An Artist's Update

“There comes a time when the mending is out of our hands.“

--Margo Stebbing, poet

A Warm Welcome to my friends and supporters

2022 Pianos on Parade

(Martha playing piano painted by artist Danielle Day) 

Finnigan's in downtown Minneapolis

IN THIS ISSUE

OPENING RECEPTION

EXHIBITS (3)

FEATURED ART ON COVER

IN PROGRESS GRANT UPDATE

MICHIGAN COLLECTION

PRINTS SOLD

Dear Friends,

I am so relieved to be reaching out to you in this summer season.  It was a long 6 months of winter in Minnesota, that held many changes for me.  Looking back at my newsletters since Fall I referenced:

challenges on a personal level

significant deconstructing

really big life shifts

One of the things I experienced was my dad dying.  I had been estranged for 9 years and with the call letting me know he was in hospice, I decided to return home to see what was possible in this ending.  I had to dig deep to navigate it all.  Ultimately, I was the person with him when he died.  The sense of closure I have is profound.  

And now:

my bike is tuned up and I've been on my first ride

I swim weekly across one of the local lakes

I have an upcoming 1 month residency in Lanesboro, MN

I am curious to see where my creative expression and art practice "travel" into the future.  Where are your figurative and literal travels taking you?  I'd love to hear. 

Martha  

Exhibit and Opening Reception!

 Eye to Eye

June 22 - August 13, 2022

(collaborator Danielle Day and I have 4 pieces in this show)

Join us as we celebrate the Eye to Eye project and exhibition! Fresh Eye welcomes 40 artists paired in teams of two collaborating to build a stronger artistic community.

Eye to Eye is founded on the principles of radical inclusivity, the exhibition unites artists with and without disabilities to connect, collaborate, and inspire the community through visual art. Participating artists will be supported through space, art supplies, an honorarium, and the public exhibition.   

Creating a collaborative art piece takes patience, respect, teamwork, and helps build community. “Collaboration is important for artists,” Eye to Eye Coordinator Jes Reyes states. “It challenges the idea of working in isolation and encourages exploring interconnectedness as part of one’s art practice.” 

Opening Reception 

Friday, June 24 from 6:00-8:00 pm. 

Public Artist Talk 

Saturday, July 16 from 1:00-3:00 pm.

Location

Fresh Eye Gallery

4238 Nicollet Ave

Minneapolis, MN 55409

The Eye to Eye Artist Teams are:

Chloe Russell Chang & Ryan Suckow

Dorinda Tveit & Jodi Youngman

Danielle Day & Martha Bird

Rock Johnsen & Nate Woodard

Marrie Bottelson & Linnea Maas – Inside the Robot

Claire Richter & Janessa Kitzrow

Lynda Mullan & Nina Martine Robinson

Stacie Sampson & Bridget McDonald

Anne Kramer & Hannah Sheets

Kenneth Bowling & Hannah Ross

CJ Weydert & Lauren Hughes

Kimberly A. Laudert & Lucienne Schroepfer

Marz Kirchoff & Merit Thursday

Brooklyn T. Kascel & Hedgiee

T.L. Reeves & allison anne

Joel Haskard & Alden Gowdy

Kayla Koerner & Drew Arrieta

CL Martin & Mads Golitz

Arch Jones & Belle

Kristina Mengis & Sophia Munic

This project is made possible by Wet Paint, Master Framers, Seward Co-Op and the National Endowment for the Arts.

In Person Exhibit (touring)

Life in the Details

May 3 - July 15, 2022 (Art Works, Eagan)

August 4 - September 8, 2022 (Ames Center, Burnsville)

photo: Kimberly A. Laudert and Martha Bird with Resilience

The Annual Member/Supporter Show is intended to celebrate the work of member artists and makers who create at Art Works, as well as the work of the larger community of supporters whose contributions make programming happen here every day. This exhibit invites artists to submit collaborative pieces created with other friends from the community outside of Art Works. Collaborative work takes a lot of cooperation to work out the details and contributions to the whole.

Resilience is a collaborative needle felted work which was funded by a 2021 MSAB Creative Support for Individuals grant awarded to Kimberly A. Laudert. “Through this project, I invited people who live with mental health issues to participate in exploring our own and others stigma around Mental Health/Mental Illness.” This culminated in the creation of a work of fine art. Through lively conversation and in adapting the curriculum as part of the collaborative process; and through activities looking at stigma in mental health, each participant was invited to think of what, in “darkness, difficulty and even death”, brings hope and resilience into their lives. Each individual felted their own 9”x6” piece.

Martha Bird, member of Art Works, was part of this group and created one of the felted pieces and, along with a few other participants, collaborated further by gathering all of the solo pieces of art and then brought them to life as a powerful representation of what can happen when working together.

Collaboration does take a lot of cooperation. To develop a voice from which one can speak or create on their own terms while highlighting hope and resilience draws us together. The intersection of the individual with the vision of the collective is powerful. And through this process, a common purpose elevates us to a higher purpose.

Location

On view until July 15, 2022  at Art Works, 3795 Pilot Knob Road, Eagan 

then August 4 - September 8, 2022 at Ames Center, 12600 Nicollet Ave, Burnsville

In person, downtown Minneapolis for 1 more month

and Virtual Tour

Two Hundred Six 

April 15, 2022 - July 29, 2022

(I have 8 basketry pieces in the show)

Click on the video above and be routed to the web version of this newsletter, where you can then click on the video for it to play.

Artist Extraordinaire  Alison Price has curated a beautiful exhibit at the Art at The Bridgewater for 7 artists of which I am honored to be one: Gordon Coons, Wendy Heimsness, Brenda Litman, Ann Magnusson, S. Catrin Magnusson, Ellen Moses and Marvin Wise.  Enjoy the 8 minute virtual tour above (my work is within the first minute).   

This is a security-entrance condo building so if you plan to go, please visit during business hours and ring the front buzzer.  You will find art in the lobby, in the mailroom and outside the elevators on all of the floors.  

Featured Art on Cover!

Phipps 2022 Biannual Community Report

I was so pleased to see that a photo taken from my exhibition with Naomi Hart is featured on the cover of the Phipps Center for the Arts Biannual Community Report!

In Progress Update

2022 MRAC Arts Impact for Individuals Grant 

Community Engagement & Basketry

I am teaching monthly art-making gatherings where various groups of up to 10 people at a time are making collaborative baskets at Vail Place.  I am building my skills as a teacher, while students try their hand at basketweaving.  Before the July session, I will add spokes to each base and "upsett" them and weave the first couple rows of the sides, so members in the class can pick it up from there to continue the sides.   

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Accepted into Michigan Collection! 

Romulus Historical Society

I've had a long term goal of having a piece of my art in every state that I have lived--for a sense of legacy.  This location is significant as the Bird family is well known in this Detroit suburb thanks to Peter Bird who is featured in a Gettysburg Cyclorama Painting.  

This month marks 3 states complete, with 3 more to go!

Prints of Artwork Sold 

through a Cause-Based Art Program

to a large national healthcare provider! 

I've had long term partnerships with several local Project Collaborator organizations that work with businesses around the country to create aesthetically pleasing montages of artwork for their staff and clientele.  Below are a sampling of my pieces in several Florida, Indiana, and West Virginia locations (circled in red).  The plaque next to them state:

Our Cause Based Art program is a collection of art created by a diverse group of individuals with physical or mental health challenges, or who face challenges in their everyday life keeping them from a healthy lifestyle. The artwork generated by the artists helps to build healthier communities by aiding in the healing process and promoting inclusion and diversity. The creative process serves as both an opportunity for the artist for self-expression and storytelling, and to be seen for their unique gifts. This experience and the ability to create art is often life changing.

The engagement of the artists with you, theviewer, has enormous potential to influence each person’s life in a positive way. Art Heals.

Thank you for sharing in my life!