Alicia Forestall-Boehm

Not unlike many artists, I have had some challenges in the studio during this pandemic. While immersing myself in the creative process of art-making is calming and rejuvenating, it can be a difficult place to get to amidst all of the stress and anxiety of today's world. I have been taking online workshops and reading, reading, reading! My morning routine includes reading everything, well almost everything, in my many inboxes. This includes the New York Times and Washington Post, our local Chicago Tribune, and of course, many online art news subscriptions. A recent New York Times article " Faith Ringgold Will Keep Fighting Back " is worth recommending. In it, artist, author, and activist Faith Ringgold talks about how the pandemic, and the death of her husband, have blocked her creatively but the recent protests, spurred on by the murder of George Floyd, have inspired her to return to her studio. Sometimes we need to wait for inspiration, keeping our eyes and ears op...

Artist Talk, Western Illinois University, Macomb, Illinois Last week I spoke to a group of art students at Western Illinois University.  I told them about my work, about myself and about the paths that I had taken to get to that moment.  When asked to offer up any words of advice that I might have for emerging artists, I told them to "simply get yourself out there...that you never know who would see your work and what opportunity that may bring".  I shared my story of how doing just that has led me to where I am now and to an art commission that currently covers every open surface in my art studio. In June of 2015 I received an email from Amy DeLap and Andrew Jendrzejewski of Art Space Vincennes . They were offering me a solo show at their gallery.  Now, to be perfectly honest, I had to Google Vincennes, not knowing where, exactly, it was located. Well, it turns out that Vincennes, is located in Indiana, our next door neighbor!  Founded in 1732 and home...

I am so very happy to announce that I have a number of exciting opportunities to show my art in 2016! February 26 - March 31, 2016 4th Annual Art Competition Bridgeport Art Center Chicago, Illinois Persistence of Vision April 2- May 21, 2016 11th Annual Encaustic Invitational: Length x Width x Depth Conrad Wilde Gallery Tucson, Arizona The Power of Place May 1- June 31, 2016 The Dot Show Chicago Arts District showPODS 1822-43 S. Halsted Street Chicago, Illinois Detail, Flow October 10-November 20, 2016 Solo Space and Surface:  Sculpture and Paintings by Alicia Forestall-Boehm Western Illinois University Art Gallery Macomb, Illinois    Spaces We Inhabit, Art Space Vincennes

I often begin a new work from a sketched design.  The lower design in this image from my sketch book was the inspiration for a new sculpture.   Beginning with a circular wire support, I created a 3 dimensional version of this sketched image.  The problem was that, to me, the actual sculpture didn't please me as much as the sketched image.  So it sat in the back of my studio waiting for a creative revelation.  Then one day, as I studied this piece, I envisioned it "exploding" open, so I took an  knife to it and, leaving the circular wire armature intact, turned the single form into one that had five connecting sections.  This  alteration added interest and movement.  Hmmm, this certainly was a dramatic departure from the original sketch but it was a move in the right direction. Knowing that this piece was not finished, I returned it to it's spot in the back of my studio.  I lived with this new form, manipul...

With much of my time spent creating new works, I have expended little energy on submitting to summer exhibitions.  The Swope Art Museum in Terre Haute, Indiana has had an annual exhibition for the past 69 years.  The 70th Annual Wabash Valley Juried Exhibition includes the work of artists residing in Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio. Passages This year's exhibition was jurored by Carter E. Foster, the Steven and Ann Ames Curator of Drawings at the Whitney Museum of American Art.  The opportunity to position my work in front of this jurors eyes was all the motivation I needed to find the time to submit to this show. Unfulfilled Dream I entered three encaustic and fiber sculptures; "Unfulfilled Dream", "Passages" and "Living Together-But-Separate Lives". The first two were chosen and included in this exhibition.  Living Together-But-Separate Lives The exhibition runs from June 28-August 23, 2014. ...

In my last post I talked about my preparation for the exhibit "Spaces We Inhabit" and the two sculptural installations I created for this show.  This post is a collection of images from the exhibition.      "Spaces We Inhabit" at the Hairpin Arts Center, Chicago.                 Me with my installation Spaces We Inhabit .  It consisted of 7 ceiling-hung columns, each 15' long.  The cubes themselves vary in size from 1.5"x1.5"x1.5" to 4.5"x4.5"x4.5".                                            Infinite Possibilities on the wall to the left.    The Power of Place and   Make No Little Plans on pedestals.  On the wall - two paintings by...

Place (detail)   I’m sending two of my newest sculptures to Florida this month.   I am especially pleased that both were accepted as it was the first time I had submitted either for an exhibition.   Place is the largest work I have created to date, measuring 6’7”, twice that if it is laid out from end to end.   I plan to pursue Place as a series that will be hung as a multi-piece installation. Place   6’7”hx8”wx4.5”d    e ncaustic, cheesecloth, cotton cord, foam    Passages has been a work in progress.   I made the base last year and it sat off to the side in my studio waiting for inspiration.   Over time this base changed shape until I came upon the decidedly boat-like form it is today.   It then returned again to that “place of contemplation” off to the side in my studio until one day I spied the roll of copper wire I had in a container of wire and cords.   I really like the combination of metal ...