2010 OEA Visual Arts Nominees Announced
The 2010 Omaha Arts & Entertainment Awards show doesn’t take place until January, but the nominees in all the awards categories are live at the event’s Web site. Find all the visual arts nominees below, and visit its Web site for the full list of nominees and music performance dates before the show takes place early next year.
2010 Visual Arts Nominees
Best 2D Artist
Nolan Tredway, “Paintings by Nolan Tredway”
Larry Ferguson, “Moved by the Spirits”
Wanda Ewing, “Flower Power”
Watie White, “Too Much Information”
Claudia Alvarez, “Dirty Water”
Best Solo Show
Mike Scheef, “Jewish Wrestling Champions”
Wanda Ewing, “Flower Power”
Renee Ledesma Hoover, “My Offerings”
Jamie Burmeister, “Needle in Cotton”
Larry Ferguson, “Moved by the Spirits”
Natalie Linstrom, solo show at the Bancroft St. Gallery
Best New Media Artist
Jamie Burmeister, “Needle in Cotton”
Scott Blake, “Bar Code Art Tour”
Aetherplough, “Knives Out”
Brigit Larson, “DO NOT! look directly into the sun”
Doug Hayko
Best Group Show
Unwashed, Bancroft St.
Sophisticated Children, Hot Shops
Undaunted Light, RNG
Hand Maid, Jackson St.
Adornment, Creighton University
Field Guide, Jackson Artworks
Best 3D Artist
Renee Ledesma Hoover,”My Offerings” and “Hand Maid”
Jess Benjamin, “Dam” and “Paradox of Value”
Iggy Sumnik, “IGGY SUMNIK: Sculpture”
Julie Conway, “Undaunted Light/Color Blind Color”
Jamie Burmeister, “Needle in Cotton”
Susan McGilvrey, “Two Rooms: Works on Clay and Paper”
Best Visual Artist
Jun Kaneko
Watie White
Jamie Burmeister
Wanda Ewing
Scott Blake
Larry Ferguson
Renee Ledesma Hoover
Best Emerging Artist
Josh Powell
Troy Muller
Amy Morin
Andrew Hershey
Bill Sitzmann
Patty Talbert
The Horizon
I was hoping to attend two shows tonight, post yoga: Wayne Brekke’s opening at Nomad and the Terry Rosenberg opening at Gallery 616. But after a total butt-kicking workout I’m not making it. If you attended, let me know your thoughts. I plan to check out both shows when I’m less sore and tired. I’m especially excited to see Wayne’s new work; he’s been creating art for more than 20 years, and I can’t wait to check out his solo effort.
Looking forward to the next few weeks, there’s a ton of places where I can’t wait to take in some art. This weekend, Jess Benjamin’s open studio starts at 4 p.m. and runs until 10. I’ll be there when I get off work. I visited Jess’ studio recently and took in all her most recent work; she had some new projects she was just about to start and I’m hoping to see what came to fruition.
Next Wednesday, Pecha Kucha six is happening at Slowdown. I haven’t been to a Pecha Kucha Omaha since the event moved from Nomad, so I’m looking forward to checking it out. Then the next night is also packed: the Bemis Auction preview party starts at 6, and my sister, Lindsey, is doing a reading at the Empty Room as part of the Seven Doctors Project.
Saturday is another two-event night: My talented and lovely yoga teacher, Megan Minturn, is part of yet another great event at the Empty Room called Yogatry, which encompasses yoga, music and poetry. After that, I’ll be at the 11th annual Bemis Auction, along with most of the Omaha arts community.
So what are you planning to attend? And what’s not on my list that I should be checking out?
Zaha Hadid to design Sheldon expansion
The Sheldon Museum of Art announced today that internationally renowned architect Zaha Hadid will be designing its expansion project. I had heard through the local art grapevine that Hadid was on the short list to design the new Sheldon building, which will be located in Lincoln’s Haymarket district at 9th and S streets. Today that rumor became official.
The Lincoln Journal Star reported today that architects from Hadid’s London-based firm will be in Lincoln tomorrow to show the initial design to University of Nebraska-Lincoln officials, including Sheldon Director J. Daniel Veneciano. We won’t see the final design until early 2010, and the big reveal also depends on Sheldon’s fund raising efforts; the project is to be entirely paid for by private donations.
Veneciano, who told the Journal Star he’d seen preliminary designs for the museum, described it as embracing both futuristic and pioneer styles of architecture.
The final building will be four floors and will join two other UNL campus museums designed by famous architects: the Philip Johnson-designed Sheldon and the Robert Stern-designed International Quilt Study Center.
The original budget for the project, which won’ t be complete before late 2011, was $12.5 million, the cost to retrofit the old warehouse building now located on the site. With Hadid on board, the budget will likely grow.
Hadid has a history designing contemporary art museums. Check out this blog to learn more about her design approach and architectural aesthetic.
Blogroll
I always think it’s interesting to find out what blogs other people read. Most of the sites on my blogroll to the right are ones that my friends maintain; many of them make it into my regular ream of Google Reader stops. Many are art related; many have nothing to do with art. I’m a self-proclaimed blog addict, and there are lots and lots of other sites I read that aren’t listed here. So just for fun, and because I love sharing good stuff, I thought I’d devote a post to some of my favorite blogs. When I see a new post on these sites, I get excited. I hope you find at least one you love, too. If you have a site I should see, please share it in the comments!
FrecklewonderI don’t know Jenny Mitchell, but I feel like I do. I can’t remember how I first came across her charming site, but I remember the first thing I purchased from her store: a handmade necklace that featured a dozen amethysts hand-knotted around a big, yellow-green faceted teardrop of carnelian. I wore it all through college. It was made with so much love, I remember, and it made me feel pretty. I have continued to read Jenny’s blog: I read about how she got married, how she had her first son and then a daughter. I love the vintagey, retro aesthetic she has in her real life, and I think it transfers beautifully to her little corner of the virtual world. My current craving in her shop: the Pretty Mexican Skirt.
Food and fashion are the two things I could think about and talk about endlessly (aside from art, that is.) I love this blog, maintained by a New Yorker named Ginnie, because it illustrates the sort of beautiful world I would love to live in: amazing food, smashing handbags and shoes, beautiful cityscapes and an adorable dog. Her culinary adventures (and her amazing photos of food) are as exciting to take in as her regularly updated diary of outfits. Ginnie is also a fellow pescatarian with a meat-eating man in her life, so looking at her food photos gives me particular enjoyment, as it so closely mirrors my own eating habits. She also loves cupcakes, which doesn’t hurt.
Cooking is one of my newer passions. I found it when I became a pescatarian almost two years ago and could no longer rely on fast food or frozen dinners for meals. 101 Cookbooks is a beautiful food site. The recipes are creative, tasty, easy to prepare and lovely to look at on your dinner table. Blogger Heidi Swanson treats cooking as an art, but one she’s not afraid to conquer. I love that sense of fearlessness when it comes to food. There are many recipes on the site I want to try but one I have made time and again is the Lemon Cucumber Tofu Salad. I want to make the Peanut Butter Krispy Treats for my holiday party.
Written by Viga Boland, who with her daughter sells jewelry at one of my favorite vintage shopping stops, Ruby Lane, the Vintage Jewelry Blogger is not only a purveyor of some amazing vintage finds, it is also an amazing resource for learning about costume and fine jewelry of a bygone era. Anyone who knows me know that I have a vast collection of Bakelite, that I love the modern take on vintage by designer Tom Binns and that I regularly spend hours scouring local antique stores for pieces to add to my already large collection. This site gives me new things to search out, and continually broadens my base of jewelry knowledge. After I read the post on “pools of light” a few weeks ago, I went to lunch the next day with my friend Cindy. She had on a pool of light necklace that belonged to her great grandmother. I was so excited to admire how pretty the quartz was in real life and give Cindy some insight into her jewelry. Now to find one of my own.
Glampyre KnitsMy grandmother taught me how to crochet when I was in college, and I taught myself how to knit about a year later. Glampyre — A.K.A. Stefanie Japel — was the first knitter/blogger I found after I learned the basics of the craft. Her success has multiplied since I first saw her blog – she’s now a published author of two knitting books (I own one, Fitted Knits, and I love it) and a popular knitting instructor. Many of the patterns she’s created can be downloaded free of charge on her site. She created one of my all-time garments I have ever knitted, the City Shawl. That’s Stefanie wearing it in the photo above. Whenever I feel like knitting but can’t think of what to make, I turn to this big, triangle shaped scarf. It’s not advanced but the finished product makes you look like you know what you’re doing when it comes to being crafty.
Images courtesy of Frecklewonder, 101 Cookbooks and Glampyre Knits.
Season of Change
Fall has always been my favorite season: the cool snap in the air, the warm colors, hot cups of steaming tea, sweaters and boots and scarves. This fall is especially a season I think I’ll remember; a lot has happened in my life. I spent all summer planning a wedding, and I’m married now. It was a lovely day and I’m glad I did it. Being surrounded by old friends and new family is a great thing. After some time away from things – from my “normal life” that is usually full of writing, I’m back to blogging.
This morning, as I bought my usual cup of coffee, my favorite Omaha barista-slash jewelry maker asked me if I’d blogged about her art. I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I’d written a blog post. Turns out it was in July, meaning that my unplanned sabbatical was even longer than I’d remembered. And I have blogged about Lynnyyvonne and her amazing jewelry; I featured her work in December 2008. I still love her phrase rings and circular name necklaces. She’s created even more amazing work since I last visited – can I say how much I love the upside down cocktail ring? Sigh.
The interaction with random artists who make beautiful work is one of my favorite parts of blogging about art in Omaha. The chance to write about things I care about is another. The freedom to do it whenever I want is a third. There’s surely a bunch more I could think of if I put my mind to it.
Just a few minutes ago, I officially renewed my domain name for another year. I guess you could say I’m back. Hope you’re still out there reading.
The Art of Food: lemon sorbet
Eating has always been one of my passions, and as of late, cooking is becoming one too. Beacuse I think food is an art form of its own, this post is the first of what will become a regular feature called “The Art of Food.” I hope you enjoy.
A few weeks ago I had my first bridal shower; I’m getting married later this year. One surprise gift (i.e. one I did not register for) was an ice cream maker.
I decided to use it to make one of my favorites: lemon sorbet. After a quick Google search, I found a recipe that looked easy enough.
Boiling lemon syrup
The sugar, water and lemon peel boiled and then simmered for a few minutes. I moved the pan to the refrigerator to cool down.
Pre-sorbet mix
After the syrup cooled down, I mixed it in with lemon juice and lime flavored Pellegrino. Then I was supposed to wait for that to cool off too, but I got too impatient. So I just threw it into the ice cream machine and hoped for the best.
After about one minute
Five minutes...
Ten minutes...
Fifteen minutes...
Twenty minutes...
Voila!
The recipe only makes a tiny amount of sorbet, but you don’t need much. It’s tart! But also delicious. Enjoy.
Yum.
Lemon Sorbet
- 1 lemon’s peel, finely diced
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 cup carbonated mineral water
- 6 strips of lemon zest, for garnish
In a saucepan, stir together the diced lemon peel, 1 cup of water and sugar. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, and allow to cool.
In a pitcher or bowl, stir together the lemon syrup with peel, lemon juice and mineral water. Pour into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Garnish each serving with a twist of lemon peel.
If you do not have an ice cream maker, you may freeze it in a tall canister. Freeze for 1 1/2 hours. Remove and stir with a whisk. Return to the freezer and stir about once every hour for about 4 hours. The more times you stir, the more air will be incorporated, resulting in a lighter finished product.
Michael Jackson 1958-2009
I grew up listening to the music – and admiring the style – of Michael Jackson. It’s 12:01 the day after he died, and I’m still having a hard time believing it. At least we still have his music. He was a true artist.
Image courtesy of the Andy Warhol Foundation.
Food Eaten Guest Blog
My lovely friend Lainey, who is a blogger, foodie, writer and generally cool gal, asked me to guest blog at her food site, Food Eaten, about my recent adventures with baking. Check out the post, and if you have time, try those muffins. They’re divine.
Meat-Free Mondays
I’m following Stella McCartney, one of my favorite designers, on Twitter. The shoes above are just one reason that I love her. Anyhow, her feeds this morning have all been about one thing: the Meat-Free Monday. Stella and her dad, Paul, (maybe you’ve heard of him?) and a bunch of their celebrity friends started a campaign today to encourage people to make one day a week meat-free. It’s better for your bod and for the planet, too. Reducing your rate of heart problems and reducing global warming seem like pretty good ideas, and if all you have to do is eat one less burger, well, that’s not so much to sacrifice.
Anyhow, if you want to get involved, check out the cause’s Web site at www.supportmfm.org. There you’ll find in-depth information about climate change and how Meat-Free Monday might help slow it down and why one less meat-eating day is good for your body. You can also sign up to get a meat-free recipe e-mail every Monday.
Weekend in review
Late last week, I tried a new recipe that my friend Lainey posted on her blog Food Eaten. It was for “meatless” meatballs. I haven’t had a meatball in nearly two years – since I became a vegetarian- so I had to try it. My Cuisinart, usually my best friend in the kitchen, did me wrong for the first time. I thought mixing all the ingredients in the food processor would have been quicker and neater than doing it all by hand. Instead of ending up with a chunky, meat-like mix, I ended up with a concoction more the texture of hummus. Oops. But as I don’t usually let cooking get the best of me, I dumped the mix into a baking pan, topped it with some sliced mushrooms and made a msuhroom meatloaf. It cooked for much longer than the recommended time, but tasted absolutely great. I sliced it the next day and ate it cold in a sandwich, reliving one of my favorite treats from my meat eating days. Thanks, Lainey, for the great recipe. Readers can find her blog post about it here.
Last night, I went to the newest opening at the RNG Gallery, “Paradox of Value,” featuring new work by Jess Benjamin. I really enjoyed the show. I’ve written many stories about Jess and her work, most of which is inspired by her Nebraska home, and this work builds on what she’s done in the past. I chatted with her for a few minutes at the show, and mentioned that this work is so different from her past work. “That’s how it’s supposed to be, right?” she asked. Yes, I suppose it is. Anyway, I’ll write a capsule review of the show later this week. But I highly recommend stopping by. It’s thought provoking.
Today was pretty much my idea of a perfect Sunday. Long run early in the day. Afternoon nap. Dinner on the roofdeck. Ice cream in the Old Market. Hope you had a lovely Sunday, too.
