CPC Small Print Show: Peter Brickell

This blog is part of a series of interviews of participating artists / printmakers in the Chicago Printmakers Collaborative Small Print Show.

Peter Brickell, a chemist, photographer, and printmaker, was born and grew up in Montreal, Canada. While working as a chemist, Peter is completing a BFA in Photography and Printmaking at the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto. As a self-taught photographer with 30 years of experience in the medium, he guest lectures at Ryerson University on the topic of early photomechanical reproduction processes. Recently, Peter has included historical photographic processes and photogravure printmaking in his art practice.

Peter Brickell. Whiting Bay. 2008. Photogravure.

"Photogravure is an intaglio type process and involves transferring a photographic image to a copper etching plate for printing. It was one of the first processes developed to reproduce photos on a printed page. I use it for the enormous amount of control that is possible in interpreting the image while creating a final printed work of art. It also produces a truly permanent image which no photographic process can yet match.

"All my images are created from my own photos, many of which are made with black and white infrared film. I work exclusively in conventional film-based photography, and the printing processes I use are all carried out in a conventional optical/chemical darkroom and studio. I work this way not because of any dislike of digital media, but simply because it is what I know and do best.

"I consider myself a landscapist in the broadest sense, where subjects may be urban, natural, or human. I admire the work of many of the Pictorialist photographers of the early 20th century, and my work embraces many of their aesthetic values."

Peter Brickell. Split Stone. 2008. Photogravure.

Peter Brickell. El over Wabash. 2008. Photogravure.

Recently Peter's work has appeared in various printmaking shows in Toronto, Montreal, and New Zealand as well as previous CPC shows in Chicago and the Toronto Nuit Blanche event. Peter is represented in North America by Cannington House Gallery, Oakville, Ontario, Canada, and in Australasia by Grodetz Works on Paper, Wellington, New Zealand.

His work is also sold through his studio in Toronto, and he can be reached at brickell@eol.ca.

CPC Small Print Show: Bruce Thorn

This blog is part of a series of interviews of participating artists / printmakers in the Chicago Printmakers Collaborative Small Print Show.

Growing up on the south side of Chicago in the Hyde Park neighborhood, Bruce Thorn received a scholarship to attend the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he received a BFA degree in painting and drawing. He later attended the University of Illinois at Chicago and earned an MFA degree in painting. His major areas of printmaking are aquatint etching and multi-color linoleum block printing. For the CPC Small Print Show, he offers drawings as explorations for prints.

Bruce Thorn. Drawing 1. 2008.

Bruce Thorn. Drawing 2. 2008.

Bruce admits he has "soaked up" just about every influence he has been exposed to including Renaissance masters, West African primitives, Chicago School Imagists, CoBra, Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Surrealism and all the other "isms" to arrive at a deceptively simple, but at the same time, complex and sophisticated lexicon.

Bruce Thorn. Drawing #16. 2008.
Ink and gouache.

"My work with images emphasizes invention. Anthropomorphic shapes offer multiple, ambiguous interpretations. The artworks do away with narrative, replacing it with the vocabulary of color, shape, line and movement. Meandering line often serves as the beginning of a process, suggesting forms and interactions.

"At first glance, these images appear to be nonobjective abstractions, teeming with enigma. Upon further study one can discover references to urban and natural environments. Eyes, faces and figures abound. The crowds and sounds of the city converge. Fluid movements, curves, vortexes, color schemes and exquisite details reference the natural world of landscape, ocean, sky and cosmos. These are objective and subjective abstractions of the world we live in. The message here is about the freedom to imagine and enjoy.

"I am attracted to both the microcosmic and the macrocosmic. How much information can be gained from a close reading of details? What coherent, elegant and powerful messages are offered from an overall glance? What is hidden, what is exposed? The images work well from a distance or close up. From a distance, many are simple and graphic. Upon closer viewing, they offer subtle details and rich textures.

"Life confronts us with chaos. Through art we come to terms with this chaos. With image making, we are confronted by our own world views and their relationship to those of others. Perhaps we could use more of that in the world today."

Bruce Thorn. Untitled 10. 2008.

Bruce's recent exhibitions include The Artist Project, juried, Chicago, 2007; Abstract Imagism, group exhibition, Corbett vs. Dempsey Gallery, Chicago, 2006; Exhibition with Liz Quisgard, Flaten Art Museum, St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN, 2006; Solo exhibition, Hyde Park Art Center, Loop Gallery, Chicago, 2005; 4th Triennale Graphic Prague, group exhibition, The Czech Museum of Fine Arts, 2004; War and Peace, juried, Gallery 415, Chicago, 2004; Exhibition with Imfriede Lagerkvist, Crown Gallery, Loyola College, Chicago, 2003.

Bruce recently leased a space in a building at the corner of Irving Park Road and Ravenswood. He will use the space to paint, print and exhibit his own and other people’s art. The studio has over 100 feet, or 33 meters, of wall space and a view of downtown. It is across the street from the Brown Line Irving Park. For more information on Bruce and his art, go to http://www.brucethorn.com.

CPC Small Print Show: Ray Maseman

This blog is part of a series of interviews of participating artists / printmakers in the Chicago Printmakers Collaborative Small Print Show.

Ray Maseman was born in Des Plaines, IL, and grew up in the northwestern suburbs of Chicago and in Colorado. Currently residing in Albuquerque, NM, Ray is a high school librarian and professional printmaker. Earning a BFA in printmaking from the University of Denver, Ray works with intaglio techniques with an emphasis on etching. He uses "less-toxic" methods in his art, without the solvents and acids used in traditional printmaking. Working figuratively, he likes to juxtapose incongruous elements to create whimsical narratives.

Ray Maseman. Whirligig. 2008.
Multiple plate etching, 6" x 9".

Ray Maseman. Circe. 2008.
Etching, 9" x 12".

His influences include fairy tales and myths, his experiences with children as a teacher and parent (of 3 children), Jungian psychology, Surrealism, the landscapes of New Mexico and Colorado, and various children's book illustrators, especially Peter Sis and Tomie dePaola.

Ray Maseman. Bicycle. 2008.
Multiple plate etching, 6" x 9".

"In my work a preoccupation with voyages and quests plays out over a variety of locations on land, sea, and air. Within these scenes, I introduce anachronistic modes of travel and incongruous characters. These protagonists travel through their world, perhaps looking or searching for something. They don’t know where or when they will find it, or maybe even what 'it' is, but they have an abiding faith that they will reach their destination. Underlying much of my work are reflections about home—whether it is a place one is going to, leaving from, or is carried within.

My interest in anachronistic vehicles is reflected in my choice of printmaking as a medium. The process is grounded in 16th century technology, yet can make use of contemporary developments in etching grounds and inks. Working as a printmaker, especially in etching, is an engaging mixture of art and science that allows me to build up a matrix of information on a printing plate. The printing process then allows me to play with the use of color and further reflect on the image while producing an edition of multiple prints."

Ray Maseman. Aircraft. 2008.
Multiple plate etching, 6" x 9".

Ray is represented primarily by New Grounds Print Workshop & Gallery in Albuquerque. His ongoing and upcoming exhibitions include Odyssey, New Grounds Gallery, Albuquerque, NM; Made in New Mexico, Wolverhampton College, Wolverhampton, England; and One and Only, John Michael Kohler ArtSpace, Sheboygan, WI.

For more information on Ray and his art, go to http://raymaseman.com.

CPC Small Print Show: George Bodmer

This blog is part of a series of interviews of participating artists / printmakers in the Chicago Printmakers Collaborative Small Print Show.

Describing himself as a "non-professional artist but a hard-working one," George Bodmer creates whimsical etchings based on his imaginary characters. Born in New Jersey in the late 40s, George currently teaches at Indiana University Northwest, where he is the Chair and Professor of English in the College of Arts and Sciences. He is the author of numerous articles on illustration in children's literature, with a focus on Dr. Seuss and Maurice Sendak.

George Bodmer's take on Dr. Seuss' book A Cat in the Hat: "A brother and sister are stuck home alone on a rainy day; a stranger comes to the door and offers to solve their problem. Though the goldfish tells them they shouldn't let strangers in, they admit the Cat and he wreaks havoc on their home, knocking things about and generally making a mess. At the very last moment before their mother returns, the Cat uses his invention to pick up everything and restore order...It's a book that knows we don't always behave." Reference: IU News Room, Indiana University, Nov. 13, 2008.

George Bodmer. Lydia Moves Up Town No. 3.
2008. Etching, 3" x 9".

George Bodmer. Lydia Moves Up Town No. 6.
2008. Etching, 9" x 13".

Working primarily with etching and aquatint, and sometimes with woodcuts, George has studied printmaking at Lillstreet Art Center and the Chicago Printmakers Collaborative (CPC) in Chicago. He has been influenced by Morandi, Rembrandt, Edward Gorey, and his printmaking teacher Julian Cox. George's recent and upcoming shows include Lillstreet Member Show (juried), 2008; Chicago Public Arts Group Paints the Town, 2008; Evanston Art Center Winter Print Show, 2008; North Shore Art League "Printworks" (juried), 2008; and North Shore Art League "Inchworks" (juried), 2008.

George Bodmer. One Afternoon.
2008. Etching, 2" x 9".

"I have always drawn and am attracted to the added dimension printmaking provides. Printmaking is a way of making the simple act of drawing as complicated and error-prone as possible. I usually begin with the idea of an image, such as ostriches or a farm house, and slowly 'gather' details to add to the picture. This sometimes results in unusual juxtapositions such as ostriches and typewriters, or Spanish galleons and skateboards, but it provides a narrative component to the print."

George Bodmer. Writing Letters for Ostriches.
2008. Etching, 2" x 9".

For more of George's art, please visit http://www.iun.edu/~enggrb/art/. He can be contacted at gbod17@earthlink.net.

CPC Small Print Show: Bert Menco

This blog is part of a series of interviews of participating artists / printmakers in the Chicago Printmakers Collaborative Small Print Show.

For many years Bert Menco led a dual existence as a neurobiologist during the work week and as an artist / printmaker at night and weekends. Retired from his biomedical profession from Evanston's Northwestern University in 2006, Bert has confessed that the discipline needed in research is also used in his art. Many of his drawings, prints, and paintings are elaborately detailed, and sometimes take months of work to complete. Since the early 70s, Bert has been studying printmaking and making prints in the Netherlands, where he was born, England, and in the US at the Evanston Art Center and the North Shore Art League in Winnetka. With themes ranging from dream states, fantasy images, and mythological icons, his printmaking techniques include etching, mezzotint, drypoint, and chine-collé.

Bert Menco. Synagoga et Ecclesia. 2007.
Composite mezzotint, 14" x 17".

Influenced by Dutch / Flemish art from the 1400s to 1700s, as well as artist colleagues in Chicago, Bert believes his works combine a certain poetic narrative with a mysterious element. He believes that his images sometimes convey to the viewer their innermost thoughts and feelings.

"My images tend to deal with confined spaces containing certain characters that reach out to one another but do not quite succeed in meeting, hiding behind reality, masking yourself, or trying to show with the mask how you really feel. Maybe one's 'normal' face is really a mask?”

Bert Menco. Laocoon-Medusa. 2002.
Etching/aquatint, 18" x 24".

Represented by Morpho Gallery, Avram Eisen Gallery, Michael Greany Fine Art, and Anna Debecki, all in Chicago, Bert is part of the American Print Alliance's traveling exhibition Soap Box Prints: For a Cleaner Environment. His other current and upcoming exhibitions include: Let There Be Light...Religious, Secular or Spiritual Perspectives, Temple Sholom, Chicago, through Jan. 7, 2009; Beyond Boundaries, Chicago Printmakers Collaborative, traveling exhibition through 2008; Picturing the Beast, Exchange Portfolio, Columbia College, Chicago, as part of Southern Graphics Conference, Nov. 23, 2008 to Feb. 1, 2009; and Atelierroute Groot Woerden '09, Studio of Ilja Pronk, Kamerik, The Netherlands, Sept. 5 and 6, 2009.

Bert Menco. Inside Out-Outside In. 2005.
Etching/aquatint, 21" x 27".

For more information on Bert and his art, go to http://www.bertmenco.com/.

Chicago Printmakers Collaborative Small Print Show

As a new "Inky" member of the Chicago Printmakers Collaborative (CPC), I will be blogging in November and December about the CPC's Small Print Show and interviewing some of the participating artists in the show. My friend Deborah Maris Lader established CPC in 1989 and has held a Small Print Show every year since that time in the CPC gallery and shop. The show will feature the art of 50 US and international artists.

19th Annual International Small Print Show
& Holiday Open House

Small prints. Great party snacks. Huge fun.
Gigantic affordability. Generous artists. Fantastic art.

Chicago Printmakers Collaborative
4642 N. Western Avenue, Chicago, IL 60625
p. 773.293.2070 f. 773.293.2071
email: info@chicagoprintmakers.com
website: http://www.chicagoprintmakers.com

Preview exhibition: Saturday, Nov. 22 and Nov. 29, 12 to 5 p.m.

Grand opening party: Saturday and Sunday, December 6-7, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Extended holiday hours: Tuesdays to Sundays, through December 21st, 12 to 5 p.m.

Exhibition runs through January 31, 2009

Reprint of an interview with Deborah Maris Lader in ArtStyle Blog, A Voice for Artists in Chicago, May, 2007.

Deborah Maris Lader, an artist and director of the Chicago Printmakers Collaborative (CPC), works in a variety of media, including printmaking, collage, drawing, painting, photography, Polaroid transfers, mixed media found objects, and woodcuts.

nuthatch-4. Courtesy of the Artist.

ArtStyle: How did you get into printmaking?

Deborah Maris Lader (DML): I started my own education in sculpture. I think part of the reason I liked sculpture was because I love materials, and then I discovered printmaking. In printmaking, you use stone, wood, and metal, but it also involves drawing. So early on I decided that I was going to be a printmaker. No matter what medium I’m using, I’m still thinking like a printmaker.

ArtStyle: Why do you work with so many different kinds of media?

DML: Every time I have a new idea or something I need to express, I’ll try something different because it may not be appropriate to express the idea in the medium in which I was previously working. I like to experiment with materials. I just use whatever I think I need to express whatever I’m trying to say at that moment.

ArtStyle: You mentioned that you collaborate with your older son in creating animal collages.

DML: I did a series of animals with my son, who has Asperger’s Syndrome, which is on the high-functioning end of the autism spectrum. At fourteen, he’s an expert on all things about animals. In this particular piece (giraffe), I gave him the wood, and he wrote about giraffes. He took a photo of the giraffe at the zoo and drew these images. And then I collaged them on the board and painted over it. A lot of my work is about him as well as the process of creating and thinking in different ways. As an artist, I’m like him in some ways because it’s our job to see things differently from other people.

giraffes. Courtesy of Daniel Silver and the Artist.

ArtStyle: Could you talk about your etchings?

The etchings are interesting because the images featured in them come right out of my head on to the etching plate. There’s no over-thinking involved and they’re a lot of fun to create. They’re created in a stream-of-consciousness fashion. Although the themes are different, there are a lot of musicians because I happen to be one. I do the etchings in black and white and then hand color some of them with watercolors.

The 3” x 3” copper etching plates can fit in my purse. I have to be busy with my hands all the time, so this was a convenient way for me to put whatever was in my head on to the pre-grounded etching plate. It’s a good way for me to calm my brain down a little bit and get the images out, like putting the ongoing movie in my head on “pause.” Usually I draw first and then put the words in as I go. The words have to be drawn on backwards in order for them to print forwards and be readable. Writing the words backwards somehow gives the lettering a naïve feel, and I like that. An etching is like a narrative because it starts with something but it morphs into something else.

motherhood. Courtesy of the Artist.

ArtStyle: How do you create the photographic oil paintings?

DML: A lot of these images are coming from dream sequences. I’ve tried to assemble these as if I’m assembling a dream. I print out all these images on the computer, and I just start combining them in different ways that only make sense to me. I layer them and draw under and over them, and then I paint. The series really started with the boy flying or trying to fly. My son did a science project on why boys can’t fly.

why boys can fly2. Courtesy of the Artist.

ArtStyle: What other art are you thinking about for the future?

DML: Right now I have an idea of these really large pieces, and using plaster with more color.

ArtStyle: Could you talk about how you started the Chicago Printmakers Collaborative (CPC) and how it’s changed over the years?

Chicago Printmakers Collaborative. Courtesy of the Artist.

DML: I was teaching printmaking at Indiana University at Fort Wayne, and I met my husband here in Chicago. I moved to Chicago and checked out all the teaching opportunities, and it was very limited. At the same time, I was looking for a print shop to work in. In 1989, all the print shops had disappeared by that point. And then I saw a print shop for sale in the Chicago Artists Coalition newsletter.

I didn’t necessarily set out to run my own print shop. It just seemed that Chicago needed an independent shop at the time, and all the pieces fell together for me to be the one to do it. It worked out perfectly because I bought the remnants of an old press shop called Hard Press Editions and the nice thing was the guy who sold it to me wanted to keep everything intact. The original shop in Ukranian Village was a second-floor walk-up in a warehouse building, and there was no elevator.

The first thing I did was I bought this new lithography press(I call this press Edith because my grandmother had just passed away and she was one of my favorite people in the world). And my grandmother had left to me in her will the exact amount of money I needed to buy and ship this press. I thought it was kind of a sign. The press over there was the original Dickerson, the first and only press I had when I first moved in.

The place had beautiful light but it was in a really old building. It was in need of a lot of work. I moved into that space and stayed there for roughly nine or ten years. Initially my studio was the size of a closet. Although there were other artists on that floor, I ended up taking over the whole floor for gallery and more work space. After ten years, the landlord decided -- it was getting very gentrified in that area -- that he wanted to rent it out as an apartment and get a lot more money for it. And so we moved here to this location and we’ve been here for eight years.

ArtStyle: How do you manage this print shop?

DML: For the print shop itself, I intended to run it like a university shop but at a higher level. The printmakers working here would all be professionals, and they would pay a monthly fee and they would all have key access. It’s been that way from the beginning, and it has worked out really well. I have always had interns to help run the shop, and I used to have an assistant director, who got a studio space in trade for her work with the CPC. It was then I could afford to take off a couple of months to have my babies, knowing that the shop would be fine, and I could kind of monitor it from home.

Courtesy of the Artist

ArtStyle: Do you offer classes here?

DML: We used to offer lots of group classes but now we only offer private classes and an occasional group class, mostly master classes or intensives. We’re having a week-long intensive class in etching July 9-13, which meets every day, all day for the week with added weekend hours. And these intensive classes have been really popular. We also teach classes through the MCA where some of the classes are at the MCA and some are at the CPC. I enjoy the partnership with the MCA and Gallery 37 and similar programs in order to provide classes and opportunities for people.

What started to happen with the group classes was that every single night of the week we would have these huge classes in here, and our artists who are paying to use the studio every month, especially those who are working 9 to 5 pm, had a hard time getting anything done. Now that we have less of the large groups and more private classes, which can be taught right along with people working in the shop, we have way more people who are using the print shop on a monthly basis.

Courtesy of the Artist

ArtStyle: Who are your resident artists?

DML: We have six resident artists and they’re on a minimum six-month lease; some of them have been here quite a bit longer than that. That’s been really nice because you always have a certain number of artists who are always here, committed, and working in their private studios just adjacent to the printmaking workshop.

ArtStyle: Are you nonprofit?

DML: We’re not a nonprofit, which also makes us pretty unusual in the world of print shops, which are usually run as nonprofit studios. I certainly looked into nonprofit status at the beginning and was ready to get 501(c)3 but at the time, there was all of that weird censorship stuff, which was happening about 1989. It was happening in Cincinnati, even here in Chicago, censoring art work, along with that whole thing where board members were imposing their own tastes on museum shows and everything else.

When we moved to this space and it was more expensive, we had this build out, and we had all of these things that had to happen. I started losing money. The loading dock was a dedicated gallery space. After a few years, I closed for the only month I’ve ever been closed, and I fixed everything that needed to be fixed, raised the prices, and then built four artists’ studios on the loading dock where the “gallery” used to be, and then everything made more sense. I moved the gallery to the main workshop. We always called it the workshop/print gallery anyway. The idea being, as you walk into the space, people are making prints while the art can be seen on the walls. It is a professional space and that’s what I want it to be here.

Blog Installation No. 10: Ossia Fine Arts Space

This blog installation is part of Chicago Connection: The 5 Artists Project, showing through November 1, 2008, at Ossia Fine Arts Space in the Fine Arts Building. For the duration of the show, anyone coming into the gallery on Fridays from noon to 4 p.m. will be part of the blog.

A self-described "artivator," Karen Light describes herself as an artist + activist + educator. Born and raised in Cincinnati, OH, Karen earned a BFA from Xavier University in Cincinnati, with a focus on wood and ceramic sculpture. She is currently working on her MA thesis and finishing her current series, Truthseeker, which investigates moments of truth through color, found objects, and writing. Working out of her studio, Studio Light, in Oak Park, Karen intends to create a book out of her visual and written pieces and to exhibit the work.


Karen Light. Truth #4: Sometimes a life has to be torn apart to enable a person to begin living it., Truthseeker Series. 2008. Mixed media, 2' x 2'.

"Twenty-five sculptural paintings are planned for the series and twenty-two are completed thus far. They begin with a 2' x 2' piece of plywood. The surface is urbanized with a variety of materials creating a sculptural background upon which I paint, draw, color, and write. Although the paintings are intimate anecdotes of autobiographical experiences that led me to perceptions I now hold to be true about life, people, and the world, I believe the truths unveiled are felt universally, and I seek to draw obvious attention to this piece of our interconnectedness. Writing has always been a part of my artistic process and, therefore, in this series, each sculptural painting includes prose or poetry that I have composed."

Karen Light. Truth #22: We must decide to harness the power of the words we believe in as a vehicle for connection, not division., Truthseeker Series. 2008. Mixed media, 2' x 2'5".

Influenced by "activist" musical, visual, and literary artists, including Ani DiFranco, Kathe Kollwitz, and Barbara Kingsolver, Karen has been inspired to find meaning in her own life and work and make art that is "meaningful, relatable, and hopefully stirring."

Her recent exhibitions include: Some Assembly Required, Juried Art Exhibition, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, 2007; The Mind's Eye, Group Exhibition, High Risk Gallery, Chicago, 2007; Juried Alumni Exhibition, Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH, 2006.

For more information on Karen, her art, and classes she offers, please visit: http:www.karenlight.com. Studio Light is a storefront in the Oak Park Arts District where Karen makes art, showcases her work during every 3rd Fridays and festival weekends, and teaches classes.

Blog Installation No. 9: Ossia Fine Arts Space

This blog installation is part of Chicago Connection: The 5 Artists Project, showing through November 1, 2008, at Ossia Fine Arts Space in the Fine Arts Building. For the duration of the show, anyone coming into the gallery on Fridays from noon to 4 p.m. will be part of the blog.

Leah Mayers, book artist and gallery manager, stopped by for a visit. Her comments about the show: "The abstract art is a nice way to bring the art together. I'm particularly drawn to Frank's work (textile hanging) and I like the mix of the poetry and installation(Mirjana). I love the space -- good lighting, wooden floors, interesting view, cushions, high ceilings. I like the hanging of the art and how the show is put together."

Growing up in Hyde Park and the south side of Chicago, Leah received an MFA from Columbia College's Book and Paper Center in Interdisciplinary Arts. She co-manages Vespine, an independent artist-run gallery in Chicago, which showcases book and paper art, installations, conceptual art, photography, and readings and performances. In addition to her gallery involvement, she is a part-time graduate faculty member at Columbia's Department of Education Studies, and she is a teaching artist in the public schools.

Leah Mayers. Memento Mori, Vespine Gallery, 2008. Installation.

Leah Mayers. November 8, detail of Memento Mori, Vespine Gallery, 2008. Mixed media, 7" x 9".

"I do concept-driven installations and artists' books. I include handmade paper, drawings, installation, and text in my art. The work I created for Memento Mori started as a meditative drawing-a-day project for a year. Three weeks into the project, my friend committed suicide, so I decided to dedicate the work to her and so the project evolved into commentary about our relationship. I did a drawing a day from Sept. 1, 2006 to Sept. 1, 2007, and recently showed the drawings in a continuous format on the walls at Vespine."

Leah has been influenced by artists including Melissa Jay Craig, Kiki Smith, Eva Hesse, William Kentridge, and Charlotte Simon; writers including Charles Johnson, Raymond Carver, and Toni Morrison; and psychologists including Ernest Becker, and Otto Rank.

Her interest in the dissolution of the line between public and private space has resulted in a video project "C(el)L," involving six months of riding the Brown Line and recording loud cell phone conversations and taking pictures with a disposable camera of the view looking out the window. She showed her sound art video project at Vespine last month.

For more information on Leah and her art, please visit www.vespine.org.

At the last minute, Johannah Silva, an abstract painter, dropped by the gallery to say hello. She shares a studio in the Cornelia Arts Building with one of the 5 Artists, Darrell Roberts. Her comments on the show: "I like the relationship among the artists. There is a preoccupation with patterns, textures, gestures, and colors, and I like the mix of sculpture and painting dialogue. The hanging flows nicely, and the lighting and space are good for the show."

Blog Installation No. 8: Ossia Fine Arts Space

This blog installation is part of Chicago Connection: The 5 Artists Project, showing through November 1, 2008, at Ossia Fine Arts Space in the Fine Arts Building. For the duration of the show, anyone coming into the gallery on Fridays from noon to 4 p.m. will be part of the blog.

Sallie Wolf, artist and writer, stopped by the gallery. Her comments on the show: "I like the way the work is hung. There is a beautiful flow to the work, and people should come to see it. You have some nice juxtapositions going on -- poetry and art; color, scale, and modular groupings; contemplative and active art. I work a lot in grid, and the whole show appeals to me because I can see the wonderful grids in the art."

Starting watercolor painting at a young age, Sallie majored in Anthropology in college and then went back to school after many years to earn a BFA in painting and drawing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Working in watercolor, mixed media, and collage, she focuses on landscape painting. She writes and illustrates children's books as well as conducts workshops for children and adults in both art and writing. Her new book, The Robin Makes a Laughing Sound: A Birder's Journal, based on her daily journals, will be published by Charlesbridge in 2009. For the past 14 years she has been studying the moon, charting it in her journals, and making "astronomical" art based on her observations. Two Moon Charts are on display at the Science in Art Exhibition, Ellen and Melvin Gordon Center for Integrative Science, University of Chicago, 929 E. 57th St., Chicago.

Sallie Wolf. June 10, 2007, Sketching Diary.
Watercolor, pen and ink on paper, 5 1/4" x 7 1/4".

"Whenever I travel, I make sketches in watercolor and sometimes with ink. These sketches themselves make up a 'Sketching Diary,' and others are in my journals. From these sketches I choose compositions to turn into multi-sheet, mixed-media panoramic landscapes. I usually make a charcoal grisaille drawing and then begin working into it with clean water and with watercolor. Sometimes I add acrylic white. The result are watercolor paintings that have a deeper surface, paintings which have been worked over time in a way that traditional watercolor is not."

Sallie Wolf. View From Clay. 2008.
Watercolor, charcoal, graphite on paper, 20" x 42".

Influenced by her degree in anthropology, she uses the same methodology -- taking field notes -- to develop her art. Her subject matter is inspired by anthropology as well. Artists who have influenced her include Alfred Jensen and Joseph Campbell.


Sallie Wolf. Daily Moon Music, Dec. 21, 1999 - Dec. 22, 2000, wall installation at the Art Gallery of the Fermilab, Batavia, IL, 2006. Screws, wire, colored paper, Teacher's Tape on wall, 9' x 23'.

"This wall installation is actually a musical score based on one year of observing what I call the north-south shift of the moon. Each note represents one day in the year. The notes begin with December 21, 2003 and continue through December 22, 2004. Each row ends with either the equinox or solstice, so the rows represent the seasons in this order: Winter; Spring; Summer; Fall. The colors of the notes are coded to the toy piano so you can play this musical score yourself. The black diamonds represent days when I did not see the moon. I suggest for those "notes" you (gently) bang the top of the piano with your fist. My intention is to compose more years of moon music and compare one year to the next to see how much the music differs."

Sallie is represented by Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery in New Hampshire. Sallie's recent and upcoming exhibitions include: Department(Store) exhibition, Sullivan Galleries in the former Carson Pirie Scott Building,Chicago,(Sallie's case will be on display Nov. 4 to Dec. 11, 2008); The Moon Project, Professors, USAFA Art Gallery, US Air Force Academy, CO, 2010; New Work, Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery, Center Sandwich, New Hampshire, 2009; Oak Park Sketching Diary, Oak Park Hospital, Oak Park, IL, 2007; The Moon Project, the Fermilab Art Gallery, Batavia, IL, and Adler Planetarium, Chicago, 2005; Drawing on Experience, juried group show, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago; Color + Pattern + Shape = Camouflage, an exhibition of Sallie Wolf's and Art Start Students' work, Village Hall, Oak Park, IL, 2008.

For more information on Sallie and her art, please visit the following websites. Sallie has a working studio in the Oak Park Arts District, which people can visit. Her hours are by appointment.

Personal website: http://www.salliewolf.com
Books: http://thelittlehorse.blogspot.com and http://www.truckstuck.blgospot.com

The 5 Artists Project: Quiz

Now that you've had an opportunity to view some of the art in the show and read about the artists, would you be able to recognize their art based on their styles? Here is a quiz for you. Match the artists with their work. The answers are listed at the end of the blog.

1. Frank Connet
2. Iris Goldstein
3. Darrell Roberts
4. Mirjana Ugrinov
5. Dale Washington

A


B


C


D


E








Answers:
1. D
2. A
3. C
4. E
5. B

The 5 Artists Project: Dale Washington

Dale Washington. Installation. Mixed media, 2008.

I first became acquainted with Dale Washington and his art through an exhibition, and I interviewed him for ArtStyle Blog in December, 2007. For The 5 Artists Project, Dale carries over his theme of Chicago's art community from his current exhibition at Hyde Park Art Center.

Dale Washington. The Morning After Sunday. 2008.
Mixed media, 18" x 24".

Some of the visitors to the gallery have described his installation as art that conveys music and energy through his flowing ink drawings, rapid brush strokes, and vibrant hues. While his work ranges from minimalist ink drawings to abstract paintings of representational subjects, he generally focuses on people and how they function in their everyday environment. Those who know Dale say that he is able to capture the essence of the person he is drawing or painting, including himself.

Dale Washington. Self-Portrait. 2004. Ball point, 9.5" x 14".

Dale Washington. Self-Portrait. 2004. Ball point, 8" x 8".

Dale Washington. Portrait of Tracy Simmonds. 2008.
Mixed media, 8" x 10".

"The power of creation is the act of doing. The work for this exhibition reflects the vibrant present history of Chicago's art community."

Dale Washington. Billy Branch. 2008. Brush/ink, 8" x 10".

Dale Washington. Robert Minnerly. 2008. Oil paint, 18" x 24".

The following is a write-up in the Chicago Connection: The 5 Artists Project catalogue, which was published in August, 2008.

Dale Washington
Email: washingtondale@yahoo.com
Website: http://www.hydeparkart.org/exhibitions/

Background - Painter, illustrator, and assemblage artist with more than 10 years of professional experience
- Attended Columbus College of Art and Design, OH, and University of Wisconsin-Madison; BA, Advertising, Columbia College of Chicago
- Teaching experience: Chicago Public Schools, ART Program; Hyde Park Art Center; Catalyst Charter School After School Program
- Grants: CAAP (Chicago Artist Assistance Program) Grant from Chicago Cultural Center, 2007,(used in his latest series of portrait work of Chicago’s art collecting community) - 2003 Artist of the Year Award from Southside Community Art Center, Chicago
- Featured artist in the catalogue African Art: The Diaspora and Beyond, documenting the collection of Chicagoan Daniel Parker, Gallery Guichard, Chicago, 2005
- Exhibiting since 1996

Selected Exhibitions
Kiss on the Cheek: Portraits by Dale Washington, 2008, Sunrise, 2007, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago; Spirit of Sankofa, Group Show, Neleh Artistic Expressions, 2006, Chicago; After Qualls, Group Show, Southside Community Art Center, Chicago, 2006; Art Di Gras, Group Show, Gallery Guichard, Chicago 2006; Power of Creation, Francine Turk Gallery, Chicago, 2005; Color and Movement, Southside Community Art Center, Chicago, 2005; Reflections, Framing Mode Gallery, Chicago, 2005; 2004 Art Exhibition, Group Show, Steele Life Gallery, Chicago

Growing up on the south side of Chicago, where he now lives and works out of his home studio, Dale Washington has depicted in his art everyday people and situations in the urban landscape. His walls at home are covered with some of the art from his latest series – portrait paintings, drawings, and assemblages – of Chicago’s art collecting community.

His current work reveals the nuanced personalities of artists, collectors, and administrators in pen and ink, ball point pen, oil, acrylic, pastel, watercolor, and mixed media. Working in both figurative and abstract styles, he skillfully captures the essence of a personality in the natural pose of the body, facial expression, dress, and immediate surroundings.

A meticulous craftsman, he first takes photos of his subject and then does several sketches in ink. Working quickly, he then draws and paints different versions of the same subject one after the other, using different mediums. In his spontaneous style, he creates a languid pose of a collector with a ball point pen and just as quickly, a pensive portrait in colorful pastels. His compositions are well organized and carefully arranged with enough detail to make the subjects interesting, accessible, and compelling to the viewer. Even his skillful assemblages, made with found objects, come across as organic representations of the human figure.

Living and breathing drawing and painting, with sketch book in hand, he reveals, “There is a way of doing things in the right manner, being positive about it, being patient, trusting that the outcome of whatever aspect of what you’re doing will work through to everyone’s advantage. I approach my art in the same way.”

As part of his series on portraits of artists, collectors, and administrators in Chicago, he captures the essence of his good friend Robert Minnerly, a singer/guitarist of Brazilian and Portuguese music. The vibrant colors bring the musician and his energetic music to life. (Robert Minnerly image)

The 5 Artists Project: Mirjana Ugrinov

Mirjana Ugrinov. Stones Installation. 2008.

I first met Mirjana Ugrinov, an interior designer and artist, through the Cool Globes Project, promoting environmental awareness of global warming through art. I interviewed her on ArtStyle Blog in September, 2007, and she eventually blogged for ArtStyle. For The 5 Artists Project, Mirjana has created an installation to represent her collaboration with poet Cynthia Hogue.

Mirjana Ugrinov. Summer Draught. 2008. Mixed media, 60" x 38".

For her Stones Installation, Mirjana incorporates real stones into her mixed-media paintings -- putting some in cages and freeing others -- as a literal interpretation of Cynthia's poem, as well as providing symbolic escape routes such as ladders and perhaps doorways. Mirjana and Cynthia will continue to collaborate for the upcoming Poetic Dialogue project, curated by Beth Shadur, at the Chicago Cultural Center in 2009.

Mirjana Ugrinov. Purified. 2008. Mixed media, 36" x 24".

Excerpt from STONES, a poem by Cynthia Hogue

"I have a friend who imprisons stones.
How do you do that? I ask.
I build little cages and put them in.
And why do you imprison these stones?
They are immoral stones. I oversee
The purification of petrified beings."

Mirjana Ugrinov. White Stone. 2008. Mixed media, 24" x 24".

"By using contemporary poetry as an inspiration for imagery, I continue to explore the surface and composition of my paintings. I welcome the challenge of another art form to guide me in visual expression by inviting new approaches to color, texture and materials I use. The emotional content of the poem becomes a vehicle of imagination and expansion."

Mirjana Ugrinov. Parthenon Stone. 2008. Mixed media, 10" x 10".

Mirjana Ugrinov. Petrified. 2008. Mixed media, 10" x 10".

The following is a write-up in the Chicago Connection: The 5 Artists Project catalogue, which was published in August, 2008.

Mirjana Ugrinov
Email: mugrinov@mac.com
Website: http://www.mirjanaugrinov.com/

Background - Interior designer and painter with more than 20 years of professional experience - Studied art history, Case Western Reserve Graduate School, OH; BFA, Studio Art, Kent State University, OH
- Teaching experience: Instructor of studio and commercial art and art history, Cooper School of Art, Cleveland, OH; Co-Director of Interior Design Department and Instructor, Virginia Marti Fashion Institute,Lakewood, OH
- Director of Coventry Art Gallery, Cleveland, OH, 1978-81; Consulting Board Member, ARC Cooperative Gallery, Chicago
- Gallery representation: Art Metro Gallery, Cleveland, OH; Bonfoey’s Galleries, Cleveland, OH; Brenda Kross Gallery, Columbus/Cleveland, OH; Teresa De Chant, Art Consultant, Cleveland, OH; Center of the Earth Gallery, Charlotte, NC
- Exhibiting since 1980

Selected Exhibitions
Free art for your wrists, mixed media bracelets, TransCultural Exchange Project, London Bienniale 2008; Contemporary Art by American Women, Art in Embassies Exhibit, Belgrade, Serbia, 2008; Poetic Dialogue, installation with Robin Behn, ARC Gallery, Chicago, 2008; Le Genie de la Bastille, Francois Cosson Studio, Paris, France, 2005; Edinburgh Art Festival, Patriothall Gallery, Scotland, 2005; A.I.R. Gallery, New York, 2005; Eyelounge Gallery, Phoenix, AZ, 2005; University of West Florida, Pensacola, FL, 2005; Chicago Cultural Center, 2003; East West Gallery, Cleveland, OH, 1993-1997

Working as a designer of commercial interiors with her husband, Branislav, at Ugrinov Associates, Inc., a space planning and design firm, Mirjana Ugrinov finds the time to create her own fine art in her studio. She walks about twelve blocks from her home to her studio, located a stone’s throw from the beach where she goes for inspiration when she needs it.

Growing up in the former Yugoslavia and then living in Ohio, and Chicago since 2001, she has incorporated nature, geography, landscape, and spiritual themes in her art. Her paintings and fiber art vibrate with vivid expressionistic colors. Working quickly, she uses acrylic paints mixed with various mediums to build layers and textures on the surface of her canvas. Sometimes she adds fibers and sand-like textures to her paintings. Her bold, warm-cool color combinations complement her mark-making and forms, giving them added depth. Recurring themes appear in many of her paintings, including geometric forms that look like doorways to hidden worlds.
In addition to painting, she is also a fiber artist and uses acrylic and manipulated paper: She wrinkles the paper, sprays it, manipulates it, dips it into acrylic, and moves the paint around to create a dimensional collage. Another aspect of her art is digital -- she draws and paints using software, a stylus and tablet to create high-resolution art.

More recently, she has begun to work with poets and uses the actual text of some of their poetry as part of her installation pieces. In her collaborative projects, she has written out the text, transferred it onto paper or canvas, and then used paint, medium, and fabric to complement the text. She thinks of these installations as two people collaborating in a “very specific way – two art forms fused and existing together.” She celebrates and honors the beauty of poetry in her own art.

Her Stones installation, inspired by a poem by Cynthia Hogue, consists of mixed media paintings and constructed boxes with real stone elements. The poem talks about “immoral stones, caged and imprisoned, kept on the shelf, near the window.” She has an intuitive ability to capture the metaphysical elements of text and bring them to life in her artwork.