Coveted superpower

Many times I've said that I'd like to have the superpower of being in several places at once. With our kids' activities and all the arts events, political meetings and community activities I'm interested in, having the ability to attend several at the same time seems pretty awesome. 

While I haven't developed the ability to physically be in several places at once, my artwork is simultaneously representing me this way. Please join me (where my body will actually be!) at the Hot Shops open house this weekend. I'm in Studio #311, where bead jeweler and sculptor Darcy Horn will also have work available.  We'll have the door wide open from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. I'll slip down to John Miller's studio on the second floor Saturday evening to play some music, and we'd love to have you join us there, too! 

Thirty paintings are displayed at the Shelterbelt Theatre. The prairie-inspired pieces complement the theatre's current production of "Catherland," a Nebraska ghost musical. I was delighted to be at the opening night performance, and the music and acting is very strong. Please go see it. All sales of my artwork there will help support the theatre, which specializes in producing new plays. 

And then I also have a dozen large paintings displayed at the Crane Trust Nature and Visitor Center along with batik artist Kristine Allphin. We're making plans for an reception and I hope to conduct a workshop in early June. Stay tuned for details. 

"Prairie" a cold wax and oil painting on paper, framed, on display in my studio

Catherland

“There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm," said writer Willa Cather.  I'm expecting depictions of a few storms in the production of the new musical "Catherland," opening Friday at the Shelterbelt Theatre.

Today, Dan and Roxanne Wach and I installed 30 of my paintings in the theater lobby to complement the production. Several times a year, I visit the landscape that inspired some of Cather's best-known stories, and many of the paintings on exhibit and available for sale were inspired by the colors and textures found there. 

Here's the quick overview of the play. "Susan made a deal with her adoring husband: Once her first book is done, they’ll start a family. As the ink dries on the final page, the couple heads to Red Cloud, Neb., hoping to begin a simpler life, but a slew of mysterious guests prove that there’s nothing simple about small town living. Dreams shatter, plans change, and the trajectory of Susan’s future takes new shape in the looming shadow of American novelist Willa Cather."

Please join us to share in the stories, the music and the characters this production will bring to life! 

an arrangement of my paintings at the Shelterbelt Theatre

update on ArtVenture

Several people competed to outbid one another to buy both "Out of the Blue" paintings created by Girl Scouts in my studio. The ArtVenture overall was a great success, raising $150,000 for the local Girl Scouts. The two paintings will be displayed together in the UNO's College of Business Administration! 

Inspiration/Research

Attending the "Flat Places: Deep Identities" symposium hosted by the Center for Great Plains Studies allowed me to learn from ecologists, geologists, writers, poets, photographers, film-makers, theologists and cartographers of all kinds. My mind is still swimming with the conversations and ideas that emerged. It's so good to get out of the studio periodically to learn about what other people are working on. I'll be able to more deeply consider some of the emerging possibilities as I drive between home and Milwaukee to pick up art from the Walker's Point Center for the Arts exhibit of Midwest Artist Studios project members. 

"Out of the Blue": ArtVenture adventures

During two Saturday mornings in January, four Girl Scouts visited my studio and worked together to make two large paintings on paper. The paintings are now framed and ready to deliver tomorrow for this weekend's ArtVenture auction, a fundraising event for the Great Plains Girls Scouts. 

I showed the girls how to mix oil paints with cold wax medium and ways to build layers and create textures and patterns. They made small pieces for themselves and collaborated to make the two large paintings. They were quiet at first, but once they began painting, they relaxed and chatted. With two 11th graders and two 6th graders, I wondered how the age differences would play out. They chose to work in pairs with an older girl working with a younger girl on each painting. 

Working with the girls allows me to learn, too. I ask and answer questions, offer possibilities and watch as they come to their own decisions and creations. Their hands are the only ones involved in making these paintings. I see my role as introducing materials, tools and ideas and then giving them the space to explore. From choosing the color palette to titling the work, it all comes from the girls. 

These two pieces are matted and framed and ready to display. I hope a buyer will be see the imagination and joy that made these pieces come alive. Join us Saturday to celebrate girls leadership, creativity and energy!

"Out of the Blue #1," cold wax and oil on 22" x 30" paper