What an amazing reception for TMA Contemporary at @troutmuseumofart
Incredibly proud to be among such a diverse array of artwork from across WI.
Thanks to all jurors, preparators and museum staff! Shout out to @samantha_timm for taking the time to chat with me, talk a bit about the jury process and making me feel so welcomed in the space. A future visit to Saint Kate Arts hotel is definitely in the cards 😊
After a very rough week, my husband arranged to have our kids watched so that he could be at the reception with me. I got to see many friends and many artists I've never met in person. I teared up several times hearing directly from people what my work and my words have meant to them. @ritayannyart 😉
Hearing people reflect that my installation felt like an embrace, a cocoon, a nest is deeply satisfying. I'm so glad so many people could interact and connect with this piece once again. The opportunity to exhibit What connects us again is all I could have hoped for.
I'm going to make arrangements to go back and see everything all over again. I hope you visit, the TMA Contemporary Exhibition is up through August 15th.
An added note: After many years of wearing a mask nearly everywhere, I took a chance not wearing a mask around so many people. It was nice to say fuck it but I'll likely continue to mask up for awhile because it felt strange to leave my health in the hands of so many people. I will be taking home tests in a few days. I don't feel judged by not masking for 1 night but I do still feel responsible for the care of others and it is important to me to continue to do that
TMA Contemporary Opening
TONIGHT!!
TMA Contemporary Exhibition reception 5-8pm
The Trout Museum Appleton WI
So happy to be included among 100+ cutting edge WI artists.
So excited to see how my installation" What connects us" is installed. It's the first time I have ever had anyone beside myself install an installation piece which is very freeing.
My family has decided to stay home but I'm hopeful to make new connections with artists and see artist friends.
Can't wait!!
If you're hanging out in Madison please stop by Communication for the Meaningful Connections exhibition reception 3-8pm featuring artwork centered around themes of connection. I had a sneak peek of most of the exhibition and it's fantastic.
It is not lost on me that my installation being shown at the Trout Museum and the works being exhibited at Communication are all about connection and community.
In a world, within systems that categorize, compete, or make it seem like consumption will solve the problems of discord, connection is our antidote.
Feelings
Hey, It's been a rough week so far with several national tragedies taking place, precious lives lost.
It's okay to take it in, to feel the range of feelings.
It's also okay to feel numb.
Whatever you are feeling take care. Take whatever action feels right for you.
It's also very important to celebrate anything that is going well because this weight we feel is overwhelming.
Last weekend at the opening of Pulp: Wood, Paper & Print Exhibition at Center for Visual Arts in Wausau this piece Refinement Artists was chosen to receive an Excellence Award.🎉.
I was not there in attendance because I was at a wedding so I waited till @cvawausau announced winners publicly to take this celebratory photo with the other print that's printed on muslin.
When we process wins and losses collectively we hold each other, we hold space for all that we are and work toward making everyone feel seen, loved and cared for. We can hold all emotions at once Together we keep us safe.
Sending love, holding grief and pain and celebrating with you. If it is helpful please share a recent win of yours in the comments and we'll cheer you on
Weekend Recap
This past weekend was a weekend of connection
Saturday:
Wingra Lake Watershed Gathering
Was there in continued collaboration and advocacy with @wisaltwise ( check their account for photos) for water free of chlorides. We helped folks of all ages print on clothing ( provided) as a visual reminder to continue advocating for clean water, using less road salt and making sure our water softeners are running at peak efficiency.
I had to leave this event to attend a wedding free of religion or state ceremony where each of the partners married each other by simultaneous verbal " We declare marriage" ❤️❤️❤️
Sunday ( all images)
WORTstock arts area with NAC ( Northside Arts Collective) for 3 hours multiple hands helped us fill in the outlined flora and fauna of our extended community.
Images are all from WORTstock and feature many hands and faces that contributed their energy. Swipe all the way through and you can see a photo of most of my family ( missing my oldest son) who also came to hangout and add paint.
What an amazing weekend!
Upcoming Events
Last post was about connection, water and intersectional environmentalism.
I truly believe everything is linked.
This weekend there are a few public events that I will be at helping people print woodcuts, painting a mini fabric mural and I'm bringing along postcards in case anyone wants to take action and write to elected officials about clean energy/ fossil fuel divestment.
Community + Art +Advocacy all go hand in hand.
Find me today printing clothing with @wisaltwise at the Lake Wingra Watershed Gathering at Vilas park from 1-4pm.
There will be large tents filled with talks from indigenous speakers, Local resources, examples of water stewardship and family fun activities. All activities are free and open to the public.
Tomorrow is WORTstock at Warner Park
11-7pm with live music and food all day
You'll find art activities in the rainbow shelter with 608arts.
AND
Northside Arts Collective ( I'm co- organizer) and Our Vibrant Community from 2-5pm. You can print a woodcut on paper, help paint in a tiny version of a mural and more.
Hope to see you out and about!
Freshwater connection
On this cooler rainy day in WI I want to talk about water and also connection.
Water is a resource that we take for granted. Many human activities pollute the water we share with species depending on clean water for survival.
Mayfly, stonefly frog, fish and the itty bitty water flea populations are just a few of the indicators of healthy freshwater ecosystems. Many of these species are on the decline this should be cause for alarm.
We may think we are above nature but everything on this planet is connected in a complex pattern. Losing connections and webs of biodiversity weakens us, pollutes our drinking water and so much more. With large holes in the web of life how much longer until it will it be us?
If you look at that question it can also be applied to humanity. With Black and Brown bodies dying at an alarming rate from multiple factors ( driven by white supremacy but also a host of other systems) creating large holes in humanity. With large holes in the web of humanity, how much longer until white people will feel it, will be wiped out like a blight that only attacks elm trees or a beetle that attacks ash trees?
White supremacy hurts all people and all of the nature.
If you're fighting for an environmental issue you must also be fighting against white supremacy. Caring about biodiversity is inextricably connected to caring and supporting our Black, Indigenous, Asian, Latinx, Queer, Disabled, Trans, Non Binary, Immigrant ( all marginalized people) people who are the global majority.
We are better as a species, as a community ( ecosystems) , as a world when we work together.
There has been a noticeable shift in the artwork I have been choosing to make in the past few years. It carries the heavy weight of now but also incredible hope. This is how I'm fighting for us.
Winter is Alive premiere
Nothing like watching the film premiere of a winter festival outdoor one of the hottest days ever on record in May. Winter is Alive - a short film about the 2021 festival of the same name expertly combines so many voices, art installations, virtual panels all discussing the climate crisis but also what it means to savor winters that are melting away.
This premiere was such a great ending to a night celebrating community, orgs and individuals creating opportunities for us to connect during the pandemic. It's such a privilege to see so much love in one spot and congratulations to all 20 silver lining award winners, including Tamsie Ringler / Winter is Alive !!!
Extremely grateful to have been nominated for an award and to create such a meaningful installation for Winter is Alive. There are many people to thank for this opportunity, for their belief in my work ( community +art) and to be included in this stellar film.
It would be hard to name them all but I'll mention a few here because without them Siphonophore Pledge wouldn't exist as it did
My Mom, my family, Tamsie Ringler, Jennifer Bastian, Karin Wolf, Bethany Jurewicz, Garver Events, Madison Arts Commission, Dane Arts, all the other artists ( special shout out to Carlee Latimer- I see you and appreciate all the unseen work you do friend!! ) / participants/ jurors , Heidi Johnson, April Sopkin and all her art students, pledge takers, cord donaters, supportive friends and Aaron Granat/ Gracie Wallner for such a lovely interconnected documentary about Winter is Alive
Love to all of you!
I promise to share the film with you soon!
Winter is Alive- sneak peek still
So excited to see the premier of " Winter is Alive" this Thursday at 9:30pm on the Garver patio following the Silver Lining Awards. What an experience it will be seeing footage taken at sub zero temps while it will be the warmest day of the year so far ( 90)
@adgranat and @graciewallner we're such a pleasure to work with, they were with us artists during sub zero installations and recorded in depth interviews. I can't wait to see how it all intertwines together!
On another note: I'm very humbled that the @madisonbubbler
Nominated me for a silver lining award for my role as volunteer shop manager at @communicationmadison
I'll be at the awards to support all the nominees and winners. 🥂🎉
Reposted from @tonemsn 🎞 Grant Phipps previews a new short documentary, "Winter Is Alive," on 2021's citywide cooler world carnival, set to premiere after the Silver Lining Awards at Garver Feed Mill this Thursday, May 12, at 9:30 p.m. The film will be projected on the wall of the venue's outside patio.
Co-directors Aaron Granat and Gracie Wallner spoke with Phipps about making the doc, their working relationship, and more. ❄️
tonemadison.com/film
"Although 'Winter Is Alive' is a commissioned and ultimately edifying work, both Granat and Wallner were a bit humbled and inspired by the project’s unraveling interconnectivity, poetically pondering moments of creative breakthrough as well as trauma. Wallner says, 'The project is artists and activists and scientists all coming together to make change. It’s easy to be pessimistic about it on a broad scale. But when you think of it as reaching out and helping someone in the moment, [when] everyone is doing that, that’s where we can make the change'."
All images from "Winter Is Alive"
Refinement Artists at Center for Visual Art in Wausau, WI
Saying goodbye to this framed print ( for now)
Dropped off " Refinement Artists" and another of my pieces in Wausau for an exhibition at @cvawausau 🎉
I'm taking a short retreat here in Wausau to grab some rest, have dinner with a friend and get some sketches done that have been on the back burner.
Y'all I work non- stop on multiple levels and did I feel like I shouldn't be taking a 1 day break? - Yes
Do I deserve a break? Absolutely
Do I think I should be spending any money on myself when I don't really make any money? ( it's actually systems- MOST 👏OF 👏THEM 👏- you know the ones- that make me think it's me) - No
Things to think through: I am privileged to be able to fight hard for my dreams, the dreams of the my kids and the communities I serve. If I can use whatever skills, privilege and leverage I have to make life easier for other artists I do it. That means starting to disentangle my value from what capitalism tells me.
I still don't know how I'm doing that... Does anyone really?
I just know that if I don't take moments here and there like a fire without oxygen I will also end up burning out.
There are many people out there doing unpaid work that holds us together and like a friend recently said many of us do this work quietly, invisibly. What sort of culture allows us to feel like we don't deserve every bit of rest even for unseen work?
This piece " Refinement Artists" dreams of a world post fossil fuel use, but it's also a dream that frees us (read all organisms) from the very power structures that devalue most of our labor.
Catch y'all later I'm resting 😉 I encourage you to do something that restores you in whatever ways you need ❤️
Femmestival 2022
Gratitude post:
Femmestival at Garver Feed Mill last Sunday was a non- binary , trans and femme celebration full of tasty food, color and pizzazz.🎉🌈
We had a @communicationmadison booth run by our very dedicated and colorful volunteers ( many also artists with us). Thanks to @culinaryladiescollective @garverevents, @visual_edible_audible, @francescahongwi for having us!! Thanks to @cycropia_aerial_dance for the amazing living sculpture performances!
Garver continues to be so supportive of Communication and of artists and musicians in general. Madison is lucky to have this incredible space so soaked in history, community, local businesses and art!!
Big love to all the vendors, purveyors, volunteers and more who came to celebrate with us! ❤️❤️❤️
Winter is Alive film
Over a year ago in the Winter of 2021 I participated in Winter is Alive-: a cooler world festival with art installations all over Madison, music, panel talks and virtual content available all over the world.
As part of this festival @adgranat
And @graciewallner shadowed artists during the creation and installation process in sub- zero temps and interviewed people involved with the festival for this film.
Swipe to see a preview, which already made me cry. It's such a privilege to be doing this work alongside so much other powerful art and advocacy for our communities. Can't wait to see the final version following the silver lining awards at Garver Feed Mill on May 12. More details below:
Reposted from @adgranat FILM PREMIERE ** MAY 12, 9:30 PM, GARVER FEED MILL** FREE SCREENING
@graciewallner and I are excited to premiere our new documentary, “Winter is Alive!” On May 12, 9:30 PM at @garverfeedmill (@garverevents) in conjunction with the Sliver Lining Awards.
@winterisalive2021 @uwmadisonarts @smeretactics @jeremylwineberg @tetrapakman @adriana_barrios_art @ian.van.d @ddwych @karinlwolf @visual_edible_audible
Selected to be part of TMA Contemporary
Super stoked his installation " What connects us" is going to the Trout Museum of Art in Appleton for the TMA Contemporary Exhibition.🎉
It's such a warm feeling to have my most abstract conceptual work included in one of the most competitive juried exhibitions in WI among amazingly skilled colleagues and friends.
To pick up on a sentiment I mentioned earlier this week
This is not the first time I have entered work into this juried exhibition and it's not the first time I have even entered this installation into a juried exhibition. There are many factors that lead to either acceptance or rejection and most of it has nothing to do with your work or you as a person. It has everything to do with timing, how your work speaks to other submitted work, if there is space AND the subjective tastes of the jurors themselves.
If I have learned anything in the past decade of being an artist it is to accept rejection gracefully, to not take it personal. I have also learned not to make artwork I think will get into exhibitions or I think will sell. ( it is totally fine if you do this) I make artwork I want to make because if I don't those thoughts and ideas will consume me.
I say all this because it's important to celebrate these moments and also keep this space here transparent and real. I tell you all of this because I wish someone had talked about this stuff with me and in general artists need to talk about all the hidden elements.
This installation is about all of the patterns in nature and our bodies that overlap and connect. Transparency always invites conversation, welcomes our imperfections and our complex intertwined connection.
Congrats to all accepted artists and to those that received a " no for now" please continue to make the art that opens you up and sets you alight.
Photo from Interconnected an exhibition at Wisconsin Lutheran College last fall depicts 2 of 4 panels of this installation
Postcards to divest from Fossil Fuels
They have arrived!!
Postcards in collaboration with @cleanuwmadison
The front features my most recent woodcut " Refinement Artists" that depicts giant woodpeckers ( and a couple of nuthatches) reclaiming oil refinery towers that are no longer in use.
The back reads:
"Together, we can create a world free from fossil fuels"
While there may not be giant woodpeckers in the future we can make sure that liquid death stays in the ground and at the bottom of the sea where nature intended carbon to be. If allowed natural systems ( larger than us) will take care of /correct themselves.
It's far past time for all of us to stand with our indigenous brothers and sisters and fight to stop any increase in fossil fuel production. Whether you believe in climate change or not doesn't matter because change will find you regardless of your beliefs. It will be far less painful to accept and change now rather than wait for it to find you.
Regardless of my thoughts these postcards are available for you to write to your legislators ( local, state, federal), governors and companies about why you feel clean energy and divesting from fossil fuels is important.
Join the campus wide( everyone welcome) Earth Day March April 22 5-7pm. March starts from the UW library mall and ends at the Capitol square. Be sure to look for the CLEAN table so you can write out/ address postcards to your elected officials and we'll send them out for you.
Can't make the march? They will also be available during the Femmestival event this Sunday April 24, 11-6pm at Garver Feed Mill just look for them at the @communicationmadison booth where prompts are also available to help guide you if you don't know what to write.
Honor the Earth Everyday!
Deinstalling Into the Deep
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 😉
Print & Resist
TOMORROW!!
11-4pm at Madison Central Library
Print & Resist
Shop zines, prints and other goodies from local & regional artists, publishers and collectors
I have been just very barely involved with organizing this event but my main role is bringing Communication artists to you.
Tonight I set- up our table. This is a sneak peek at all the awesome at the Communication table including the criss cross blue tape that I hope sticks!! Stop by my stories where I'm posting more sneak peeks& progress shots ( my brand new giclee was too heavy with the backer board to stay up with blue tape)
For the first time ever since I stepped up to manage the shop I won't be behind the table during the event because we have an amazing volunteer coordinator!!
So you know what I'll be doing tomorrow?!!
Enjoying Print & Resist as a shopper!!
Y'all so much love and care went into this behind the scenes. If you see Carlee, Jennie, Lesley, Laura, Lance, Fawsy or Olivia around give them air fives, they are an amazing organized crew 🙌✨💓
Fat City Emporium reunion show
At the opening reception for the Fat City Emporium reunion show ( art shown in the photo) I saw so many people. I had so many different types of conversations that filled me. It's still awkweird ( I mean that) to see so many people.
I heard compliments not only about my work but about the things I said and who I am. It has been a hard fight to accept these compliments to feel that I deserve them. I still push them away more than I should but I'm working on it.
So after a very vulnerable tender week this is my gratitude post. Madison has a way to go to have the inclusive, easily navigable, connected arts community I dream about but we're making strides. I'm happy to play a small part in that and to be a witness to growth on multiple levels.
I'm thankful to grow alongside all of you. 💓
Photo: Ryan Robinson
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
Large Prints!!
Picked up my woodcut and prints today from @uwtandempress .
After I left last Thursday, they graciously printed a print on Stonehenge paper and another Muslin print for better registration than I got with the Steamroller/ compactor!!
Of course this further proves that printmakers are the best people!!
Had such a great time at Tandem Press during @sgcinternational Thursday and on Friday ( the only day I could attend the conference)
I want to tag all the people I met at the Southern Graphics Conference but there are too many, so if you're reading this and we chatted, or I stalked you via Instagram 🙃 I'm so glad to connect ( in person or virtually) and be more familiar with high level printed works from all over. The organizers did a phenomenal job 🙌❤️
I really needed this... Thank you all for being awesome, My cup runneth over!
New Woodcut printing
Happy St Patrick's day! I'm not Irish and I don't really consume alcohol but I'm feeling pretty lucky that I get to print this 3ft by 4ft woodcut today!!!
If you're free stop by @uwtandempress between 11-5pm to see steamroller printing and printing on Tandem's XL press.
Thanks to @fresh_hot_press for organizing and for letting me tag along
This event is one of many in Madison for @sgcinternational Even if you're not a conference attendee you can see a whole lot of amazing printmaking works in display all over town!
Reminder also @overturegalleries reception ( all welcome) is tonight 4-6pm. Cheers!!
Renter, Renew exhibition opening
If you're in the Madison area this Thursday I would be delighted if you stopped in during Overture Galleries reception from 4-6pm
I'll be talking about my work somewhere between 4-5pm
Can't wait to see and meet many printmakers in town for @sgcinternational conference!
Hope to also see some familiar faces too 😉