Lake Vermillion

Recently we took a trip up to Lake Vermillion and stayed at one of the most magical cabins in the world, Stub-a-Toe. This cabin is owned by some dear family friends. They have owned the land since they graduated from college in the 60s and everything, absolutely everything, is hand built. They have repeatedly decided not to hook the place up to "the grid" so everything is generator and propane run. It is an amazing place and I feel lucky to have been able to visit it throughout my childhood. This past summer we got to stay in the "grown up" sleeping cabin which is nestled on the edge of a cliff. We woke up every morning to the sun rising on the private bay and the loons calling. Here are some photos from our stay. 

Yep, that's a hand built wood fired hot tub. 

Our sleeping cabin perched on the side of a cliff. 

Just big enough for a bed. Our view from the sleeping cabin. 

The second floor of the main cabin.

My hot stuff reading Hot Stuff.

Cabin essential.

Bubba and I hanging out on the dock. 

Elements Unheard at the MacRostie Art Center

My solo show "Elements Unheard" opened at the MacRostie Art Center last Friday. It was a great night with an impressive crowd and I didn't pass out during my artist talk, so that's good.

It has been a year of deadlines and lots and lots of time in the studio working. I am thankful to have work that I love and spaces to show that work in. I'm thankful to be an artist working in the state of Minnesota. I am thankful to have been awarded a Minnesota State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant to complete the work for this show. I am thankful to have a partner who believes in me and who understands what it means to be an artist and who was right there while I went through the highs and lows of creating all of this work. 

Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.












































Haematic Susurrus I
Acrylic and Ink on Panel
21.5" x 29.5"

Haematic Susurrus II
Acrylic and Ink on Panel
21.5" x 29.5"

Element LVII
Acrylic and Ink on Panel
12" x 24"

Element LVIII
Acrylic and Ink on Panel
12" x 24"

Element LIX
Acrylic and Ink on Panel
10" x 22"

Element XXX
Acrylic and Ink on Panel
11" x 14"

Element XXXI
Acrylic and Ink on Panel
11" x 14"

Element XXXII
Acrylic and Ink on Panel
11" x 14"

Element XXXIII
Acrylic and Ink on Panel
11" x 14"

Element XXXIV - SOLD
Acrylic and Ink on Panel
9" x 12"

Element XXXV
Acrylic and Ink Panel
9" x 12"

Element XXXVI - SOLD
Acrylic and Ink on Panel
9" x 12"

Element XXXVII
Acrylic and Ink on Panel
9" x 12"

Element XXXVIII - SOLD
Acrylic and Ink on Panel
10" x 10"

Element XXXIX - SOLD
Acrylic and Ink on Panel
10" x 10"

Element XL - SOLD
Acrylic and Ink on Panel
10" x 10"

Element XLI  - SOLD
Acrylic and Ink on Panel
8" x 10"

Element XLII - SOLD
Acrylic and Ink on Panel
10" x 8"

Element XLIII - SOLD

Element XLIV - SOLD

Element XLV - SOLD

Element XLVI - SOLD

Element XLVII - SOLD

Element XLVIII - SOLD

Element L - SOLD

Element LI - SOLD

Element LII - SOLD

Element LIII - SOLD

Element LIV - SOLD

Element LV - SOLD

Element LVI - SOLD
Acrylic and Ink on Panel
16" x 20"


It was important to me that I explore some larger scaled works for this show. These are acrylic paintings and they are very much paintings (with none of the drawing that is found in my mixed media work). I loved the experience of engaging more of my whole body during the creation of these pieces. I loved that it was a lot of physical work and that I would ache by the end of the day. I loved that at night I would close my eyes and see colors blooming before I drifted off to sleep. Feels like the beginning of something I want to explore more.

Mazarine Tessitura
Acrylic on Canvas
36" x 48"

Circular Tessitura
Acrylic on Canvas
48" x 48"

Elements Unheard at the MacRostie Art Center

My solo show Elements Unheard opens at the MacRostie Art Center in Grand Rapids, MN next month.

MacRostie Art Center
405 1st Ave NW
Grand Rapids, MN 55744

I am lucky and honored to say that I received an Artist Initiative Grant from the MN State Arts Board to produce the work for this show which is a visual investigation of my senses and how I experience my self and the world through them. Below is the Artist Statement I have produced for this show:

My artwork is the result of an intuitive process and is a reflection of the space I enter when I am creating. I lean over my paintings, a stiffness in the tips of my fingers. I carry my body around. I write my body down. Fiber by fiber. Cell by cell. The hours are long and I have never been more aware of how my good body aches.  

My experience of the world has been altered and defined by a significant and progressive hearing loss that started in early childhood. It is a distinct lens through which I perceive my self and the world. Through this latest body of work I am conducting a visual investigation of my senses and how my body experiences these senses. What does sound look like? How does it move through my body? How do my senses attach themselves to each other and mix up? 

Liza Sylvestre is a fiscal year 2014 recipient of an artist initiative grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.