Browse Artwork: Collaborative Works

Over the years I've collaborated with my incredibly creative artist friend, Roxann Reisdorf [PDF], on both projects and individual artworks. Together we've produced four interactive pieces, each relating to paintings included in my solo exhibitions at Groveland. Inspiration for these works began with and continues to be my older sister Colleen, who is now blind as a result of diabetic retinopathy.

Stillness Arranged, 2016

Stillness Arranged, which was also the title of my 2016 solo exhibition, includes images and words chosen for their ability to evoke inner quiet. The components of this interactive allow viewers to create images from elements – similar to how I arrange them in my paintings. The magnetic surface encourages constant and quick changes in design. Given all the quilters in my family, cutting the 9" x 9" magnetic images into quilt-like patterns just made sense. Roxann Reisdorf and Jessen Press helped with technical details.

Two 11.5" x 7.75" x 1.75" commercially sourced wooden trays
26" x 47" sheet steel, framed
Eight 9" x 9" color photos, printed on a magnetic surface and cut into quilt-like patterns
Sixty 1/2" x 2" words, printed on a magnetic surface (30 words for stillness; 30 for arranged)

Squared Pairs, 2013

Squared Pairs is the result of another collaboration with Roxann Reisdorf, created in conjunction with my 2013 solo show, Pairings/Parings. For that exhibition I explored similar subject matter in pairs of paintings and other works featured pared-down scenes. This interactive piece continues the dual theme. Four sets of archival pigment prints (rocks, water, sky, and buildings) applied to the blocks allow for a wide variety of tableaus to be created as the blocks are stacked, paired, arranged and re-arranged by viewers.

Felt lined wood box with handles, blocks, archival pigment prints, paint
13" x 13" x 8.5" (box)
1" x 1" to 4" x 4" blocks (28 total) with prints mounted on four of six sides
Four 6" x 6" x .5" base pieces

Your Space: Play Yard, 2011

The Play Yard was developed as an interactive work to complement my 2011 show, Space Around Me. Paintings in the show were about creative spaces I literally and figuratively inhabited so I wanted to include an interactive piece that allowed for both play and exploration on that theme. Once again, I collaborated with Roxann Reisdorf to create an inviting mix of objects that encouraged endless arrangements. The gilded finish on the box was created by Elise Kinkead.

Wood box, rocks, sticks, marine sand, square balsa dowels, trays
14.5" x 14.5" x 4.25" (box)
13.25" x 6.5" x 2.5" (commercially sourced trays)

To, By, For, 2009

The idea for “To, By, For” germinated while working towards my 2009 show, thinking about what it takes to get to that magic place where time is suspended and you can just be. This time I collaborated with many friends who helped describe these places. There are six categories of cards to help the viewer describe their favorite place to be: an external condition, a place, companions, connectors, an object, and an internal condition. The box, commissioned from Jody Williams, both contains and displays the cards.

paper, photographs, custom-made box
13.5" x 5" x 1"

Fun Sway, 2007

The paintings in the Visitor and Resident show contrast familiar and unfamiliar landscapes and forms. The portable, interactive piece we created to accompany the show gives viewers a chance to create their own arrangements/landscapes/scenes from 84 wooden objects and 100 green wire pieces. Part tinker toys for adults, art on a stick, and a sorting game, the abstract and representational shapes include mini paintings, old game pieces, colorful shapes, and assorted animal heads.

Wood box, drawers, and objects; green pvc coated steel wire; metal handles and latches; acrylic paint
18" x 11 ¼" x 12"

Block Yard, 2005

The six sides of the 20 blocks were planned and painted very carefully; each of the sides represents a painting, poem, color theory or arrangement in its home position." Through interaction by viewers, new images emerge, color patterns change, Braille and written text connect blocks of color or painted water.

Wood tray/base and blocks; Braille and written text; acrylic paint
14 ½" x 14 ½" x 5"

Point of View, 2003

The related exhibition for this piece included a number of square oils featuring skyscapes. We pushed that concept into the realm of play and allowed Minneapolis and St. Paul skylines to inspire this work. The rotating base allows the participant to select from four different skies, and position the simplified and familiar building shapes in slots, against the plain sky. The stacking of the buildings in front of one another creates random and impossible pairings of known and unknown landmark buildings - totally new skylines.

Wood base with four sky oil paintings; swivel plate; cutout masonite shapes; acrylic paint
15 ½" x 16" x 16"

Boat Yard, 2001

Viewers are invited to stack and position the twelve boats as desired. When I was painting several oils of overturned boats for my 2001 show, I was keenly aware of the wonderful shapes and spaces around them. I wanted to give others a chance to explore and play with some of the same ideas of positive and negative shapes and spaces.

Wood tray/base and pre-fabricated boats; bamboo sticks; marine sand; acrylic paint
19 ¼" x 20 ¾" by 7"

Artists' Thanks

The challenges of moving from painting to 3-D interactive work, of working collaboratively, and of relating the sculptures to an exhibition of paintings have been very engaging. Roxann and I have received assistance with fabrication for parts of each work from another talented friend in the construction business, Diane Anderson.