Alicia Forestall-Boehm

I often begin a new work from a sketched design.  The lower design in this image from my sketch book was the inspiration for a new sculpture.   Beginning with a circular wire support, I created a 3 dimensional version of this sketched image.  The problem was that, to me, the actual sculpture didn't please me as much as the sketched image.  So it sat in the back of my studio waiting for a creative revelation.  Then one day, as I studied this piece, I envisioned it "exploding" open, so I took an  knife to it and, leaving the circular wire armature intact, turned the single form into one that had five connecting sections.  This  alteration added interest and movement.  Hmmm, this certainly was a dramatic departure from the original sketch but it was a move in the right direction. Knowing that this piece was not finished, I returned it to it's spot in the back of my studio.  I lived with this new form, manipulating these five appendages in

In my last post I talked about my preparation for the exhibit "Spaces We Inhabit" and the two sculptural installations I created for this show.  This post is a collection of images from the exhibition.      "Spaces We Inhabit" at the Hairpin Arts Center, Chicago.                 Me with my installation Spaces We Inhabit .  It consisted of 7 ceiling-hung columns, each 15' long.  The cubes themselves vary in size from 1.5"x1.5"x1.5" to 4.5"x4.5"x4.5".                                            Infinite Possibilities on the wall to the left.    The Power of Place and   Make No Little Plans on pedestals.  On the wall - two paintings by Mary Zeran between two paintings by Emily Rutledge.   Moving Day on the wall to the left, Place on the pedestal, paintings by Emily Rutledge on the wall and a peek of my installation Spaces We Inhabit between the wall and col

  Back in November of 2013, artists Mary Zeran and Emily Rutledge approached me with the idea of putting together a proposal for an exhibition of our work.   What evolved was “Spaces We Inhabit: Sculptures and Paintings by Alicia Forestall-Boehm, Emily Rutledge and Mary Zeran” at the Hairpin Arts Center in Chicago.   I was familiar with Hairpin having exhibited my encaustic and fiber Vessels in the center’s inaugural exhibition “Come Together”.      Vessel 12, Vessel 14, Vessel 20 on shelves to the right. Mary Ellen Croteau's work to the left Come Together, Hairpin Arts Center   It is a beautiful light-filled windowed space situated in a historical building in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood. In my last blog post "Winter Exhibition News" I mused about turning a new wall hanging sculpture, “Place”, into a multi-piece installation.   100+ feet of cotton rope for my ceiling hung sculpture, Spaces We Inhabit   My vision of the a multi-column

The Accumulation of Small Moments  12"hx12"w  Encaustic, Fiber on Panel  Do you ever find yourself in need of a change?  Maybe it's a change as small as a new haircut or maybe it takes the form of a new look to a room in your house.   Perhaps you don’t want a new look, but a new attitude.    Maybe what you seek is a new view of your life or your work?  W hatever it may be, it's always something fun to do because it brings some "newness" into your life.  We all find comfort in the status quo but a little change; something new can be just what we need.  Frozen Music     5.5”hx11”wx6.5”d    Encaustic, Fiber, Wire, Found Metal For a while now I have wanted to change my website.   I wanted to keep the basic design simple and focus on showing my artwork in a straightforward way.   I also wanted to assimilate various social media platforms into my website in order to create a more complete web presence.   My final revisions included tying in th

                                                       Vertical Lines                                                                       15”hx15”wx8”d                    Encaustic, Cheesecloth hand dyed by artist, Hemp cord, Wire, Found metal       in·vite / v. ɪnˈvaɪt; n. ˈɪn vaɪt / Show Spelled [ v. in- vahyt ; n. in -vahyt ]       verb, in·vit·ed, in·vit·ing, noun verb (used with object) 1. to request the presence or participation of in a kindly, courteous, or complimentary way, especially to request to come or go to some place, gathering, entertainment, etc., or to do something.                                                       Unfulfilled Dream                                                         6"hx32"wx7"d Encaustic, Cheesecloth hand dyed by artist, Hemp cord, Wire, Found metal   It is always nice to receive an invitation.  Although, today it is usuall

The Power of Place                 9”hx18”wx11”d                    encaustic, fiber, hemp cord, wire       Inspiration can come from anywhere.   As an artist, I am inspired by the urban landscape. I am drawn to the innate sense of randomness, clutter and change that can define an urban existence.     The landscape of the city and its architecture can seem unwelcoming with its hard edges and its overflow of inhabitants.   In actuality, there is an inherent harmony that exists in a city.   The visual repetitiveness and symmetry of the buildings themselves to the city plans they fill.   The cacophonies of sounds that can, with their aspect of constancy, make for a soothing element of dependability.   And while certainly, there is a certain discordant relationship among some city dwellers, there is a remarkable interchange of order among the majority of inhabitants.  I am also inspired by those people, whose visions helped to create this world.       The Power of Pl

    Earlier this year I was contacted by Kelley Baum, a teacher at Franklin Fine Arts school in Chicago with a request that I participate in the school's annual Arts Day.  I was happy to have been asked and eager to participate in this annual event.  Every year artists from all areas of the arts are invited to spend the day with the student body.  This year artists included dance companies, authors, theater companies, visual artists, actors and musicians.    I have some experience with teaching art in the classroom.  During the 2005-2006 academic year, I designed and implemented a weekly comprehensive art education curriculum for a Montessori class of children ages 6-9.   This curriculum amounted to a hands-on trip through art history.  The challenge was to create weekly projects that not only followed the history of art but were engaging and workable with the ages included in the classroom.  We began with one of the earliest examples of art, cave paintings.  Working wi

Unfulfilled Dream 6"x32"x7" encaustic, fiber, wire, cotton twine, found metal Just about 6 blocks from my house, along the Chicago river, is a huge hole in the ground.  It is 76 feet deep and 110 feet wide and is all that is left of the vision of what was to be the tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere.  The 2000 foot Spire, designed by famed architect Santiago Calatrava, was to be an architectural wonder in a city renowned for it's architecture.  Ongoing real-estate woes ultimately resulted in the abandonment of the project and the eyesore that remains.  Unfulfilled Dream A Work in Progress "Unfulfilled Dream" is the first in a series of sculptures that consider the impact that water has on Chicago’s urban landscape.  With beautiful Lake Michigan outlining the city to the east, the Chicago River that winds its way throughout the city and the many lagoons and waterways, water has indeed had an impact on this city.   Water is an el

Coming Together 9x12x13 encaustic, fiber, wire I do not like the cold. I know that many people are eager for the start of winter. They are happy to embrace the snow and the cold and all things winter. Now don't get me wrong, I am not immune to the beauty of newly fallen snow and the wondrous vision of the world enveloped in a white veil during a snowstorm but I prefer to experience this while tucked away in my home without any need to head out into all of this splendor. Needless to say, I am one of the many people that are eager for the start of spring. I love spring. Nature comes to life, replacing the dull colorless landscape with polished green and lovely flecks of color. One of my favorite signs of spring includes the return of boats to our harbors. While sailing along Lake Michigan this early in the year would undoubtedly be chilly to say the least, this action speaks to the optimistic expectation of warmer days to come.     It is with great expectation that I look t