Good Women Making Good Art
Just in time for International Women’s Day on March 8th, we had our opening at Sidetracked Studios in Evanston, IL. Curated by collector Michele Mahon Jahelka, the show is titled “What Did She Say?” and runs until May 10th. I’m honored to have...
What Did She Say?!?
I’m so excited to be part of this show, which features eclectic work from six women artists at the very cool Evanston gallery, Sidetracked Studio. Please join us for the opening reception this Saturday, March 7th from 6-9pm for some good art, lively conversation...
The Top Five Lessons I Learned From My First Solo Show
I’m so honored to have my guest post, The Top Five Lessons I Learned From My First Solo Show, published on the incredibly helpful blog of The Abundant Artist. An excerpt: The year leading up to that solo show was a tremendous learning experience in terms of...
“They Came Between Dreams” Gallery of Images
All things must pass. My show at Firecat is over, the artwork is packaged up on its way to new homes or other art exhibitions, and I’m moving on to my next series. Here’s the collection, for posterity. They Came Between Dreams exhibited at Firecat Projects...
How Creativity Works: ‘Dreamwood’ Author Heather Mackey On Fighting Procrastination And Staying Motivated
My brilliant writer friend, Heather Mackey, published her first book, Dreamwood, last year. In addition to having one of the most beautiful covers I’ve ever seen (check it out below!), Dreamwood is smart, powerful and gorgeously written. Don’t be fooled by...
Thank You Thank You Thank You!
Thanks to all the lovely people who came out to see my show on its opening night! It was so fun to see old friends and meet some new ones. If you didn’t get a chance to make it to the opening but would still like to see the show, it is up until January 24, 2015...
Tonight! Firecat Projects Show Preview
Tonight’s the night — join me at Firecat Projects tonight from 7-10pm for the opening reception of my show, They Came Between Dreams. Here’s a sneak preview! Hope to see you there. “They Came Between Dreams” December 26, 2014 7-10pm...
Here It Is…Firecat Projects On Dec 26th Is The Place To Be!
Finally! My show at Firecat Projects is just around the corner and I couldn’t be more thrilled. Friends, please join me for the opening of my solo show, “They Came Between Dreams” at Firecat Projects. I’m excited to share the artwork I’ve...
Sneak Peek
Here’s a quick snapshot from my phone of some of the new pieces for my Firecat show in various states spread all over my dining room floor. I’m busy burning, painting, varnishing, reburning…lots to...
Getting Ready!
Here’s a look at some of the pieces currently in progress for my Firecat...
Get Your Work Mojo Back! How To Return to a Project After an Absence
Feeling uninspired? Have you lost your work momentum? No fears…it happens to everyone! Here are my best strategies for jumping back into the flow and reconnecting with work after an absence. Leave Off In A Good Spot My favorite strategy for painless re-entry...
How Creativity Works: Casey Searles On Sticky Notes, Audiobooks And The Power Of Homemade Soup
Casey Searles is one of those people you can’t help but love as soon as you meet her. A multi-disciplinary artist and actress, she is friendly and positive without being saccharine, and always kind enough to share her wise perspective when I’m feeling down about my...
Textures: Urban Nature
I managed to take a short break from studio work today (something I rarely do) and I went for a walk to collect texture photographs for some upcoming pieces I’ll be starting soon. The slideshow below has some of the images I found. I love that even in the urban...
Dreamscapes, Imagination And Weird Alien Planets
I have this tendency when I’m walking down a crowded street in Chicago, overloaded by the cacophony of angry car horns and screeching el train brakes, to mentally escape. While I wish I were more “be in the moment and meditate to the noise,” the...
Three Articles To Boost Your Creative Thinking
Two Things Experts Do Differently Than Non-Experts When Practicing “Expert performers aren’t necessarily smarter or more talented. Learn the two things they do when practicing a skill, that can maximize the efficiency of your practice time and be the difference...
Creative Block? Unstick Yourself With Six Easy Questions
Do you have a creative block? Are you stuck on a project and can’t seem to move forward? Give my flowchart a try to see if you can move yourself...
1,000 Degrees of Hell Fire!
Burning wood for one of the new pieces I’m making for my Firecat...
Inspiration…Expiration
This is my inspiration wall in my studio right now. When I freak out about impending deadlines I look at all this amazing art and try to remember to breathe deeply and slow my roll. (I may not believe that inspiration is necessary to get going on work, but I do...
Four Ways in Which Showing Up Is More Important Than Having Talent
“Inspiration is for amateurs.” – Chuck Close Several years ago, I started reading interviews with working, professional artists. A common theme stood out among most of their narratives: these weren’t people who woke up in a halo of inspiration shining down from...
The Things They Left Behind
When I was a kid, I was absolutely certain that I could solve mysteries. Too many hours spent reading Nancy Drew and Encyclopedia Brown convinced me that there were always tidy answers to every enigma, and that if I put in enough time, willpower and...
Three Reasons Why You Should Know Ruth Asawa
(featured image at top of this post courtesy of Pete Rosos of 2812 Photography: source) One of my favorite artists and biggest inspirations passed away last August. Throughout her life, Ruth Asawa stayed true to her artistic purpose in spite of a myriad of obstacles....
Easy, Fun Ways To Get Your Kid Excited About Art
(Featured finger painting image above courtesy of my five-year-old daughter, Violet!) Do you want to go beyond coloring books and paint-by-number kits with your kids so they can become creative, inventive individuals? Are you trying to figure out ways to encourage...
How A Grade School Diorama Influenced My Artwork
I’ve always loved tableaus, scenes that represent a moment in time. I loved making dioramas for school as a kid, and I still love looking at prehistoric dioramas in natural history museums. (Questions of historical accuracy aside, of course!) One of those grade school...
Creative Life: How To Create A Daily Creativity Routine
We all want a creative life, whether it’s part of our 9-to-5 jobs or during our own time. Having a daily creativity routine ensures that you are flexing your mind in different ways, pursuing interests and passions outside of the workplace and adding beauty (however...
Conquer Your Winter Blues with Creativity
Are you as tired of this winter as me and the rest of the Western world above the snow belt? Everyone I know in Chicago has been feeling pretty demoralized by the repeated rounds of polar vortex cold and the constant barrage of slushy, mushy snow. After my 14 years of...
My Art Fix – Feb 21
The always amazing This is Colossal website featured the lovely, ethereal air sculputes of Janet Echelman. (featured image at top of this post: “1.26 Sculpture” by Janet Echelman is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0/cropped from original/source) I am a complete...
Work in Progress: Heart and Bones
I’m working on a new piece for my solo show at Firecat Projects later this year. I’m extra excited because I have some new ideas for this piece, including a three-dimensional collage element. I’m also incorporating some elements from my more formal...
My Art Fix – Feb 14
Caught some cool things from around the world this week on the interwebs: Check out this fascinating 10-minute video profile of artist Ala Ebtekar who has somehow managed to combine graffiti art, Persian miniatures and illuminated manuscripts into unique works of art....
The Birds of Winter
Alas, winter in Chicago! After 14 years of living in the SF Bay area, we are enduring our second Chicago winter, acclimating to this harsh, harsh cold. One of the strange things I noticed when the weather dropped into the negatives is that the birds disappeared. I...
The Stillness That Must Part
Inspiration Corporation’s One Inspired Evening fundraiser is coming up, and I’m honored to participate again this year by donating my piece, “The Stillness That Must Part” to the auction. All proceeds will go to the organization’s...
The Moment In-Between
I am excited to donate one of my new artworks, “The Moment In-Between” to the Firecat Projects fundraising exhibition, which opens on Friday, December 27 2013 at 2124 N Damen Ave, Chicago IL. Firecat is one of the coolest galleries in Chicago and I’m...
C’mon down to the CPC Annual Holiday Art Show!
Lots of great, affordable art to be had at the Chicago Printmakers Collaborative 24th Annual International Small Print Show. I’ll be showing some engraved wood necklaces as well as original, one-of-a-kind ornaments. The grand opening party is on Dec 7th and 8th,...
Enchanted
I’m feeling extra homesick for the west coast these days! Chicago winters are no fun. Reminiscing over a trip I took to Santa Fe this past spring with my lovely friend, Amanda. Some inspirational photos to remind myself that there is life beyond the winter...
Lazy Days in Maine
I am a lucky, lucky woman. Not only am I married to a pretty great guy who loves music and loves to travel, but he came packaged with a pretty great family as well! Nice deal for me, right? My in-laws own a place in Maine and we just spent a few lazy days there...
Southern Illinois Artisans Shop
Thanks so much to Carilyn Spencer of the Southern Illinois Artisans Shop for sending me these photos of my work on display in the store. So cool to see it in context surrounded by these lovely pieces from Kristi Sloniger, an Illinois-based ceramics...
Necklaces, Pins, and Other Pretties, Part 2
If you read Sunday’s post, you know how excited I am to launch my miniature burned wood engravings! Stop by the Illinois Artisan Program’s Jewelry Art Spree this Thursday and Friday to check them out in person and see a selection of my fine art pieces....
Necklaces, Pins, and Other Pretties, Part 1
I’m so excited to finally debut my line of miniature burned wood engravings this week at the Illinois Artisan Program’s Jewelry Art Spree! Each necklace and pin is an original, one-of-a-kind mini artwork, with its unique design burned into wood, painted...
Rooted Still
I guess my mind is on poetry right now. As I was working on this piece*, I came across this beautiful poem, Woman Looking Up Into A Plum Tree, by Melanie McCabe and it resonated so much with me: Strung with whistle bones, frail reeds fledged, a bird can fly or fold...
I Am Beating All My Wings
Remember my burned-but-unpainted hummingbird piece that I was working on for the Southern Illinois Artisans Shop? I put it aside while I worked on other pieces because I knew the bird didn’t quite feel finished yet. A few days later, I went back in and burned...About Me
I create burned wood engravings that combine my love of the textures and patterns found in nature with a deep interest in the unconscious world of dreams, symbols and mythic folklore.
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