Banner artwork: Lynn Speaker, Grassfire, "gunpowder drawing"
(Image cropped and reproduced for access+ENGAGE with permission of the artist)
About her work, Speaker writes: "I utilize gunpowder as an image-making medium through a unique layering process I developed, which is an extension of my interest in exploring elemental 'drawing' materials, such as fire, smoke, natural earth pigments, and charcoals. Through this process I examine the primal qualities of mark-making in a contemporary context.
As a record of an active event, the images capture the residual effects released by the burning object. It is a transformative process that explores the alchemic element of fire. The ephemeral images remain as a memory, recording the subtle shifts in movement and intensity, and act as a reflection of our own temporal nature. The use of fire and organic form in the images parallel cycles of renewal and loss."
About the artist: Lynn Speaker received her Master of Fine Arts degree from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and is a recipient of a 2007 Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant. Her studio is located in the Grain Belt Bottling House in Northeast Minneapolis where she carefully explores the boundaries of her chosen medium.
Upcoming exhibition:
You can see Lynn Speaker's striking "gunpowder" drawings when she opens her studio in the Grain Belt Bottling House for Art-a-Whirl, May 15-17. Speaker's work will also be on view in the Target Gallery at Saint John’s University Art Center next fall, October 15 through November 30, 2009.
Inquiries about specific pieces may be directed to the artist.
