le Tiny Galerie

since i was in high school, i dreamed of owning a space to curate and exhibit art.  i dreamed of having a space that i could invite people into to discuss and appreciate art.  i did *not* dream of being the artist.  (or the photographer.)  i was afraid to dream of that, and kept my drawings and things close to the vest, or hidden under the bed in bulky black unlined notebooks.

the dream of having a job with creative freedom came to life – but with me as artist rather than curator, quite unexpectedly.    my workspace has been wherever i want it to be, and that will continue to be the case.  but let’s be honest, winter in minnesota is cold, and photographers need to make a living year ’round.  i do the occasional photo shoot outdoors in the winter, but mostly have just found borrowed spaces indoors.

a few weeks ago, a set of circumstances began to align themselves in favor of me finally getting into a studio.  i was meeting with friend and fellow photographer elizabeth barnwell about her website, which i will be helping her to reinvent, and we naturally got to chatting about lenses, cameras and studios . . . and – long story short – spent most of the day together and looked at an open studio in the architectural antiques building in NE minneapolis.

through conversations over the last weeks, we have seen eye to eye on every detail, and have moved forward with the studio/gallery at what seems to be the speed of light – but to us has felt comfortable, natural and right.  the space is miniature – a mere 275 square feet.  just days before seeing it, i had watched this video about the transformer apartment in hong kong, and so my brain was racing with ideas to make the tiny space a mighty little exhibit and shooting room.

we want to use the space primarily for photo shoots, but we also want to use it to exhibit work.   when we do exhibits, it will be for the opening night only.  we’ll throw a nice party, have some wine, invite you to look at some art, play you some music, and then it will all come down.  for now, we are going to focus on getting into the space, painting it, getting it all cozy, and working in it. we absolutely cannot wait to start working in it.  it has a wall of windows facing south (overlooking the courtyard of the uppercut boxing gym, which could get fun) and has beautiful natural light.

we are not starting a new business, elizabeth and i are maintaining our current businesses and operating independently.  we are merely coming together into this studio space to foster new ideas, and cultivate a creative and beautiful space to work from.

we won’t be doing a full on exhibit for art-a-whirl this weekend, but if you are in the neighborhood, please stop by and say hi.  we will most likely be covered with paint, giggling, and handing out business cards with paint fingerprints on the corners.  we do plan to hang up some pieces for display or sale in our hallway – i know i will be bringing some of the barn photos from the midnight or so project, if you missed an opportunity to pick up one of those.  or, if you need another one.  i’ll probably mark them down from the original price, just because i’d like for them to be making someone’s face happy rather than sitting in a plastic tote in my cave.

check out le Tiny – we are on the web, we are on twitter.  watch for openings, announcements, and events.  see you soon!