Macro + Micro Opening Reception!

Come explore the natural world, the mysterious formations, and curious imagery at Light Grey Art Lab's newest exhibition: Macro + Micro!

Ninety international artists celebrate their inner scientist to present a magnified look into the curious lives and existences of microscopic species, crystalline minerals, poisonous plants, and unidentified growths in order to create a sense of discovery and learning. Divided into four categories: Animal, Vegetable, Mineral, and Everything Else, Macro + Micro tries to give a glimpse into as many corners of the natural world as possible.

We'll be having an opening reception April 19th, from 7-10pm! Come by and enjoy the art, music, and refreshments provided by Whole Foods! There will also be an interactive papercraft entomology display, where visitors will be able to craft handmade critters, name them and pin them to the a display case within the gallery!

RSVP via the Facebook Event Page!

Remember, the Opening Reception is Friday, April 19th from 7- 10 PM! We're located on the corner of Stevens Ave and 26th Street - right across from the Minneapolis College of Art & Design. Street parking is available on Stevens, 26th and 1st Ave.

See you there!

SMART Exhibition Artists Announced!

Cake Ramp by Brock Davis

Thanks to everyone that got a chance to submit their names for the Smart Exhibition call for art curated by Amy NG, founder of Pikaland!

We're gearing up for a month of sharp, witty, and clever artwork following next month's scientific exhibition: Macro & Micro (Official Facebook Invitation here, put it on your calendars!).

As we start to get ready for it, we'll also be reaching out to various artists (yourself included!) to talk with us about how you consider topics for your work and what you do to challenge yourself to create interesting and innovative pieces!

We're super excited to announce that ultra clever, multi-disciplinary artist, art director and creative, Brock Davis, will be joining us as our Featured Artist for the duration of the Smart Exhibition! I had the chance to meet Brock a couple years ago after stumbling upon a t-shirt design he had created for Design By Humans, and found out that he lived and worked in Minneapolis (and is a really nice guy, too). After talking with him, it was apparent that he is extremely passionate about creating work that asks us to look at the world in new, clever and inspiring ways. There was no doubt that he was my top pick for this month's feature. We're extremely excited to have him join us.

If you haven't had a chance to take a peek at some of his work, please do. His Make Something Cool Everyday project allowed a glimpse into his stream of consciousness. It's amazing to watch, on a daily basis, each new idea gave way new ideas and a more complex network of concepts, juxtapositions, compositions and statements.

He's done countless amazing pieces and participated in countless projects -- including work for the New York Times, Wired, Esquire, Fast Company and O Magazine, along with his work as a creative director at Carmichael Lynch. It's hard to give Brock full credit in couple paragraphs, so please, take a peek at his work and you'll see what I mean. He is truly a master creating work to surprise and delight.

***

Without further ado!
Here are our participating artists for the Smart Exhibition!
Opening night for the Smart show will be opening May 17 and running through June 7th.

Sally Welchman (Oswald Flump)
Joana Rosa Braganca
Sarah McNeil
Jenn Smith
Nelleke Verhoeff
Lie Dirkx
Kim Welling
Daniela Witzel
Gee Fan (Minifanfan)
Marja Ines Gul
Meera Lee Patel
Pablo Ientile
Natasha Durley
Naomi Elliott
Jess Smart Smiley
Soeun Lee
Marloes de Vries
Charlotte Mao
Teressa Ong
Marisa Seguin
Joe Lillington
Kayla Wasil
Caroline Hadilaksono
Rebekka Dunlap
Melissa Duffy
danamarie hosler
Katy Tanis
Yinfan Huang
Faye Moorhouse
Cameron Asao
Frances Alvarez
Elisabeth McNair
Marina Aizen
Richie Pope

Thanks again to everyone that submitted work and congratulations to everyone that is joining us for the Smart Exhibition! Keep an eye out for out next couple calls for art! They should be dropping within the next couple weeks!

Artist Interview: Rodrigo Avilés

Rodrigo Avilés is an incredibly dedicated and talented artist from Melipilla, Chile. We've had the privilege of having his work in a few of our shows, and I'm delighted to present his process–he's been very generous with sharing his work methods–and his Beautiful Forever Interview!

Avilés's first design concept of a tattoo design for Beautiful Forever, "a drawing symbolizing bad luck in love/gambling":

His second concept involved a bird and a Latin phrase. He like this idea, but he wanted to make it more detailed and specific to a particular type of bird. 

He did some research of bird species with the colors used in the second concept and settled on the American Robin. He sketched the new birds based on his research and added a little memento mori design with a bird skull.

The final designs!

His tattoos are available in the Light Grey Shop here.
What inspired the work you have in the exhibition? Specifically, why did you choose the subjects you chose?

I used birds in my images for the exhibition because lately I've been very inspired by ornithology books, those with engravings illustrating the different species (The Birds of America from John James Audubon came to my mind, for example). I like birds for their symbolic meaning, and because of their varied shapes and colors. I like classic Latin phrases because I feel that they have a sort of timeless wisdom–pretty fitting for something inked for the rest of your life.

Talk about the medium you used to make your piece.

I worked digitally on this one. The piece was drawn in a Japanese software called Paint Tool SAI. I like this software for its quality to create line-art and because the menu is pretty simple (compared to Photoshop). The drawing was later colored in Photoshop. Aside from digital, ink on paper is my favorite medium, sadly I didn't have time to make this piece with ink. Usually ink is pretty trial and error for me, so I went the secure route.

Do you listen to anything while you’re working? What have you been listening to lately?

Yeah, I love to listen to music while I work, and I like music from very different styles. Some albums that I've been listening lately: The Lions - This Generation (reggae, 2013); various Bill Evans albums: Portaits of Jazz (1959);  Explorations (1961);  Death From Above 1979 - You're a Woman, I'm a Machine; (rock, dance-punk); Naomi and Goro (a Japanese Bossa Nova duet); many of Doo Wop and Motown 50-60 classics; and a lot of Cumbia, a popular tropical rhythm here in South America. As you can see, I listen to music almost the entire day, hahaha.

Do you have any tattoos? Tell us about them!

I don't have any tattoos! I'm the typical "I want to get a tattoo" guy, hahaha. I tried to design one for myself but I'm very picky with what I want to wear on my skin for the rest of my life. That bring us to the next question:

Whether you have a tattoo or not, it’s *possible* you have considered a tattoo you would like to have. What would that dream tattoo be?

My idea is a tattoo of two images, on opposite sides of my body (arms or chest, not sure): one with a banner that says "ARS LONGA" and an allegory to the virtues of the Art, and the other that says "VITA BREVIS" with a representation of Death, and earthy pleasures. "Ars Longa, Vita Brevis" is a Latin phrase that means mastering a craft takes a lot of time, almost your entire life. Also it can mean that truly, works of art live longer than their creators. I also want to show my dichotomy between the desire to enjoy life, and the discipline and time spent working.

For more of Avilés's work, you can check out his site or follow his blog! He also keeps a sketch Tumblr!

Podcast: Commitment

This week we've got tattoo's on the brain thanks to our current exhibitions Blowout and Beautiful Forever. We've got one show featuring the artwork of world-class tattoo artists, and another full temporary tattoos by illustrators and designers. This got us thinking about commitment for this week's podcast!

Download the MP3 or Subscribe via iTunes!

Commitment
Length: 01:02:44
Music: Barbarian by Pierlo
Synopsis: This week Lindsay, Francesca Jenny and Chris talk about commitment. Don't be scared, it's all good! What commitment means to us, what's worth committing to, fears about commitment and when it's time to just let go.

CALL FOR ART: In Place, an exhibition about fantastic spaces and breathtaking places

You stumble through walls of thick, sticky foliage. Your map says you're close -- just a couple more yards and it should be here... It's rainy season and you're soaked through to the bone. Even though your clothes cling to you and the jungle floor steams like a tropical sauna, you are focused on moving forward. It's so close you can feel it. You haven't seen any sign of it but it must be here. And then, you spot small pink pottery shards drowning in the thick spongey moss beneath your -- wait. What is that? A terracotta tile painted with... and another! Your hurtle yourself forward, swatting the foliage away from your face -- racing past more and more degraded stacks of painted terracotta artifacts. You swing your arm out to catch yourself and you stumble in awe at the sight before you. A gasp squeaks through your lips. You've never seen anything like it. It's towering walls crumbling, woven with vines, peppered with pastel colored paintings, light streaming in through large, figural pillars. Massive stone faces stare with milky blank eyes. You lean against one and take it all in. It's all you can do to keep from falling to your knees. You've found it.

***

EDIT 4.14.13 : Thanks, everyone, for submitting your links for this call for art! We'll be posting the list of artists shortly!
Don't forget to check the side-bar for the newest calls for art! We have some great ones coming up!


Have you ever been somewhere that took your breath away? Wished that you could visit thriving empires of the past? Wanted to travel to the ends of the Earth for a glimpse at exotic and awe inspiring locations? We are looking for people with giant imaginations that can envision and bring to life some of these intriguing, incredible places for our upcoming exhibition : In Place.

Create a vision of lost cities, vast landscapes, unexplored underground caverns, ruins of incredible civilizations, mountaintop temples, bejeweled desert oasis, dust-covered catacombs... and help us feel that sense of awe, calm, exhilaration, and loneliness.

Tell us a story with your environment.

In Place
... Wish you were here
An exhibition & book about fantastic spaces and incredible places.
Opens August 16th at Light Grey Art Lab

AND! We are printing a book of the exhibition, so we are looking for a wide variety of incredible places and ideas! They can be based in reality of eras of the past or present, legend, or speculation. As long as they're environments on planet Earth, they are fair game.

This show / book will be on exhibition during the Mike Yamada and Victoria Ying's Create, Concept and Collaborate workshop!

So, if you're interested in joining us for the exhibition, please submit your name, email, link to your website / blog below along with an idea or two of where / what you might be interested in drawing.
Since we'll be publishing a book to coordinate with the exhibition, we'll eventually be asking everyone involved to write a small bit about the topic they chose so we can include it next to your image in the book. So, think about something you're excited about!


Example:
Lindsay Nohl
hello@lightgreyartlab.com
lightgreyartlab.com

1. Angkor Wat - ruins in Thailand EDIT: (Thanks Valiero!) Ruins in Cambodia
2. Thorsmork - Iceland
3. Atlantis

Please submit your entries by APRIL 12th to be considered.
Let us know if you have any questions about the exhibition!

All artwork will be on exhibition in our brick-and-mortar gallery as well as online and in the Light Grey Shop. Big news, too! We have a huge printer on the way so we'll be able to offer larger sizes of your work!
More details will be sent out to artists after the call for art closes.

In case it's helpful, we will be announcing the final artist list by April 15th and final artwork will be due by June 1st.

Questions? I'd be happy to help answer them! Send me a note at hello@lightgreyartlab.com

Blowout & Beautiful Forever Opening Recap!

We want to give a huge thanks to everyone that came out to the opening reception for the Blowout and Beautiful Forever exhibitions! Hosted in part by Uptown Tattoo, it was a lively event filled with amazing art and great people all coming together to support fellow artist Tom Strom (pictured above, right). We want to give a very special 'thank you' to everyone who purchased artwork, as each piece sold helps pay for Tom's recovery!




Not only did we have the staff of Uptown Tattoo on hand to pour beers (graciously donated by Surly Brewing Co.) and raffle off a brand new, hand-crafted tattoo gun, but we also had a temporary tattoo station on hand to help people get in the spirit of the show by applying artist-made temporary tattoos. Most people to chose to put them on their arms, face or neck, but we'll admit a few people got... creative with their application!

Every piece from Blowout and Beautiful Forever are available on the shop, so take a look! There's some really amazing tattoo artists and contemporary illustrators collected together in one place. If you didn't make it to the opening, that's ok! Each sale helps raise money to offset the cost of surgery and recovery for Tom Strom, a local tattoo artist and great friend!





Make sure to take a peek at all of the other fun photos in our Blowout/Beautiful Forever flickr set!

CREATE, CONCEPT AND COLLABORATE with Mike Yamada and Victoria Ying : Our new travel workshop!

We are excited to announce our next big creative retreat / workshop at Light Grey Art Lab!

Join us for Light Grey's newest intensive art retreat! Now is your chance to get creative alongside Dreamworks and Disney visual development artists, Mike Yamada and Victoria Ying for an exciting workshop focused on creativity, concepts and collaboration!

CREATE, CONCEPT and COLLABORATE with
Mike Yamada and Victoria Ying
is scheduled for
August 30, 31st and September 1st
(On a nice, long, leasurely Labor Day weekend!)

Click here for the detailed agenda, dates, and information you'll need!
AND IT'S OPEN TO TRAVELERS!
Yes! We can help you with all of your accommodations so you can come on out and have a great time with us!

Super talented creative-duo, Mike Yamada and Victoria Ying are joining us at Light Grey Art Lab in what will be a memorable and exceptional creative time. We are so happy to announce that they'll be joining us!

We've had a crush on these guys for a while now -- and are really impressed with how driven, creative and how nice they are! We had the chance to meet them in person when we were in L.A. this past January and knew they were perfect for us!

Lucky for all of us, we've been in cahoots with them for how to plan an amazing, meaningful, and energizing workshop!
I'll let you guys in on a little secret.... we've been planning a concept art inspired show for this summer and we're totally excited -- because Victoria and Mike will be hosting their workshop AT THE SAME TIME as In Place! (our secret new show! Watch the blog closely this coming week for the call for art & details!!)

Mike and Victoria have a series of amazing workshops, lectures and demonstrations planned! With the IN-PLACE Concept Art Exhibition as your backdrop, and a series of intimate lectures, discussions and hands-on studio workshops on everything from working in the visual development field, to character development, storytelling with imagery, and developing exceptional stylistic techniques for your artwork, participants are challenged to step into Mike and Victoria's world and make their own artistic visions come to life.

***

We've got two and a half days of creating, concepting and collaborating in store that is peppered with awesome demos, out third ever ALL CREATIVES MEET & GREET, (where we invite all the creatives from the Twin Cities out to meet you guys at a local hang-out) some amazing lectures and discussions about everything from shop talk to setting up your portfolio, to speaking with guest artist, Mike Linnemann, an art director with the awesome experience of working with 100s of artists at Fantasy Flight Games.

Let us take you to all the great places to eat, chat your ears off, and get down to some serious art making.
All in our cozy space at Light Grey.

Here's the link again to all of the schedules, details for accommodations and more!
Please let us know if you have any questions!

This workshop is limited to 18 participants, so we hope you can make it!

If you haven't had a chance to see what our other workshops are about, take a peek here!

Read about our super fun ILLUSTRATION BOOTCAMP workshop with the amazing Meg Hunt!

And the inspiring RESOLVE to MAKE 2013 with awesome illustrator (and awesome lady), Kali Ciesemier!

We're proud to bring amazing people together to learn, collaborate and work together.
Hope you can join us for this summer's workshop!

---Lindsay

Blowout: a benefit exhibition for Tom Strom

Blowout: an exhibition and benefit show for Tom Strom. 

Let's get to know the man behind the ink. 

This week is our opening reception for Blowout, an exhibition that combines intricate line work, traditional paintings, and tattoo posters from all over the world, to celebrate the diversity and skillful artwork made by tattoo artists. It is not only about the artwork, but about the overall and overwhelming sense of family that comes with the tattoo community. This show exemplifies the profound sense of care, as tattoo artsits have come together to support fellow tattoo artist, Tom Strom.

This week, I got together with Tom to talk with him about his feelings of this exhibition, thoughts on the artwork, and about pieces he is contributing to the show. He is such an outstanding guy, and we are happy that we are able to transform his accident into a positive experience for artists, tattoo lovers, and Tom himself, as the proceeds from the show go towards the cost of his surgery and recovery. 

 

"Sewing the Seeds" by Tom Strom

Interview with Tom:

Q. What is the overall feeling of the exhibition? How did you select artists to represent all facets within tattoo art?

A. This exhibit was the idea of my friend, Nic Skrade. It was brought up as a way to help me through a really rough year after having a bicycle accident resulting in a pretty serious back injury. It left me in a lot of pain that made it impossible for me to sit, stand, or walk, let alone work . . .When Nic brought up the idea for the show, I was very reluctant. The more he brought it up the more serious things got for me, and the better the idea seemed. We came up with a list of artists that we knew would be able to help out and also able to show some great work. The response was overwhelming. 

Q. What are the pieces that you have in the show?

A. I have three pieces in the show, all are oil on panels. They are my favorite pieces to date and are very personal to me. They touch on topics such as eventual death, reoccurring health issues, and childhood.

Q. What is your favorite thing about tattoos and the culture?

A. I love that people are getting excited about tattooing these days and bringing it to an art form. I had no idea it would ever get this way when I started. It's definitely allowed me to grow as an artist right along with it. 

Q. What subjects do you enjoy drawing or tattooing?

A. My favorite topics to do are usually more science fiction related creatures mixes with nature. The weirder the better.

Q. What does this show mean to you? What does it say about tattoo art, you, the tattoo community?

A. This show really means a lot of me. It's great to know that I below to such a great community of friends and artists that are there for me when I need them. It really shows me that you get back what you put into tattooing. It has taken care of me for a good part of my life and brought me to a lot of great friends and places, all of which has made me into a better person.

Thanks, Tom, for being so open with us this week and sharing your thoughts on the show.

*For more about this exhibition and Tom's story you can look here or to purchase any piece from the 

upcoming exhibition, visit our online gallery and store here.

Beautiful Forever is this Friday!

Yes, what could be better than being covered in a bunch of amazing art? Yes, these are photoshopped, but THINK OF THE POSSIBILITIES!

Ok Guys. I could have gone to bed, but instead I photoshopped at least one tattoo from everyone's dozens and dozens of designs onto a vacation photo of me and my friend Atom (Who has NO IDEA that he's been chosen as a model for all of these sweet designs!). Also - here's a bonus challenge! Only one of the tattoos is real! Which one is it!


But! I just wanted to say that I couldn't resist and though I should be getting ready for my tax appointment in the morning with my accountant, this was just calling to me. In fact, I was teaching at MCAD earlier this evening and after I got done with class I walked back across the street to Light Grey to find that Jenny had packaged all of the tattoos to get ready for this Friday and I snapped a couple quick photos! (Artists, don't worry! I'll make sure to take some more clear shots and send them to you before the opening so you can show them off!)

Everyone else, LOOK AT THESE BEAUTIES!


Oooohhhhhh


Aahhhhhhhhhh!

So don't forget! The Beautiful Forever exhibition opening reception is THIS FRIDAY from 7 - 10pm at Light Grey!
We'll have a tattoo-station where you can apply your new ink and show it off in front of the cameras. We'll make sure to get a ton of great photos!

Plus, the guys from Uptown Tattoo (In charge of the Blowout Exhibition, benefit show for Tom Strom) also just let me know that they have secured a custom tattoo gun that will be raffled off on Friday! Crazy!
It should be crazy fun and I'll be there to show off my real tattoos and my temporary ones, too! :)
Please help us spread the word!


Oh myyyyyyyyy!

Hope you guys in the Minneapolis area can join us!
Just in case, here's the official facebook invite just in case you missed it the first time!

Everyone else, we'll keep you guys posted with photos and news from the opening!
Thanks, everyone for help spreading the word!

Find all these beauties on our online shop here as well as the great work from the BLOWOUT show!

:)
---Lindsay

CALL FOR ART! Smart, an exhibition of wit, ingenuity and guile

Time to show us just how clever you can be!

EDIT: Thanks again to everyone that submitted to the call for art! We've posted the final list for all of the participants here!

We have another call for art! But you'll have to be quick because we don't have a ton of time for the open call! Take a peek at all of the details below and submit your name, email and website links in the comments by Wednesday, March 27th to be considered!

SMART, an exhibition of wit, ingenuity and guile
will be featured May 17 - June 7th at Light Grey Art Lab
and is being curated by Amy Ng, the fantastic founder of Pikaland.com!

Amy has always been a huge advocate of illustrators and the creative process and she's teamed up with us to put together an exceptionally fun and clever show! We are so excited to be collaborating with her and we can't wait to see how this show comes together! If you haven't had a chance to peek at her awesome blog, check it out, here! You can see she's no stranger to clever work! Amy will be hand-picking the artists that will join us for this show and we're super excited about it!

Have you ever looked at a piece of work and said "I wish I thought of that!" or at second glance said "I see what you did there?" Well, this show is all about the surprise and delight we receive from really crafty, clever pieces of work! The theme of the month is all about intentionality and content. It's all that extra time we put into thinking about how we surprise ourselves as artists!

We're looking for ideas that will have us going "aha!" Might you juxtapose several opposing themes in an interesting way? Maybe you've got an idea that uses a hilarious double entendre? Are you reinventing how we see an otherwise everyday topic? Or are you creating a narrative image that is just.... well.... smart.

We're looking for some great artists that are up for the challenge.

Since we don't have a ton of time for this call, we want you to know that if you are interested in joining us that we would need final artwork from our participants by Friday, April 26th. If you are up for it, please post a comment below with you name, email and website.
We will respond to all participating artists on Thursday, March 28th and we will post a blog shortly after.

Do you have any questions? Please let me know!
Send me an email at hello@lightgreyartlab.com and I'll get back to you asap.
Hope you can join us!

---Lindsay

Podcast: I Don't Want To

Even the most positive person in the world is still going to have some things that they just don't like to do. In this week's podcast, we talk about all the little things we just don't want to do, and what that means about priorities, overcoming obstacles, and getting things done!

Download the MP3 or Subscribe via iTunes!

I Don't Want To
Length: 00:59:59
Music: Barbarian by Pierlo
Synopsis: This week Lindsay, Jenny, Chris, and Francesca talk about procrastination, self-sabotage, lack of motivation and all the little things that you just don't want to do. But it's not all bad! The negatives lead to positive results like assessing priorities, overcoming obstacles and getting things done! Hooray!

Blowout - Sneak Peek!

Blowout  and Beautiful Forever
March 22nd, 7pm-10pm

I know all you tattoo and art lovers have been patiently waiting for this big reveal, and it is almost here! This March, Light Grey Art Lab is bringing the baddest and best of imagery into the gallery, from skulls, to flowers, to pin up girls, to celebrate artwork made by some of the world's best tattoo artists.

Blowout is about the personal artwork made by tattoo artists, including traditional materials, oil paints, and inks, as these artists explore their interests on paper and canvas.

Curated by Uptown Tattoo, this is a gallery exhibition and benefit show for local tattoo artist Tom Strom. Tom was recently involved in a bad biking accident, and is in need of back surgery. Proceeds from the exhibition will go towards Tom and his recovery.

This show is not just about the artwork, but the unbelievable sense of family and community within the tattoo world. So let's raise our glass, tattoo our arms, and support the cause for the love of Tom and our love of Tattoos!



And on the hard-core side of things, here is a sneak peek of what's to come in the BLOWOUT exhibition!

Artwork from left to right --
Marie by Zack Kinsey
Snake by Jon Sweet
Mucosa by Jed Leiknes
Musky Drangon by Brandon Holt
Could I Create Myself Anew by Chris Dingwell
Terrestrial by Tom Strom

Link to the official Facebook event here!

Here is the official list of artists that are joining us for the exhibition!

Tom Strom, Nic Skade, Jon Sweet, Brandon Holt, Matt Kollig, Zach Kolling, Zack Kinsey, Dan Kvola, Edu Cerro, Paul Bosch, Adam Barton, Klem, Dan Wysuph, Jason Anderson, Chris Dingwell, Shaun Beaudry, Miles Hunsberger, Spencer Hodgson, William Jackman, Worm Rodriguez, Vincent Oquendo, Manuel Trujillo, Sadie Kennedy, Missy Rhising, Levi Posin, Alex Nunez, Kevin McNutt, Durb Morrison, Joe Capobianco, Dan Marshall, Jime Litwalk, Jeff Gogue, Keith Kohrs, Adam Turnman, Christian Perez, Scotty Munster, and Thomas Kynst, Dan Wysuph

Beautiful Forever, Sneak Peek!

We are so excited to finally leak a few images for our Beautiful Forever Exhibition!

Next Friday, March 22nd from 7pm-10pm, is our joint opening of two incredible shows Blowout and Beautiful Forever. The entire gallery will be filled with artwork made by tattoo artists, illustrators, designers, and lovers of tattoos. It will be a great combination of artwork to say the least!

Unlike real, painful, and permanent tattoos, the artwork of Beautiful Forever is not going to last forever! That's right, Beautiful Forever embraces the ephemeral, flashy, and clever designs inherent in temporary tattoos. This exhibition will include the work of 40 amazing illustrators who have taken this challenge to create fun-loving tattoos of candy, animals, mer-mans, and more!

You will not only be able to view this awesome artwork, but wear it too! We will have a temporary tattoo station so you can apply your new tat here at the show. We look forward to sharing all of our rough, tough and inked up sleeves with you all!

Itching to see what's coming up for out Tattoo themed month? Here you go!

Artwork from left to right, top to bottom:

Sisters by Jasjyot Singh Hans 
Safe Passage by Carey Pietsch
Demonic Victorian by Helen Mask
Owl and Bird by Angela Rizza
Children of the Night by Katie Sanvick
Candy Life by Michelle Volanksy



Click here to see our official Facebook Invitation!

Full list of artists in this awesome exhibition can be found here!

Podcast: Happiness & Success

A couple of weeks ago we held a discussion at Light Grey Art Lab called 'Happiness & Success- Do What You Love, Love What You Do" hosted by Lindsay and Jenny. It was a great conversation and hopefully gave some of the guests some new perspective on pursuing creative endeavors. Throughout the night we discussed how to rethink, create, pursue and achieve personal and creative goals, changing ways of looking at ourselves, and how we - as creative people - can flourish with the talents and ambitions we have.

We thought it was a conversation worth having (and worth continuing) so we recorded it for this weeks podcast! Enjoy!

Download the MP3 or Subscribe via iTunes!

Happiness & Success
Length: 01:24:51
Music: Barbarian by Pierlo
Synopsis: On March 1st, 2013, Light Grey Art Lab's own Lindsay Nohl and Jenny Bookler hosted a discussion called 'Happiness & Success - Love what you do, do what you love'. It was a fun and free-flowing conversation on what it truly means to be successful and happy in a creative world.



Thanks to everyone who attended and participated!

Blowout Opening Reception

Light Grey Art Lab’s newest exhibition, Blowout, features the personal work of 40 international tattoo artists who have come together to express the high energy, powerful linework, and provocative nature inherent in tattoo art. Curated by Uptown Tattoo, one of the Twin Cities most beloved tattoo shops, Blowout features work from some of the best tattoo artists from around the world, and gives you an interesting look at the work these artists create outside of their day jobs!

And it's for a good cause! Not only does Blowout showcase the incredible talent and artistry of tattoo artists, it also exemplifies the sense of family found within the tattoo community. When local tattoo artist Tom Strom was involved in a biking accident, blowing out two disks in his back and requiring extensive surgery, local artist Nic Skrade the others at Uptown Tattoo began organizing a benefit show to help Tom pay for the overwhelming expenses of surgery and recovery!

Our hearts go out to Tom and we wish him the best of luck! Come down and show your support, as well!


And that's not all! Inspired by the spirit of Blowout, Light Grey Art Lab curated secondary exhibition, Beautiful Forever, which bring illustrators, designers and artists together to create a series of flash-art inspired temporary tattoos. Mixing the severity of tattoo art with the ephemeral nature of temporary tattoo stickers, Beautiful Forever is a fun and non-committal way to bare your style on your skin!

The opening reception for Blowout and Beautiful Forever is Friday, March 22nd from 7-10 PM.

RSVP via the Facebook Event Page!

Remember, the Opening Reception is Friday, March 22nd from 7- 10 PM! We're located on the corner of Stevens Ave and 26th Street - right across from the Minneapolis College of Art & Design. Street parking is available on Stevens, 26th and 1st Ave.

See you there!

Snow Day at Light Grey

10 inches of snow and counting

I thought you guys might appreciate seeing what it's like out today. I know that most of us have seen a snow storm, but man, we got hit hard last night and everything looks amazing with all this snow. It started last night as I was teaching over at MCAD and just kept going. I got the chance to chat with Teagan White, a wonderful person and very talented illustrator, last night over coffee. She came over to MCAD for a bit to talk to my product design class about her work and process and afterward we headed to the Spyhouse (a local coffee shop down the street from Light Grey) with Francesca to sit down and warm up.

It kept snowing even after we parted ways and I dropped Francesca off at home. Even so, I was still surprised to see all of it this morning.


A view down the block towards the prestigious Minneapolis College of Art & Design. The streets are super quiet.

Commuting to work today wasn't that difficult because Minneapolis has this snow-removal thing totally under control. I'm thankful for that, for sure. Still, it was amazing to walk the block or so up to work and see that absolutely everything was covered and looked really beautiful.

It's strangely quiet on the streets because of the snow, too. So it's almost like being wrapped in a cold, white sweater.


Chris and Atari head inside to get to work

I'm going to try and enjoy the snow for as long as I can while it looks this good. I know that city snow doesn't stay beautiful forever!


Twinkle, our other studio dog, is a little black blip amongst all the white

Artist Interview: Marisa Seguin

Marisa Seguin's cute, colorful, charming work always brightens my day. Her work is a perfect visual for the concept of celebration. Happily, she's participated in our birthday interview and gave us a look at her sketchbook phase!






What inspired the work you have in the exhibition?

I've had some cake doodles (and other sweets) kickin' around in my sketchbook for a little while and thought it would be a fun opportunity to spiff them up. I love illustrating sweets but especially cakes because they are so customizable and fun to experiment with. Fun print/pattern and colours lend themselves perfectly to these confections, it's easy to get carried away with the details.

How do you feel this piece (or pieces) relate(s) to your work as a whole?

Structure/palette-wise I think it fits right in with the rest of my work. I tried to push myself a bit with the different pattern-work used within the cakes since I was planning on keeping the compositions super simple and knew the extra detail wouldn't be too distracting.

What are you working on now?

I'm looking forward to a fun swap for Ten Paces and Draw this week (I keep sketching ideas and then not wanting to give them away because I want to finish them myself!) and have also been making some (verrrry slow) progress on some new maps for my Here & There series.

We’re celebrating our first year of existence! (We might actually relax our birthday weekend.) How do you celebrate your birthday?

My birthday always falls on a national holiday in Canada so when I was younger my birthday meant no school/work and fireworks! Now that I'm living in Milwaukee and you guys aren't so into celebrating Canada Day (what's up with that?) I always like to go out to eat with friends on my birthday.

What is the best party you have ever attended?

A few years ago some of us threw a surprise birthday party for our friend Liz. We gave all of the guests a theme with 5 facts and played our own version of The Unbelievable Truth. (Bonus points were awarded for delivering your speech in a British accent). Many many Cthulhu cupcakes were also consumed.

For more of Marisa's work, you can check out her site and follow her on Twitter! She also has a great trend/inspiration blog here!

Podcast: It's My Party!

Light Grey Art Lab's one-year birthday is coming up and we have parties on the brain! We just opened HOT PARTY, which as the name might imply, is all about the art of the party. Follow the download links and see a full synopsis below! Hope you enjoy!

Download the MP3 or Subscribe via iTunes!

It's My Party!
Length: 01:04:35
Music: Four, Floss, Five, Six by Blue Ducks
Synopsis: Every party has a pooper, that's why we invited Jenny, Francesca, Lindsay, Chris and Jared to talk about the art of the party. We discuss why people celebrate, what we appreciate about partying, which of us have cried at a party and more. Finally, we talk about our most recent exhibition, HOT PARTY, which celebrates Light Grey Art Lab's first birthday!