Insectarium

Works from the Women Art Institute Summer Studio Intensive 2019 (And Beyond)

Taking this course shaped my thinking as a woman artist and my approach to making art. I had majored in art history back in college but knew next to nothing about women’s place in art history other than their work being woefully underrepresented in galleries, museums, and collections. The world of art continues to be male-dominated.

The Women’s Art Institute (held at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota) brings together a diverse group of women and non-binary artists to explore important questions around our lives as artists. As part of the experience, morning sessions often began with a poem, from bell hooks, Naomi Shihab Nye, Mary Oliver, and many others. This brought richness to our discussion. We all miss the morning poems.

Facing Future

Color Pencil on Handmade Artisan Paper.
18” H x 24” W. Unframed I NFS  2019 © Kristin Maija Peterson

ABOUT THIS PIECE
Grasshoppers can only jump forward, not backward or sideways. It is this quality that makes the grasshopper a universal symbol of good luck. Grasshoppers have an ability to connect and understand sound vibrations and for this the grasshopper is the symbol of the inner voice, to listen and trust it. For me, looking closely and intently at the form and structure that makes up a grasshopper, I find it a marvel of biological evolution. Looking into the eyes, she is as much a sentient being as you and I.

The Undertaker

Pen and Ink + Color Pencil on Butcher Paper (via Cub Foods)
32.5” H x 29.5” W. Framed I 1000 USD  2021 © Kristin Maija Peterson

ABOUT THIS PIECE
As recent addition to Insectarium, a ink and color pencil drawing is of an American Carrion Beetle. I have never seen one in real life and I hope you never do either.

They are the beetles that take care of the dead, be it deer, birds, or any life that has passed away. Not only do they eat the flesh but also eat the fly larva that typically populates carcasses. As grim as that sounds, what the American Carrion Beetle does is invaluable. Their undertaking services help keep our environment clear of dead bodies and diseases that can come with that as well as keep the fly population in check.

I chose to experiment on butcher paper saved after purchasing shrimp for dinner. After washing the backside and flattening it out, the smell of shrimp is gone, I found butcher paper is lovely for pen and ink drawing and the tan color makes the colors pop.

When I draw insects, in particular, I pay attention to their eyes, to show the life behind the bug. In that way, I hope to incite curiosity and compassion for the insect world. With climate change and habitat loss, their numbers are thinning, too.

Its Duty May Be Grim. Still, It’s a Beautiful Beetle.

Pen and Ink + Color Pencil on Butcher Paper (via Cub Foods)
32.5” H x 29.5” W. Framed I 1000 USD  2021 © Kristin Maija Peterson

WHILE NOT EVERYONE IS AN INSECT ENTHUSIASTthey do make the world go round. Ignored, working invisibly, or freaking us out, insects have the most significant numbers in biodiversity, thinning biodiversity.

Whenever I have had the opportunity to “show and tell” the story and making of The Undertaker, people are amazed by the detail, the fine hairs on the top of her head, her big eyes, and her intricate legs and antenna.

ABOUT THE SERIES

At the beginning of WAI’s studio intensive, we were given an assignment. Draw ten pieces on intentional surfaces. After that, it was up to us to determine what that meant. There were those who did printmaking, ceramics, textiles, mixed media, and photography. Their approach to the assignment was shaped by the mediums they worked in.

Drawing has always been my first love and took the given assignment literally. I started thinking about a theme could I build a through-line across ten drawings. I had lots of handcrafted artisan papers I could choose intentionally. Insects, then biodiversity (of which we are losing at an alarming rate), invasions due to globalization, and the question “What is beauty?” ran through my head. I began researching insects, their qualities, and our attitudes towards them.

My approach is to show my subjects in grand light, in peril, and with grace if not beauty. Most of all, I wanted people to look and adjust their opinions towards insects in general. Their existence allows for our existence.

I regard myself as an ecological/environmental artist and had to ask the question of my fellow students, “Is environmentalism a feminist issue?” They responded “Yes!” Feminist issues are human issues and climate change, biodiversity, the health and well being of this planet and all those who inhabit it are very much human issues.

WOMEN’S ART INSTITUTE SUMMER STUDIO INTENSIVE

This is a course for contemporary women and non-binary artists of all ages and backgrounds who want to refine their artistic practice while exploring questions around women and art. It brings together a community that shares, reflects, and creates art. It is a rich experience that includes access to sunlit studio space, one-on-one coaching with faculty, presentations from guest artists, critics, and art historians from across the country to discuss a variety of issues and topics, and a way to deepen one’s own studio practice. To learn more, visit St. Catherine University, Women’s Art Institute.

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