"Art does not reproduce what we see; rather, it makes us see."
Paul Klee
Paul Klee
Exhibitions: MSR Artworks
So Wonderful! My next art exhibit is scheduled with the Clackamas County Arts Alliance.
I will be exhibiting work from 2023 including three paintings and 5 drawings (framing done by my favorite: I've Been Framed, Portland, OR). Art will be on view at the Public Services Building -- Plaza Gallery at 2051 Kaen Road in Oregon City starting May 7, 2024 and through August 6, 2024. More details on what's showing will be revealed once the show is installed, yet I do hope some of you get out to see it live--sharing air in a public space. It's a whole different art experience. I liken it to the difference between listening on a tech device or listening to the full sound of an orchestra or singer/band on stage; the difference between watching a play on TV or watching live performers present the story.
A Writing Contest and I entered an Essay! The Clackamas County Arts Alliance is promoting a 2024 writing contest distinguished by four categories; I entered an essay within the "under 5000 words" mandate. Cash prize and free attendance at the local Creative Writing Conference is available to prize winners. Winners will be announced at the conference May 18th. There's less than a month left to enter your writing. Visit the CCAA web site for further information on all things artistic.
I will be exhibiting work from 2023 including three paintings and 5 drawings (framing done by my favorite: I've Been Framed, Portland, OR). Art will be on view at the Public Services Building -- Plaza Gallery at 2051 Kaen Road in Oregon City starting May 7, 2024 and through August 6, 2024. More details on what's showing will be revealed once the show is installed, yet I do hope some of you get out to see it live--sharing air in a public space. It's a whole different art experience. I liken it to the difference between listening on a tech device or listening to the full sound of an orchestra or singer/band on stage; the difference between watching a play on TV or watching live performers present the story.
A Writing Contest and I entered an Essay! The Clackamas County Arts Alliance is promoting a 2024 writing contest distinguished by four categories; I entered an essay within the "under 5000 words" mandate. Cash prize and free attendance at the local Creative Writing Conference is available to prize winners. Winners will be announced at the conference May 18th. There's less than a month left to enter your writing. Visit the CCAA web site for further information on all things artistic.
Studio Practice: Eight New Works
November 15, 2023
Images are presented full size. The caption announces title and dimensions.
With extreme thanks to Mr. Mickey for all photo images and tech assistance on this web site.
With extreme thanks to Mr. Mickey for all photo images and tech assistance on this web site.
Sources of Inspiration and Details on Artworks: from a systems scientist, five versatile poets, a French philosopher, and an Egyptian physician and feminist writer.
“Unlink masculinity from domination and violence and femininity from subordination and obedience.” So said systems scientist and author Riane Esiler (b. 1931).
The statement inspired Developmental Unlinking, a 12 x 16 inch work on Arches cold press 140lb watercolor paper using Micron pen, marker, acrylic paint, and graphite. I included hints on why this thought might enhance all genders.
The statement inspired Developmental Unlinking, a 12 x 16 inch work on Arches cold press 140lb watercolor paper using Micron pen, marker, acrylic paint, and graphite. I included hints on why this thought might enhance all genders.
On the index of poems in The End of Michelangelo (Copper Canyon Press, Port Townsend, WA, 2022) by Dan Gerber (b. 1940) is a reference to “The Poem I Haven’t Written about the Moon in My Barn.” This is clarified, on page 102, by Japanese poet and samurai Mizuta Masahide’s (1657-1723) statement appearing: “Barn burned down – now I can see the moon.”
If you’ve followed all that it gets quite simple, in a multifaceted way: see “The Poem I Haven’t Written about the Moon in My Barn” on p. 102 in Dan Gerber’s referenced book and my composition (see image above).
The Moon in My Barn is 14 x 11 inches on Arches hot press 140lb watercolor paper using acrylic paint, watercolor marker and Micron pen.
If you’ve followed all that it gets quite simple, in a multifaceted way: see “The Poem I Haven’t Written about the Moon in My Barn” on p. 102 in Dan Gerber’s referenced book and my composition (see image above).
The Moon in My Barn is 14 x 11 inches on Arches hot press 140lb watercolor paper using acrylic paint, watercolor marker and Micron pen.
“What I started to understand was that the poem was made out of time – past, present and future. It lives in the present, it breathes there and that’s how you let anyone in. I think people can feel this accessing of time in poetry very readily. As soon as the poem ceases to be about anything, when it even stops saving things, stops being such a damn collector, it becomes an invite to the only refuge which is the impossible moment of being alive.” From American poet Eilenn Myles (b. 1949).
The Present, It Breathes is 14 x 11 inches, done on Arches hot press 140lb watercolor paper using Micron and gel pen, watercolor marker.
The Present, It Breathes is 14 x 11 inches, done on Arches hot press 140lb watercolor paper using Micron and gel pen, watercolor marker.
English poet and painter William Blake (1757-1827) said, “The hours of folly are measured by the clock; but of wisdom, no clock measures.”
This was a timely observation for me as I struggled in an exasperating manner with Spider Two Suits solitaire game. Nonetheless, Hours of Folly came to be as a 16 x 20 inch composition on Arches hot press 140lb watercolor paper; I used Micron and gel pen, colored pencil and watercolor marker.
This was a timely observation for me as I struggled in an exasperating manner with Spider Two Suits solitaire game. Nonetheless, Hours of Folly came to be as a 16 x 20 inch composition on Arches hot press 140lb watercolor paper; I used Micron and gel pen, colored pencil and watercolor marker.
French philosopher and writer Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986) said, “In the face of an obstacle which is impossible to overcome, stubbornness is stupid.”
Impossible Obstacles is an 8 x 10 inch painting on canvas using acrylic paint to imagine this thought, generating in me such questions as “What color is stupid?”
Impossible Obstacles is an 8 x 10 inch painting on canvas using acrylic paint to imagine this thought, generating in me such questions as “What color is stupid?”
The old Persian poet known as Hafez (b. 1325, Shiraz, Iran) said, “Ever since happiness heard your name, it has been running through the streets trying to find you.”
Happiness Heard Your Name is art done on a 16 x 12 inch canvas using acrylic paints including metallic and iridescent.
Happiness Heard Your Name is art done on a 16 x 12 inch canvas using acrylic paints including metallic and iridescent.
Egyptian physician and feminist writer Nawal El Saadawi (1931-2021) said, “To be creative means to connect. It’s to abolish the gap between the body, the mind and the soul, between science and art, between fiction and nonfiction.”
Creative Connections is ca. 12 x 9 inches on 140lb Hahnemühle cold press watercolor paper using Micron and gel pen.
Creative Connections is ca. 12 x 9 inches on 140lb Hahnemühle cold press watercolor paper using Micron and gel pen.
American poet, author and essayist Rita Dove (b. 1952) wrote “Apology, with Interruptions.”
From the Poetry Foundation’s website it reads:
Mayhap---what / a curious word, / all misfortune and / circumstance or pure / terror (as soon as fate / gets her hand / on the string). Why / do we need free will, / anyway? What is this / beautiful freedom / we long for, then promptly / grow bored within? / I meant to say / perhaps, but this / conjoined relic slipped out / instead. What was it / I wanted to tell you? / I forgot. That’s how / everything goes now, / all of the time.
My interpretation is Apology with Interruptions an 11 x 14 inch artwork on canvas using acrylic paint.
From the Poetry Foundation’s website it reads:
Mayhap---what / a curious word, / all misfortune and / circumstance or pure / terror (as soon as fate / gets her hand / on the string). Why / do we need free will, / anyway? What is this / beautiful freedom / we long for, then promptly / grow bored within? / I meant to say / perhaps, but this / conjoined relic slipped out / instead. What was it / I wanted to tell you? / I forgot. That’s how / everything goes now, / all of the time.
My interpretation is Apology with Interruptions an 11 x 14 inch artwork on canvas using acrylic paint.
Studio Practice: Part One of Two
October 15, 2023
Sources of Inspiration and Details on Artworks: follows image.
Images are presented full size. The caption announces title and dimensions given in inches, first height then width. With extreme thanks to Mr. Mickey for all photo images and tech assistance on this web site.
This past studio month offered an exceptional opening for doing art. The following work in two parts represents input from the minds of adventurer Thor Hyerdahl, filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard, historian Hannah Arendt, poets William Blake, Jane Hirshfield, Fred Moten, Edna St. Vincent Millay, writers Shalom Aleichem, Simone de Beauvoir, George Eliot, Antoine de Saint Exupéry, Hafez, Joyce Carol Oates, Terry Pratchett, Ayn Rand and over a thousand years of public works.
This past studio month offered an exceptional opening for doing art. The following work in two parts represents input from the minds of adventurer Thor Hyerdahl, filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard, historian Hannah Arendt, poets William Blake, Jane Hirshfield, Fred Moten, Edna St. Vincent Millay, writers Shalom Aleichem, Simone de Beauvoir, George Eliot, Antoine de Saint Exupéry, Hafez, Joyce Carol Oates, Terry Pratchett, Ayn Rand and over a thousand years of public works.
Writer and playwright Shalom Aleichem (1859-1916), adapted his given name (Solomon Naumovich Rabinovich) to echo the Hebrew and Yiddish greeting usually translated as “[May] peace [be] upon you!”
Shalom Aleichem said, “Life is a dream for the wise, a game for the fool, a comedy for the rich, a tragedy for the poor.”
My interpretation of this thought is Four Life Views. It’s done on Arches 140lb hot press watercolor paper measuring 11 x 14. I used watercolor pen, water, and pigment marker to create the image.
Shalom Aleichem said, “Life is a dream for the wise, a game for the fool, a comedy for the rich, a tragedy for the poor.”
My interpretation of this thought is Four Life Views. It’s done on Arches 140lb hot press watercolor paper measuring 11 x 14. I used watercolor pen, water, and pigment marker to create the image.
Persian lyric poet Hafez (1325 - ?) of Shiraz, Iran, said, “Don’t be surprised at Fortune’s turns and twists: That wheel has spun a thousand yarns before.”
No Surprise is 12 x 9 inches, done on Arches 300lb cold press watercolor paper using Micron pen and acrylic paint.
No Surprise is 12 x 9 inches, done on Arches 300lb cold press watercolor paper using Micron pen and acrylic paint.
American writer Joyce Carol Oates (b. 1938) said, “Homo sapiens is the species that invents symbols in which to invest passion and authority, then forgets that symbols are inventions.”
Inventing Symbols is done using Micron pen, colored pencil, and acrylic paint. It is 20 x 16 inches on Arches hot press 140lb watercolor paper.
Inventing Symbols is done using Micron pen, colored pencil, and acrylic paint. It is 20 x 16 inches on Arches hot press 140lb watercolor paper.
J. C. Oates also said, “Nothing is accidental in the universe—this is one of my Laws of Physics—except the entire universe itself, which is Pure Accident, pure divinity.”
Pure Accident is 9 x 12 inches on Arches 300lb cold press watercolor paper using watercolor pen, Micron pen, and pigment marker.
Pure Accident is 9 x 12 inches on Arches 300lb cold press watercolor paper using watercolor pen, Micron pen, and pigment marker.
“The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.” So said English humorist and satirist Terry Pratchett (1948-2015).
An Open Mind is 16 x 12 on Arches 140lb cold press watercolor paper. I used watercolor markers and colored pencil to make the image.
An Open Mind is 16 x 12 on Arches 140lb cold press watercolor paper. I used watercolor markers and colored pencil to make the image.
Swiss filmmaker and screenwriter Jean-Luc Godard (1930-2022) said, “To be or not to be. That’s not really a question.”
Be or Not? is created on a 10 x 8 inch canvas using Micron pen and acrylic ink.
Be or Not? is created on a 10 x 8 inch canvas using Micron pen and acrylic ink.
Not In Finity reflects a thought from French philosopher and writer Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986): “I am incapable of conceiving infinity, and yet I do not accept finity.” I used acrylic ink and paint on a 20 x 24 inch canvas to suggest her idea.
Award-winning American poet, essayist and translator Jane Hirshfield (b. 1953) said, “At some point, I realized that you don’t get a full human life if you try to cut off one end of it; that you need to agree to the entire experience, to the full spectrum of what happens.”
The Full Spectrum takes off on this idea as an 14 x 11 inch work on Arches hot press watercolor paper using Micron and gel pen, watercolor marker and pen. I used every color tool but one brush pen for this spectrum.
The Full Spectrum takes off on this idea as an 14 x 11 inch work on Arches hot press watercolor paper using Micron and gel pen, watercolor marker and pen. I used every color tool but one brush pen for this spectrum.
Studio Practice: Part Two
October 15, 2023
Sources of Inspiration and Details on Artworks: follows image.
Images are presented full size.
With extreme thanks to Mr. Mickey for all photo images and tech assistance on this website.
With extreme thanks to Mr. Mickey for all photo images and tech assistance on this website.
Poet and visual artist William Blake (1757-1827), recently being recognized in a different light (https://hyperallergic.com/847018/william-blake-our-contemporary-tate-britain/) wrote poetry at a time when rhyming was standard. Blake wrote, “He who binds to himself a joy / Does the winged life destroy / But he who kisses the joy as it flies / Lives in eternity’s sun rise.”
Binding Joy is expressed as a 12 x 9 inch work on Arches 300lb cold press watercolor paper. I used acrylic paint, watercolor marker and graphite to create the image.
Binding Joy is expressed as a 12 x 9 inch work on Arches 300lb cold press watercolor paper. I used acrylic paint, watercolor marker and graphite to create the image.
“When I die, I hope to go to Heaven, whatever the Hell that is.” –so said writer and philosopher Ayn Rand (1905-1982).
This thought inspired Oh Heaven, an artwork done on an 11 x 14 inch canvas using acrylic paint and ink.
This thought inspired Oh Heaven, an artwork done on an 11 x 14 inch canvas using acrylic paint and ink.
Our next contribution comes from Norwegian explorer, ethnographer and adventurer, Thor Heyerdahl (1914-2002): “Progress is man’s ability to complicate simplicity.”
Progress is 14 x 11 inches on Arches hot press 140lb watercolor paper using watercolor marker, Micron and gel pen, acrylic paint, and graphite. Though not evident in the squares-based artwork, my immediate thought was how we Westerners now cook food, with all its various appliances, and how it all began with fire.
Progress is 14 x 11 inches on Arches hot press 140lb watercolor paper using watercolor marker, Micron and gel pen, acrylic paint, and graphite. Though not evident in the squares-based artwork, my immediate thought was how we Westerners now cook food, with all its various appliances, and how it all began with fire.
In an April 30, 2018 New Yorker interview with poet Fred Moten, writer David S. Wallace said, “When we discussed his poetry, Moten, citing [American writer] Amin Baraka [1934-2014], made a distinction between voice and sound. ‘I always thought that “the voice” was meant to indicate a kind of genuine, authentic, absolute individuation, which struck me as (a) undesirable and (b) impossible,’ he said.
"Whereas a ‘sound’ was really within the midst of this intense engagement with everything: with all the noise that you’ve ever heard, you struggle somehow to make a difference, so to speak, within that noise. And that difference isn’t necessarily about you as an individual, it’s much more simply about trying to augment and to differentiate what’s around you. And that’s what a sound is for me.”
The ideas presented here from American poet and scholar Fred Moten (b. 1962) led me to Sound in Contrast to Voice, an artwork done on a 10 x 8 inch canvas using acrylic ink, acrylic paint and Micron pen.
"Whereas a ‘sound’ was really within the midst of this intense engagement with everything: with all the noise that you’ve ever heard, you struggle somehow to make a difference, so to speak, within that noise. And that difference isn’t necessarily about you as an individual, it’s much more simply about trying to augment and to differentiate what’s around you. And that’s what a sound is for me.”
The ideas presented here from American poet and scholar Fred Moten (b. 1962) led me to Sound in Contrast to Voice, an artwork done on a 10 x 8 inch canvas using acrylic ink, acrylic paint and Micron pen.
“What greater thing is there for two human souls than to feel that they are joined – to strengthen each other – to be at one with each other in silent unspeakable memories.” So said Mary Anne Evans, better known as English writer George Eliot (1819-1880).
A Joining is done on Arches 9 x 12 inch cold press 300lb watercolor paper using Micron and watercolor pens.
A Joining is done on Arches 9 x 12 inch cold press 300lb watercolor paper using Micron and watercolor pens.
American-German historian Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) said, “The earth is the very quintessence of the human condition.”
My interpretation of that statement is Quintessential Earth done on Arches watercolor paper, 11 x 14 inches, hot press 140lb. I used pigment marker, Micron and gel pen to make this *instinctive artwork.
*Typically I start a piece with a known direction in mind. With an instinctive approach I don’t have a clue and begin by making marks. See also http://artmsr.com/just-saying-mickeys-blog.html for an essay on “Art by Instinct.”
My interpretation of that statement is Quintessential Earth done on Arches watercolor paper, 11 x 14 inches, hot press 140lb. I used pigment marker, Micron and gel pen to make this *instinctive artwork.
*Typically I start a piece with a known direction in mind. With an instinctive approach I don’t have a clue and begin by making marks. See also http://artmsr.com/just-saying-mickeys-blog.html for an essay on “Art by Instinct.”
On September 21, 2023, Elaine Velie, writing for Hyperallergic, wrote that NYC was getting its own little prince sculpture. (See https://hyperallergic.com/846079/new-york-gets-its-very-own-little-prince-sculpture/ ) He’s four foot tall and bronze, sitting on the Villa Albertine’s garden wall on 5th Avenue across from Central Park. The tribute honors Antoine de Saint Exupéry’s book about The Little Prince on its 80th anniversary of publication. The book has been translated into over 500 languages and dialects worldwide.
Saint Exupéry is a pen name for aviator, journalist and poet Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger (1900-1944) count of Saint-Exupéry: In this tale the little prince is visiting several planets, searching and always asking questions. There is an expressed lack of regard for “grown-ups.” Most [except tellingly the aviator who acts as narrator] of the adults appear overly involved with numbers, vain, drunk, or greedy. But the Little Prince meets a fox and learns that “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly: what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
Essential Invisibility is 10 x 8 inches and on Arches hot press 140lb watercolor paper. I used acrylic paint, Micron and gel pen to express the fox’s idea.
Saint Exupéry is a pen name for aviator, journalist and poet Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger (1900-1944) count of Saint-Exupéry: In this tale the little prince is visiting several planets, searching and always asking questions. There is an expressed lack of regard for “grown-ups.” Most [except tellingly the aviator who acts as narrator] of the adults appear overly involved with numbers, vain, drunk, or greedy. But the Little Prince meets a fox and learns that “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly: what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
Essential Invisibility is 10 x 8 inches and on Arches hot press 140lb watercolor paper. I used acrylic paint, Micron and gel pen to express the fox’s idea.
Another take on seeing is expressed by poet and playwright Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950). “I see things with my own eyes, just as if they were the first eyes that ever saw, and then I set about to tell, as best I can, just what I’ve seen.” For me this defines all expression.
I’ve Seen is a 14 x 11 inch artwork on canvas using acrylic ink and paint. It’s extracted from my life experience and reflects a non-linear story. For another instinctive piece see the blog in Just Saying to read “Instinct and Expressing” (10/10/23).
I’ve Seen is a 14 x 11 inch artwork on canvas using acrylic ink and paint. It’s extracted from my life experience and reflects a non-linear story. For another instinctive piece see the blog in Just Saying to read “Instinct and Expressing” (10/10/23).
16 mm Film Work: Movies, Movies, Movies!
Back in the day when I attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago on a full-tuition scholarship, I fell in love with film work. When the Chicago International Film Festival included a 60-second category depicting "The Condition of Man" it sounded perfect. This was a topic of deep consideration and this was something I could do within budget and with the 16 mm Bolex the school provided. Fortunately the Festival thought so too and my film "Popcorn" made it's premier at the 1970 Chicago International Film Festival.
The other two short clips are more exploratory and request that the viewer simply free associates with the images.
My husband, Mr. Mickey [yes, we have the same nickname], is the techie who made this Cloud link.
Thank you.
Popcorn
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cCP7Iik9B-c9hyFPux43htCqY8hZi7mB/view?usp=sharing
Violence
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hlmxqTBLpGNN0QFQRMbocvoHcK1VJrPG/view?usp=sharing
Footage
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-8-plC6clXFHxJz8rg1BiUo50-t2koZP/view?usp=sharing
The other two short clips are more exploratory and request that the viewer simply free associates with the images.
My husband, Mr. Mickey [yes, we have the same nickname], is the techie who made this Cloud link.
Thank you.
Popcorn
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cCP7Iik9B-c9hyFPux43htCqY8hZi7mB/view?usp=sharing
Violence
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hlmxqTBLpGNN0QFQRMbocvoHcK1VJrPG/view?usp=sharing
Footage
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-8-plC6clXFHxJz8rg1BiUo50-t2koZP/view?usp=sharing
It's Here! The Mickey Moon Gallery
Photos of my early artworks are assembled and ready for viewing. Use GALLERIES above to go to The Moon Gallery.The images demonstrate early explorations into collage, relief (sand casting), sculpture, montage and figurative art. All artwork was done in the 1960s and early 70s.
A bit of Backstory: After high school graduation I spent the summer at the Ox-Bow School of Art in Saugatuck, Michigan. Ox-Bow is affiliated with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and still offers amazing opportunities for study. I then did general studies, including art, at the community college and was inspired by a work/study opportunity in Europe. I worked in Switzerland and Belgium from February to October 1967. After receiving a full tuition scholarship from the Chicago Public School Art Society I graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1972.
A bit of Backstory: After high school graduation I spent the summer at the Ox-Bow School of Art in Saugatuck, Michigan. Ox-Bow is affiliated with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and still offers amazing opportunities for study. I then did general studies, including art, at the community college and was inspired by a work/study opportunity in Europe. I worked in Switzerland and Belgium from February to October 1967. After receiving a full tuition scholarship from the Chicago Public School Art Society I graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1972.
About the Artist:
Micheline “Mickey” Stefanie Moon Ronningen spent much of her early formative years being led around by three older sisters while escaping “Huge snapping turtles!” in Des Moines, Iowa, corn fields. Then the family moved to the west side of Chicago where she learned to love the smell of Italian cooking. Later, her flatlander status being well established, Mickey made the drastic move to the partially mountainous Pacific Northwest after graduating from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She was led here by her environmental design teacher from SAIC to "do environmental projects." Her first employment in Portland, OR, was as a bookkeeper for Benihana of Tokyo. With great disappointment, they never did get around to doing environmental projects.
Today Mickey's creative outlets include fine art, writing, performance, and dealing blackjack for an event company. Creative pursuits began with developing her own language until age five, drawing pictures from age four and writing fictional illustrated stories by age nine. Performance work developed at age sixty-five with recurring character work on IFC's "Portlandia." (Mickey plays Carrie Brownstein's mom in seasons 2, 3, and 5.) Several commercial shoots, one HBO pilot, and one gig as a Featured Extra for the ABC series "Stumptown," followed. Performance work for Mickey has been absent since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Yet pursuing fine arts was formally established in Mickey's teen years with a photography course at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a summer spent at the Ox-Bow School of Art, Saugatuck, Michigan. Following study at a Chicago community college and a year working in Europe, Mickey returned to Chicago to receive a full-tuition scholarship from the Chicago Public School Art Society and earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at SAIC. Senior studies focused on filmmaking and environmental design.
Mickey's primary focus is to continue developing her artistic vision in the studio and establish contact with its special audience. Work on the business of marketing, promotion and sales is not optional and she says she is still learning. Mickey has expressed the intention to "blog more often." However, since the web host no longer provides visitor statistics she is less inclined to blog. It was nice to know people were reading it though. Mickey anticipates a future blog addressing AI and image making.
Today Mickey's creative outlets include fine art, writing, performance, and dealing blackjack for an event company. Creative pursuits began with developing her own language until age five, drawing pictures from age four and writing fictional illustrated stories by age nine. Performance work developed at age sixty-five with recurring character work on IFC's "Portlandia." (Mickey plays Carrie Brownstein's mom in seasons 2, 3, and 5.) Several commercial shoots, one HBO pilot, and one gig as a Featured Extra for the ABC series "Stumptown," followed. Performance work for Mickey has been absent since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Yet pursuing fine arts was formally established in Mickey's teen years with a photography course at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a summer spent at the Ox-Bow School of Art, Saugatuck, Michigan. Following study at a Chicago community college and a year working in Europe, Mickey returned to Chicago to receive a full-tuition scholarship from the Chicago Public School Art Society and earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at SAIC. Senior studies focused on filmmaking and environmental design.
Mickey's primary focus is to continue developing her artistic vision in the studio and establish contact with its special audience. Work on the business of marketing, promotion and sales is not optional and she says she is still learning. Mickey has expressed the intention to "blog more often." However, since the web host no longer provides visitor statistics she is less inclined to blog. It was nice to know people were reading it though. Mickey anticipates a future blog addressing AI and image making.
Artist Statement
I investigate abstract experience. It is the wellspring of feeling and thought and establishes all one's memories. It's our experience of life and how we interact.
Visually my intention is to disrupt expectations and expand visual communication--its specific language. First viewing doesn't need to be pleasant or comprehensible yet delights in engagement. I believe such engagement--even if silent and non-verbal--advances a greater interior and exterior understanding of the whole of life and one's self. This is, I believe, what art can generate.
I enjoy the challenge of giving concrete form to things and ideas by abandoning representational tradition and translating such essentials using color, form, texture, and composition. Honoring those aspects directing one’s humanity and life course include a respect for humor and the restorative power of the meditative state.
Currently the materials I use to make such statements include archival paper, canvas, wood, pens, ink, colored pencil, watercolor pencil, pigment markers, acrylic paint and graphite. Pens offer a fine line element; markers are typically somewhat bolder and obstinate. Colored pencil and watercolor pencil offer specific textural differences, especially in how they interact with a paper surface. Ink may allow a wondrous drip or not. Paint provides solidity and the ability to change direction.
While composition establishes the relative dynamic, color establishes the energizing force. Form emerges by differentiation from background. Texture is presented primarily through choice of materials, then through repetitive marks or patterning.
I often begin an artwork with a question or inspiring phrase and answer or respond in visual terms. What expresses the joy in a Home Depot experience or the strength in diversity? What is the attraction to danger or repetitive dots and dashes? When disorder is the universe's rule, do clarity and order relate? Why is it difficult to understand and accept we are each unique? And that fact establishes a universal connection.
My ideal viewer and collector responds by investigating the statement presented by the art. The activity necessarily becomes a mutual exchange. My art is not meant to offer a beauteous grope or meet current market demands. An appreciation of color, mystery, play, adventure, humor, a sense of self, and acceptance may all further a rich exchange. I encourage viewers to wander and safely embrace the language of my art and what it's saying. Welcome fellow travelers….
Visually my intention is to disrupt expectations and expand visual communication--its specific language. First viewing doesn't need to be pleasant or comprehensible yet delights in engagement. I believe such engagement--even if silent and non-verbal--advances a greater interior and exterior understanding of the whole of life and one's self. This is, I believe, what art can generate.
I enjoy the challenge of giving concrete form to things and ideas by abandoning representational tradition and translating such essentials using color, form, texture, and composition. Honoring those aspects directing one’s humanity and life course include a respect for humor and the restorative power of the meditative state.
Currently the materials I use to make such statements include archival paper, canvas, wood, pens, ink, colored pencil, watercolor pencil, pigment markers, acrylic paint and graphite. Pens offer a fine line element; markers are typically somewhat bolder and obstinate. Colored pencil and watercolor pencil offer specific textural differences, especially in how they interact with a paper surface. Ink may allow a wondrous drip or not. Paint provides solidity and the ability to change direction.
While composition establishes the relative dynamic, color establishes the energizing force. Form emerges by differentiation from background. Texture is presented primarily through choice of materials, then through repetitive marks or patterning.
I often begin an artwork with a question or inspiring phrase and answer or respond in visual terms. What expresses the joy in a Home Depot experience or the strength in diversity? What is the attraction to danger or repetitive dots and dashes? When disorder is the universe's rule, do clarity and order relate? Why is it difficult to understand and accept we are each unique? And that fact establishes a universal connection.
My ideal viewer and collector responds by investigating the statement presented by the art. The activity necessarily becomes a mutual exchange. My art is not meant to offer a beauteous grope or meet current market demands. An appreciation of color, mystery, play, adventure, humor, a sense of self, and acceptance may all further a rich exchange. I encourage viewers to wander and safely embrace the language of my art and what it's saying. Welcome fellow travelers….