A future exhibition about my grandmother, a tough Russian woman. This is the story of her life process, from birth to death, how she affected her sons and daughters, and the subtle beauties that can arise in the aftermath of any one person's life.

I saw an ad on Craigslist about a year ago. Little did I know that my quick response to the ad would turn into a lifelong contract creating labels for an organic whiskey distillery!
I was amongst the top 5 (out of 150+ responders to that ad), that Journey Distillery owner Bill Welter decided to meet with. Our first meeting was in spring of last year at Longman and Eagle. Knowing how cutthroat these opportunities can be, I came armed with what was to become the very first design for a liquor, the Ravenswood Rye. Bill was floored by the illustration and needless to say, Longman became our regular meeting spot to discuss the vision of the distillery's labels. Seeing as I am not as adept at design as illustrating, I gave my sister a call to see if she was interesting in collaborating with me. It piqued her curiosity and we have since embarked on our own journey together, something we'd never tried before.

After much arduous labor and revisions, and revisions, and.... yes, revisions, Journeyman Distillery is officially open to the public as of October 7th, 2011.
I am extremely proud of Bill, his team, my sister and the natural course the distillery has taken in branding.
Check out the link to see what is JUST the beginning. Also, be on the lookout in the months/years to come for liquors hitting Chicago bars and retail shelves.

Click HERE to see ALL of the labels thus far.

This is Not the Studio is an art family, spearheaded by the extremely talented women, Claire Molek and Erin Babbin. It consists of a multi-genre bending group of artists, myself included, being one of the only painters. They are currently running an "On the Lam" series, a run of curated shows set up at different spaces monthly. This month's artist is Harvey Moon (You have to see his show - It's a MUST.)
Artists in the family include Harvey Moon, Matt Taber, G. Vincent Gaulin, Doug Fogelson, Scott P. Nadau and many others who routinely contribute and collaborate. It's very much grassroots, conversation and philosophy driven. Essentially the studio believes the public forum is essential in artistic creation.

I called John Sunday afternoon. I had a few questions.
"John, well.. I'm just sitting here going through all of these big boxes, all of these momentos. How do I discern which items to discard and which to keep? Why do we even keep all this garb? And more importantly, why do we exist?"
Perhaps some of these ramblings came from the sartre i've been reading...
and there's been a definite lucidity lately.
i've experienced a lot of beautiful banterings and am attempting looking at reality square.

Regardless, John must have digested my questions - tonight I sat down at my easel, checked my email and received this:

Advice for Today

...Read a little more Kerouac and a little less Sartre.

There is no reason for an artist to question "why am I here?"

The artist should know better than anyone why they are here.

They are here to illustrate the feelings in our hearts.

To document our existence in oils.

To verify our lives in watercolor.

To capture our environment in pastels.

To put our dreams on canvas.

An artistic life has meaning, a legacy, and a future as boundless as your imagination.

Pretty lucky aren't You?

John Lease

Thank you Paul Germanos of Chicago Critical!

I was honored to have been invited by “The Studio” (Currently, “This is Not the Studio”) to have my first Chicago solo show. The show, 001 of the “On the Lam” series, curated by Erin Babbin and Claire Molek had over 150 guests come through. I exhibited eleven new paintings, all completed within the last two years as a two part series: The Fear Series and The Dark Currents of Memory Series.

I’ve been in Chicago for three years now and the city has influenced my work profoundly. It was literally days after I moved here, that my work took a shift and I’ve been building on that foundation. I’ve been absolutely BLESSED in the breadth of talent I’ve had the chance to encounter in my short time thus far here. Witnessing first hand, the work ethic of other Chicago artists such as Tony Fitzpatrick, Ray Noland, Dmitry Samarov, KS Rives, (list goes on and on and on) have UNDOUBTEDLY changed my entire perception of what it means to truly be a relentless working artist.
To give a bit of background on the name of the show, The First Ward Ball was a yearly and very corrupt political fundraiser headed by Hinky Dink Kenna and Bathhouse John. (from 1896 to 1909.) If gambling house owners, prostitutes and saloon keepers wanted to keep their institutions policed and running throughout the year, they were forced to buy a ticket to the ball. Thus it became the ultimate collection of the rowdiest and most dishonorable. (not in Chicago!???) In conjunction with my paintings, there was an historical reenactment/performance piece in four Acts, curated by Scott "Bathhouse" Priz.

Nick Jirasek of Guerrilla Smiles created delicious spicy cotton candy

It was a fantastic and unique experience and I look forward to what is next..... I have a few tricks up my sleeves!

Thanks all,
Julia

I was asked to be the featured artist in the second issue of Asylum Lake, and was given an eight page spread! This Kalamazoo (Michigan) publication is surely to be noticed, as Nic Hampton the Editor in Chief has it TOGETHER.

"Asylum Lake is a record of Kalamazoo Grassroots Artists based around a bi-monthly Artist Journal. The Journal will be released every two months at a release party incorporating the various media featured in that months issue and local bands. A month after print release of the Journal, a PDF copy of the journal will be released online."

Click here to follow Asylum Press on Facebook!

Howie Good (based out of New Paltz, NY) is a heart rendering and insanely talented poet. I connected with him last year about a possible collaboration, and ended up doing the cover for his chapbook "Rumble Strip." It can be ordered here!

click here to read the article!

I exhibited with twenty artists from around the United States in the 14th Annual No Dead Artists show in New Orleans. The show is the brainchild of Jonathan Ferrara (Jonathan Ferrara Gallery) and was curated in 2010 by Beth Rudin DeWoody, Fairfax Dorn and Donna Perret Rosen. Click here to see the entire show.

I completed the album cover for Glen Johnson's album titled "Details Not Recorded. Purchase here at Make Mine Music
Here is an interview through the Italian webzine, Ondarock, concerning Glen Johnson's music, with discussion of the 2009 solo album and cover artwork.

And this is the website for one of the greatest bands you'll ever listen to. Glen Johnson spearheads this band.

I was chosen as the cover artist for the Fall 2008 issue of Third Coast, a literary publication by Western Michigan University.
You can buy an issue or scope out the contributing writers here.

I received a grant through the Kalamazoo Arts Council in 2008 to complete eleven paintings corresponding to poet Mark Turcotte's Road Noise section in "Exploding Chippewas."
Here is a blurb about our collaboration.
Turcotte's poetry ACHES to be read. He's truly one of the most brilliant writers living today.