SMALLest City Fair!

This weekend I will be doing my first "craft" fair ever. I am a little nervous to be quite honest!  I have always shied away from events like this, BUT I decided I would make a few exceptions this year in order to try and share my work with more people in Chicago.  So, if you happen to be in the neighborhood, this Saturday I will have a small table set up for Versionfest13 as part of the SMALL Manufacturing Alliance.  It's from 1-7pm, Saturday June 15  located at Maria's and Pleasant House Bakery: 960 W 31st Street  Chicago, IL (in Bridgeport).  Admission is free!

For more information and to learn more about what is happening at Versionfest13 check out the link here.  Hope to see you there!

D is for Donut Vault and SOFA

I sincerely feel like no trip to the Loop is complete unless you at least take a peek at the Donut Vault.  The line to get a donut often times runs around the block, but if you hit there after the morning rush, you can usually snaggle a donut or two. 

On Friday morning I took three of our Lillstreet Artists in Residence, courtesy of Bruce Robbins, to the Chicago SOFA exhibition.  I have to say, I am finding myself more and more intrigued with the work from the Intuit side of the SOFA expo, there is something about the naivete of many of the artists that i find more endearing and sincere versus the more commercial SOFA-fare.  Nevertheless, we saw some great stuff and afterwards headed to the Donut Vault for some $1 coffee and gingerbread donuts.  Yum-ee!  Here are some of my favorite shots of the trip!

Totally loving the styling on this Wendell Castle sculptureSuch a nice surface on this Sheila Hicks wall piece, "Convergience II"This Tramp Style Cabinet was amazing! C. 1900-1925, the pinchy surface of it has me spinning with ideas!Another "Outsider Artist", Joseph Yoakum, really peeked my interest with his abstracted landscapes. How he created surfaces and made the landscape do extraordinary things was just beautiful!   Unfortunately, I didn't get the name of this artist, but I really enjoyed the almost grotesquely beautiful still lives that this glass artist composed, it was almost too much to look and the reflection of the light on the glass surface was almost blinding at some vantage points. Mark Pharis had this sweet set of vases at the Lacoste Gallery Booth    ...you realize it is all of these Japanese animae dolls melted together and sliced into this sheet. wow.This piece from the Megumi Ogita Gallery was really great. At first glance it seems like some abstracted painting, then upon closer examination...One more Tramp Style Clock...man I love that surface!

such incredible carvings! 

Then....off to the Donut Vault! The answer is "yes, and even better than they look!"I love Chicago!

B is for Bruchenhein

or Eugene Von Brunchenhein, or EVB, whatever you want to call him.  EVB has quickly become one of my favorite artists.  Currently there is a show up at Intuit Museum for Outsider Art of his work.  It is mind blowing!  I went this morning with my studiomate Jen FitzGerald to check out the show. I could probably go and see it every day until it closes and not get tired of it.  Apparently, as I learned today, he dug all of his clay from a clay pit nearby in Milwaukee.  None of his worked was ever fired in a kiln, only in his oven, so the work is extremely fragile.  He also made a series of pieces out of chicken bones.  It is absolutely incredible work.

Eugene Von Bruchenehein, censor vesselEugene Von Bruchenhein, vaseEugene Von Brunchenhein, crownEugene Von Brunchenhein, censor vesselEugene Von Brunchenhein, vaseI love that this sculpture of his turns a mason jar cap into a pedestal!

Eugene Von Brunchenhein, chicken bone sculptureMove EVB chicken bone sculptures

Pilsen 2nd Fridays

Matt and I have been trying to do a bit more exploring in Chicago.  A lot of times it can be difficult to do this since it seems nearly every weekend there is something happening at Lillstreet that I want to participate in.  But this weekend we headed south and we went to the Pilsen 2nd Fridays event.  WOW. I was really amazed at the quantity of artists who were showing.  There were so many fabulous gallery spaces, it just made me drool. I told Matt, if it wasn't for him, I would be moving in to a new space on Saturday.  Two of the highlights for me were artists Michele Lauriat who made incredible guash paintings that were nearly 12 feet high.  Absolutely stunning.  They completely engulfed the viewer, but what mesmerized me was how she layering the paint and the negative space, which felt to me like lapses of memory in recalling a landscape in your mind. 

York Beach, by Michele LauriatLogging, by Michele Lauriat

The other person who blew me away was designer Chris Jamison.  He founded the workshop, Plywood Office, the work is simple and beatifull crafted.  I want two of the Stripe endtables!

Stripes End Table by Plywood Office

The Horsey Desk, by Plywood Office