Insomnia

I know a lot of artists who struggle on and on with insomnia, myself included (as is evidenced by the fact that I am writing this blog post at 4 AM when I should be sleeping). Yet many don't talk about it and some even see it as a character flaw, sign of weakness or simply a private matter. Thus, I am going to offer some of my experiences here, so that others can relate.

I tend to get insomnia due to three main reasons: stress, unfinished work, and changes in my overall health. Stress and worry can keep me up when I am deeply concerned about something, even if I can't do anything about it right then. If I leave a project in the middle of it, especially if the creative juices are still flowing and it wasn't a long-term piece spanning several days or longer, I almost always have a hard time sleeping. Health can also be a factor, especially whenever I'm experiencing hormonal changes (like when I'm menstruating) or when I am sick or my allergies are acting up due to difficulty breathing from sinus congestion.

I have some means of combating insomnia. If I'm stressed or worried, it can help to write my concerns out by making a to do list for later so I can clear my mind and not worry that I may forget to act upon whatever woke me in the first place. If it's my health, a hot bath will sometimes do the trick, although sometimes I still wake up again later. The hardest to get back to sleep from is when I'm up because my mind is still occupied with an unfinished project, usually because I'm totally jazzed about it. However, I often find that when my creativity is the cause, the ill effects of having insomnia are greatly lessened and I can function on less sleep unless the problem is ongoing. When all else fails, I have some sleep aid pills, but I only fall back on those very rarely and will not take more than one in a two-week period for fear of becoming reliant upon them.

When I do get insomnia, I rarely ever get the kind that makes me unable to get to sleep as I tend to fall asleep easily without much hesitation. However, I can have difficulties staying asleep and sometimes cannot do so for more than two or three hours before I awaken again with my mind reeling. Anyways, tonight I'm up because of my sinuses. Having taken a hot, steamy bath that didn't help enough on its own, I'm writing this post while I wait for the sinus headache medicine to kick in.

Art of the Week: Summer Camp Intro to Weaving

Here is another fiber work I've created called Summer Camp Intro to Weaving. This piece belongs to the same series as Weaving 101 and incorporates finger knitting.

Snow Day; This Week

I'm sorry to say that the holiday boutique scheduled for today at Attitudes was canceled due to the inclimate weather. But please feel free to see me and my work later in the week. This marks the last week of Little Things Mean a Lot at the St. Charles County Arts Council. And there will be an artist's reception for my WCA Guest Artist Show at Jeane Vogel Studios in Crestwood Mall on Wednesday.

Little Things Mean a Lot
end of the year holiday bazaar
St. Charles County Arts Council
7443 Village Center Dr.
O' Fallon, MO
Nov. - Dec. 2010
I will be sitting at the gallery on Tuesday from 11 - 3 PM, so please feel free to drop by, visit and see the show.

St. Louis Women's Caucus for Art Guest Artist Show
Jeane Vogel Studios
Crestwood Court ArtSpace
19 Crestwood Court
Crestwood Plaza
Crestwood, MO
Enter the mall at Fletcher's Kitchen & Tap.
Dec. 2010
Reception with the Artist: Wednesday, Dec. 15, 6 - 8 PM
Please come and check out this show of my plein air paintings. Many shown and unshown pieces are included, ranging in size from 5" x 7" to 11" x 14".

Art of the Week: Sugar Skull Erasers

After looking at some amazing art dolls online, I wanted to play with polymer clay again. They now make eraser clay, so I decided to make some sugar skull erasers using a Wilton skull candy mold. Because they are erasers, these are not painted - all details and linework are sculpted in.

This Week

I am participating in several events coming up this week and next. Please check them out and do some holiday shopping while supporting local artists.

Little Things Mean a Lot
end of the year holiday bazaar
St. Charles County Arts Council
7443 Village Center Dr.
O' Fallon, MO
Nov. - Dec. 2010
Holiday Party: Thursday, December 9, 6 PM
I have several assemblages, scarves, blue jean purses and necklaces in this holiday bazaar, which features works priced $50 and under by several local artists. The holiday party includes a raffle to win a 6 foot tall white Christmas tree with lights and one-of-a-kind ornaments made by the artists in the show. For the tree: I made the garland, which is 25 feet of plush finger-knitted yarn in shades of purple, and an ornament called Santa Baby. Raffle proceeds benefit the St. Charles County Arts Council Lillian Yahn Gallery.

Holiday Boutique
Attitudes
4100 Manchester
St. Louis, MO
Sunday, Dec. 12, 2010, 2 - 6 PM
I will have jewelry on display at this holiday boutique that features paintings, Christmas decor and jewelry made by several local artists. And Santa will be there for pet portraits too. "Avoid the Mall. Come have some Cocktails and check everyone off your list!" One day only!!!

Upcoming next week:
St. Louis Women's Caucus for Art Guest Artist Show
Jeane Vogel Studios
Crestwood Court ArtSpace
19 Crestwood Court
Crestwood Plaza
Crestwood, MO
Enter the mall at Fletcher's Kitchen & Tap.
Dec. 2010
Reception with the Artist: Wednesday, Dec. 15, 6 - 8 PM
Please come and check out this show of my plein air paintings. Many shown and unshown pieces are included, ranging in size from 5" x 7" to 11" x 14".

Art of the Week: Summer Camp Weaving 101

Here is the end result of the piece I was working on earlier incorporating the potholder loom weavings, entitled Summer Camp Weaving 101. The child's stool was given to me by my good friend Cindy Royal.

Maintaining Contacts

I know I've written before in other posts about the necessity of keeping lines of communication open, but I want to address the idea of putting people on hold. It is crucial to stay in contact with other artists and professors in order to network, and to actively engage those contacts rather than assuming that they will always be there as needed, even after "putting them on the back burner" or "socking them away on a shelf".

A past professor of mine from KCAI once lamented that an ex-student wanted a reference several years after graduating but hadn't stayed in contact. My professor was put off by this because he unaware of that student's developments and life after graduation, both as an artist and otherwise, and now he was being asked to act as a reference for someone he felt he didn't even know. And he was further put off by the fact that this apparently happened a lot. (Ask any professor - it still does.)

His gripe made an impression on me by making me aware that I should myself work to foster those relationships outside of school. And, although communication is a two-way street, students must come to recognize that it is much more difficult for their professors to keep track of them after they graduate because of how many students said professors work with, even just in a year's time. So it essentially falls on the students to keep in touch, and doing so ultimately benefits them since those relationships can serve as professional contacts, references and support, especially when they are working to establish themselves.

Another professor pointed out that, as artists / students : if one wants to be memorable, then one must make an impression worth remembering. We cannot sit back idly and expect others to take notice - we have to engage them somehow. This is true of maintaining relationships as well; it will not happen on its own accord. So, for all that I've always felt a bit like a number in a machine or like I'm walking through a revolving door as a student in the university setting, I recognize that this disconnect has been as much a result of my behaviors as the setting itself. Ironically, it seems that I wasn't just a number anyway, because I did make a memorable impression (unlike some of my colleagues who just floated along).

Even if you've fallen out of touch, it can be worth trying to reconnect. The time to do so is now, though; the longer it waits the less memorable you'll have become because of time's passage. So work to foster those relationships yourself - don't wait for someone else to act before taking action. Even just a card or a phone call can mean so much. And keeping in touch can help to broaden your support, professional and social networks, besides which you may even find out about opportunities you hadn't previously known of.

This Week

I am going to be in several shows coming up this week as follows, including two holiday bazaars. Please feel free to come & check them out; while you're there you can do some holiday shopping to support local artists and artisans. Thanks so much for your continued support and I'll look forward to hopefully seeing you there.

Little Things Mean a Lot, end of the year holiday bazaar
St. Charles County Arts Council, Lillian Yahn Gallery, 7443 Village Center Dr., O' Fallon, MO
Nov. - Dec. 2010
Opening Reception: Thursday, Nov. 11, 4 - 7 PM
Holiday Party: Thursday, Dec. 9, 6 PM, includes a raffle to win a 6' tall Christmas tree with one-of-a-kind art ornaments made by the participating artists to benefit the St. Charles County Arts Council.
Show includes Pat Bommarito, Virginia Dragschutz, Natalie Fleming, Pat Gilman, Crystal Goldkamp, Dyann Kramer, Sherry Songer, Barbara Tenholder, Michele Thomas, and Jennifer Weigel.
http://stcharlesart.org/

Inner Fall
Framations, 218 North Main Street, St Charles, MO
Nov. 13 - Dec. 5, 2010
Opening Reception & Awards Ceremony: Saturday, Nov. 13, 1 - 4 PM
http://www.framations.com/home.html
Please feel free to also check out my jewelry display for one-of-a-kind hand-beaded necklaces, bracelets and both surgical steel & sterling earrings while you're there.

NAC Holiday Sale
Northern Arts Council 27 S. Florissant Rd., Ferguson, MO
Nov. - Dec. 2010
http://www.northsidearts.com/

Art of the Week: Field Armor

I got together with another artist from my drawing/critique group again today and we went to the St. Louis Art Museum to work from the Arms & Armor section (away from the construction). Here is a drawing I made of the Field Armor, as Art of the Week.

Happy Halloween

I couldn't decide, so I'm going as a Viking Lumberjack Werewolf for Halloween this year...

Check Out These Projects

Several friends of mine have embarked on some really cool humanitarian portrait projects over the past while, so please feel free to check them out and show your support:

Christine Ilewski, Faces
Faces depicts children who have died as a result of gun violence. These childrens' likenesses are captured in watercolor portraits that are given to the family. Ilewski documents those portraits for the project by creating acrylic transfers on handkerchiefs, which are symbolic of loss.

Jennylynne Gragg, Grateful Hearts Project
Grateful Hearts provides 16" x 20" original framed portraits to families in Missouri and Kansas who have lost servicemen and women in the line of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. Several artists have donated their time and talent to the project since its inception.

Jeane Vogel, Dare to Touch the Face of God
Dare to Touch the Face of God seeks to put a human face to religion through intimate portraits of leaders and people of faith across religions in order to promote dignity, tolerance and understanding and to counter religious hatred and misunderstanding.

Plein Air Works on Display

I am participating again in Artfully Alton and have returned to Second Reading Book Shop after the remodel with some of my plein air paintings celebrating the Alton, IL landscape and landmarks. Please feel free to stop by and check out my paintings and note the wonderful job they've done remodeling. And while you're there, enjoy some of John Dunphy's wonderful poetry and writing about regional history.

Wearable Art

As many of you likely know, I love costuming and wearable art, having written a review for Art Saint Louis' blog on Articles of Dress and having previously posted a link to Dress-a-Day on my own blog here. Anyway, here's another cool blog regarding fashion and wearable art. Robin Barcus Slonina has been working on a project called States of Dress by creating art dresses from materials representing each of the 50 states, such as poker chips for Nevada.
http://stateofdress.blogspot.com/

I adore seeing other artists making wearable art out of non-traditional materials (the weirder the better) and have even done so myself for the Missouri Fiber Artists fashion show at the conference earlier this year, including a cape and hat of bubble wrap and crating Styrofoam (from shipping electronics) and a shawl made from woven trash bags (pictured here at Halloween 2008, this was my Facebook profile pic for awhile). I hope to continue to explore these themes and costume and identity in my own work and am currently planning a vest/coat or dress made out of old art slides in response to my earlier question long long ago on my blog here.

This Week

This week I will be doing a plein air painting event in Cape Girardeau, Missouri at Jones Heritage Farms on Sunday, Oct. 17 from 10 AM - 3 PM. This is the first time for this event, which kicks off with a workshop on Saturday and culminates in a show later this month. (I won't be doing the workshop and will just be at the paint out.) The event was organized through the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri.

Fibrations review

Fibrations, the Missouri Fiber Artists show that my piece, My Front Lawn, was juried into, was recently reviewed through News-Leader. My piece even got a mention. Please feel free to check it out here. I am looking forward to checking out the show myself early next week.

http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201010080257/COLUMNISTS23/10080307

Fibrations
Missouri Fiber Artists
Waverly House Gallery
2031 S. Waverly
Springfield, MO
Oct. 2010

This Week

I have been kind of taking it easy lately, but I do have some work in two events opening today.

St. Charles 2010 Plein Air Competition
Sept. 21 - Oct. 1, 2010
sale at The Foundry Art Centre
520 N. Main Center
St. Charles, MO
Oct. 1, 2010
6 - 9 PM
I only managed to complete one painting in St. Charles this year, of the Lewis & Clark statue at Frontier Park.

Fibrations
Missouri Fiber Artists
Waverly House Gallery
2031 S. Waverly
Springfield, MO
Oct. 2010
My Front Lawn is included in this exhibition. Although I won't be able to make it out for the reception tonight, I am looking forward to seeing the show later on.

The ProstitutionofArt blog

I just realized after posting about The Body - Nothing Else blog that I neglected to post anything about The ProstitutionofArt blog, which also features one of my works, Bitch. The overall ProstitutionofArt blog is also well worth checking out - there have been some incredible discourse, performances and projects posted. It will culminate in a show at Mobius along with Signs of Our Times.

http://theprostitutionofart.blogspot.com/2010/09/bitches-puppy-mill-dogs-prostitution.html

Check Out This Blog

I have recently connected with several other artists online through various blogs and was invited to submit something to The Body - Nothing Else (Women Artists Changing Bodies). There is some amazing content posted and I'm honored to be included among the many phenomenal women artists worldwide.

I sent along some of my more recent menstruation artworks and a statement about why menstruation art is important. Feel free to check it out here:

http://womenartistschangingbodies.blogspot.com/2010/09/jennifer-weigel-63.html

Art of the Week: The Fine Art of Failure

I recently formed a Rock Band 2 band called The Fine Art of Failure in order to compete in the Battle of the Bands competitions. My intention is to strive not to do the best but the worst at the battles I compete in, since the bottom band gets a lot of face time by appearing as "who to beat" when you first enter a battle. I have posted low scores in 7 battles thus far.

Wake Up Call to Artists

I know I typically post more advice and content directed towards staying positive and taking chances, but today I'm going to address some things that really irk me about some artists and behaviors that I have encountered.

The world does NOT revolve around you.
Drop the egocentric attitude; it is not an asset. People are NOT happy to go out of their way to work with you and are NOT going to worship the ground you walk on. No one wants to make an exception for you - the rules were established for a reason so do your best to abide by them and don't expect that people will be happy to bend them for you. Artists are a dime a dozen and there are a lot of talented, creative people out there, so recognize the fact that your s**t stinks too and that you're one among many. Don't get me wrong - ego can be a good push to keep going and can draw attention, but make sure that it doesn't draw the wrong kind of attention.

Be true to yourself.
Stand by your convictions and never apologize for your art. Don't let others (friends, family, teachers, contemporaries...) push you around and tell you who you are.

Work to better yourself.
Don't be too harsh on others by being quick to judge and point out others' shortcomings in order to feel better about yourself. It is easy to point the finger and place blame elsewhere, but it is more productive to engage in some introspective criticism. Just be sure that it's constructive criticism by taking action to improve areas you are weak. Don't dwell on your weaknesses & insecurities as a means of dissing yourself, but rather work to overcome them.

Show some respect.
Abide by the Golden Rule and treat others the way you wish to be treated. Be gracious and express your gratitude for others' generosity. By disrespecting others and treating them like little more than expendable garbage, you disrespect yourself as well. Take responsibility for yourself and recognize that others' sole purpose in life is NOT to serve you.


I recognize that I have ranted about several of these things time and time again, but I continue to be frustrated by how many artists fall into these patterns. I am tired of talking to artists who are only interested in talking about themselves, or who complain incessantly about traits in others that they too express (as if they're somehow exempt from criticism).

Most of all, I'm tired of being treated disrespectfully by so-called-friends who seem to think that I enjoy going out of my way to support and serve them while both of us know that they never intend to reciprocate. Friendship is a two-way street, and I am sick of others seeking my help when they wouldn't otherwise give me the time of day if they don't need something from me.

This Week

This week I will be participating in the Alton plein air event in conjunction with the Mississippi Earthtones festival. The plein air event officially starts at noon and participating painters will be painting throughout the park and surrounding region. The event will culminate in an Awards Ceremony at 5 PM.

The Mississippi Earthtones festival will also include an arts & crafts fair, food vendors, environmental awareness outreach programs, live music and a new feature in which sculptors will work on site on collaborative pieces using scrap metal pulled out of the river.

Mississippi Earthtones Plein Air Competition
Riverfront Amphitheater
Alton, IL
Sept. 18, 2010, noon - 5 PM

Don't Be Afraid

It has been brought to my attention again how many people live in fear, so I will revisit the idea of the necessity of fearlessness here.

Artists must learn to be fearless. We cannot let things like rejection, self-exploration, being in the public eye, and opening ourselves up to criticism loom over us. We cannot be controlled by our fears of not being liked or not being accepted. To be professional and to be able and willing to engage in the public arena, we cannot be governed by that - it is just too much baggage.

Art aside, it is of no benefit to live one's life in fear. What are we so afraid of? It bothers me that there is so much fearmongering out there. Don't drink the water! Don't talk to strangers! Don't trust the government! Don't trust your neighbors!... The list goes on and on.

And so much of this is directed at women. I cannot even begin to express my frustrations at receiving many emails from concerned friends and other women warning me about some serial rapist killer practice that they read about online (all but one of which I've found to be false when researching it through Urban Legends). I recognize that there is no real reason for me to get worked up about it, but I think the fearmongering directed at women especially bothers me because it feeds into outdated idealogies that women need to be sheltered & protected or are somehow to blame for evils that befall them by not being cautious & shielded enough. I personally cannot abide by fostering that and try not to perpetuate that cycle.

Am I afraid? Of course I am. Fear is a gut reaction, an instinct that all of us have; we must learn not to be controlled by it. Regarding fearlessness in art, I've noted before how my high school art teacher likened showing one's art to hanging oneself naked on the wall, and I feel that is an appropriate comparison. By nature, showing art is very vulnerable.

But overcoming that fear is necessary to truly thrive as an artist, and it has always been my greatest hope to do so, both for myself and in order to to help others who are more cautious. I feel that I am finally getting there, since my bravery of self-expression is becoming one of the most remarked upon things about my art and about me as an artist. I want to show myself to be brave and fearless as an example for others to come out of their shells and to explore themselves and their art in new ways.

"Only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
- Franklin D. Roosevelt

Never Apologize for Your Art

I have a magnet on my fridge that says, "Never apologize for your art." I have had this magnet since before I graduated from Webster University. It has become a mantra of sorts, and I find strength in the sentiment when I'm taking leaps of faith into the deep end, like when I'm pursuing taboo subjects, creating institutional critique works, offering social and/or political commentary or generally just being "out there".

But so many artists are unsure of themselves and their art. I've written about seeking approval and fear of rejection numerous times before. But still several artists that I know downplay themselves and their work. I continue to find people apologizing for their art. They seek approval, want to be liked, and fear that they and their art aren't good enough.

But making excuses only further justifies and reinforces existing insecurities. It is of no benefit to hide behind the words, "I'm not good enough" because that can become a way of life unto itself. Negativity will foster more negativity. If you're certain that you're not good enough, then take action and instead ask, "What can I do to become good enough?"

If you're insecure about technique, enroll in classes or workshops and practice, practice, practice. If you're insecure about concept, then sketch like crazy, work out your ideas in multifaceted ways and brainstorm, brainstorm, brainstorm. If you're insecure about your place in the art world, then go to galleries and museums, study other artists and research, research, research...

Most of all, if you're insecure about yourself, don't reinforce that by telling yourself and others that you're not good enough, that you're more of a hobbyist, that you're not an artist... There are plenty of other people out there who will jump on the opportunity to criticize, so it doesn't behoove you to be your own worst critic. Instead work to be someone whom you feel would inspire you. Take action and take responsibility for yourself and say, "I can do it!" and "I will make it happen!"

Action always speaks louder than words, and if you hold up what you want to be and strive to follow that example, you can feel better about yourself for having done something other than hide behind your insecurities. And, while getting out there and making it happen, you'll likely find that you're better than you were giving yourself credit for.

This Week

I have artworks in three shows opening this week as follows:

View of the Missouri Landscape
St. Charles County Arts Council
7443 Village Center Dr.
O' Fallon, MO
Sept. - Oct. 2010
Reception: Thursday, Sept. 9, 4 - 7 PM

Art Journaling Showcase
Northern Arts Council
27 S. Florissant Rd.
Ferguson, MO
Sept. 2010
Reception: Friday, Sept. 10, 7 - 9 PM

In Transit
Framations
218 North Main St.
St. Charles, MO
Sept. 2010
Reception: Saturday, Sept. 11, 1 - 4 PM

The Mourners 10

Today I drew from The Mourners exhibit for the last time. It has been a wonderful experience and a great show and I'm glad that I did it. And now I have 20 drawings to show for it too.

Art of the Week: The Mourners 9

Unfortunately The Mourners show is almost over, but I think I'm going to make my goal of 20 drawings from the exhibition. Here are two from today. When I started this endeavor it had been a long time since I'd drawn much, and I can see the improvement now that I'm getting back into it just over the course of these pieces.

This is also my Art of the Week post this week as I haven't had time to be in the studio between hanging two shows, helping some friends, and trying to get a bunch of stuff organized and put away after picking up work from so many places last week.

This Week

This week, I am in a two-person show with Teresa Wang opening at Spirits Lounge through the St. Louis Chapter of the Women's Caucus for Art.

WCA-STL Rotating Exhibits
2-person show: Teresa Wang & Jennifer Weigel
St. Louis Chapter of the Women's Caucus for Art
Spirits Lounge
300 State Street
Alton, IL
Sept. - Oct. 2010
WCA Night Out: Thursday, Sept. 2, 2010

The Mourners 8

I only drew this one drawing at The Mourners exhibit today but I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. I find the detail studies interesting and a nice offset to the other more full figure shots. This marks my 16th drawing. Ideally I'd like to get 20 done, but the show ends next week so we'll see what happens.

On Not Having a Master's Degree

I still don't understand why it is seen as so important or necessary to have a Master's Degree in Art. I totally understand the necessity of it for teaching, but I was recently declined from a couple of places who were direct enough to specifically cite that as a fault. Although I appreciate their forthrightness, I feel that they are losing out (not necessarily on me but on a lot of amazing talent out there in general). And I am annoyed that the lack of a Master's Degree is essentially a stain on my resume despite the fact that I am so active showing otherwise and am involved with a lot of different things.

I do appreciate that it is the institution's prerogative how they determine the appropriateness of their applicants and that they are likely inundated with submissions, but they are missing out on some amazing opportunities by thusly limiting themselves. Some of the best artists I know don't hold art degrees at all and many others who are very savvy businesspeople and amazing artists in their own right don't have their Masters' degrees.

And I find it all the more frustrating because it cycles into itself. I feel that this can further foster some of the same attitudes that alienate the general public. I realize that not all artists are interested in engaging the general populace and that it is not good to generalize what people will be interested in, but I still feel that the more institutionalized art becomes, the less the public is engaged and that the less supportive the public is the harder it will work to cut funding for programs, furthering the cycle of disinterest, apathy and nonsupport.

The Mourners 7

I did another detail drawing at The Mourners exhibit today. I will be going back tomorrow, so check back for more drawings later.

Art of the Week: Purses

I am going to continue to post my drawings from The Mourners exhibit, but I intend to focus on some other things for Art of the Week to offer more variety again. Here are some purses that I made out of some old, holey blue jeans that I reappropriated. I will be vending these at the Green Homes Festival in late September.

Cool Things to Check Out

I know I haven't posted much content lately. I have been busy. But I wanted to recommend a couple of cool things to check out, based on some of what I have seen recently:

The Mourners & Bill Viola's Visitation at the St. Louis Art Museum
I have thoroughly enjoyed this exhibit, as is evidenced by my continued attendance and the drawings I am generating. Since I've said so much about it already I don't really feel the need to say more. But I do want to point out again that the pairing of Classical and contemporary art is wonderful, especially since it doesn't happen nearly often enough, and that this exhibit is well worth seeing.

Erik Spehn: Tape Drawings at the Sheldon Concert Hall Nancy Spirtas Kranzberg Gallery
These pieces act as wonderful documentations of Erik Spahn's painting process which has "involved applying strips of masking tape to the surface of his canvases, then painting over them, peeling them off, and taping and repainting again and again." The masking tape works bespeak the process while becoming interesting standalone pieces unto themselves. This exhibition marks the first showing of these works which the artist made primarily for himself, and these pieces may not be exhibited in a show unto themselves again. So this likely may be your only opportunity to view this body of work.

New Dress a Day | 365 Days. 365 New Outfits. 365 Dollars.
I discovered this blog through Yahoo's newsreel and have thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a unique and fascinating concept, and I love that it promotes creativity, resourcefulness, thriftiness, and sustainability and addresses environmental and economic concerns that many of us have. I also love the backstory, essentially making lemonade from lemons by pursuing a love of fashion and sewing instead of dwelling on the negatives of being laid off. I must admit that this would pose many more challenges for a larger woman like myself (especially if too many similarly inspired petite women wind up snapping up all of the plus size garments to reappropriate), and that I wouldn't alter some of the things that she has reworked. But I still adore the concept nonetheless and it's a great blog with some great fashion ideas. All of you fiber artists out there should take note!

The Mourners 6

I was having an off day drawing today and so I only got one piece done which I'm not completely happy with. But here it is anyway. It's a detail of a purse from one of the figures. I included the first sketch I did as well, which was also intended to focus on the same figure's purse. I didn't finish that one because I decided it wasn't compositionally interesting enough and started over closer up for the final version.

Art of the Week: The Mourners 5

Here are some more drawings from The Mourners show. Today I decided to draw some detail studies, including one of a statue with a large gash down one eye. It interests me because I can't help but notice the scar in contrast to the rest of the sculpture, which is less detailed than many others, and wonder why. Was the alabaster imperfect?... Was it meant to represent someone specific?... Did something happen to it?...

Art of the Week: The Mourners 4

Here are some more drawings from The Mourners exhibition. I have been thoroughly enjoying working from pieces in the exhibit and feel that the experience has been honing my drawing skills.

This Week

I haven't been up to much lately other than kicking off the Art Is Everywhere sign project, but I am participating in the plein air show at Soulard Art Market opening this Friday. Please feel free to stop by and check it out. I am honored to be among so many tremendous landscape artists included. I will be showing my award winning Missouri Magic piece, among others.

Outside IN
Soulard Art Market
2028 S. 12th St.
St. Louis, MO
Aug. 2010
reception: Friday, Aug. 6, 7 - 10 PM

Claude Meets Itchy

Claude is enjoying his retirement and thanks all of you who have been asking about him. He may do some more video work in the future but for now is content to sit and read and enjoy the comforts of home, although he does send us to Donut Stop on his behalf on occasion.

Today, Claude met another monster, a Phffff lovingly called Itchy. Itchy came to live with Claude after having heard that our house is an excellent retreat for monsters. Itchy also wanted to participate in the Art As Everywhere sign project, for which he has become a mascot.

Art of the Week: The Mourners 3

Here are some more drawings from The Mourners exhibition. A couple of fellow artists and I have been making a point of going every week, and we're starting to consider seeking a show venue for our works later on. I'll make sure to post something here if a show does get lined up - it''ll probably be next year at the earliest.

New Blog

Today was the Art Is Everywhere sign project debut at the Fluxus St. Louis ArtFarm during the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis' Open Studios event. After the debut, I decided to create a new blog devoted to the project in order to post photos and track signs. Please feel free to check it out and don't hesitate to email me if you are interested in participating.

Art Is Everywhere

Art of the Week: The Mourners 2

Here's a bonus Art of the Week - more drawings from The Mourners exhibition.

This Week & Art of the Week: Art Is Everywhere

This week I am participating in the city wide Open Studios event. For this event, I will further explore Art Is Everywhere by offering some of my Cafe Press merchandise for sale along with a kickoff of the sign project.

Open Studios
preview show: Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis
3750 Washington Ave.
St. Louis, MO
July 20 - 25
preview party: Tuesday, July 20, 6 - 8 PM

I will be a guest artist at the Fluxus Artfarm, archives of Fluxus St. Louis, on Saturday, July 24, 10 - 4. Maps are available at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis if you are interested in stopping by and checking it out.

Art of the Week: More Jewelry

I am going to post some bonus Art of the Week posts because I've actually produced a lot lately while spending less time online and so have more works to share. So sit back and enjoy - here are some new necklaces I made.

Art of the Week: The Mourners 1

I've been falling way behind on my Art of the Week posts, but I just haven't been blogging much lately. I do have a couple of things I want to post though, so hopefully I will try to make up for it some now.

I created these drawings of The Mourners from the sculptures currently on display at the St. Louis Art Museum. The show, featuring tomb sculptures from the Court of Burgundy presented with Bill Viola: Visitation is one of the most moving exhibitions I have seen in a long time. The classical sculptures are breathtakingly exquisite in their detail and emotion and the pairing with Bill Viola's contemporary video installation is tremendous.

The show will be up into September. It is my intention to create more drawings from the sculptures over the course of the exhibition, so there will likely be more postings on this subject over the next couple months.

Items in the Interim

I know it's been awhile since I've written any reviews on my blog, so I thought I'd write a brief blurb about Items in the Interim, the recent show of Cara Peterson's work at Fort Gondo as part of beverlyear 2010, a yearlong dedication to women artists.

Items in the Interim, an installation by Cara Peterson, opened this evening at Fort Gondo Compound for the Arts. This installation incorporates various objects found in Fort Gondo's basement and from Peterson's own collection, arranged in suites alongside paintings, photographs and drawings of antique store displays and flea market shelves.

Upon viewing the show, I was immediately drawn to Peterson's attention to detail. She paints various objects and still life arrangements in realistic fashion, as if encouraging the viewer to look at the depicted items anew as more than just junk or antique store finds. However, despite their being immortalized in art, the objects themselves still remain rather anonymous. This anonymity can bespeak a sense of the familiar by not conveying too much: that necklace could just have easily have belonged to my mother, aunt or mother-in-law; that knick knack may have once adorned my friend's shelf... The objects are easy to identify with. At the same time the anonymity can also convey a sense of the uncertain: it's hard to determine whether that necklace could have once been my mother's or not because it looks like so many others for all that it bears a resemblance...

Throughout Peterson's work, from painting to photography to drawing to assemblage & installation, individual objects don't draw attention unto themselves but rather appear in groupings, sometimes even becoming individually lost among many similar things. So the artworks seemingly act as testaments to these groupings, exploring relationships to and between said objects. By conveying a sense of individual objects being lost in the crowd, the works further explore themes of abandonment and neglect, memory and forgetting, storage and display, trash and treasure. Among the paintings are The Pink Elephant, Saugett, IL and Treasure Aisles, St. Louis, MO. Both of these pieces explore similar themes but draw upon very different objects and spaces, reminding the viewer that antique, vintage, modern and contemporary objects can all meet similar fates over time.

Anyone Can Do That!

This is a response to Jeane Vogel's recent post Oh, Sure! Anyone Can Do This! Please check it out if you haven't yet done so - it is very well spoken and raises a lot of good points.

A lot of people can have a hard time appreciating all of the learning, adapting and risk-taking needed to develop an artist's eye or a particular skill, even including other artists. (In all honesty, that can be said of a lot of things, though, not just art.) And true mastery can make things appear effortless when they really aren't.

That said, I still cannot believe some of the things said at art markets. So many things have been said to me or friends of mine that I needed an outlet for it, hence I created He Said, She Said. I personally find it most important not to let others' views, opinions, statements and comments, poorly articulated or not, feed into my own self-doubts. There are so many obstacles and hardships to developing as an artist and it helps to be able to brush things off like water off a duck's back as much as possible. It's crucial to have an outlet though, so if you find yourself troubled by it make art or write a blog or keep a journal...

I still strongly believe that anyone and everyone can be an artist, though not everyone is driven or passionate enough to actually undertake the rigorous discipline, focus and self-searching needed to truly blossom as such. And I am all for exploring new media, outlets and ideas. I must admit I even kind of like the idea of i-phone art, although I'm sure it's been done already. :)

This Week

I am in a couple of shows opening this week as follows.

Faces
St. Charles County Arts Council
7443 Village Center Dr.
O' Fallon, MO
July - Aug. 2010
reception: Thursday, July 8, 4 - 7 PM

Drawgasmic
organized by Cranky Yellow Publishing
show at ArtDimensions
2720 Cherokee St.
St. Louis, MO
July 2010
reception: Saturday, July 10, 7 PM - 1 AM

This Week

I am in a couple of shows starting this week, including an Art Saint Louis off-site solo show of my plein air paintings at St. Louis Development Corporation and the Feminine Perspective group show at the Black Door Gallery in Cape Girardeau, both opening Friday.

En Plein Air
solo show
Art Saint Louis curated exhibit
St. Louis Development Corporation
1015 Locust St. Ste. 1200
St. Louis, MO
July - August 2010
I am uncertain whether this show is open to the public or not but it is essentially a recreation of my recent show at Provisions.

Feminine Perspective
Black Door Gallery
124 S. Spanish St.
Cape Girardeau, MO
July 2010
Reception: Friday, July 3, 5 - 9 PM

Also, my Mass Produced Patriotism window installation has been replaced at Cranky Yellow Publishing. It will be up through July 4, so please stop by and check it out if you weren't able to do so before the Bizarre Bazaar.

Window Installation Update

It turns out that my Mass-Produced Patriotism window installation won't be on display at Cranky Yellow during the Bizarre Bazaar after all, due to a slight mix up about what would be installed when. However, please feel free to come by and visit me at the event anyway - I will still be vending artwork, among other things.

This Week

This week I will be very active in some events on Cherokee Street. There is an opening tonight at Cranky Yellow, as mentioned below, and although I'm not in the show it will provide an opportunity to see my Mass-Produced Patriotism window installation. I will also be participating in the Bizarre Bazaar flea market on Cherokee Street on Sunday.

Dimensions of Compatibility
Found Video Montage by Mike McCubbins
Music by Mike McCubbins and Dan Madrigal
Photography by Alan Palmer
Cranky Yellow Publishing
2847 Cherokee
St. Louis, MO
June - July 25, 2010
Reception: Friday June 25, 8pm-11pm

Cherokee Street Bizarre Bazaar & Flea Market
Hosted by Binge & Purge, Apop Records, Cranky Yellow & Miss Ohio Vintage.
Event includes the 2800 block of Cherokee Street, St. Louis, MO.
Sunday, June 27, 10 AM - 7 PM
Live entertainment, treats, drinks and more.

Art of the Week: Mass Produced Patriotism

It's been awhile since I posted Art of the Week. Here's a picture of my new window installation at Cranky Yellow Publishing in anticipation of July 4.

The centerpiece of the installation is my Mass-Produced Patriotism piece, which can be better seen in the detail to the right. That artwork incorporates an array of USA flag-themed items, none of which were produced in this country, under the heading Made In China. (The letters of the heading were also not produced here.) These items act as a testament both to commercialism & propaganda and to the need to read labels to ensure that, as consumers, we are truly supporting that which we endorse through purchasing power. Before becoming part of this window installation, this piece was shown in Money Money Money at ARC Gallery in Chicago.

The installation also includes various red, white and blue items and clothing gathered from throughout Cranky Yellow for the window display. Hint, hint to all you Where's Waldo collectors out there - said items are for sale should you see anything you're interested in. And Cranky Yellow is also opening up the window space for installation proposals, in case anyone's interested - you can go there and talk to them during open hours if you have something in mind for consideration. Do keep in mind that storefront windows are hot and that such displays often become sun-bleached.

This Week

I will be in a couple of shows opening this week, so please stop by and check them out.

How Does Your Garden Grow?
Northern Arts Council
27 S. Florissant Rd.
Ferguson, MO
June - July 2010
Reception: Friday, June 18, 6 - 9 PM
I will have a couple of small plein air paintings of garden urns in this exhibition.

Hot But Not Melted
The Syndicate Trust Building
915 Olive St. 4th & 5th floor galleries
St. Louis, MO
Reception: Saturday, June 19, 7 - 10 PM
June - July 2010
I will be showing several Point of View collages in this summer show organized by Paul and Connie LaFlam.

Life Blood Exhibit Pix

Here are some photos from last night. Unfortunately, I didn't remember to get any good group shots, but you can get a sense of the show itself. I must admit that it felt good having my name emblazoned on the wall.

If you didn't get a chance to come to the reception, please stop by and see the show sometime while it's up. The gallery is located in the same building as the library and is open Monday - Friday 10 - 4 and Saturday 10 - 3. The show runs through July 1.

Also, catalogs from the show are still available for purchase at $5 each. These can be purchased at the gallery or through me.

Congratulations Christine

Friend and fellow artist Christine Ilewski just got a wonderful review in the St. Louis Post Dispatch for her Faces project. Please feel free to check it out on their website and learn about this important project.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/laworder/story/159A7872D2ED71AA8625773C0079C1D6?OpenDocument

Life Blood Exhibit reception tomorrow!

Tomorrow is the big day!

The Life Blood Exhibit reception at Florissant-Valley Community College will run Thursday, June 10 from 6 - 8 PM. Please come, support the show, and join in the conversation and help break the taboo surrounding menstruation. Catalogs from the show are available for $5. The event is free and open to the public.

Life Blood Exhibit
invitational group show organized by Jennifer Weigel
STLCC-Florissant-Valley Art Gallery
3400 Pershall Rd., Florissant, MO
June 7 - July 1, 2010
reception: Thursday, June 10, 6 - 8 PM
Featuring works by:
Lisa Becker, Danielle Correll, Marsha Heck, Christine Ilewski, Aunia Kahn, Arlene Ligori, Barbara Merlotti, Janice Nesser, Pat Owoc, Roxanne Phillips, Evie Shucart & myself

I will also be participating in Masterpiece, a women's conference at Faith Church St. Louis this Friday and Saturday. Although I will be doing some still life painting and showing some of my smaller paintings from past plein air events, this is not a free event and costs admission so I'd recommend checking out my paintings later on elsewhere unless you're planning to go in and of the retreat itself.

Masterpiece
women's conference
Faith Church St. Louis
3590 Rider Trail South
Earth City, MO
June 11 - 12, 2010

LampLight Studio

LampLight Studio had its grand opening today. Founded by multi-media artist Rob Miller and his wife Colleen, the ceramic arts center is housed in a re-purposed 1950s fire station in Overland, Missouri.

Upon visiting, I was immediately impressed with the scale and the attention to details. The old fire station is an incredible space in and of itself, and it is great to see it reappropriated for an art studio with its huge, open air space and double doors.

There is ample workspace in the ceramics studios (in what used to be the main bay of the fire station) with their high ceilings, and plenty of storage space for students and members alike. The space is very open to foster collaboration and communication and to encourage a sense of community.

A kiln-formed glass studio is situated in a side room with tables where artists can work on their own projects or work together. There are also other shared spaces, like a kitchenette, lounge & lunchroom, and a gallery space to showcase and sell artists' wares.

Membership is reasonably priced and a large variety of classes are offered for those who would like to learn more. So if you're looking to partner with a ceramics studio, I'd highly recommend checking LampLight Studio out.

Reminder - Life Blood Exhibit opening just one week away!

Life Blood Exhibit is gearing up for the grand opening at Florissant Valley Contemporary Art Gallery less than a week away on Thursday!

After the preview party at Fort Gondo Compound for the Arts, this will be the first showing of the exhibition in its entirety and catalogs from the show will be offered for a suggested donation of $5.

Please come, support the show, and join in the conversation and help break the taboo surrounding menstruation.

Life Blood Exhibit
invitational group show organized by Jennifer Weigel
STLCC-Florissant-Valley Art Gallery
3400 Pershall Rd., Florissant, MO
June 7 - July 1, 2010
reception: Thursday, June 10, 6 - 8 PM

Homecoming

I made it to part of the reception for Homecoming Fluxus: and Visual Poetry by Regional Natives at the Regional Arts Commission last night. The show, curated by Keith Buccholz of Fluxus St. Louis, features artworks by John M. Bennett, Keith A. Buchholz, Larry Miller and Cecil Touchon and runs from May 28 - July 11.

The exhibition, performances and poetry readings were wonderful. It is a great reflection on some alternative artists, collaborations and processes happening throughout the city and on Fluxus itself. A wide range of artworks with appeal to a wide range of people are featured, from the lighthearted to the thought-provoking, the personal to the political, the humorous to the deeply conceptual... Many pieces encourage viewer interaction and creativity.

Reception attendees could register themselves as Original Humans in Larry Miller's Genetic Code Copyright program, declaring to "forever copyright [their] unique genome[s]." Registered persons are supplied with certificates of their registration. Keith Buccholz has yearly compilations of his Fluxkits available for perusal, the most recent of which includes information on my Penny Project from Fluxkit Quarterly. Numerous books are included to read and peruse, along with found object artworks galore.

Due to the nature of this exhibition, as there are a lot of things to pick up and interact with and even more things to read, make sure that you give yourself ample time to really immerse yourself in the show. This is not a show one can just fly by en route to something else - it needs time to be experienced.

Life Blood Exhibit Grand Opening

Life Blood Exhibit is gearing up for the grand opening at Florissant Valley Contemporary Art Gallery! After the preview party at Fort Gondo Compound for the Arts, this will be the first showing of the exhibition in its entirety and catalogs from the show will be offered for a suggested donation of $5. I will be sending out more reminders as the show nears, but please mark your calendars now to join in the conversation and help break the taboo surrounding menstruation.

Life Blood Exhibit
invitational group show organized by myself
STLCC-Florissant-Valley Art Gallery
3400 Pershall Rd., Florissant, MO
June 7 - July 1, 2010
reception: Thursday, June 10, 6 - 8 PM

This Week Off

Believe it or not, I'm taking the week off and have no show openings or receptions. In fact, many of the things I've been involved in lately are drawing to a close.

I will be taking a break over the rest of the month to work on some new pieces, get some paperwork and bureaucracy done, gear up for the Life Blood Exhibit opening at the Florissant Valley Contemporary Art Gallery (more info to come) and see some shows.

So hopefully you can look forward to more art of the week features and/or more reviews of local shows.

Provisions Show Update

I just wanted to let everyone know that my solo show at Provisions Gourmet Market was not extended for as long as originally thought and came down earlier today. I am very honored to have been able to show my work there again, and am glad that my show ran over by a week.

I'm sorry if you hoped to check out the show sometime this week and didn't get a chance to, but there will be other opportunities to see some of the paintings after I line up some more shows. And any future shows will likely include newer pieces from my recent trip to Augusta.

Art of the Week: Aluminum Casting

I did something new today, so I'm posting it as art of the week now at the beginning of the week rather than at the end.

A friend of mine invited me to her sculpture class today for a sand casting demo. We made bas-relief sculptural pieces so we could make impressions of them into the casting sand to then pour aluminum into. I created two pieces: one made by working directly into the sand to create texture (I had no idea what this would look like until after it was completely done), and another somewhat Cthulu-esque tentacled creature which I sculpted in positive and then made a negative impression of within a mold. After the aluminum was poured and cooled I went over my cast sculptures with a steel wire brush to clean them up some, but I didn't really work the surface as I rather like the rough, unpolished treatment.

I'd never done any sort of metal casting before, and it was very interesting and educational. I'm very glad to have had the opportunity to try it and grateful to have been included. It was a lot of fun and a totally new experience.

Website Updated

My website has been updated to include pictures from several more solo shows, among some other things, so please feel free to check it out. (Thank you so much Chuck for helping me on this.)
http://jenniferweigelart.com/

Among the newest additions are Cast Off, more City Life images & show info from awhile back, and some more recent plein air shows.

Art of the Week: Augusta plein air

I haven't posted much for art of the week lately as I've been busy. Here are some highlights from the 8th Annual Augusta plein air event.


8th Annual Plein Air Art Event
hosted by the Greater Augusta Chamber of Commerce
Augusta, MO
April 21 - May 1, 2010

This Week

I decided at the last minute to participate in the Paint Webster Plein Air Event in Webster Groves on Saturday. I wasn't having a good painting day at first, but I later decided to start over and worked on a picture of the giant neon guitar on the side of the Highway 61 Roadhouse & Kitchen restaurant, which I am happy with. Paintings will be on display this week only at the Old Orchard Gallery.

Paint Webster Exhibition
Old Orchard Gallery
37 S. Old Orchard
Webster Groves, MO
May 10 - 17, 2010

I also have work in a couple of other shows with receptions this week as well:

Fibers Exhibition
Capital Arts Gallery
1203 Missouri Blvd.
Jefferson City, MO
April 17 - May 26, 2010
Gallery Crawl Reception: Friday, May 14, 4 - 9 PM
Some of my small wire baskets are included in this exhibition in Jefferson City.

Seeing Red
Art Saint Louis
555 Washington, Ste. 150
St. Louis, MO
May - June 2010
Reception: Saturday, May 15, 6 - 8 PM

Negativity

I've noticed recently that a lot of artists seem to be down in the dumps. There has been a lot more hostility on some of the listservs to which I belong with a few artists even commenting negatively on one anothers' shows, successes and ideas. And it seems that a lot of people who wouldn't normally take up issues with things or complain are doing so. Essentially, I think the economy and resulting lack of funding & sales in recent years is really getting everyone down, artists & non-artists alike. And all of this energy seems to be feeding on itself.

I myself have personally been rather bummed out lately, feeling very unsupported. I've been trying not to get depressed, for all that I can't help but look at where I am and question why I haven't gotten further (and it's not for lack of motivation). Sometimes I feel like just stepping away from all of it and giving up on the whole thing, like trying to pursue my dreams as an artist just isn't worth the trouble and heartache. But giving up on myself isn't a solution.

Now, I'm not going to try to get all positive and tell myself and everyone to cheer up and be optimistic - that doesn't tend to work all that well. Especially since, although I do firmly believe in the idea of mind over matter, I recognize that artists as a whole tend to be very sensitive and attuned to one another and the world around them, and so keeping a sunny disposition can be even harder when encountering hardship and when others are frustrated and burnt out as well.

And I'm not trying to be depressing so much as to try and focus my own energies on making something of all this. So it is my goal to lay low for awhile, take the opportunity to be more introspective, and make work addressing how I feel at this precise moment rather than worrying so much about what I'm showing, selling or involved with in the art world. Don't get me wrong - I still plan to be active, but I plan to take a much needed hiatus and focus on spending more time in my studio. Right now, it seems the most productive thing that I can do.