March & April

Thank you to everyone that came out to my last opening “Viscera” at Java J’s. There was a nice turnout and appreciate all the support. The solo exhibition will still be on display until March 16th. So there is still plenty of time to check out my paintings.

I am also participating in this year’s Saint Paul Art Crawl in the Rossmor Building. I am not sure of which floor/space I will be showing my work yet, but will post that information as it becomes readily available. This will be my first art crawl, and I am terribly excited.

Viscera by J. M. Culver

Upcoming Exhibition: Viscera by J. M. Culver

“Viscera” by J. M. Culver
Opening Reception: Friday, Feb. 22nd 8pm to 11pm

art + wine + food + music by Bella Koshka

@ Java J’s, 700 N Washington Ave, Mpls 55401

I’m printing out flyers tomorrow. Hope everyone can make it out to my next art opening. This is a small solo show and all work is for sale.

Java J’s is an upscale coffee and wine bar located in the warehouse district of downtown Minneapolis. They serve a variety of coffee, wine, beer and food items from their menu.

Come view my artwork, have some drinks and food, and listen to Bella Koshka’s debut album “Slow Dancing on the Ocean Floor” on Feb. 22nd.

Thanks!
Jessica

Finished painting

I just finished my “Transformation (Self Portrait)” painting. I decided to leave the lower portion gestural and didn’t want to add too much detail. I like that the painting is very loose, has a lot of energy and conveys a sense of anxiety. I’m happy with the final painting. It may take a while to fully dry in the lower portion because the paint application is fairly heavy. Picture(s) to come soon……

Tumbling down with frames and all

I went shopping two days ago. I bought 13 frames and 20 sheets of paper at the art store, which I got for under $100 (what a deal!). I decided to go down the side of the house to the basement studio. There was quite a bit of snow but it didn’t look too icy. I made it down the hill, with a pile of frames in my hands, but my foot hit a sheet of black ice right before I made it to the door. I came crashing down with the frames on the pavement. I was actually more worried about the frames than if I had hurt myself. Luckily the frames didn’t break or even get scratched, but my knees weren’t so lucky. I survived with some scrapes and bruises and mostly just a lot of soreness from the fall. I will no longer go down the side of the house to the studio during the winter.

I woke up early this morning to go to work in the studio. It’s always so exciting to have fresh new pieces of paper and canvas to work on. I’m starting a series of gray portraits. I’m going to finish the first painting today. It is a painting of a mixed media drawing that I did a couple years ago titled “Transformation (Self Portrait)”. It is a very strong piece. I’m incorporating charcoal with my new series of oil paintings. I’m also working on a series of mixed media drawings that I’d like to exhibit at my solo show at Java J’s this month. I have a lot of work ahead of me.

Mpls.St.Paul Magazine Review

We’ve had a few reviews written of “Anxiety Dreams” exhibition. I was bummed that none of them mentioned my work or name.

But Mpls.St.Paul Magazine reviewed my work. yah

“References to childhood abound in nearly all of the pieces on display. If
any thread connects the pieces in the show, it’s that one. J. M. Culver’s
“Altered States,” a huge charcoal and acrylic piece, may be the most
successful at conveying the sense of vulnerability and tenuousness of both
childhood and the dream world. An old man in slippers and a little girl, a
window and a broken teetering chair, the elements are simple but evocative.”

To view the full article:
http://msp.blogs.com/themorningafter/2008/02/2308-anxiety-dr.html#more

One note: there isn’t a window in my drawing. There are too chairs.

Artist Group.

I’ve been thinking of starting an artist group here in the twin cities. There are many out there already but most are just general artist groups where they let pretty much anybody in. I’ve thought about limiting the group to members who are primarily painters or work in a “painterly” approach. 

 The problem with this is that I’d still want to limit this group to fine artists who have solid, good work that’s not underdeveloped. And also, artists who know how to talk about art and give constructive criticism.

I love to meet new artists no matter what medium they work in, but do not want all artists to be in the artist group. I don’t feel that it is very beneficial to have crafters, photographers, or designers in a artist critique group. It makes more sense to have people with similar work and ideas to connect with and discuss each other’s work.

I’d like to even break it down to “fine art figurative painters” if possible. The problem is that we are getting so selective here that is it even possible to get enough people in the group. But then again, I think it is better to have 4 or 5 strong artists together than 50 random artists that share nothing in common.

When I saw “figurative painters” - I don’t mean work that is just of portraiture or the narrative figure. I am interested in finding artists that are influenced by the figure in their work. I have work that would be considered more abstract to most people, but it was influenced and derived from the figure. So I think this really opens the group more.

The other issue is that there should be either some sort of review process and/or seeking out artists to join. It may come across as a bit “elitist” but I think it is necessary to have a successful group.

Improv Everywhere

If you have any extra time on your hands, you should visit the Improv Everywhere website. My absolute favorite so far are the Redheads protesting at Wendy’s. I was laughing non-stop while reading and viewing the page. I actually got side-tracked and lost on this website for almost 2 hours yesterday. But it was worth it. 

I have been getting up at 5 am every morning recently and completely wide awake. I’m ready to go down and work in the studio. It’s warmed up here in the Twin Cities, so I think I’ll be able to work in the studio without heat just fine. When the temperatures go negative, it is almost impossible to work in the studio. You can actually see your own breath it is so cold.

But away I go……

Art Happy Hour

Art Happy Hour
The Independent, on Wednesday, February 13 (3 to 9 pm)

The following information was taken from the Art Happy Hour website:

“The Art Happy Hour! is a monthly gathering of Minnesotans who appreciate the finer things in life, especially: A.) Art, and B.) Happy Hour.

The Art Happy Hour! posits that the world would be a much better place, on the whole, if more people enjoyed the following things: A.) Art, and B.) Happy Hour.

For those of you who still aren’t getting what we’re saying here, consider this:

Art (according to the fine folk at Wikipedia) (for lack of a more convenient source of information) “refers to a diverse range of human activities and artifacts, and may be used to cover all or any of the arts, including music, literature and other forms.”

We take art to refer to the same, and anyone who is into any of these things is welcome to join in the Art Happy Hour! Meanwhile, also consider this:

Happy hour (also according to Wikipedia) is “a period of time in the late afternoons, Monday through Thursday, and sometimes Friday (usually taking place between 4 pm and 7 pm…) during which some restaurants and bars give discounts for drinks, especially alcoholic drinks. The idea is that it acts as a promotion of the venue during the quieter times.”

Art Happy Hour! considers happy hour to be one of civilized society’s better rituals, the best time of the week to unwind from work, to join in good conversation, and allow oneself have high spirits (in all senses of the phrase). Plus, happy hour makes the wheels of commerce go round!

Here’s our mission: The Art Happy Hour! will take place once a month somewhere across the great metropolis of Minneapolis-St. Paul. It will a good time for all. It will be sometimes epic, sometimes underwhelming (especially if there’s a snow storm). It will be artistic and happy.

Of course, we promote the idea of responsible and safe drinking and encourage participants to consider arranging transportation when engaging in a good happy hour. We want everyone to live long ornery lives full of art and happy hours, but we can take no responsibility for people’s behavior, such as it may be.

Happy Art Happy Hour!”
arthappyhour.com

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This is the first month for Art Happy Hour. I like the idea and seems like a good opportunity to meet and network with other artists or art enthusiasts.

I want to go to this. Any other artists wanna go with me?  Shoot me an email or give me a call.

Thank you for attending the “Anxiety Dreams” opening.

Thank you for everyone that attended the “Anxiety Dreams” opening friday night. It was very successful and so crowded that you could barely walk through the gallery rooms. I had over 30 close friends and acquaintances attend who I had invited personally. Multiply that number by all the other artist’s friends and you get a tons of people.

Plus, the “Bitter Fruits” opening was going on at the same time and there were 80 artists showing work. I think that it would have worked better to have had the openings on separate nights. It was so crowded and so many people to say hello to that it was pretty much impossible to have a conversation about my work. I was so busy meeting and greeting that I couldn’t take the time to go over to my work with individual people and have a real discussion. I also wasn’t able to meet too many of the artists sine they were so busy meeting and greeting everyone around them as well. So I was a bit disappointed in that aspect. But I had a great time and it is exciting to see so many people show up for the openings.

I only have a few photographs that were taken so far. I know some friends were busy with taking pictures and hope they ended up with better ones than I did. I actually just gave my digital camera to my roommate before we headed out to the opening. I asked him if he would take some photos of my work, of myself, and friends whenever he had the chance. I usually bring the camera, but am always too busy talking to people to be able to take photos. We actually had to wait until the very end of the night to take the photos of my work because it was too crowded to get any good shots.

If you didn’t get the chance to come to the opening. You can still view my artwork as well as all the other artwork in the exhibit for “Anxiety Dreams” at the Q.arma building in Altered Esthetics Gallery until February 28th, 2008. Please stop by if you have the time.

“Anxiety Dreams”
Altered Esthetics Gallery
1224 Quincy St. NE, Minneapolis
www.alteredesthetics.com