Art in the Cities

A new post! Finally! You know when you move to a new location and in the hassle tend to be a bit forgetful about things? Well, I moved to my new house in Minneapolis back in November and between work, cleaning up the house, traveling between here and Wisconsin, and getting used to driving around (city driving is scary to a small-towner...just saying) more-or-less completely forgot about my blog...fortunately, there hasn't been much going on since the move art-wise, so I haven't missed much.

HOWEVER, a new year brings new opportunities and, as a friend of mine back home would say, my art karma seems to be on the rise. I'm still associated with the Edina Art Center (which, if you've never checked it out, you need to) and actually just received my confirmation e-mail today for my spring/summer classes...I'll be continuing to teach hand-building as well as a NEW smoke firing class! (Open flames...always exciting...) My muse has also returned from a two-month-or-so hiatus and I've been filling sketchbook pages with new design concepts just itching to be brought to life (hurry up, warm weather! I can't smoke-fire in the snow!) I'm also putting the finishing touches on my application for Ceramic Monthly's "2010 Emerging Artists" issue as well as one for a studio fellowship at the Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis, but more on those later if they're accepted (keep your fingers crossed).

Most exciting, however (and most recent seeing as I just got back to house from dropping off my work), is my participation in the Minneapolis Art Institute's "Foot in the Door 4," an exhibit offering any artist living in Minnesota the chance to display a single piece of work (no more than 1 foot in any direction) at a major art museum. MIA only offers this opportunity every ten years, so I'm psyched that it happens to coincide with the year I moved here (I didn't even mind the hour-and-a-half of standing in line to register my work as I got the chance to meet/speak with some lovely local artists who offered some great advice to the "Minneapolis newbie").

The show "officially" opens on the 19th, but there is a premier the evening before which I'll be going to/posting about (if I remember my camera, there may even be pictures). Here's the official link for the event:
http://www.artsmia.org/index.php?section_id=284

From what I saw at registration there is going to be a glorious conglomeration of work from across the state, so if you like art definitely try and make it here sometime between now and June when the show comes down.

In the Process of Re-situating

As some of you who have been in to Riverrun and/or know me personally may know I completed my apprenticeship with Joan at the end of August and immediately (quite literally, actually...as in the next morning) packed up and moved to the Minneapolis/St. Paul region of the Midwest. Why the Twin Cities? Well, my initial reasons included the fantastic art scene and resources, the great mix of people and cultures, and the close-ish proximity to home for occasional visits. However, at the end of July, one reason in particular jumped to the top of the list. After applying to the Edina Art Center in Edina, MN, as a teaching assistant, I was actually offered a regular teaching position for their fall Clay Sculpture class; the regular instructor had an unavoidable time conflict come up and my qualifications and previous teaching experience just happened to fit the position requirements (obviously there was a lot of excited hopping around after that phone call). The following week I drove to Edina, met with the head of the Ceramics Department at the Center, and finalized the details of the position. (There will also be opportunities for me to propose additional classes for the winter session, but that won't come until later this fall.)

Living and working in the Twin Cities area has been a very interesting transition - driving around the cities still makes me a bit nervous, though it's more so the speed and traffic congestion than unfamiliarity of the roads - but I'm very happy here.