Travels with Leslie

Leslie Sobel's time in Minneapolis is coming to a close. We had a picnic by the Mississippi River and walked across the Stone Arch Bridge and continued on into the Mill Ruins Park to observe the archaeological digs preserved for us. Her show runs through the end of the month. Be sure to call to see the work! We will be open Monday's and Friday's, 10-5. We will also be open May 29, 10-4 for the South Minneapolis Wild Wool Market. Be there or be square.

More Rust Belt to Artist Belt info

The conferences started in CLeveland. You can read about the most recent conference and watch powerpoints at this link. This is way cool stuff! Artspace, who is very active here in the Twin Cities, was one of the presenters.

http://www.cpacbiz.org/business/CreativeCompass.shtml

From Rust Belt to Artist Belt

Leslie Sobel, here tonight in the gallery, is involved in the Rust Belt to Artist Belt conferences and was instrumental to bringing the conference to Detroit. http://www.detroitmakeithere.com/article/20100405/DM01/304059989

April 2010...

"Wayne State University's TechTown led the city's bid for the conference, working with a number of other local organizations, including The Heidelberg Project, Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit, Museum of Contemporary Art and Design and WSU College of Fine, Performing, and Communication Arts.

The group should know in the next couple of weeks when the conference will be held, said Julie Brock, development director for TechTown.

TechTown has hired Leslie Sobel, an independent artist from Milan and president of the Milan Area Arts Council, to help plan the conference and to expand participation of arts organizations beyond Detroit to those in other Southeast Michigan counties, Brock said.

“The conference is centered on the idea that rust belt cities are the perfect breeding ground for new artists, with low-cost living, industrial spaces and open land you can't get in New York or (Los Angeles,)” Brock said.

“Because it's been so successful in Cleveland the past two years, they wanted one of the other rust belt cities to take it.”"

Leslie Sobel arrives soon!

Her ideas and her images precede her! The gallery and I have been living with Leslie Sobel's lush surfaces and images for nearly a month. Friday you can come and meet her. The reception, free as always, relaxed and informal, as always, is 7-9pm on Friday, May 21.

Read about visiting artist Leslie Sobel

Zach Pearl wrote a wonderful article about Leslie Sobel. Click this link to read it. Come meet her May 21, 7-9pm.

Leslie Sobel to BE HERE! MEET HER AGAIN!

The month of May is always a time to take a step back and acknowledge the splendor of our surroundings in bloom. In step with this, Susan Hensel Gallery is proud to present Earth & Air by Michigan-based artist Leslie Sobel, whose sculptural paintings celebrate nature's beauty and explore issues of climate change. Working in the encaustic technique, a painting process using heated wax, Leslie's creations are rich in color, teeming with texture, and alive with light! Inspired by images of the Earth from space, Leslie builds layer upon layer of wax, crafting miniature mountain ridges, glaciers and waterways that seem to "pop" right off the canvas.

Have a chance to meet the artist, and see this charming and impressive body of work in person! Join the Susan Hensel Gallery on May 21st, 7-9 p.m. for a reception and informal artist talk. Hear how Leslie first became interested in making art about the environment, and find out more about her years of experience making imagery in wax.

BEING Susan Hensel Gallery

What does it mean to BE Susan Hensel Gallery for 7 years? Well, that will be investigated over the next 6 months by Susan! Regular programming of the gallery will be suspended June 1, 2010 -Dec 31, 2010. The regular programming of gallery shows will resume at that time with a solo show my Dean Ebben: IN THE HOUSE OF THE MINERAL SPIRITS. followed up by A Reader's Art and an Installation by Libby Soffer, Sara Christensen Blair& Gregory Blair and Debora Miller.

But, the gallery will not be silent. I will be focusing on my relationship to fiber and textiles in my personal art. Since I moved to Minneapolis 7 years ago, a transformation has been happening. I tell people that I was "bit by a sheep." I learned to spin on a drop spindle and spinning wheel not long after I got here. No matter what I do, no matter how I resist, the fiber keeps luring me away! My son thinks he'll come out to visit someday and find an urban sheep ranch! (I just heard that someone up the street was raided by animal control for raising goats in their apartment!) So, this summer and fall I will be spinning, weaving, studying in and around the fiber arts. Stay tuned!