Art Books Reviewed!

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I've already written a blog post about art books for kids, now it's time for one about art books for adults! I did, in fact, graduate college with an art degree, and in college read a number of art textbooks (duh). Many of the art history books are incredibly dry, although I'm not sure how they could be improved when many art history classes are taught "in the dark" (where you view slide after slide of artwork and have to memorize titles, artists, mediums, and dates for the tests). Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy learning about art history. It's fascinating to see the timeline of how art began and how it developed throughout the centuries to become what it is today. That all said, there's only one book I kept from college, as it has been so incredibly useful:

The Practical Handbook for the Emerging Artist by Margaret R. Lazzari

This was the required text for a class called "Junior/Senior Seminar" which was required for all art majors, but nobody knew what it was until they actually took it. It was a class on how to be a professional artist. At the time, I didn't want to be a professional artist (there's a story for another time), but as it turns out I have used the skills I learned from this book regularly for years now. This book taught me how to write my CV (curriculum vitae; aka artist resume,) how to write an artist's statement and biography, press releases, and also how to take photos of my artwork. As I'm skimming my copy (still covered in brightly colored "USED" stickers) as I write this, I think I need to reread it! It includes interviews with artists, information on a variety of gallery types, curating, financial aspects, and more! I very highly recommend getting your hands on a copy of this book if you are interested in pursuing art as a career (or even just a side hustle.) 

Steal Like an Artist (trilogy) by Austin Kleon  

I only recently discovered the Steal Like an Artist trilogy, and when I ran to tell my other artist friends, they had already read it! Where have I been this whole time? The first book is Steal Like an Artist, and it lays out ten topics that inspire you in your artwork and encourage you to make more artwork. The second book, Show Your Work!, is an excellent follow-up to the first: now that you are inspired and creating your artwork, get it out there and show it to other people! And the third, Keep Going, is to motivate you to continue making your art throughout the inevitable roller coaster that is life. Some days are easier than others and there will be struggles, but you can do it! The books are loaded with illustrations, quotes, and anecdotes, and they read like an honest conversation over coffee with the author himself.

The Muralist by B.A. Shapiro

Alright, alright, I'll admit I'm more of a fiction girl than non. The Muralist is historical fiction partially set in New York in the 1930s and 1940s, when the Abstract Expressionism movement was gaining momentum. The two main characters are related, one in modern-day America searching for evidence of the other, her great-aunt, who was an artist working for the WPA (Works Progress Administration) with some well-known friends like Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner, and Mark Rothko.  Without giving any spoilers away, I loved the twists and turns the story took. It wasn't always obvious what was going on, and I thoroughly enjoyed questioning the same characters I had grown so fond of. Shapiro has a number of books with an art-theme to them, and they are all on my To Be Read list.

Artists in Crime by Ngaio Marsh

I finished this one just in the last few weeks, and while it was a bit difficult to understand the individual characters' idiosyncrasies at first (there were a number of "sayings" tossed about that I wasn't sure what they meant, which I believe is because the book was written in 1938) but after I was able to spend more time with them, each character's individual voice and personality came shining through! It's a classic murder mystery who-done-it that occurs during a life-drawing class in an art studio. The main detective develops a love interest in this novel that apparently carries through to later books in the series, although I haven't read the others yet. Yet. 

Four art books; two for business and two for funsies, but all are recommended by yours truly! And if you're like me and don't have much time to sit down and actually read a book, give audiobooks a try. I listen to audiobooks while I'm commuting to and for work, and it's a real game changer. Just this year alone I've listened to over 20 audiobooks, and it's only May! 

The Artrageous Experience

I know I’ve mentioned my ladies’ art weekends before – getting together with my handful of artistic besties a couple times a year for an art, alcohol, and project-filled weekend. These days, with kids, full-time jobs, part-time jobs (yes, I am officially calling everything art-related in my life a part-time job BECAUSE IT IS) and everything else in between… Well, it just doesn’t happen as often as it used to. And that’s okay, it’s just a fact and it makes our times when we DO get together that much more fun!

 

We even brought Flat Stanley along to the theater!

It's Friday, April 14^th, 2023. I left my full-time work early, giddy for the event that night: Artrageous, at the Memorial Auditorium in Worthington, MN. It’s about a 2.5 hour drive from Ida Grove to Lakefield (where my mom lives, and yes, my mom counts as one of my ladies.) It was a beautiful, sunny 75 degrees when I left work. The past two days had been in the 80s and low 90s. I, of course, only packed t-shirts. The further north I got, the lower the temperature dropped, and when I arrived at my destination it was cold, rainy, and the sky was black with clouds. Screw you, Minnesota.

I wasn’t entirely sure what the show was going to be, but I was excited regardless. I had watched a trailer on YouTube about Artrageous beforehand and saw quite a few positive comments about it. I knew there would be painting and some sort of performance, but everything else was a mystery. The website ArtrageousShow.com describes it as a “fusion of live art, vocal performance, comedy, blacklight Bunraku [Japanese puppet theater where the performers wear black to blend into the background], Artpunk wear, and inclusion in one magical experience.” And yeah, I guess that sums it up pretty well!

Incredible!

My mom, Cindy, Rachael, and I were in the first row of the balcony, which gave us the perfect bird’s eye view of the whole stage but saved us from being recruited as volunteers. 😉 In the very front row below us was a tween girl celebrating her birthday (the whole party was there!) How cool is that?! She got a number of shout-outs throughout the night, no doubt giving her a birthday to remember her whole life.

The troupe began with a song. While some members played instruments, others sang and danced, and one in the center of the stage began painting on a huge black piece of paper. It started as abstract – a few lines here, a splat over there… She used her hands and fingers to smear it all over. To quote Cindy, “I’ve never wanted to fingerpaint so badly!” And she’s right, it was so inspiring to watch as the painting developed, got flipped around and then it finally came together as a rendition of the Mona Lisa! As a final touch, the artist tossed a handful of glitter at the painting like she was sprinkling it with fairy dust.

I just can't even, but in the best way!

The performers wore punky clothing covered in paint, including hats, corsets, boots, and skirts, each of them in their own form of artist-chic. They really do look like modern-day traveling performers. Rachael commented that it looked like something our friend, Melanie Cable (aka Ms. Chevious) would wear. I loved every bit of it!

I couldn’t tell you how many songs they performed, but many were well-known songs like John Lennon’s “Imagine” and Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling”. The audience was encouraged to clap and sing along, and not to brag but the troupe said we were really great singers. 😉There was also an everyone-wins dance battle, where audience members of all ages were chosen to come onstage and dance to various clips of music. One woman was wearing a “I like Big Books and I cannot lie” shirt. Another was a dad who looked like he didn’t really want to, but he busted a move anyway. It wasn’t pre-planned, but it definitely added to the entertainment of the evening.

One of my favorite versions of Starry Night ever!

There were 7 individual paintings completed during the performance. The artists used their hands to smear and throw the paint, as well as huge bristled brushes. The black-light painting of Starry Night was absolutely breathtaking to watch. Multiple artists worked on that one simultaneously, and on the giant triptych for the finale, which was a patriotic piece featuring a bald eagle, the Statue of Liberty, and Martin Luther King, Jr. But the really cool thing about the show was that it wasn’t just focused on the paintings. Many forms of artistic expression were used, including dance, song, music, and speech, and it was all blended together spectacularly.

After they were finished, the troupe invited everyone in attendance to come up onstage and view the paintings close up, take photos with the performers, and ask them questions. Besides my mom, my two companions for the evening were art teachers, and we were all debating what kind of paint they were using. It’s thin enough to splatter and drip… Was it tempera? Nah, too opaque for that. Gouache? Possibly, but I don’t know how quickly that dries… Surprise! It was all acrylic! Getting to see the paintings up close afterward was like the cherry on top of the sundae. There was so much energy and expression in the marks made. I would’ve liked to see the brushes they use up close because they were massive and from the balcony looked like stereotypical cartoony-renditions of paintbrushes.

Why, yes, I DID wear a Hogwarts shirt to the theater! 

The paintings were left there, at the auditorium, for the Worthington community to display and enjoy. Except for one, which someone in attendance won as part of a Facebook giveaway. What an amazing gift, for both the city and that one lucky person!

In preparation for writing this blog post, I did a bit more research into Artrageous. It turns out, they are more than just an energetic artistic show – there’s also a non-profit called Artrageous Artreach which is a multifaceted educational program for a variety of ages, plus a summer camp (and interning for the summer camp), online classes, live performances and more. To find out more about Artreach, you can check out the website here.

I’m so glad I was able to experience Artrageous, especially since I was there with my mom and two artist friends. We all had a great time, and if given the chance I would definitely see the performance again. I’d even bring my kids along next time!

For more information about Artrageous, you can check out their website at ArtrageousExperience.com, or follow them on social media: on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

Artist Interview: Jeanine Strodtman

Jeanine Strodtman, an artist living in Ames, IA, paints in a realistic style. Sometimes her acrylic paintings are of still lifes, close-up views of plants, or even different landscape types. I was introduced to her art online through the Iowa Artists Facebook group.

I asked Strodtman what her favorite piece is, and she said it was her painting of the McConnell Hardware building. I’m a HUGE fan of portraits of buildings, where so much history and life can be put into a picture of an immobile place. She said she painted it from a photograph of a hardware store in Colorado. “My maiden name was McConnell,” Strodtman said. It’s such a beautiful piece, with hard, crisp lines and a delightful contrast between the yellow and brown building and the dark shadows cast inside the windows. “It was one of 64 picked from 2500 by AT&T for their calendar. [It] Did not make the calendar. I donated it to Heartland Museum in Clarion, Iowa. It hangs in the Blacksmith area.” Even though it wasn’t picked for the calendar, what an honor to have come so close!

It’s no surprise after seeing her Hardware store painting that Strodtman mentioned Edward Hopper (an American realist painter) as one of her artistic influences!
 

Strodtman defines Art as “…creating something, with any part of you.” What a great yet simple way to put it! It doesn’t matter what medium you are using, or if you use your hands vs your feet or the rest of your body – or even using your mind, like with concept art. It leaves it open for music, writing, dance, and anything that you can dream up to make into art. Well said!

She never went to school for art, but she says she was very lucky because a friend asked her to join her (the friend’s) art group. “They met in Dorothy Timmon’s basement with ISU professor, Richard Heggen.” Strodtman told me. “Did this for years and then longer meeting in the basement of Mary Lou Wright.” Strodtman was also allowed to sit in another art teacher's class at ISU, without being officially enrolled. Fun fact, both Timmon and Wright were active Iowa Artists. 

I asked Strodtman what her favorite brush or tool for making art is. “I have no favorite brush,” she replied. “I use many other things like the base of a bunch of celery-and the leaves, a plastic dish scrub, toothbrush and other non-artist tools.” I love seeing how artists use unconventional items to make their artwork, it’s such an unappreciated form of creativity!
 

Her advice to artists just starting out? “I don't accept that you can't do something if you have not tried to do it. You might be surprised.” Excellent advice! I know a lot of artists who have found their signature style or niche, but there are many others (myself included) who like to get their hands into all sorts of different mediums and love trying new things with their art.
 

“I have created pictures since I was small,” Strodtman said. “[I] Wonder sometimes if I would have kept my sanity during Covid, if I had not painted. Dick Heggen said that you reach a great point and then go downhill. He was right… I don't really care. I love painting.”