1. Light Grey Art Lab, The Place
A little over a year ago, Paper Bicycle was looking for a new
space. We toured a number of places and we liked a few of them for different
reasons, but when we walked into the space that is now Light Grey Art Lab, it
was a little different. There, despite needing some work, it had the potential to become so many things. Even then we couldn’t imagine everything that it is now, but there was something in this place that inspired care and
effort.
A lot
of work went into making the space into what it is today, and we owe so many
people for their help. We especially need to thank Linda and Victor Nohl, Jon Hajny, Myra Andreasson and
Jesse Riggle for dedicating a lot of hard work, time and resources into beautifying the gallery.
2. Light Grey’s First Opening: Patterns & People
Our first opening was a celebration of what Light Grey Art Lab
was to become. The artists featured–Nic Skrade, Andres Guzman, Jesse Riggle,
Lindsay Nohl, Chris Hajny, Alyssa Nassner and me (Francesca Buchko) are local
to Minneapolis and are not only talented, but have a past involved with other
facets of creative life–teaching, lecturing and sharing their talents. We wanted Light Grey to be about creative collaboration, and so our first show embodied that.
The
turnout was phenomenal–better than we could have ever imagined! We are so
grateful for everyone that came over to show his or her support. It was because
of these people that we knew what we were doing was going to be good.
3. Pokémon: Battle Royale
The Pokémon: Battle Royale show, curated by Alyssa Nassner and Bryan Ische,
helped us realize our potential to become a gallery for large group shows. There was perpetual enthusiasm for the show, from the call for art
to the opening reception. Though so much of organizing and running the show was
a learning experience, it really helped shape the way our large group shows are
put together now.
Thanks to the rigorous support of the internet’s Pokémon fans, artists and
guests to the gallery; without them none of this would be possible!
4. The Surtex and Stationery Show NYC Trip
Every year, Paper Bicycle makes a trip to NYC to attend the
Surtex and Stationery shows. Product design is what we love and what we do, and
through Light Grey Art Lab, we were able to share our knowledge of the trade
show, trend shopping and spend a little time enjoying the sights, food and fun
of New York.
We
were privileged with a hard-working and astute group of twelve artists. Working
with these individuals helped shape Light Grey’s workshop component. Learning
and creating is an important part of Light Grey Art Lab's mission, but so is making friends! We’re happy to still be in contact with many of the
artists that took part in this trip.
5. Hiring a Gallery Manager
6. Meg Hunt’s Illustration Bootcamp
This is where sorting events down to ten slots became a little more difficult. Between
the beginning and now, Light Grey has hosted nine gallery shows and numerous
workshops, lectures and classes, and every single one of them has made this
experience full and rewarding.
Every show has been unique, varying in size and subject.
What I love most about all of the shows, though, is that each has displayed outstanding artwork through the care and talent of the artists and
organizers involved.
In
May, Bill Rebholz and Llew Mejia presented Street Fortunate; in June Tuesday
Bassen curated The Garden of Earthly Delights, July featured Fairytales &
Florals, curated by Teagan White, August held Adam Hoppus's and Chris Schon’s
Night of the Exquisite Corpse and in September Lindsay Nohl curated the
Expletive Show. Thoroughout these, Light Grey has developed methods of organizing and working with artists.
8. Growing–The Workshops
As much as Light Grey was intended to be a space to showcase
artwork, it was intended to be a space to encourage learning and growth of
creative practice. It isn’t limited to painting and drawing. We adore the
painting sessions, pen-and-ink workshops (headed by phenomenally talented folks
like Andres Guzman and Llew Mejia), watercolor and sketching workshops, but
we’ve also held tea-tastings with Verdant Tea’s David and Lily Duckler and
Brandon Lovejoy, lectures about the history of Punk Rock and history of the F-word (by Ollie
Stench and Deanna Larsen, respectively), picture book story-telling workshops
with Nancy Carlson, terrarium-building with Lindsay Nohl and more.
Part
of the experience of being involved at Light Grey has been witnessing these amazing
individuals share the things they love with us.
9. The Tarot, Mystics & Occult Show and The Girls: Fact or
Fiction Show
See photos of the Tarot Show here and the Girls Show here!
These two shows were phenomenal and could use numbered slots of their
own, but I’ve grouped them together because both of them introduced a new
component to the list of things we’d always wanted to make: a printed product.
The Light Grey Tarot Deck began production early after the
Pokémon: Battle Royale show. By the time the decks officially arrived in October we were
psyched: we had completed our first beautifully printed creation. A lot of work went into making
the limited run, and it is thanks to the artists, design work by Lindsay, the
Light Grey team and designer Kelsey Dusenka that we have a deck that we are very
proud to display.
The next challenge (which began as we were finishing the
Light Grey deck) was to create a book. It is definitely something I have always
wanted to be a part of, so it was an honor to be involved in the production of the Girls: Fact
or Fiction book with so many really talented artists. The Light Grey staff put
in extra hours editing and designing, making the show’s opening deadline in
time to showcase the artwork in our second printed creation.
The
shows themselves were also a blast! We were thrilled to have professional Tarot
readers Corrine Kenner and Chuck Boe at the Occult show. The support for the Girls Show, both online and in person has made us really excited to continue making large group shows a part of our repertoire!
10. Our Community
Light Grey Art Lab needs something else that our team can't fabricate. We love making things and organizing things and we
always will, but it’s because of everybody involved that it is worth it. Light Grey is a group effort, and the more people involved the more diverse and enriching it becomes.
This past December we held community get-togethers–the Light
Grey Lock-In and the (third annual) Holiday Cookie Party. With our online community we hosted “Make
My Holiday” art swap. Things like these are rooted in our main
objective: bringing creative people together.
I
believe that everybody is creative. Painting is creative, and so is cooking.
Building things, sewing things, even thinking things is creative. Problem-solving is
creative. I believe that by our nature we are creative. It is an honor to be a
part of Light Grey Art Lab, a place that encourages that creativity, and to encounter so many people who come to Light
Grey to share what they’ve made.
Cheers, 2012! 2013, we're ready for you!
