Alicia Forestall-Boehm

Setting up an art exhibition quite often begins by choosing a theme.  A theme can serve to tie all of the included works together.  It usually explores a particular concept or idea.     I am a member of the artists group FUSEDChicago.  For our first group show of the year, Textual Encounters at ARC Gallery in Chicago, we exhibited works that are inspired by the written word.  My textural reference was a quote from the artist Jasper Johns:  “One likes to think that one anticipates changes in the spaces we inhabit, and our ideas about space.” For this exhibit I wanted to include some of the columns from my sculpture "Spaces We Inhabit".  These 15 feet high sculptures were designed to be hung from the ceiling, enabling visitors to walk among them but I was unable to do so in this space.  So I adapted and installed 7 of the columns with this wall hanger.     "Spaces We Inhabit", ARC Gallery I have been in ar...

I was thrilled to have had the opportunity for my first solo exhibition this past December. My show Transformed Spaces consisted of two sculptural installations; Infinite Possibilities and The Spaces We Inhabit.  It considered the symmetry of the urban landscape and explored the physical and mental boundaries of the public and private spaces we inhabit.      Infinite Possibilities is a wall installation consisting of 30 unique wall cubes, each utilizing similar and familiar materials yet each recognizing its own distinctive space .   Spaces We Inhabit is an installation of a dozen, twelve foot high columns of encaustic and fiber sculptures created by altering 2-dimensional paintings.   This transformation acknowledges another kind of space; one of visual repetitiveness and change.    Transformed Spaces was installed in the Art on Armitage Gallery window December 1, 2015 and was up throughout the month. ...

I love Fall!  I always have.  I love that the leaves change colors.  And I love the crunch of those leaves underfoot when they fall off the trees.  I love the crisp smell of the air and the return of all those beloved sweaters from storage.  And whats not to love about the return of cool weather food like stews and soups. Photo Courtesy of dboehmphotography Now everyone agrees that Fall includes September and October but how about November or even December?  Well, technically the first day of Fall is September 23rd and the first day of Winter is December 21st so I guess Fall is that time in between!  Given that bit of information, I am pleased to announce my Fall Exhibition Calendar for 2014. "So Much More" "The Power of Place" is one of only two sculptures chosen for the exhibit "So Much More".  This art exhibition is sponsored by The Artist-in-Residence Program at Swedish Covenant Hospital  (5145 N C...

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...

I was invited by the talented artist Bridgette Guerzon Mills to participate in a "Blog Hop" in which I answer a few questions about myself and my work and introduce my readers to three creative blog-writing artists.  I met Bridgette when she lived in the Chicago-area.  We both were members of  FUSEDChicago , a group of Midwestern artists that use the encaustic medium in their artmaking.  Unfortunately for all of us in the Chicago-area, Bridgette and her lovely family recently moved to the East Coast.  Fortunately the internet has made the world a much smaller place, making moves like this one much easier and allowing for a continued sense of community. Bridgette is an award-winning artist whose mixed media paintings communicate the inherent beauty of nature.  The multilayered surfaces of her canvases speak to both the visual and tactile senses. Her artwork has an ethereal, almost dream-like quality, incorporating a variety of materials including photog...