Reflections on a fantastic year…

2011 was a BIG year for me: I received my 3rd degree, created 3 individual solo shows in their entirety (although, to be fair I started my thesis work in November of 2010 not January of 2011), started my first post-grad job (with a 5 course load at that), brought a little frog into the family, established my first dedicated home studio in our second bedroom, and successfully transitioned from “student” to “professional artist” without a major break down. In addition I got to see C.A.K.E. in concert (best time ever!), made a couple of new friends (and got closer to others), learned to set better boundaries, let go of a lot of excess baggage, and discovered the joys of having a rice maker. I have much to be thankful for.

Because of the crazy amount of work created for my MFA show and the two exhibitions that followed I have a lot of work from 2011. To start the year off right I backed up all the files on my computer and in the process I went through and culled a bunch of my work documentation – I felt a bit like I was looking through a couple of years of work not just one. As a result, it was easier to see the transitions from one body of work to the next and some of the works I remember disliking earlier are now viewed more positively with fresh eyes.

The following are some of my more liked “personally under-appreciated” works of art from 2011 – some made the list because of some kind of a revelation that occurred during the creation while others were because of the actual product itself.

: Butterflies, pinhole photograph

: The Cabin, double exposed pinhole photograph (The cabin was where my graduate studio was located for three years, the double exposure of one of the study skins I was working with for my MFA thesis was an accident – a wonderful accident.)