Swope Opening

On Saturday I attended the opening of the Wabash Valley Juried Exhibition.  It was fun to visit Terre Haute for the first time.  The old downtown was beautiful especially the Swope Art Museum and the Indiana Theater. 

There were many people at the opening from around Indiana.  I enjoyed seeing old and new friends.  The artwork was very diverse and the show was very well done.  I really enjoyed walking through the rest of the museum and looking at the permanent collection and the amazing architecture.

The exhibition will run from July 10- September 4, 2010.

66th Annual Wabash Valley Juried Exhibition, Swope Art Museum

I am very excited to have one of my drawings included in the Annual Wabash Valley Juried Exhibition this year at the Swope Art Museum.  I will be attending the opening reception to receive the Alliance of the Swope Award of Honor for my drawing, Strangled.  I can't wait to visit Terre Haute for the first time and meet old and new friends at the celebratory party. 

66th Annual Wabash Valley Juried Exhibition

July 10- September 4, 2010

Opening Reception: Saturday, July 10, 2010

4:00-6:00 PM

Swope Art Museum

Award Ceremony at 4:00 PM

Delusions Installation Views

Delusions: Abbigail Knowlton Israelsen recently closed at the Waldron Arts Center's Flashlight Gallery.  It was a great opportunity to show some drawings in a very unique space.  I had a lot of support from the community and am eager to push my work further.

Water Baby

My recently finished drawing is called Water Baby in reference to my inspiration, The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby.  I found this story in one of my old fairy tale books and thought it was inspiring.  At one point in the fairy tale the Water Baby watches a creature metamorphous into a new being when silky dragonflies break through a hole in his back.  The Water Baby is very jealous and wishes he too could change into something so beautiful. 

While working on this drawing I also was reminded of the nursery rhyme Sing a Song of Sixpence, where four and twenty blackbirds were baked in a pie.   

Photographs of the entire drawing will be on my website soon. Or please come to Delusions at The Waldron Arts Center opening May 7, 2010 to see it in person.

Geode Lake and Strangled

Two drawing finished.  Details of Strangled and Geode Lake are shown above. If you would like to see the full images please visit my website. 

More to come.

Three In Progress

I have been working on three large drawings for some time.  I was hoping to have them wrapped up  but I had to spend quite a few days in the hospital with pnuemonia putting me back a few weeks.  I have been taking some time off of studio work to recover. 

This shows the early development of the drawings.  I compose them on tracing paper and then transfer the image to rag paper once the composition settled.

I have been working on these drawings together hoping that they would show some sort of unity in thought and process.  They are all related through the narrative. 

 

They are works in progess, but coming along.  They are brighter than I usually work and make me a little uncomfortable.  I like to push the drawings into unknown territory because at least I know I am pressing myself.  Whether they turn out is another story, but the uncertainty is good.

Beginnings

I finished these three drawings for the exhibition in Minnesota. I was hoping to make more drawings and create an installation. May work more on them later, but they are done for now. I just need to frame them and ship them today! Beginnings 1: graphite, acrylic, watercolor, watercolor pencils, spray paint on rag paper.

Beginnings 3: graphite, watercolor, watercolor pencils, spray paint on rag paper.

Beginnings 2: graphite, watercolor, watercolor pencils, spray paint on rag paper.

I will be receiving some new metal flat files tomorrow. They are greatly needed to organize my drawings and to protect them from little creatures that sneak in from the forest.