Jes Lee

shows

It is a wild ride sometimes

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The last couple of weeks have flown by much faster than expected.
March 1st brought the opening of my solo exhibition at Anoka Ramsey Community College. I couldn’t be happier with it! It is so exciting to have my artwork up where this journey all began for me! This was also the first solo exhibition that I have had my books included in. I was actually able to make sure they were placed out in the open so people could look through them. After many discussions with some of the other book artists at MCBA, I have decided how very important it is to be able to touch books and page through them, that many book art pieces lose meaning when they are just behind glass in a case or podium. I plan to make as many of my book pieces accessible to their audience. I think that is part of the magic.

I had many friends and family members come to the reception. It means so much to me to have them come and share these events! These shows are huge to me. Each one is special and requires a lot of work and preparation, and I miss a lot of fun times when I am working so hard on these, but it is really cool to be able to share the end results with everyone. I met many of the sculpture students that night as well, and after the reception, I was able to bring a few friends over to watch the bronze pour that was going on in the art building next door. That never stops being magical to me. I remember watching many times when I was in college and having a chance to watch that night brought back a lot of very happy memories.

That show will be up on the walls at Anoka Ramsey until March 31st. If you have a chance, go see it. And then walk over and see the new art building! It is cool!

Now I am busy with getting work done for the MCBA Artist Co-op show that will be up at the Anderson Center down in Red Wing this May. We are creating an exhibition catalog for this show, and I am in charge of photography for the book. I love having the opportunity to work with all of these amazing artists that are in the Co-op with me. It is so inspiring, and has given me so many new ideas of where to go next with my work. I am hoping that this year is full of me making new things! (It better be, I have a big show coming up next March that I need new work for!!)

I have been working for some time on updating my website, as I have a lot of new work to include. Of course, this has gotten more difficult than me and my wonderful webmaster first anticipated. We are now working on moving my website and blog in a totally different direction. This will mean quite a bit of work on my part, and it won’t be done quickly. I am excited for the results though. Stay tuned!
Until next time,
~Peace~

And just like that it was the end of August

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It seems like whenever I see a project deadline on the horizon, it seems so far off. And then suddenly, said deadline will be running me over with a very large, very loud truck.

So far, I have made all of my deadlines! There are about 5 (that I can count without looking at a calendar) that are coming up between now and October. I will make them! I’m well on my way!

In the mean time, a small update:

I have artwork up at Banfill-Locke Center for the Arts in the Pretend the World show. Six framed prints, and two videos of mine are on display. The opening reception is Saturday, August 20th, 5-8pm. Stop by if you can! It is a great show! I will blog more about it soon. 

I will have artwork up at the Dunn Brothers in Edina off of 66th and York Street for the month of September. I just went there today to see the space, and it is a very cute Dunn Brothers! You should definitely check it out if you are in the neighborhood.

Sunday, September 11th, Jes Lee Photos and Dad and Kiddo Pottery will be sharing a booth at Art @ Rice Creek with my creative friend Yameena! It is a great art festival, and free! You should come visit!

Saturday, September 17th, Jes Lee Photos and Dad and Kiddo Pottery will have a booth at the Bloomington Heritage Days festival! This is our first year at this one, so please stop by and say hi! It is hard being the new kid in the neighborhood!

I mentioned before that I was working on some new artwork. Here is one of the pieces in progress:

Where are you going?

I am also working on a book – I have an image, a poem, and a binding and I am working on putting all of those things together. This is one of my upcoming deadlines. I thought I had made more progress on it today, when I realized that out of 12 page signatures I had glued 10 together either out of order or upside down. That was a sign that I needed to quit for the night. Of course, I didn’t quit there, I took it apart and re-glued it the right way, and it is now setting under a weight drying.

As an artist, there are many times when you work yourself until you melt into a puddle of tiredness. Between working a paying job, and working at making your art almost every waking moment you aren’t working, it isn’t always easy. Having an immune deficiency tends to make those puddle days come faster than you expect, and definitely faster than they seem to come for others. I’m getting close to that point, but I’m not quite there yet. Maybe only waist deep in puddle. Tomorrow will definitely be a two cup of coffee kind of day!

Until next time,
~Peace~