“Tree of Life” by Tommie L. Blackwell
ARTIST STATEMENT:
Mixed Media on Board
I am a multimedia artist. I love to work with metallic acrylics. I paint on canvas and cardboard. I also love working with graphite and doing life like portraits, cartooning, and web page designing. I base my work on not just my passions but current events going around me to make a social statement; to evoke awareness, and it usually gets a lot of interaction and feedback, a lot of it positive. I do this because I don’t feel many other artists do. A lot of artists are not focusing on unification or peace or education or family values. I put narrative into my social justice work because I want each piece to have a clear message. The beauty of nature and the city around us, simplicity, diversity, and culture are themes I also like to explore.
I want to continue and participate in adding beauty and knowledge through art to the general Minnesota area. I want to be involved. I find it very motivating. I would like to grow into doing larger scale paintings, airbrushing, large murals, and public art installations.
PROVIDED BY:
Avivo Artworks
Since 2004, Avivo ArtWorks, formerly Spectrum ArtWorks, has been working to support professional artists living with mental illness. Located at the Lighthouse, a Community Support Program in Minneapolis, the program meets its mission through a community-focused and recovery-based approach. Its multi-faceted art studio and programming assists artists at reaching and maintaining their artist-related goals such as making new art, connecting with other artists, and accessing exhibition and grant opportunities.
In addition to this, each year the program organizes a new exhibition that aims to meet its mission to challenge stigma and raise mental health awareness. In 2015, the program partnered with the Minneapolis Institute of Art to bring “In Conversation,” a residency and exhibition that featured 17 artists from the program. Each participant created a new piece of art that was in conversation with an object or artwork in the museum’s collection. In 2017, Avivo ArtWorks facilitated “The Big Picture,” a group exhibition that presented artwork that explored wellness in recovery through art. “To Really See,” opening August 2017 at the Hennepin County Library – Central Minneapolis, is Avivo ArtWorks first every traveling group exhibition. The show explores the medication-taking experience and will feature artwork from artists who use Avivo ArtWorks services and artists from across the state of Minnesota.