SOFA SA

Just got back from Hecla yesterday - the student council retreat was a success! The weekend was filled with...

Roadside viking hats - Button making - bad movies - pressed flowers - exploring - old cemeteries - lighthouses - BUSCH beer - firewood - coffee - porches - wandering puppies - vegan marshmallows - MORE mystical fire















I'm really proud of our student council this year. Since the new council was elected in the spring we have already designed, printed and starting selling SOFA t-shirts, organized a beginning of the year party, made 150+ buttons to sell, started a new student gallery, and are currently organizing orientation for the first year Fine Arts students. Students of Fine Arts Students Association was just formed again last year after a long hiatus and I think we have already come a long way. We're getting especially excited for the first year orientation next week. We have 20 minutes to do a presentation on what the School of Art is all about so we were brainstorming what we would want to hear as first years. We decided we want to each tell the students what would have benefited us to know when we first started art school - things that we've pieced together along the way and now see clearly.

I have two pieces of advice:

BE AFRAID of being stuck in a rut. If you are afraid of this and continue to push yourself and try new mediums it won't happen.

DON'T be precious. Ruining your work can actually be the most freeing feeling. If you are afraid of ruining your work you are a lot less likely to have a breakthrough and those little breakthroughs are what art is all about; Those extremely frustrating and then extremely rewarding moments. If your prof tells you to do something drastic you may not want to do - just try it. If it doesn't work you've at least ruled out that option and it's never that hard to start again.

Anyways those are my gems from art school (SO FAR!) I'm so excited to start my thesis and continue to break and learn more things :)

In related news, if you are in Winnipeg, we are selling SOFA t-shirts and Pickle Party tickets in the Fitzgerald building at the U of M Wednesday September 8th! Our party has just been sponsored by Half Pints, we have three bands lined up to play in the art barn, AND there's a BBQ so you know you want to be there...

Here's some of our line up





It's also the beginning of a new month again - meaning another new artist at the SOFA Gallery at Edna Fedya Restaurant! Dany Reede will be featured this month



Dany is my friend Kara's boyfriend and is just starting his first year at the School of Art this fall - he's already had plenty of solo and group shows at local galleries like the Graffiti Gallery, Freud's Bathhouse and Diner, the Cre8ery and I'm excited he'll have selected drawings and paintings in Edna's later this week!



Show opening TBA

And in other news - I'll be on Kyla Roma's blog tomorrow!



I've known Kyla since we were in grade school - her blog is always filled with inspiring prairie girl musings - I highly recommend you check it out!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!