Today I took down my work at Overture Galleries and packed it up for storage for the forseeable future.
I always say it's bittersweet taking an exhibition down because it marks the end of a life... the life of the artwork in a particular space.
Each exhibition space is unique, like our homes. Artwork living inside of these spaces takes on added meaning depending their surroundings.
If you have your heart set on showing your work in a space, never give up that dream, never stop trying. The very best timing to show your work makes the wait ( also weight !) worth while.
I aim to be transparent here because it's important to talk about how much grit it takes to carry out a vision.
I applied to show work at the Overture Center for 7 years ( and more waiting due to COVID) til I was accepted to exhibit. All that while my work was getting better, all that time I never stopped believing it would happen at some point. That doesn't mean rejection is easy BUT if you let yourself be defeated by one "no for now" then there is nothing gained. Rejections can be powerful and transformational. Sometimes it has nothing to do with your work it's just timing.
Anyway... this is all to say sharing an exhibition and having printmaking showcased in all galleries in the Overture Center was so amazing. I'm incredibly grateful to have so many eyes on my work during SGCI and for many months in one of the most public spaces in Madison.
Thanks for having me, thanks to those who have shared their thoughts, their compliments, their photos and videos of exploring my work with UV flashlights. I'm so happy to have shared this work with you. ❤️
This series isn't yet complete, we have more depths to explore.
The series will be shown again but it's goodbye for now. And if you want to see them sooner you can always get a smaller giclee print of them 😉
into the deep
Artist talk March 17th
If you live in an around Madison there are numerous art exhibitions up right now that will knock your socks off.
Many are still up from the SGCI conference that happened a few weeks ago. There are many MFA thesis shows currently up and also coming up.
If you'd like any recommendations, send me a DM.
My exhibition at the Overture Center alongside Brady Nichols is up through April 17th.
I'm thinking of hosting an informal gathering at Overture Center Friday April 8 evening. Comment below with if you're interested.
Photo credit: Angelica Contreras
Image description: 1-Sara ( white woman with tan jacket and oxford shoes) giving a talk in front of large painted woodcuts
Grateful post
Feeling super grateful lately 😊
Work on exhibition at Overture Galleries ☑️
Work on display in the Madison Municipal building ☑️
Writing checks from Communication this week to over 40 artists 🎉🎉
Cooking up a large scale woodcut that I'll be working on over the next few weeks, that will be printed either on one of large-scale Tandem presses or via steamroller during the SGCI convention and volunteering to help out at that event via Fresh Hot Press
Creature Feature
Friday Creature Feature:
Atolla jellyfish, Atolla wyvillei
Also has the nickname, alarm jellyfish because it has distinct bioluminescent displays when it is being nibbled on. These bright red jellies are found in the depths all over the world.
These displays end up attracting bigger predators to prey on what is feasting on the Atolla jellyfish.
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Coincidentally these jellyfish appeared in my work in the the piece " Discovery" and the prints shown that also precede the last panel Conception that features the giant squid.
After reading Edith Widder's book," Below the Edge of Darkness: a memoir of exploring light and life in the deep sea" I learned that she used the bioluminescent signature of the Atolla jellyfish to lure giant squid responsible for the very first video recordings of these giants in the depths. 🎉🐙
There are many more discoveries waiting in the depths and many, many women, like Edith leading the charge.
Swipe for 2 different pieces featuring the Atolla Jellyfish
2nd photo cred: @blueumbrellaarts
Both on view at Overture Galleries through April
Discovery
DISCOVERY-
✨The 3rd panel of Into the Deep now on view at @overturegalleries for Reenter, Renew
✨ Describes part of my creative process
✨Describes a state we inhabit ( after Surrender- panel 1 and Detachment- panel 2) after we have broken barriers around things that have held us back. We can move deeper to explore new ideas and concepts with the curiosity of a child.
✨Describes creatures found at or around the midnight zone ( Bathypelagic zone) of the ocean- beyond where sunlight penetrates water. The creatures depicted here all create their own bioluminescence ( light) to thrive in complete darkness.
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When creating there are times where the chatter of the brain falls away. Your hand - brain connection is at it's purest and you cannot tell where you end and the thing you are working on starts. Time ceases to exist. This flow state is a gift of presence that drowns out all the unimportant noise.
By allowing ourselves to merge with thoughts and ideas, creators produce light in the darkness.
Think about what you did and continue to do during these years of COVID: Watch movies or shows, read books, view art online, bake some bread, start a new hobby, etc?
Creators are bioluminescent creatures. By practicing creativity yourself you too can add your light to the dark. If you find yourself falling into the darkness look for lights that artists of all kinds give off or treat yourself to some creative play and you'll discover how we endure.
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Creature Feature
Friday Creature Feature:
Bristlemouths, Hatchetfish, Stoplight loosejaws, Dragon fish, Lantern fish ( and more)
What do they have in common?
-They all live in the Twilight zone of the ocean ( Mesopelagic zone) beyond the reach of light.
- Most are daily migrants to the epipelagic zone- meaning during the day they remain in the dark and at night they migrate toward the surface water to eat
- They make up the deep scattering layer of the ocean- For a long time sonar from ships misinterpreted the ocean floor being a lot more shallow because the sheer numbers fish and the air in the swim bladders reflecting the sonar.
- Mesopelagic fish make up the largest total biomass of fish in the ocean- they are the most abundant
- Their abundance and their daily vertical migration in the ocean acts as a bio pump removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
The global fishing industry has overfished the ocean's surface now they are increasingly interested in capturing mesopelagic fish on a massive scale. These fish are unpalatable so they'll be made into fishmeal for supplements and as food for aquaculture.
HARD STOP..... so many questions!!
If we negate the effects of this carbon sink and add more carbon producing fish byproducts, doesn't that add exponential rates of carbon into the atmosphere?
Are we going to properly manage and regulate the catch of these fish or are we going to fish these deep sea fish to their full collapse as we have with most other fish? 🤔
We still know very little about any organisms living in the deep sea. We need to see them, love them and protect them.
View this printed collection of mesopelagic fish at the Overture Center for the Arts through April.
Past installation of Into the Deep
In September-October of 2020 I exhibited these pieces at Communication Madison
We were ( and still are) in the midst of a global pandemic so when I made plans to show this series Into the Deep for the first time I found myself asking what do I want people to take away from this series and how can this work best serve people under collective trauma in a way that is safe?
The answers then and now haven't changed all that much.
This series depicts how we handle trauma and fear or how we can learn more from the darkness to find ways to reconnect the pieces of ourselves. Put more simply, this series is a primer on becoming whole which is a process that never has a definitive end, it's a never-ending cycle.
The series remains a virtual exhibition on my website with additional information, 3D views of how the gallery was arranged, with video featuring alternate views of the pieces elements that mimic bioluminescence.
This photo shows " Detachment" and " Discovery" under only UV light so the only visible details illustrate the ways fish and other deep sea creatures create their own light.
If you feel comfortable doing so can view these pieces currently at Overture Center for the arts @overturegalleries on the second floor and explore the bioluminescence with UV flashlights under regular lighting so you can see all the details.
I don't have all the answers and this series is still underway but I do hope that this series can serve as a reminder that we all go through these times. We may not have the power to control certain outcomes but we get to decide how we react and how we create our own light like all of those amazing creatures of the deep sea.
Exhibition Reenter, Renew officially open
The Overture Center Gallery exhibitions are officially open today 🎉⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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It's a perfect sub zero temperature day to venture out of your house and go right back inside to peruse art .⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I'm going to do a monthly giveaway of 12x12" giclee prints from this series and possibly big paper prints ( more details in a bit)...⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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so⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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If you do stop by before I announce giveaway details, make sure to take a selfie with a piece or part of my work that speaks most to you and save it for entry in the giveaway later. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Stay warm friends!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀