Just in time for International Women’s Day on March 8th, we had our opening at Sidetracked Studios in Evanston, IL. Curated by collector Michele Mahon Jahelka, the show is titled “What Did She Say?” and runs until May 10th.

L to R: Raeleen Kao, Amy Ventura, Michele Mahon Jahelka, Mary Lou Novak, Lauren Levato Coyne (photo courtesy of Maike van Wijk at maikesmarvels.com)

I’m honored to have my work hanging alongside the art of these very cool women and thrilled with how amazingly cool Lauren, Rory and Michele of Sidetracked have been. They hung my work beautifully and put on a great evening for the opening reception!

(photo courtesy of Maike van Wijk at maikesmarvels.com)

Check out some of the work below and click here for more info on each piece.

The post Good Women Making Good Art appeared first on Amy Ventura.

All things must pass.

My show at Firecat is over, the artwork is packaged up on its way to new homes or other art exhibitions, and I’m moving on to my next series. Here’s the collection, for posterity.

They Came Between Dreams
exhibited at Firecat Projects
Chicago, IL
Dec 26 2014 – Jan 24 2015

Burned wood engravings chronicling the state of hypnagogia: that mysterious period of semi-consciousness between wakefulness and sleep when the mind’s eye conjures strange images, textures and hallucinations….

Want some more info about a piece? Please contact me or visit my shop.

The post “They Came Between Dreams” Gallery of Images appeared first on Amy Ventura.

Tonight’s the night — join me at Firecat Projects tonight from 7-10pm for the opening reception of my show, They Came Between Dreams. Here’s a sneak preview! Hope to see you there.

“They Came Between Dreams”
December 26, 2014
7-10pm
Firecat Projects
2124 N Damen Ave
Chicago IL 60647

The post Tonight! Firecat Projects Show Preview appeared first on Amy Ventura.

Finally! My show at Firecat Projects is just around the corner and I couldn’t be more thrilled.

Friends, please join me for the opening of my solo show, “They Came Between Dreams” at Firecat Projects. I’m excited to share the artwork I’ve been creating over the past year with you!

“They Came Between Dreams” is a collection of burned wood engravings that chronicles the state of hypnagogia: that mysterious period of semi-consciousness between wakefulness and sleep when the mind’s eye conjures strange images, textures and hallucinations.

Stop by for a glass of wine or Three Floyds beer and I’ll chat with you about the process behind the work: the 1,000 degrees of heat I used to burn the images, the milk-paint pigments that color the work, and the power tool scroll saw I wielded to cut intricate patterns and designs.

“They Came Between Dreams”
December 26, 2014
7-10pm
Firecat Projects
2124 N Damen Ave
Chicago IL 60647

Would you like one of my show postcards (shown below) for your fridge? Send me your mailing address through my contact page and I’ll get one out to you via snail mail.

The post Here It Is…Firecat Projects On Dec 26th Is The Place To Be! appeared first on Amy Ventura.

Here’s a look at some of the pieces currently in progress for my Firecat show!

The post Getting Ready! appeared first on Amy Ventura.

I have this tendency when I’m walking down a crowded street in Chicago, overloaded by the cacophony of angry car horns and screeching el train brakes, to mentally escape. While I wish I were more “be in the moment and meditate to the noise,” the reality is that I more often tend toward “zone out and retreat to somewhere else in my mind.” Usually, somewhere filled with a weird, fantastical nature scene that is just far enough away from reality to cushion my brain from the craziness around me.

I love dreamscape imagery for that reason. And I especially love images of landscapes that almost look real, but aren’t. Images that reference nature, but morph it into a strange and dreamy version of itself.

Have you seen the 1973 French cartoon, La Planète Sauvage (Fantastic Planet)? It has long been my favorite for doing just that—twisting the patterns and colors of nature we know into a strange and mysterious backdrop to create an alien planet.

I watched that movie several times before I started working on my show for Firecat, thinking about how I’d like to create just such a dreamy atmosphere for the world I’m building in my artwork. A sense that what the viewer is seeing is something she’s almost seen before. Almost.

I’ve been working on the piece above all week for my show; it’s one of the larger works I’ve done, at 18″ sq. I love that it looks like seed pods…almost. Leaves…almost. Rocks and pebbles and cracks in stone…almost. Something I’ve seen before on a walk in the woods or along the ocean.

Almost.

The post Dreamscapes, Imagination And Weird Alien Planets appeared first on Amy Ventura.