My pieces ‘Mama’, ‘Where I am coming from’, and ‘My Mama’s stories’, have been selected for exhibition at MSP airport! I poured so much of my heart, soul and history into these pieces, so this is immensely gratifying, and I feel so honored that my stories are deemed significant enough for this show. The show will be up in the Concourse C Gallery in Terminal 1 from June – December 2022, together with the works of other NE Minneapolis artists. A huge thank you to the jurors @g_raye_art , @hellokeishairene and @sile.ann.d , the NE Minneapolis Arts District, and the universe.

I have been very busy throughout these last three crazy and sad months, creating small and affordable pieces for the upcoming Northeast Minneapolis Art-A-Whirl. I have discovered the subject of birds, and am amazed at how much I am able to express through them. They have become my vessel to spontaneously express my thoughts and feelings of the day I am making them. The thoughts I have engraved on them have changed from hopeful/inspirational to protesting the Ukraine war and prayers for peace, and back to escapist/silly/ self comforting themes. Then an idea struck me and I made three small busts advocating the de-stigmatization of mental health struggles.
All these pieces will be Raku fired – a process that I am infatuated with because of the uniqueness and drama it adds to each piece.

The 2022 Northeast Minneapolis Art-A-Whirl will take place on the weekend of May 20 to May 22 throughout the NE Minneapolis Arts District, and will be in person again! I will be back at the Grain Belt Bottling House as a guest artist, and am so looking forward to it.
I will donate 15% of my net sales to Ukraine and refugee help organizations World Central Kitchen, USA for UNHCR, UNICEF and International Rescue Committee.
The assault on Ukraine has shaken me deeply, and has opened my eyes to the plight of refugees everywhere.
So lets meet up foe Art-A-Whirl, raise some money for refugees, and remind each other of the good that‘s also out there!

I am thinking about making a sculpture series about the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale ‘The Snowqueen’. I found the fairy tale collection that we had growing up, with the amazing and magical illustrations by Jiri Trnka on eBay today! I don’t think any other book has ever woven such a spell around me when I was a child as that one. Can’t wait for it to arrive, and get more inspiration!

Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it.
Brenée Brown

Here are some impressions from the opening of my first solo show at Lanesboro Arts in Lanesboro, Minnesota. I had started sketching, delving into memories of my childhood and youth in Germany, and making pieces for this show about 2 1/2 years ago. To see it all come together in a beautifully set up show, and have so many people come and listen to my stories, either through my sculptures or through direct conversation with me, was absolutely wonderful. What was equally wonderful was to hear visitors share their own stories with me, and how they feel that our stories are connected. That experience is one of the reasons I make sculptures.
Pictures in this post show a few scenes from our beautiful Friday afternoon in Lanesboro, opening night, and a wondrous discovery I made at our Bed&Breakfast – beautiful objects of the Jewish culture displayed in the dining room of the old mansion. Their presence felt like a ray of reconciliation and possible forgiveness to me.
The show will run through December 10. It is a pleasant and scenic two hour drive down to Lanesboro and maybe one of these days you’ll feel like making it!

My very first at home Raku firing, and it was a success! This is such an addictive process. To see the colors and the crackle effect emerge while the pieces are cooling, and then scrub off the soot to see the full effect – it’s such unadulterated fun. I’m very grateful that nothing cracked and nothing baked to a kiln brick. Let’s hope this is a trend 😊😀❤️ Thanks so much to Mark J Lusardi for setting me up with this perfect for me sized Raku kiln and equipment!!!

I received the most beautiful professional photographs today, taken @eaganarthouse where two of my pieces are installed and on view outside surrounded by a beautiful wildflower meadow on the grounds of the art center. Thank you to @rickgravesphotography for sharing these shots that captivate the magic of this art in nature situation so well. The bust is titled ‘Rebirth ‘ and the standing figure’Letting go of Blue’, and the plants surrounding really amplify these messages for me. This truly is the most beautiful way these pieces have ever been displayed. Thanks also to @eaganarthouse for including me in this beautiful show titled ‘Momentary Certainties’.

I made it! I am soooo exhausted today, but also very happy, after working for 12 hours at Studio Here‘s artist in residence at the Minnesota State Fair yesterday. Thanks to @nbaxterpottery ‘s ability to help me out with an emergency firing, I had plenty of interesting studio projects to demonstrate, such as glazing bisqued pieces, sgraffito, and showing the whole process of building a small bust from rolling out a slab to finishing the facial features. Being there has definitely been worth the effort and the building nervousness I’ve experienced ever since agreeing to do it 😊 the chance to share my process and motivation to make art with such a wide range of people and the genuine and heartfelt conversations I had throughout the day were so inspiring and heartening. Thank you to the Minnesota State Fair and to Minnesotan Fair goers for being such art enthusiasts. A State Fair with a strong art component is a unique and wonderful thing.

I made it! I am soooo exhausted today, but also very happy, after working for 12 hours at Studio Here‘s artist in residence at the Minnesota State Fair yesterday. Thanks to @nbaxterpottery ‘s ability to help me out with an emergency firing, I had plenty of interesting studio projects to demonstrate, such as glazing bisqued pieces, sgraffito, and showing the whole process of building a small bust from rolling out a slab to finishing the facial features. Being there has definitely been worth the effort and the building nervousness I’ve experienced ever since agreeing to do it 😊 the chance to share my process and motivation to make art with such a wide range of people and the genuine and heartfelt conversations I had throughout the day were so inspiring and heartening. Thank you to the Minnesota State Fair and to Minnesotan Fair goers for being such art enthusiasts. A State Fair with a strong art component is a unique and wonderful thing.

My sculpture residence at the Minnesota State Fair Fine Arts building is drawing close! I will be working in a designated studio area from 9 am to 9 pm on Labor Day, Sept 6, and show how I make my slabs and how I sculpt. I will also demonstrate the sgraffito technique, and glaze some of my busts. There will be two artists talks throughout the day, but I will be available for questions about my process in between those as well. Come and stop by if you can! I am fully vaccinated and will be wearing a mask the entire time I’m there; and I hope so will most other people present inside the building.