2010 was an eventful year for me. There were travels...New York City twice, San Francisco once, Milwaukee, a few trips to Minneapolis (where my two sons also live), Cleveland/Akron, Chicago, Peoria and others. Each destination held its own adventure.
My etchings were included in seven exhibits in 2010. There are two exhibits that I want to mention:
The Miller Art Musuem in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin held a printmakers invitational group show (March 6-April 20), which included several printmakers with Wisconsin ties.
The Kenosha Public Museum (Kenosha is a city between Milwaukee and Chicago) currently has a show called "The Print Revolution in America" which opened on November 6, 2010. This impressive exhibit includes two of my etchings (one is a recent work and the other is from 1990) and continues at the museum until April 2011.
In November of 2009 I was commissioned by The Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson, Wisconsin to do an etching for them. I usually don't accept commissions, but they gave me a good degree of flexibility as far as execution and subject. The etching is called "Deep river" and is a scene from Birkmose Park overlooking the St. Croix River on the Minnesota Wisconsin border. On visits to the twin cities (my former home and where another exhibit at Groveland Gallery was), I would drive over to Hudson and work on the etching on location.
My first trip to New York was in January. On that trip, I became affiliated with The Old Print Shop, which is a gallery on Lexington Avenue in Manhattan. I had been aware of it for a few years. The gallery has been in existence for over 100 years and represents contemporary printmakers as well as being a dealer for old, important American prints. Related to this affiliation, I was encouraged to apply for membership in S.A.G.A. which is the Society of American Graphic Artists. It is one of two professioinal art organizations that I am presently a member of.
On my second trip to New York in October, I had the opportunity to show a folder of my etchings to Madeleine Viljoen who is the print curator at the New York Public Library. I showed 15 small etchings. Five of the works were purchased for the library's distinguished print collection.
Lastly, one of my etchings, "Driftless", was chosen to be featured on the title page of the Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission's 2011 calendar, "Flora and Fauna". It is an annual publication containing works by Dane County artists and I am honored to have been included.
I continue to live by my wits. The trips are exciting, and I haven't told you about all of them. I visit the galleries that represent me and value the contact. I call people and show my artwork. Sometimes it leads somewhere, and other times it seems to lead nowhere. Sometimes I say and do the right things. Otherwise, I am capable of doing the converse. I am writing this at a garage in Milwaukee while my van is being worked on for the day. Soon, I will be driving a loaner car to a gallery that is interested in looking at my work. Another attempted appointment didn't work out. Somewhere in the midst of everything I work hard at being a creative artist. This is where my true passion lies. Even when I don't actually have a tool in my hand working on a metal plate, I am thinking about it, how things work, and what to do next. My life is never dull.
PS. I didn't mention Maquoketa, Iowa, Fred Easker, and the interesting studio that I was invited to visit. It is a place you should experience.
