Join us for these Gallery Events and Hours

The Space Between The Words

a group art exhibit

Gallery Hours and Events at the Vine Arts Center

2637 - 27th Ave. So., Second Floor Gallery, Mpls., MN  55406

Not pictured: Sandra Brick, Diane Gamm, Aribert Munzner, Donna Triska.

September 14th      5:30 - 7  open gallery visitation time 

September 17th   Transforming Raw Materials into Art - Stop in any time between 5:30 - 8:00.  show and tell with artists talk.  Artist members  Karen Graham, JoAnne Middaugh, Erika Hammerschmidt, Harry Samtur will demonstrate their process of transforming raw materials into art.
Families and children of all ages are welcome.

Endel Kallas

September 19th    1:30 - 3:30pm - "Images of the Ineffable." 
We will explore refreshing traditional symbols using imagery as visual metaphor grounded in nature to express experiences we can not easily put into words.  Endel Kallas, artist member will facilitate this discussion .

Jim M. Foreman

September 20th     1:30 - 3:30 pm - 
Unite Your Community Through the Arts", 
focuses on building quality lifestyles/community through e
xploring art and discussion in engaging and enjoyable ways.
Member, Jim M. Foreman will facilitate the discussion.

September 21st     5:30 - 7 open gallery visitation time 

Sandra Brick

September 24th    5:30 - 8  Poetry Inspired by Art. 
Featuring Sandra Brick & (stepson) Michael Amram share their collaboration with Michael's Haiku poems and Sandra's  fiber art pieces. Artists and guests read out loud a poem that was inspired by painting, photo, sculpture, etc. 

September 26th     11a.m. - 5p.m. CLOSING CELEBRATION  of our exhibition experience together.







Visit the Art Salon For Fertile Minds art-related discussions the 2nd Wednesday of each month.  Come to inspire and be inspired.  All levels of artist experience welcome (aspiring, FT and PT.)

Meet the artists of The Space Between The Words group art exhibit

“The Space Between The Words” is a group art exhibit.
The group show is comprised of eighteen members of the “Art Salon For Fertile Minds”
who have attended the salon between its inception in February 2011 until March 2015. 

Karl Blomseth  Wendy Blomseth Judith Dion Bracci Sandra A. Brick Jim M. Foreman Susan Gainen Diane Gamm Karen Graham Erika Hammerschmidt

Allen James Endel Kallas Manda McCarty JoAnne Middaugh Ardell Nelson John Ricker Harry Samtur Donna Triska David Wynia

BY SPECIAL INVITATION:  Aribert Munzner, renown painter/retired instructor at MCAD,  long time member and guest presenter at the Art Salon For Fertile Minds.

(See group photo immediately below and individual artist statements in alphabetical order with contact information to follow.)

When you’re in an art salon discussion group that meets once a month you often wonder, “What are the members doing in between our art salon discussion gatherings? What art is being created? When can we, and the public,  see what they’re doing?”

“The Space Between The Words”  exhibit attempts to answer these questions.  

“The Space Between The Words” group show is comprised of eighteen members of the Art Salon For Fertile Minds who have attended the salon between its inception in February 2011 until March  2015. It is an opportunity for members to exhibit a body of work that reveals what art we create in “the space” of time “between” the monthly gatherings when we primarily come to the art salon for inspiration and “words” between kindred souls.

The Meet-up social media platform is  used as our primary means of communication with Facebook, as second.  Initially we are strangers who, over time get  to know each other based on the stories we tell of our art endeavors and the conversations in which we choose to engage. Consequently, we see only one aspect of each other but learn to appreciate and respect each others art filled souls that have been created out of a life time of creating art work that has shaped and molded who we are today.

The organizers of the Art Salon For Fertile Minds wish to create a group experience that encourages the members to collaborate, connect and make the time more significant and art filled of an experience when we are together. 

The gallery host, the Vine Arts Center is a non-profit arts center, where most of the gatherings have been held.  www.vineartscenter.org 

Karl Blomseth, Artist, Founder of Art Salon For Fertile Minds

Email:  KBlomseth13@gmail.com

Video Invite to
The Space Between The Words
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkBYwz8KMF8

Autumn

Harold Samtur, artist in The Space Between The Words

Email:  paintchipsart@gmail.com

Website:

paintchipsart.net

Abstract

Generations

Donna Triska, Painter in The Space Between The Words

                                              email: donna.triska@yahoo.com

 

Apr 2015 The Show and The Share

In April we were fortunate to host our evening gathering while a beautiful two person show was on exhibit.  We looked at and discussed the sculptures and photographs.  Their work inspired us as we showed our new work and talked about our process and where we'd like to go next with our work.

150 Days til Opening of "The Space Between The Words" art exhibition

It's roughly 150 days plus or minus until the opening of our group art exhibit, The Space Between The Words.  We've got 19 artist/members of the Art Salon For Fertile Minds who are interested in exhibiting. We are fortunate to have been given the September 2015 exhibition cycle during one of the best month in Minneapolis.  No one will get to complain about snow storms and icy roads.

SAVE THE DATE:  September 12th opening public reception

The Space Between The Words

Vine Arts Center, 2637 27th Avenue South, Mpls. MN

Feb 2015 To Sell Or Not To Sell, That is the Question

Art: To Sell or Not To Sell

February Art Salon For Fertile Minds discussion was centered around the hot, passionate questions:

To sell or not to sell your art?
How do we let go of our art?
Do you value your art?  How much?
Do you create certain types of art with the intention to sell "these but not those?"

Will anyone else love your art work as much as you do?
Second half of the evening will be devoted to discussing the "Space Between The Words" group exhibit. Participating artists are encouraged to attend.

Best Practices for a Group Art Exhibit - October 2014

 Vine Arts Center member show on exhibit "Get Behind The Work, II"

How Can You Make a Group Show Experience a Win/Win

What a delight to have our meeting at the Vine Arts Center while surrounded by the beautiful original art created by members for the Get Behind The Work, II member show.

I must admit the October gathering was the perfect blend of having a respectful discussion that was on task to the subject while also inspiring 90 minutes of continuous idea brainstorming around "best practices for a group art exhibit."  Cannot wait for what Donna calls "the Fertile Minds Journey."  More specifics on the show via direct email messaging.

November's discussion will start with the idea  to "BE INSPIRED versus to BE DISCIPLINED." 

An artist has to look inside each day and ask "am I working out of inspiration (that may come and go) or am I working in a disciplined manner that may sustain me for hours, days, months, a lifetime?"  When you have a goal such as an upcoming exhibit, does that change your pace of work? Do you wait for the midnight inspiration or,  put in a full day's work hoping to push through any blocks along the way?  How do you overcome the internal rebellion against disciplined work or, as Amanda said, "what if you feel like a sloth somedays"?  What do you do to tap into your inner creativity? 

We'll start the evening discussion with these ideas and see where these questions take us.

Salonists All in a Circle - September 2014

Toys and Play and Creativity: An Art Salon Discussion

How to stay creative during the middle process:  the work.  But also, how does play contribute to our creative process? How do we feel about toys and playfulness? How do we stay in touch with our child at play?

Those of us who have opted in on the group art exhibit are especially interested in these ideas.  Once we get started with an idea how do we retain the creative spark and passion that was there in the beginning.

Beginnings - August 2014

BEGINNINGS - How do you begin? An Art Salon Discussion

The August Art Salon For Fertile Minds gathering was two evenings rolled into one: Art Salon discussion 
forum and the group art exhibit Q&A time.

We loved talking about BEGINNINGS, the topic of the evening. What inspires us, when we plan it, when we don't, when we're working for our love of art and when we're working for commerce. Many reasons to begin.

But what happens next?  That's what we'll talk about in September.

How to stay creative during the middle process:  the work.  But also, how does play contribute to our creative process? How do we feel about toys and playfulness? How do we stay in touch with our child at play?

Those of us who have opted in on the group art exhibit are especially interested in these ideas.  Once we get started with an idea how do we retain the creative spark and passion that was there in the beginning.

Please join us September 10th for our next gathering.  We would love to meet you and hear about your art making experiences.
We are inspired by the following quote:
"In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit. - Albert Schweitzer

Being In Synch - July 2014

The July gathering of the Art Salon for Fertile Minds was all about "BEING IN SYNCH" and we were.

There was never a quiet moment as people talked about how it felt to be in synch with their art, their artmaking process, their surroundings, the beating of their hearts, etc. Well, you can almost imagine.  I was so engrossed in the conversations that I never took one picture, very unusual.


At the conclusion of the art salon discussion it seemed that the thread of conversation that would carry over for next month, August, would be a discussion around...
HOW DO YOU BEGIN? A single piece? A whole new series? A short poem? A full novel? Do you pre-visualize how it's going to end?

What gets you in the mood to engage with your art process? Quiet? Loud? Music? Meditation?  Inside? Outside? Nature? Urban Environment?
It can be so subjective and so varied from one day to the next, or not.


Let's share our BEGINNINGS process and see how it inspires and affects one another.


And, speaking of beginnings, you should have received a CALL FOR ARTIST ENTRIES for an Art Salon For Fertile Minds group show to be on display in 2015 (if accepted). Please email wendyhblomseth@gmail.com if you wish to receive the application.

Art and Nature - June 2014 Art Salon Discussion

Each Art Salon For Fertile Minds gathering is an unpredictable evening that sometimes reminds me of a dance, a theatrical performance or an art installation.

June 11th felt like a dance with individuals stepping forward  into the open circle to share their hearts, souls, paintings, photographs and storytelling.  No visible cues were given but the timing seemed to be at the perfect moment for each artist.  The theme of Art And Nature flowed from the historical past to the present and to what might happen in the future.  Art and Nature is a topic that could be discussed for many more hours than we had available.  But as always the discussion around this theme led us to topics for future discussion, which is our end of the night ritual that I love because people throw out short sentences, one word or a whole concept for consideration.

July 9th we will start our evening discussion around these concepts:

WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE/FEEL LIKE WHEN WE ARE IN SYNC, IN TUNE, WORKING AT HIGH CAPACITY, WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE TO BE INSPIRED.

Or, how do you proceed forward when you're not in sync? How do you push yourself to get back in sync?

Pls join us.

Relationship Between Love and Art - May 2014

The evening was a true salon experience unlike any other. Museum-goers who had attended the Henri Matisse and Edward Hopper exhibits critiqued and recommended these two shows. Member, Endel K. said "a great art exhibit should change the viewer after having experienced the artwork."  He left the Matisse exhibit changed and Karl B. felt the same about the Hopper experience.  (more on THAT below.)


The art salon discussions explored The Relationship Between Love and Art. Again, we've touched on a subject that you can talk about for hours. We barely scratched the surface of love and art with countless references to (1) loved ones who have created art, especially paintings, that held our love and attention for decades and (2) collaborations with husbands/partners/fellow artists. The joy and challenges of working with others can be a lovely experience (or not so much.)


Longtime member, Doug Sievers left the CURRENTS show (on display now at the Vine Arts Center) changed and inspired. So much so that he created and performed for us a multi-media performance of river-current-themed-poetry and photography.  Quite a performance! 


It is suggested that for June we discuss The Relationship Between Nature And Art.  You can simply think Spring. Or, you can also think how much we love nature and how she inspires and energizes artists and their art work.