Drawing by Chloe Piene

Print/Street art by  Swoon

I’ve been sketching a lot to figure out a different way to draw my figures, mostly in pen to break my perfectionist needs. I’m too embarrass to show anything now, but here’s two artists I’ve been looking at for inspiration. Chloe Piene just had a lecture at my school, which I missed it because of work. Sad. I’m kind of surprised nobody’s mention her name in critiques for me to research. Her work would have been helpful for me. I’m going to go research her drawings more at the library. Hopefully this will set off inspiring drawing ideas.

Creo Magazine is an online quarterly magazine that promotes student artists and visual culture. I got asked to be featured in their spring issue, “Nature vs. Nurture” along with a grouping of other artists from around the country. This is a preview of a page with my work. There’s another page with an interview included. I’m pretty impress with the flashy online magazine viewer. I got caught up in reading and forgot that I couldn’t physically move the pages except with my mouse.

Back to the studio/library/printshop/runningwithmyheadcutoff!

The entire website has been cleaned up. Art page is updated with the artwork shown throughout last semester. Since I have a nice camera now, the last five prints I made are finally represented better digitally. The About page is entirely new with information on my exhibitions and other info and I re-added the “contact” page again. I also cleared up almost a hundred blog posts. I review my blog entries from a 1-2 years ago and the cheery optimism mixed with extreme naivete became a little embarrassing to archive. I kept shaking my head and felt the desire to figure out time travel so I could shut up 2008-9 version of me.

Anyway, it’s squeaky clean and ready for a whole new semester!

-Megan

What would be my first hardcore studio day of the semester is starting off badly. There’s currently four trashcans set up to keep the leaky roof from flooding my studio floor. I probably need to put away any prints in the flat files for safe measure. Apparently, this will happen every time it rains. Bah.

“Master of Fine Art candidates Thomas Boyer, Galen David, Megan Frauenhoffer, Graham Judd, and Levi Murphy will be exhibiting their work in the inaugural show in Gallery 148 from January 20th to the 29th.  This, an exhibition of current MFA work, marks the first showcase, in recent memory, of MFA opus done at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. This show was organized to bring awareness to MCAD’s MFA program to both the undergraduates and patrons alike through the aid of a public and professional space that is Gallery 148.”

I spent yesterday setting up for the school exhibition. Tomorrow is the reception, along with two or three other school sponsored shows.

Here’s photos of setting up and a sample of the work being exhibited:

Galen David’s paintings, mostly installed.

Levi Murphy’s furniture, installed.

A sample of Thomas Boyer’s photographs.

Graham Judd’s woodblock prints. Printmakers! Yay!

I put three of the collage/prints I made last semester. I’m itching to make new art. I’ve grown tired of constantly displaying/photographing this body of work. I want new prints to show! Hopefully this weekend will be the start of that.

The print quality is top notch and my image looks snazzy for the month of March:

Since I’m one of the featured artists, I received 10 copies for free. Now maybe I can keep track of my semester and deadlines… key word being “maybe.”

School starts the 19th, the last semester of graduate school. Scary! I still don’t feel quite ready, but maybe the start of the semester will get me out of my creative slump. It’s now or never I suppose.

-Megan

After a whole semester of whining about my camera, my parents decided to get me a new camera for Christmas. Huzzah! Now I have to learn how to use it properly. I’m going to re-shoot recent artwork for an application I’m working on this vacation.  I need to have my images look top notch so I don’t mess up my chances.

I took a nice long break from art making, but now I need to kick my butt into gear and prep for shows. Buy frames, print, make new art, hang stuff, and of course, the thesis paper/exhibition for graduating school. SO MUCH! AH!

Expect more posting here in the near future. I want to document as much as possible for the upcoming thesis show. I might do a “photo-a-day” posting schedule or something similar to motivate my blogging.

Upcoming shows:

MFA group show @ Gallery 148 (MCAD/MPLS, MN)

Gender Show @ Altered Esthetics (NE MPLS, MN)

Glass, Cinder & Thorns @ 323 East Gallery (Royal Oak, MI)

Feminality Traveling Exhibition Round 3 @ Manhattan venue (haven’t learned much more than that)

MFA 2010 Thesis Exhibition @ Soap Factory (MPLS, MN)

Those are the main shows so far. I might keep my eye out for more shows that follow the thesis exhibition, but this should do for the semester. I’m starting my print for the Glass, Cinder & Thorn show. I’ll have a print in-progress for next week, maybe?

Yesterday, I got a catalog in the mail for the Los Angeles Printmaking Society 20th National Exhibition from last semester. This book is huge and full of lovely black and white images of prints from the show. For some reason, I didn’t include any artist statement with my image.

Bummer. It kind of makes me look like a goof, I’m the only one that doesn’t have a blurb by my image in the catalog. I must have been a space case when I sent all the information into the mail. I can’t seem to think of a better reason why I forgot. Still, it’s nice to see my artwork along with other printmakers in the field.

That’s all for now. I’m going to update the website later this week. The Art section will receive its usual overhaul, but I might also add my resume and tinker with the About page.

Later.

-Megan

Woohoo.

It’s a very unenthusiastic “woohoo,” because I still feel like I’m recovering. I’ve been on break for a week already and I’ve mostly spent it on resting and organizing. I’m spending the break absorbing feedback, sketching and reading. I’ll also print some projects for people and and get some art ready for some 2010 shows starting up next month. It seems like whenever I just want to “be done” with art, I get sucked into shows and projects. I’m glad for this,  it keeps me going and reminds me that there’s a life outside of graduate school.

I also wanted to make a public thank you. This past week I received an anonymous check meant to supplement my art making. I am immensely grateful for this extremely generous gift and plan to use it for my thesis work next semester. Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you (thousand times over).

The next few weeks, I’m going to update and organize the website/blog. I’m getting a camera for Christmas, which means I can re-shoot recent work that didn’t photograph well the first time around.

And to end this post, here’s some books I’ve been using towards my thesis draft:

And books that I read for fun… or try to, because I start them on vacation and then take four months off to do school. This winter break I plan on finishing these books:

That’s it. I’ve been taking in the review comments and figuring out my next steps. I have to catch up in paper writing though, which is not so fun. One more semester left, one more semester left…

I think I’m going to start adding color again to the new pieces. Somehow. I think I might send one of these for a show in March. I’m going to try and figure out a cheaper way to frame the work. Maybe put it on mounted board or something? I don’t know. I’m going to revert to modest sized pieces after school is over, that’s for sure. Waaaaay easier to send to shows.