Artsee Fartsy

Welcome to ARTSEE! 

To quickly re-cap before my short bio, ARTSEE strives to be a selective virtual gallery and discussion forum for visual artists of all types.  A place to post art related meanderings, pictures of artwork both finished and in progress, and to receive feedback and suggestions from other artists and participants. 

For non-artists, ARTSEE is a great place to view fine arts and crafts and offer objective (or subjective) feedback or suggestions, meet artists, and maybe discover the next Miro or Moore.

Everyone is welcome to participate at ARTSEE.  The one and only rule is that the content relate to art and fine craft, and the artistic process.  Please, please, please do not post articles or pictures related to country crafts, antiques, assembled kits, models, dolls, froo-froo crap, kitsch or anything non-art related.  If you can't hypothetically buy it or view it in a gallery, boutique, juried art show, or BFA-MFA program, you’re in the wrong forum.

For now, all submissions will be moderated.  But as soon as we get going, and the pictures/critiques/commentary comes in, I’ll open it up if it looks like everyone gets the idea.  I’m pretty open-minded so if you think it fits, send it to me.

Examples of site-appropriate works are listed in the site’s description, but the list is by no means exhaustive.

As for me, I have a BA in Studio Art – Sculpture from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities.  In college, I focused on foundry work (cast sculptures), welding and mixed media (often mixing cast pieces, wood, collage and neon).  But I also played around with Intaglio and ceramics.

After college, I made the god-awful choice to go to law school, instead of going into an MFA program.  After graduating, I practiced criminal defense, privacy and employment law.  But I was never really happy, and always sort of felt like I landed on another planet, with a whole lot of hostile inhuman beings.  And I never seemed to find free-time time for art.  Although a lot of colleagues commented on my creative laywering skills, and “out-of-the-box” thinking, so unknown to my more conscious self, I guess my left-brain was still sort of working. 

Last year, for a number of reasons, I finally quit practicing, set up shop (see also: a studio) and went back to creating stuff.   Now I’m broke; very, very broke actually, but immeasurably happy. 

My husband (a tried and true scientist with artistic aspirations) and I collect art glass and native American pottery, and for years, have dreamt of dropping out, learning to blow glass, and then maybe buying a ranch and owning a gallery some where in New Mexico.   Last year, after I quit practicing, we took several art glass classes together, and he convinced me to try my hand at it.  Now I primarily work with glass.  I use a kiln, torch and lots O’ fun power tools to make cast glass, art plates and bowls, glass collages, slumped pieces, beads . . . and well, whatever oddities I can think of.  I also make jewelry using glass and hand-formed charms from silver PMC.   It’s actually my jewelry and plates that bring in supplementary income (if you want to call it that).

I also spend a lot of time writing and complaining.  I love writing, and wish I could write books and make art for a living.  I don’t love complaining, but seem to be quite good at it. 

And that brings me here . . .

Anyone else who wants to post a short bio to the site should feel welcome to do so.  It would be nice for me, and all other members to know a little bit about everyone’s artistic, or not so artistic but oh so critical (as in the ability to critique and comment) backgrounds, aspirations and endeavors. 

Can’t wait to meet you.