“Every artist writes his own autobiography.“~ Havelock Ellis
For the last couple of days…
I have been working on the course I am teaching at Minneapolis College of Art and Design–Postcards and Beyond, the portfolio portion of this site and my résumé. It feels like I am ready to move into this ArtChangesLives. Working on my résumé trying to put my life on a page is very similar to drawing a line. In a sense, it is very much like trying to get from point x to y as directly as possible. Well, when I lived it, it certainly wasn’t clear at all. A résumé isn’t designed to show the lines that never worked out–the disappointments, the multitude of choices, the dawdling to the delightful distractions and amusements along the way and the calls to stop. We are called to knit events into tidy little packages. Sad, I say that because it is the challenges and the untidiness that really informs a life and created mine.
I’m a Minneapolis-based artist working in watercolor, gouache, oil, drawing, and mixed media.
After teaching art and design for many years, I returned to making art fully. These days, I spend my time drawing, painting, experimenting, and paying attention to what shows up.
I often work small. My work moves between observation, memory, and imagination. Some pieces lean surreal. Some stay close to what is seen. What interests me is what begins to emerge when I stay with the work long enough.
On my blog, you’ll find both my artwork and my reflections. I’ve come to see they are connected. What I learn in the studio often changes how I see my life, my relationships, and my community. In that way, art has become more than making objects — it has become a way of understanding and being in the world.
View all posts by Bill Hendricks -- Shadowmason
