An Artist's Update

"The ability to express is an act of sovereignty."

--In Our Hands: Native Photography, 1890 to Now, Minneapolis Institute of Art, video

photo credit: Liz Hauck IG: @elizabeth.hauck

A Warm Welcome to my friends and supporters

IN THIS ISSUE

SOLO EXHIBIT EXTENDED

POSTERS

1001 ARTIVISTS

NYC EXHIBIT

SWEETGRASS

FUN WITH FRIENDS

4 YEAR BASKET 

Hello friends, family, and supporters,

I've been sharing these last several newsletters with you about my transition into my new arts building. The positive-ness and downright joy continues.

• As a way to keep current and document where I am at in my art career, I hired Liz Hauck, New York and St. Paul photographer (who works on my floor) to do new artist headshots for me. Between seeing her wall photographs and meeting clients after their shoot, I was so struck with what she captures through the eyes--I didn't even know that was a thing. Take a look at my above photo and see if you think she caught it for me too!

   

• My solo exhibition Weaving Wholeness got EXTENDED through 8/5/24 (next Monday). Why the extension? I got compelling feedback from a local curator. They recommended I give each sculpture more space "to breathe." Hmmm--really? So, I packed things away and focussed entirely on my spirals. If I do say so myself...Wow! If you live locally, come on out for First Friday this week (see below) and see for yourself what "breathing" space can do for artwork.

   

• You may recall that I set up this current exhibition for the out-of-state-curator studio visit. This was the first exhibition I did everything from start to finish myself, even down to the labels (type, print, glue on foam core, razor blade cut, install). I couldn't believe how much time it took and how much work it was. Every once in a while I'd catch a thought running through my head that said "why are you even doing all this?" Well.....I had no idea the ripple effect that would happen!! Not only did I have the curator tour from Indiana, but also from the Minneapolis Institute of Art and our nationally known Textile Center! You can read more about these adventures by subscribing to my Patreon site. I am doing 3 consecutive posts, each on a curator visit. It costs $3/month to become a Creativity Champion and you can join via the blue button below. Much to my surprise and pleasure, some Champions even found a way to increase their artist support contributions. Another wow!

   

• And in other big news...I am off to Spain! There is an art exhibit that is using my same materials (willow) and my same technique (spiral). The artists are taking the spirals to the next level. A must-see!

A big time for me.

How about you? I'd love to hear what the summer is bringing for you.

Martha  

Weaving Wholeness extended!

with a First Friday event this week

May 25 - August 5, 2024

My studio 308B will be open and welcoming you in.

When: August 2, 2024 from 6-9 pm. during the F-O-K Studios First Friday event

Includes: Multiple art studios will be open. Live music from 6:30-8pm: Jazz duo with Jon Pemberton on piano and Brad Bellows on valve trombone.

Where: F-O-K Studios, 106 Water St. W., St. Paul, MN

(old red brick building on Harriet Island)

Free parking

Other viewing times: The building is open to the public Sunday-Saturday 8 am - 6 pm so you could visit the gallery portion of the exhibition.  Contact Martha at martha@marthabirdart.com to schedule a private tour that would include her studio until Monday, August 5.

Everyone is Welcome!

Posters now available

At the last several art events, numerous people came to me and said, "I'd like to buy one of your posters." I was puzzled as I didn't recall having any posters. They referenced the mounted business card display outside my studio.

Hearing the wish, I set about learning how to make that happen. I signed up for a Canva tutorial session at Springboard for the Arts, my go-to for business-related art questions. I learned how to use my high quality photos and turn them into a poster format. I then approached Ylli Haruni Fine Art, in my arts building, for prints.

This is how he describes the print quality:

My giclee prints are created using Roland inkjet printer that uses archival quality inks on acid free archival paper to produce museum quality prints that can last for decades without fading or discoloration. The 8-color printer produces prints with a very high resolution, which means that even the finest details and subtle color variations are captured in the final print.

So between my using high resolution photos and his museum quality printing process, you will be purchasing a superior representation of my art sculptures.

Thank you to Springboard, Ylli, and to all who inquired about posters.

You ask, I'll do my best to deliver.

I love my community.

Feature: 1001 Artivist's video

I was honored to be invited to participate in “1001 Artivists” by the Scheherezade Project. In their nightly Instagram posts, they make reference to the classic story of the Arabian Nights where Scheherezade had to create a story to tell the King in order to stay alive.  I was invited to share my art practice as part of the One Thousand and One Nights event.  Mine aired on June 19, 2024. My story goes from minute 1:13-2:56.

Mission: The Scheherezade Project is a movement of activism through arts.  It uses the power of art, creativity, solidarity, and courage in promoting social justice, nourishing our spirits and enabling a more beloved community.

Art in New York City

50/50 Postcard Exhibition

In 2023, you may recall that I exhibited a willow sculpture in NYC's Atlantic Gallery. This year they are celebrating their 50th Anniversary. As part of this celebratory exhibit, they mounted a 50/50 Postcard Fund-raiser, with post-card sized works created by artists who have exhibited in the gallery throughout the years. This 50/50 Postcard event occurred in tandem with Atlantic Gallery: Celebrating 50 Years exhibition. Mine is circled in green in the photo above. At the blue button below you can see my name listed!

Yay for having art in NYC again!

Sweetgrass harvest is in

Did you know I have an ever-growing sweetgrass garden in my yard? I transplanted a few plugs from along the highway in Grand Marais (on the MN and Canadian border) several years ago. I'd taken a basketmaking class at the North House Folk School and the teacher showed us where to find it, while sharing she'd never been successful with transplanting it. I was! Now, I have a wonderful connection with a local Native American elder who comes to harvest and braid it with me every summer. I cut, he separates it into bundles, and then he holds the end while I braid. We share the final braids. He gives them out as medicine to his community. This process is a good 5 hours of work!

Fun with artist friends

Carmen from Atalier Mamako

Carmen and Jacques welcomed a group of us into their home for a free open studio event to support building community. Carmen guided me through making a fabric journal, while others made patches and coasters. Sign up for their newsletter to learn about more opportunities to meet them.

Thank you Carmen and Jacques for the wonderful evening!!

Maggie from Makwa

I had fun participating in the ongoing open studio events where Maggie Thompson (Fond du Lac Ojibwe) invites anyone who has been impacted by alcoholism within their families or by their loved ones to join in the creation of the new work titled “Hospital Gowns”. We join together to make squares of blue beads that will be attached together like a quilt in the shape of the gown. These will be exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts in 2025.

Thank you Maggie for the wonderful community art making experience!!

The basket that took 4 years to make

It takes a lot of concentration and skill to make a basket. Especially one like this one that starts with a complicated hexagonal weave and then adds 2 more puzzle-like layers on top of that. I started this one in 2020 while I was still at the communal studio at Avivo. With the stress and chaos I experienced there at the end, I didn't have the focus to be able to figure the weave out. I put it on hold. Then I brought it to the MSS Fresh Eye Arts studio in hopes of completing it. With ongoing issues around my creating space there, it again got tabled as I couldn't find the wherewithal to work on it. Now, finally when settled and happy in my new solo art studio, I had the concentrated focus I needed to figure it out and complete it. What an accomplishment to go through everything that was needed in order to bring it to fruition. It has a special place in my heart and represents a time in my life when I needed persistence and endurance. I'm so glad I stuck it out!!

Thank you for sharing in my life!