Mother Artists at Work

Plush Sale to Support Columbus Arts Festival Artists!

2011-06-28T04:31:00.000-07:00

We were super lucky this year to participate with the Independent Creatives section of the Columbus Arts Festival! Even with the storm, Mother Artists at Work was still able to reap a profit, 50% of which will be donated to artists who lost artwork, tents, and other valuables during the festival storm.

We received so much interest in purchasing the plushes created for the game, we've decided to sell several off in order to increase our contribution to the Artists Relief Fund. 100% of the sale goes to the fund. To purchase please contact mawcolumbus@gmail.com. Paypal accepted. Each plush is $20, plus $5 for shipping if applicable, free Columbus, OH pick up.

To view the plushes for sale, go to the set on flickr, or click on images below:

www.flickr.com

Coming to Concourse Gallery

2011-04-11T20:03:00.000-07:00

Mother Artists at Work: Laboring

April 28-May 20, 2011

Opening Reception Friday, April 29th, 2-5:00pm

The Cultural Arts Division is pleased to present Mother Artists at Work: Laboring on display April 28-May 20 in the Concourse Gallery, Municipal Services Center 3600 Tremont Road. Mother Artists at Work explore, "laboring," a theme playing on the dual meaning of the process of becoming a mother as well as the toiling of an artist. Featuring works in 2-D & 3-D mixed media, painting, enameling, fiber and photography. The mission of MAW, a non-profit association of mothers working in the arts, is to support and promote artists who are mothers through networking, professional development, and exhibit opportunities, as they work to keep career and family in balance.

Join us April 29th at 2:24 pm, during the Mother Artists at Work: Laboring opening reception, for a screening of Who Does She Think She Is? Academy Award Winning film-maker Pamela Tanner Boll examines some of the most pressing issues of our time; parenting and work, partnering and independence, economics and art. This film follows five women who refuse to choose between working and mothering. A roundtable discussion following the film will feature artists from Mother Artists at Work: Laboring and the previous Concourse Gallery exhibit Image - Self: Women in Art, discussing issues covered in the film.

Writing Your Artist Statement Brunch

2011-04-08T07:59:00.000-07:00

Sunday, April 10th at 11:00 am Mother Artists at Work will welcome Danielle Hartke into the fold for the brunch of a lifetime. She has agreed to come visit us all the way from Milwaukee, WI to share her tips and insights on the Artist Statement writing process.

Danielle is a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin majoring in Rhetoric and Composition. As part of her Master's program, Danielle is developing a workshop to assist artists in the writing of their statements. She has an affinity for the arts and is passionate about helping artists use the writing process to enhance communication about their work. Hopefully, with Danielle's help, great food for the brain cells and the most supportive group there ever was, a dreaded item of the artist's "to do" list will become...well, less dreaded...and maybe even a little fun. We are so excited to have her. She will be warmly welcomed and well fed. After all, we are also mothers and we just can't help ourselves. The spreads at our gatherings are legendary!! All members are welcome. Please bring a brunch dish to share.

A MAW member has a show in April!

2011-02-28T13:43:00.000-08:00

An installation about impressions, memory, distances, and place

and the route that connects them.

posted by Catherine Bell Smith

In April, Catherine Bell Smith is privileged to exhibit at the Ohio Art League Gallery with Claire E. Smith. The opening is Thursday, April 7 from 6:00 to 9:00 pm. The location is 1552 North High Street Columbus, OH 43201-1121.The exhibition will run from April 7 through April 30.

Rural Routes (not your traditional landscape) is an installation inspired by the long, repeated trips along Interstate 71 between Columbus (where Claire grew up) and Cleveland (where Catherine grew up). Speeding along through a landscape in order to arrive at a destination only allows snapshot glimpses of the whole picture. Memory strings those images together, shifting size, losing detail, collapsing distances. The countryside that separates two places becomes the route that connects two homes. Home begins to include those spaces between.

Watershed (Detail)

Fountain grass, wire mesh, and steel bollards

The exhibit consists of lithographs, drawings and three large sculptures. “Watershed” is inspired by hard-worked farmlands-- vast pauses between cluttered rest stops, commercial signage and urban sprawl. It flows from the front to the back of the gallery space in a 5 foot wide ribbon. “Black Angus” is a grouping of organic structures that resemble cows in the fields. “Umbels” uses elements of silo structures, like umbrellas, peppered across the floor and up the wall.

Black Angus (Model)

Cast aluminum, steel, and burlap

That is the official PR release but what I want to share on our blog is that Claire, 21, is my oldest daughter, now in her third year at Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design. I won’t claim to have hoped for this opportunity to work together--I didn’t dare meddle or presume. But when the chance presented itself, I said “yes!” and she said “I’m down with that dawg”.

Laine Bachman is Awesome!

2011-02-13T12:19:00.000-08:00

Holy mother of art, Batman! It's been FOREVER since we've blogged. But that sh%t is gonna change as we have just had a meeting recently where we said, "This sh%t needs to change!"

Sooo, this is Sharon posting, and I just want to tell you how mindblowing Laine's new show at Image Optical (846 North High Street) is. I went to the opening last weekend, and Dave and I were like, "Holy sh%t, her work is off the HOOK!!!" The amount of detail, the colors, the thought that went into the borders around her images and even the frames... just stunning. There's very few artists that make me want to do that many rounds of their entire show just so that I can study all of the tiny parts and pieces that go into each work. It was very hard to pick a favorite, so I picked several. Dave was the same way, between the both of us, I think we wanted them all. We asked Laine how long an average piece took (most were watercolors), and she said "around 50 hours". Yes, that FIVE-ZERO. That's dedication!

Anyway, we just adore her. So seriously, get to Image Optical before the end of February to see an exhibit that will truly rock your world.

KidzArtz is Coming!

2010-07-07T04:36:00.001-07:00

The third annual KidzArtz is scheduled for July 24 at Junctionview Studios! Registration is open until July 16. Go here to register!

Hard Labor Show!

2010-04-28T07:04:00.000-07:00

MAW is having our second show!

Hard Labor: Mother Artists at Work
Saturday, May 1, 6-9 p.m.
Sean Christopher Gallery, Columbus, Ohio

The show will be up during the month of May, and promises to be awesome! See you there!

A-Holes Recap

2010-03-24T17:00:00.000-07:00

A-Holes was soooooooo much fun! And we won an award for Best Concept for our "grocery toting chaos"! SWEET! Here's a photo badge of our "17th Nervous Breakdown"! Just click and you can go over to flickr and take a looksee.

www.flickr.com

alissasorenson's MAW A-Holes photoset

"BIG" at Lindsay Gallery!

2010-03-01T12:36:00.000-08:00

Alissa (that's me) is having a show with the amazing Morris Jackson! Please come! It will be a par-tay!

You can RSVP on Facebook!

Happy Mardi Gras!

2010-02-17T12:12:00.001-08:00

Send a Mardi Gras Joan-A-Gram by MAW member Cyndi Bellerose-McAfee!

Right click, save, and insert in an email! Or go to her flickr page and download it. OLD SCHOOL!

We Exist

2010-02-04T03:18:00.001-08:00

I've had people ask if Mother Artists at Work still exists as a group. That's because we mainly operate under the floorboards, holding each other up. Motherhood and art making are both creative endeavors that take so much energy, it's hard to do both. Sometimes, we have to put the art on hold while we focus on the kids. If we do that too long, we forget who we are. That's why this group exists.

Some of us are finding success after many years of simply showing up to meetings to be inspired and encouraged by others. Some are learning to balance little ones with a little art, whatever can be squeezed in. Some are still overwhelmed by the magnitude of responsibly caring for children, but are looking up -- and being lifted up -- by the loving arms of friends.

Some are finding out life is like a movie: this one.

We consistently greet new members. Some stay, some do not. What we provide is not for everyone. We maintain a place in our local community. We do what we can. But primarily, we keep the fire burning.

In addition to our solo endeavors (links to artists on the right,) here are some things on the horizon:

March, 2010: A-Holes
May, 2010: Hard Labor (a group show for MAW, details forthcoming)
July, 2010: KidzArtz
May, 2011: group show at the Concourse Gallery

Who Does She Think She Is? House Party!

2009-11-03T05:05:00.000-08:00

Hey, we're having a PARTY! And a screening of Who Does She Think She Is? It's this Sunday, 11/8/09, 1:30 p.m. at a member's home. This corresponds with the national house party, and we only have 4 spots left! The event is free, but we are accepting voluntary donations at the door.

This film is a must-see for women who are artists. Or is that artists who are women? I get confused. If you want to come, just drop a note here in the comment box, and we'll get the location info out to you.

One Roof at Wild Goose Creative

2009-08-26T09:44:00.000-07:00

Ohio State Fair Fine Arts Exhibition

2009-07-29T09:51:00.000-07:00

MAW members Melissa Ayotte and Alissa Sorenson have work and won awards in the Amateur Division of the Ohio State Fair Fine Arts Exhibition! Don't forget to stop by the Cox Fine Arts Building while at the Fair, and check out the work!

Artesanias Fair

2009-07-20T05:01:00.000-07:00

Artesanias Fair and will feature 6 Latina artisans (including MAW member Muhu Accessories) that sell jewelry and accessories made here and in their home countries. It will be a fun evening of shopping, food and music.

Artesanias Fair
July 24th 5-9pm
2491 Summit St Columbus OH 43202

A portion of the evening sales will be donated to the Ponseti International Foundation, which helps kids around the world suffering from clubfeet.

Artisan Sundays @ The North Market!

2009-05-26T15:33:00.000-07:00

I stole this pic from Alissa's blog...

Four lovely ladies of MAW will be vending this year at Artisan Sundays @ The North Market. Alissa and Kate are booth-sharing for some dates, and sisters Laura and Michelle are as well. Check out the calendar for the who's and when's. Then go buy some awesome stuff!!!

KidzArtz Wrap Up Write Up!

2009-05-02T09:24:00.000-07:00

A wonderful article about KidzArtz '09! Read about it HERE.

Pepper's KidzArtz 2009 Photos!

2009-04-29T06:09:00.000-07:00

Photos by Pepper of pepperpaints.com. Just click on the image to go to her set on flickr.

KidzArtz 2009 Pics!

2009-04-27T05:00:00.000-07:00

www.flickr.com

alissasorenson's kidzartz 2009 photoset

Many other MAW moms were taking pics on the day, and I hope they will post them here!

HERE IT COMES!!!

2009-04-21T09:14:00.001-07:00

We are super stoked to be bringing you this event this weekend. A ton of work has been put into it by the kids and the planners alike, and this year's event looks like it's going to be huge! Check out the KidzArtz website to find out more information and to check out this year's amazing sponsors!

See you on Saturday!

Two March Shows ~ Save the Dates!

2009-03-02T04:28:00.000-08:00

Melissa Vogley Woods will be having a solo exhibition of new work on March 15th at Ohio Dominican's Wehrle Gallery. Her reception will take place from 1:00 to 3:30. You can see some examples of her work below! I'm pretty sure that Melissa either has stolen Hermione's time turner or that she never sleeps. That girl is mad busy!

Sharon (that's me writing this!) is part of a group show (featuring Cowtown Lowbrow artists) at Chop Chop on March 28th. The reception for that will take place from 7:00 to 10:00. More details can be viewed on the postcards below.

Melissa's Vision Board

2009-02-21T20:54:00.000-08:00

Here is my board. I had a great time doing this. I noticed that initially, I was drawn to a lot of phrases and words before I discovered images I felt drawn to. A lot of what I discovered about myself in this process was about uniting two halves of mysef, the domestic with the artist, or the two halves of a whole. There was also evidence of gaining freedom from a past "story" or belief of myself in favor letting my heart guide me. Faith and trust in my own journey...not waiting for permission or external validation.

The images that struck me most were of a dog holding up another smaller dog on its hind end and a woman chasing some sort of yak. The one of the dogs very clearly showed me that I have allowed myself to be the one holding others up. I chose the phrase "Free yourself of that load" to remind myself that I need not shoulder things that really are not mine to shoulder. I want to remember to free that energy for my creativity. The one of the woman chasing the yak reminded me that I have been the woman chasing...chasing...chasing...but now I want to be the yak. LOL! Running wild and free.

It was interesting to me that some of the phrases and images that I thought I would use, I did not. These choices spoke as clearly to me as the ones I put on the board. That was unexpected. For instance, I chose a phrase that said, "Searching for myself..." But it didn't fit. I realized I know who I am on this leg of my journey. This board is about how I share that with the rest of the world.

I found Vision Boarding to be a memorable, valuable exercise that I may call on now and again as a means of clarifying new insights and direction. The best part for me was sharing the experience and donuts with friends on a Saturday morning.

Vision Board Workshop

2009-02-21T10:12:00.000-08:00

We had an awesome time at the vision board workshop this morning. Here's Kate, laboring on her Rebirth board:

And Judy, likewise, working wonders with rubber cement:

And Melissa, tearing it up:

Here's my board. We're all supposed to blog about our boards, so I'm going to sneak mine in right now.

I knew I needed to vision prosperity, but didn't want it to be about money. There is nothing wrong with money, and I know this, but I wanted it to be about something more. The word "harvest" came up, and "gold," and I knew where it was headed. There's a lot of spinning straw into gold in there.

There are images of fiber work by Eva Hesse, and the cliff repellers, side by side. I need a little risk, and I love the repelling ropes and how they mirror the fiber art.

The knitter with the birds in her hair is about listening to the little birds of ideas, and the gourd bird houses are, I think, about giving those ideas a place to nest before I turn them into something tangible. All this comes from the tear at the top right -- which is not so much about crying (although that's fine,) but more about it being a flow from vision.

I had brought some images of garden design to use. I love the tidy, drawn little plans, and thought, "If I could only design my life that way, with an aerial view, wouldn't that be great?" But during the process, I realized that was exactly what I needed to let go; words like flow and organic and process (although I didn't use it) began to surface. I also needed to include the word "ready." I know in the past, things have started to happen, and I didn't feel ready. I want to feel ready -- ready to reap and receive -- and, as it says in the bottom right corner, "walk my path."

I heART

2009-02-17T06:07:00.000-08:00

On Valentine's Day evening, Junctionview Studios hosted a superfun event called "I heART". The artwork that was represented fell into one of three categories: Sweet, bitter, or hot. Fellow MAW member, Wendy Yeager and I (Sharon Bell) had pieces on display (both were bitter, no surprises there). Members of Couchfire Collective and other Junctionview residents did a bang up job preparing the space for the event, and it appeared as if all in attendance had a great time (some a bit TOO great...).
Wendy took a few pics featured here of the event before it got too crazy. She also took pics of our pieces. Mine's the hole in the chest one and hers is the beautiful ghostly figure one. She rules.

Upcoming Vision Board Workshop

2009-02-11T06:05:00.000-08:00

On February 21, Mother Artists at Work (MAW) will be offering a Vision Board workshop. This event is free and available to members only.

The book we'll be using is The Vision Board Book: Your Guide to an Extraordinary Life by Joyce Schwartz. I am reading it now, and if you have a chance to get it from the library or purchase it between now and the workshop, I highly recommend it. It will only enhance your experience at the workshop, and empower you to continue using the vision board method in future.

Vision Boards can be focused on anything: your life, your family and home, your artwork. Even businesses and groups come together to create a vision board for their organization or event, to see what might come together as a whole. This is something MAW might like to do in future, but for the upcoming workshop, it will be based on personal dreams and revelations.

The Vision Board is different from visualization in that it is not about creating a vision of what you think you want to happen, although that can be useful, too. The Vision Board is a way to let your inner voice -- or a higher voice -- guide you through play. We will be looking through magazines and cutting out images that appeal to us, and using them on the board. It doesn't have to make sense, but the meaning might come together for you at the end.

Between now and the workshop, take some time to meditate and perhaps come up with one word to help guide you for your board. You might feel overwhelmed trying to come up with one word for your entire life, so feel free to narrow this vision board to be about a particular area. An example given in the book is the word "freedom," which a man spray painted on his dining room wall, and then began creating a vision board for his family right there on the wall. Their lives changed radically that year in the direction they desired. Sounds exciting, doesn't it?

For the workshop, bring poster board or another board surface to work on, magazines (make sure they are a good mix, and not just the usual ones you read,) glue sticks or other glue, scissors, paints, pencils, glitter, clear acrylic gesso if you want a top coat, and any other supplies you enjoy using.

For more information on Vision Boards, check out these links:

Christine Kane: How to Make a Vision Board

SelfGrowth.com: How to Use a Vision Board to Activate the Law of Attraction

Thanks to My Artful Life on Flickr for the Vision Board image.

VOTE NOW at Yahoogroups! RE: Dues for MAW

2009-02-09T07:58:00.000-08:00

Hello,
This is my first official blog so be easy on me bloggers! Anyway, the idea of charging dues for all Mother Artists at Work members has been bandied about for awhile now. Yesterday at the planning meeting for KidzArtz, it was proposed that we move forward and actually do it.

Be sure to go vote on this issue at the MAW yahoogroups site (you should get a link from the MAW e-list). If not, let someone know and we can get you there. The poll will close on Feb. 28th.

Dues are proposed to be $20 per year with the option to pay a $10 installment every 6 months. This will allow new members to commit to shorter periods of membership and "try out" MAW to see if it is a fit for them.

Dues will be used to pay for such things as the Trade Name (cost $50, fronted by Laura at this time) as well as other expenses incurred as MAW moves closer to being an organization that is incorporated and able to qualify for official non-profit status. If you have questions about the details of this, please ask and someone (not me) who is clearer on this process will answer!

Group membership benefits will include: networking, monthly workshops, and an annual exhibit opportunity in the form of a MAW show which will also be at least partially supported by our dues.

KidzArtz 2009: Registration is Open!

2009-02-05T06:50:00.001-08:00

Who Do We Think We Are?!?

2008-10-29T19:14:00.000-07:00

MAW attended the screening of Who Does She Think She Is?, part of the Columbus International Film + Video Festival. The film was well-rounded, documenting not only the struggles and sacrifices of women and mother artists, but also the difference that can be made with the support of family and community. Artist Janis Wunderlich and the filmmaker's sister (who lives in Columbus) were both on hand for a Q&A afterwards. I enjoyed how down-to-earth and open they were.

Sadly, the filmmaker, Pamela T. Boll, is now living the message of the film: the arts are male-dominated, and women are fighting all odds to succeed. She cannot find a distributor for the film, even though it is getting rave reviews. Evidently, "there is not enough interest in the subject matter."

So prove them all wrong! Go to the website, sign up, buy the DVD when it's released, host or attend a screening -- whatever you've got to do to support the film and get the message out!

During the Q&A, Melissa pointed out the film was started in 2005, the same year as our group! The phrase "birthing the art" was used many times during the film, and the name of our show in 2006 was "Birthing the Artist." We thought this was a cool coincidence.

Seed Project Wrap Up!

2008-09-26T10:45:00.000-07:00

Hola, chicas. I have finalized my Seed Project participation. You can see the final blog post here. You can see the entire photo set here.

Moogan in PRINT!

2008-08-30T05:51:00.000-07:00

Megan Green, a.k.a. Moogan Creations scored a spot in Fiberarts Magazine. Read more about it in her blog entry!

Melissa Vogley-Woods in Dresden!

2008-08-30T05:37:00.000-07:00

A very busy mother indeed! Melissa Vogley-Woods will be traveling to Dresden, Germany as part of the Greater Columbus Arts Council's Residency in Dresden Program. It's a huge deal, and we are soooo proud of her!!! Make sure to read her blog for all of the goings on during her visit!