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.