Shameless Self Promotion

That's right, I'm breaking my three month radio silence to shamelessly self-promote. I currently have work on display in two different locations. The first is the Graduate Biennial show at Kent State in the School of Art Gallery. The show will be up until February 13th. 

The other exhibition is on the first floor of the Mandel School of Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University. I have a dozen pieces on display and they'll be up until February 20th. If you find yourself on the Case campus anytime soon, go take a peek. 

There are a couple of upcoming shows I'm cautiously hoping to get into. I'm applying to the third annual juried show at the Morgan, as well as the Student Annual at Kent. For the Student Annual I plan to submit work that I did last semester for my Surface Design class. It's really different than any of the work I've done in the past but I'm excited about it..

Work is going well. I'm in the process of scheduling all the summer workshops. After that, it's sending out contracts, writing class descriptions, and getting the catalog together. It's the most responsibility I've ever had at any job and I admit it's a little stressful at times. That being said, it's also the most rewarding work I've ever done. I can't wait for it to be summer, when all the Morgan Magic happens. 

As far as school goes, I'm taking nothing but independent study hours this semester, giving me more freedom in terms of being able to work on what I choose instead of being forced to fulfill arbitrary assignments. I think it will prepare me more for when I'm in thesis. Admittedly, it's a long way off, but I'm chipping away at it. That's how I get most things done. 

Student Annual

 I am pleased to say that a piece I made was accepted into this year's student annual exhibition. The opening was last Thursday evening, so I drove out to Kent just to see it. I have to say, I was both impressed and humbled by the pieces I saw in the show. The work of my fellow students is absolutely amazing and I'm honored to be studying amongst such talent. Best in show went to my studio mate, Liz Debellis, and I couldn't be happier for her. Her weavings are gorgeous and it was so nice to see her work in the gallery. I get so used to seeing everyone's work hanging in the studio for critique, that it's kind of shocking to see it in another environment. It gives new life to the piece. I wish I could say the same for my piece. Seeing it in the gallery made it look so small and insignificant. It made me realize that I have a lot of work to do in order to keep up with my peers. While I don't like feeling badly about my work, I do appreciate the renewed sense of drive and dedication that comes from seeing what others around me are making. Besides, I don't have time to mope. I'm too busy trying to improve my work and giving it my all. The show will be up until the 20th of this month, so if you find yourself in the Kent area, stop by the School of Art Gallery and see all the wonderful work on display.

Friday morning, I headed to school early because we had a vising artist coming for a lecture, as well as generously giving us individual critiques. The artist is Andrea Donnelly, from Richmond, Virginia. She's an incredibly gifted weaver and such a nice person. She had a lot of great things to say about my work, as well as giving me some really spot on insight about it. After her lecture, all the textile students had a potluck for Andrea back at the studio, where we stuffed our faces and asked Andrea all kinds of questions about what it's like to be a working, professional artist. It was a really valuable experience and a great way to end a busy, stressful school week.