I am proud to share that I have been named a Finalist for the Next Step Fund. Seventy-one artists have been named finalists. 429 artists from across the 7-county Twin Cities metro area submitted proposals in this grant program. Approximately 35 awards will be announced on June 26, 2019.

Cross your fingers for me! This is a super competitive grant that I have tried to get for many years!

If awarded this fund will support my career as a filmmaker. ​

It's hard to imagine right now, but the first day of spring is March 20th. February brought in 39" of snow in the Twin Cities, making it the snowiest February ever! It's definitely been wearing on me so I have been inspired to make spring forward paintings, using pink, yellows, and blues to get my heart filled with thankfulness for the opportunities and growth I have  coming my way. 

An opportunity I am excited about starts the first week of spring for me. I will be Lanesboro, Minnesota! I will be a participating artist in the Spring into Art Festival. On March 23rd I will be assisting with Lanesboro Art's Downtown Art Making Crawl and then in the evening I will be competing in their Canvas Clash.

​I am looking forward to meeting the other artists and spending time in Lanesboro. I haven't done anything like this before! I hope the weather will be nice to us that weekend.

More on the competition:
The Canvas Clash live speed painting tournament on Saturday, March 23 at 9 p.m. inside the Events Hall at Commonweal Theatre will feature eight artists competing in a multi-round art battle, transforming blank canvases into beautiful pieces of art in just twenty minutes, with attendees voting on their favorites until a champion is crowned. The event showcases a diverse roster of professional Minnesota artists, each bringing a distinctive style and perspective to this unique event. 
For more visit, https://bit.ly/2VrG6iw

New art:
While I've been prepping for Lanesboro, I have been making new work from my "Abundance Series," paintings that express gratitude and explore inspired energies. I have been shifting from my watercolor grid like paintings to play with negative space and acrylic painting. The first 5 mini-paintings from this series are listed in my shop and can be purchased right now!

I am proud to share an interview with Women CineMakers. They are based in Germany and publish an digital magazine featuring work of contemporary women filmmakers and moving image artists. I am excited to be featured in this special edition. They were very thorough with their questions and even ask about my mixed media art! My interview starts on page 170. 

I am excited to be participating in the annual member show A Common Thread for the first time.  The opening reception is this Thursday, January 10th. Please find more details here. I am showing a small abstract felted piece I made in 2018. Felting is something I picked up over the last couple of years and I am looking forward to showing more of this work!

Goal: Make a book combining collage and elimination poetry to tell a unusual and unexpected story.
Result: How to turn yourself into a house plant.

​Enjoy!

I finished an art challenge. It wasn't a challenge that someone else created. It wasn't an Instagram challenge. It was something I told myself to do. I was inspired to do. To make artist books for thirty days! I wasn't sure where it was going to go but I knew it wasn't a waste of time. To be honest, it was something I needed. I have been wanting to change things up and create new work to expand upon my interests in storytelling and visual art. Can I tell stories with paintings? Can I tell stories through my collage work and creative writing? Yes, and I think I figured out how to do it. Now I know every book tells a story. 

To celebrate my artist challenge and the 30+ books I created over the last month, here is, "Each Decoration Tells a Story." It is a special Xmas inspired book. Today is the New Year and the holidays are almost over so it feels perfect to post this book as a formal way to reflect over a very important time for me. 

Happy 2019! Stay tuned as I share more books right here on my blog. So, here's to a goal achieved! 

I wouldn't ever say that I didn't have a routine before this art challenge, but I definitely didn't go into the art studio EVERYDAY for two hours before. When I usually set out to try something daily...like try to lose weight or do yoga everyday it has never panned out. I have always given up or got distracted. I would lose momentum and go back to the same old thing. 

What I'm teaching myself right now with this challenge is that you have to show up for yourself. Daily practices are hard and I don't know if I will be able to continue getting into the studio everyday after January 1st but what I will commit to is staying true to my ambition, being realistic on what I can achieve, and checking in with myself. I will ask myself: What do you want, where do you want to go, and how do you want to learn? 

Isn't that what it's all about: to reflect, learn, and grow? At least, that's what art is for me.