Year in Review - 2025
In November of each year, I like to reflect on the year’s accomplishments in my studio practice. I do this for a couple of reasons. First, I tend to feel that my daily efforts are me working to catch up rather than moving ahead, but when I take the time to review my yearly activities, I am reminded that I do actually achieve some of the goals I set out to accomplish - which feels nice! Second, this review practice helps me frame new goals for the upcoming year through the lens of what I was able to achieve in the year prior. So without further ado…
2025 was a pretty big year in the studio. The biggest achievement was receiving the Creative Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, which funded six research trips to Red Wing, Sandstone, and Duluth, MN, and resulted in the creation of a lot of work (with more work, an exhibition, and an artist talk still forthcoming).
I had many opportunities to exhibit my work this year. At the start of the year, I participated in two group shows. In the summer and early fall, I exhibited a body of work of 28 paintings and prints at two different venues in the Twin Cities Metro. In October, I had a selection of work on view at a gallery in Minneapolis and have plans to show some more work at this venue again in the new year.
In the summer, I attended a week-long artist residency at the Everwood Farmstead Foundation, where I was able to spend time with a local musician, a historic barn and a group of rhubarb-loving goats.
So far in 2025, I’ve created 37 paintings and prints, and I have sold more work in a single year than I have in years past.
I was more selective about the opportunities I applied for this year, focusing only on those that either provided new exposure, a chance to stretch my skills, financial support or time, or simply seemed like they would be fun. I benefitted from this scrutiny, saving myself some time and getting a better response. Although some opportunities I applied for were moonshots, I learned from them and discovered other ways for the work I put into those applications to manifest.
I made some changes to my marketing efforts this year. I distributed nine e-newsletters to my subscribers. I created this space on my website to write at more length about my practice. I stopped posting on Instagram this past February and now maintain an account and post on Bluesky. When I left Instagram I thought I might end up feeling disconnected, but it seems that the opposite has been true and I feel more connected to my art community than I have before (though admittedly, it has been more effort, which I think is ok).
In summary, it has been a good year for the art studio. I’m so appreciative to you all for following along and supporting my practice. There are already some fun things to look forward to in the year ahead, and I’m excited to share them with you in the upcoming months.