exercising alternate muscles, enhances performance in their main sport)

✔️ it was a good way to practice some storytelling and learn how to create videos

Capturing the Energy of Spring: using an inspiration board as a studio tool.

Each Spring when the snow melts here in Northwest Montana, I feel unusually sensitive to the energy surging through our landscape. As an artist, this season is especially powerful for me. It always provides a rich source of inspiration, as everything seems to be in a frenzy of growth. This year, I created an inspiration board in an attempt to visually capture that life force energy.

The inspiration board rests in my studio space. Although I have not been working directly from the board, it has acted as a guide these past months while I’ve been painting. When the creative path leads me away on different tangents, I return to it, and I’m reminded of it’s original and powerful source of inspiration.

The elements on the board, although ordinary, act as visual reminders for me of how mysterious life really is. From the larger planetary forces at work to the tiniest cellular organisms, it’s the magic that keeps it all going, that I’m inspired by. It is this feeling of awe, that I am attempting to channel into my current work. 

What is the purpose of being an artist? I think it is to highlight things and ideas, that others might overlook, or re-frame things so that they can be experienced in a different way.

In this case, to see the ordinary, as extraordinary.

Above/Below: Winter solo exhibit at North Valley Hospital

Contemporary art exploring the territory above and below the surface of life
 

I had the great pleasure of exhibiting a selection of my 2017 work at North Valley Hospital this Winter. 

The exhibit consisted of 6 collages (incorporating fabric, thread, paint, graphite, and ink) and 6 charcoal and gouache paintings on paper. 

The work explores the idea that we are made up of layers of experience that drive our beliefs and actions.

“Similar to the strata of the Earth, I believe we are made up of layers. Although they exist below the surface they influence how we view the world, ourselves and each other. This work explores the idea that our emotional, physical, and psychological experiences shape us and that they unite us in being human.”

— Heidi Marie Faessel

I loved having the opportunity to share my work in a healing environment, such as the hospital. It seems that each of us could benefit from some healing. Just being human, we suffer - navigating life with a myriad of feelings, emotions, and perceptions.

Our local paper, the Whitefish Pilot, ran an article about the exhibit.