Possession at Duluth Art Institute

I just found out my work will be in an exhibition in Minnesota this fall.

Possession opens September 5 and runs through November 2, 2013 at the Duluth Art Institute. Duluth is pretty far north, but if anyone is in the area, there will be a reception September 19 from 5-7pm. The gallery will be open Monday through Saturday 10-5 and Sunday 1-5.

Infestation, my work for Possession

A women's ceramic show in Minnesota sounded attractive, but for this one the draw to apply was the names of the jurors. The show is arranged by Minnesota Women Ceramic Artists and the jurors this year were Margaret Bohls and Eva Kwong. My ceramic-centric readers should know these names. Both artists are well-known, internationally recognized artists. When I first started making ceramic sculpture in college people compared my work to that of Eva Kwong. For this reason, I've been aware of her work about as long as I've been aware of any ceramic sculpture. I even looked at the Kent State graduate program mainly because of her. Kwong's sculptures are often smooth, simple forms covered patterns of dotted slip or glaze. She also has done wall installations with many of these simple dotted forms collected together.

sculpture by Eva Kwong, from her profile at access Ceramics

Margaret Bohl's work has been featured in Ceramics magazines and at ceramics shows and conferences for years. When I think of her, I think of functional work, I picture the work formed with slabs of repeated diamonds which each seem to have been pressed out from inside. The surface reminds me of an ornate quilt, making the forms feel soft and delicate.

work by Margaret Bohls from her website: www.margaretbohls.com

Speaking of the Midwest, my mom just drove a couple pieces up to be part of a show in St. Croix, Wisconsin later this year. I had mentioned this show earlier in the year as a continuation of a show I did in 2006. The traveling educational show, Paradise Lost? Climate Change in the North Woods was put together by artists, musicians, poets and scientists to explain, show and educated visitors about climate change. The show traveled Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota from 2006 to 2009. It seems bizarre to me that 5 years later the public still lacks understanding about climate change. 

Zebra Mussels (image from an NPR article about water bills in Texas)

Incidentally, the two shows mentioned here are related. The piece that will be in Duluth was created with a particular Great Lakes image in mind, that of zebra mussels infesting and clogging pipes or any other available surface as they invade the lakes of the midwest. Though their entrance into new bodies of water is not caused by climate change, the zebra mussels are able to take over greater territory because the changing temperature of lakes in the region allows them to live comfortably in lakes and other bodies of water where they might not have flourished before.