Jerome Fiber Artists Project Grant Awards Announced

News just released from the Textile Center! (see below):

"The Textile Center is pleased to announce the recipients of the first ever Jerome Fiber Artists Project Grants.We received 73 applications from emerging artists in Minnesota for three $5,000 grants, which were awarded in December 2008. Jurors Jane Dunnewold, Jan Myers-Newbury and Laurie Schafer met in November to review the applications and have chosen Ingrid Restemayer, Heidi Henderson and Maggie Dayton to receive the grants. Work resulting from these projects will be the focus of a Textile Center Joan Mondale Gallery exhibit in August 2009. Congratulations to Ingrid, Heidi and Maggie!"

Ingrid Restemayer Studio in Minnesota Monthly

If you haven't already seen it, pick up the December 2008 issue of Minnesota Monthly. They've got some insightful tips for non-traditional gift giving for the holidays. Here's what they had to say about the open Saturdays at my studio building:

"Saturdays at Northrup King: No other building in Minnesota can boast such a concentration of artist studios. And during the holidays, this 780,000-square-foot locus of local art keeps convenient visitor hours—spend a Saturday afternoon strolling from studio to studio, browsing everything from Ingrid Restemayer’s minimalist mixed-media pieces to the hand-woven Peruvian rugs at Art Andes, plus jewelry, clothes, sculpture, and, of course, paintings. Saturdays, noon to 5 p.m., November 29 to December 20; Northrup King Building, 1500 Jackson St. NE, Minne-apolis, northrupkingbuilding.com"

The Fiber of the Matter (la Fibre del Asunto) opened this past weekend at The Icehouse in Phoenix, Arizona. This is an exhibition of 9 fiber artists, curated by contributing artist, Christy Puetz. The show consists almost entirely of installation work -- everything from a field of felt poppies suspended in delicate white sand to an eerily lit elevator shaft filled with branches that seem to have sprouted hairballs. My personal favorites include Puetz's intricately detailed beaded chickens and a giant braid. The chickens are sparkly and lovely with their brightly colored beaded surfaces and color-coded bases, yet which upon further examination reveal the story of how communicable diseases are spread. (Thought provoking!) A braid sounds simple enough, but this new take on Rapunzel was made from plastic tubes stuffed with newspapers and print ads. It was of monumental scale, spiraling an entire room, running up a 2-story wall, out the open cieling and falling massively yet gracefully down the front of the building. I myself unfurled about 27 feet of a piece in progress that, when complete will have 40 feet of paper surface entirely covered with tiny running stitches.

If you are in the Phoenix area, this show is a must-see. (Actually, more of a must-experience.) The Icehouse is open by appointment only, but the closing reception is scheduled for Friday, November 21, 6-10pm.

The Icehouse, 429 W. Jackson St., Phoenix, AZ 85003 -- http://www.theicehouseaz.com/

Contact Christy Puetz at 602-253-8310 for an appointment

Art Attack is an annual open studio and gallery crawl at the Northrup King Building, in the heart of the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District. The weekend-long event features hundreds of artists working in ceramics, glass, jewelry, mixed media, mosaics, painting, photography, pottery, sculpture, wood, textiles, and more.

I have tons of new work in studio this year as well as work by my good friend, Josh Blanc of Clay Squared to Infinity. Josh will be showcasing his signature "cosmic" handmade tile art along side my mixed media collage work.

Northrup King Building, Studio 401-b

1500 Jackson St. NE, Minneapolis, MN 55418

612-396-3947 or dirgni@earthlink.net

Ingrid Restemayer & Tara Costello at Rosalux Gallery, September 2008

Deceit by Mirage, new work by Tara Costello & Ingrid Restemayer
Opening reception with the artists: Saturday, September 6th, 7-10pm
Show runs: September 3rd – September 28th, 2008
Rosalux Gallery is located at 1011 Washington Ave. South, Minneapolis, MN
Regular hours: Wednesday-Thursday, noon-8pm, Friday-Sunday, noon-5pm

In Deceit by Mirage Tara Costello’s plays in atmosphere and emotion contrast with Ingrid Restemayer’s patterned premeditation. Yet the show is balanced and complimentary in that both these artists’ recent works deal with the implication of space through shape.

The latest from abstract painter, Tara Costello concentrates on exploring the contrast between control and providence. Texture and reactions between the materials she uses are as important as the resulting image. Her more atmospheric paintings reflect emotional experiences rather than specific places or times. Whereas her more controlled pieces express the raw physicality of mark-making. Yet both were inspired by the beauty of the unexpected.

Printmaker and fiber artist, Ingrid Restemayer continues her habit of mixing mediums but now with a new, greater emphasis on collage – layering dark, hand-dyed papers. A new dimension appears in her work where delicate printed images appear to float between and out from under mottled, inked papers. The papers themselves appear velvety in their blackness. The compositions are, quite literally, tied together with thread. Repetitive hand-stitching adds to the meditative quality of this work.

Pieces in this show work toward the abstraction of shape. At times the essence of a land or waterscape appears, exploring the suspension of time and the beautiful instability that it holds. Atmospheres created solely of color are paired with pieces where dark blacks resonate against bright whites, punctuated by harsh color or gentle printed images.

Costello’s style of painting with trowels and the spontaneous compulsiveness therein presents the fragility of current state. While Restemayer’s collaged layering of paper and image seems meditative but displays a finality marked by her hand-stitched thread codices.

Rosalux Gallery is funded and managed by its 24 artist members. Consumers buy direct from the artist who creates the work. Rosalux is a vibrant and growing community of Twin Cities artists working together to help build not only each others' careers, but also the Twin Cities' art community.

For more information please contact Ingrid Restemayer at 612-396-3947 or dirgni@earthlink.net.
For general information or to request an exhibition schedule, visit http://www.rosaluxgallery.com/ or at 1011 Washington Ave. South, Minneapolis, MN.

"First Thursday" August 7, 2008

Another "First Thursday in the Arts District" is quickly approaching. This is the time I consider to be my 'regular hours' as the studio is open 5-9pm on the first Thursday of every month for NE's monthly, mini art crawl. There has been some new construction in my studio and a few new paint colors added to the walls. Stop by to see how my work looks in this new environment.

Northrup King Arts Building, Studio 401-b

1500 Jackson St. NE (Use the VanBuren St. entrance for best access to 4th floor)

Minneapolis, MN 55413

directions at: www.northrupkingbuilding.com

Bloomingdale's, MOA, through August 26, 2008

Bloomingdale's may be one of the last places you'd expect to find original art by local artists, right?  Well, in the Mall of America location Visual Manager, Deb Wink has cleared a spot and developed a program for just such a thing.  For almost a year now, Bloomingdale's has played host to a variety of work by locals like me.  Shows change out monthly on a highly visible wall between Young Men's and Women's Accessories departments.  My work can be seen there now through August 26th, 2008.

Bloomingdale's, Mall of America

3000 Southeast Court

Bloomington, MN

952-883-2500

Monday-Saturday, 10am-9:30pm; Sunday, 11am-7pm