Wendy Lane

 

Mentoring Philosophy, June 2010

In the role of mentor, I ask the protégé powerful questions to help her identify what she values about art making, marketing, promoting and selling her art, her creative process, her artistic discipline, her profession, her studio space, her artistic ancestors, peers and network, the resources available to her, how to set goals for what she wants to accomplish during the time frame of the program, and a structure for maintaining her commitment to those goals through creative actions.

I bring to the relationship, my education, training and life experience, and my passion for art.  This includes my formal art education; my training and experience as a tour guide; my exhibition, residency and teaching experience; my prior experience as a mentor and protégé in the program; my training as a human resources professional and certified life coach; and my creative process.

I am a plein-air landscape painter, using pastels to paint with direct observation outdoors.  This is a mindful process, and for me a spiritual act, engaging my senses in an awareness and appreciation of the immensity and diversity of the natural world, as well as the gift of creativity.  I occasionally use acrylic paint.  I love the act of drawing and painting, using my hands, and the tactile feel of paint or pastel on paper or canvas.  I prefer working outdoors to being in my studio, and have been an artist in residence in a national park, and a wildlife refuge.  While I welcome sharing my expertise in these disciplines and approaches, I am open to working with protégés from other disciplines.   I appreciate modern and contemporary art as well as interdisciplinary art, and collaboration among artists.  My own ongoing artistic development includes taking advantage of galleries and museums as our public art education, and I enjoy sharing dialogue about art with my protégé.

I believe in my protégé’s potential.  I honor and celebrate her accomplishments.  I encourage her to network, I offer critique but not judgment, I listen deeply, and provide structure and accountability for her to reach her goals.  I bring my curiosity and delight in the creative process.  I value learning and growing, and the artistic community that the program provides.   I have some experience working with artists with disabilities, and have received training as an audio describer, so I am not afraid to work with someone who is challenged by, and creating art with a disability.  I value diversity, and encourage and wish to support the participation of artists of color and lesbian artists in the program as well.
I ask a protégé to commit her time and attention to the development of her art and herself as an artist; to honor her financial and time commitments to me and her work; to fully participate in all that the program has to offer.  I will set limits on my availability while being as accessible as possible within those limits.  I will understand if a personal emergency gets in the way, and am willing and flexible to negotiate changes when this occurs.
Mentoring as a productive way of nurturing, connecting, exchanging  information and resources—a two-way relationship.  My protégé and I will have a mutually developed interaction, in which I will learn as much as I share.  I have benefitted greatly from the mentors and protégés in my life, and wish to continue the circle of sharing this valuable experience.

Biography

Wendy Lane is a plein-air landscape painter, certified life coach, and human resources professional.   Wendy received a BA in arts administration and MFA in visual art, and directed human resources at Walker Art Center and Ordway Center for the Performing Arts.  She has been artist in residence at Yellowstone National Park, the MN Valley National Wildlife Refuge, and a member of Project Art for Nature.  Wendy has been a recipient of grants from the MN State Arts Board and Jerome Foundation, as well as numerous cash and merit awards for her art. She taught pastel drawing for seven years through the Como Conservatory’s botanical illustration program, and has participated in the WARM mentor program as both protégé and mentor. www.mnartists.org/Wendy_Lane; www.artistcoachwendylane.com.

Artist’s Statement, June 2010

I am a plein-air landscape painter, using pastels to paint with direct observation outdoors.  This is both a mindful process and a spiritual act, engaging my senses in an awareness and appreciation of the immensity and diversity of the natural world, as well as the gift of creativity.  In addition, I am a life coach, human resources professional, and occasional poet.  The physical demands of painting outdoors, and the meditative aspect of observing nature, painting, and then writing about it, nurtures my emotional balance and self-awareness, in turn increasing my capacity for working compassionately with people.

I love the act of drawing and painting, using my hands, the tactile feel of paint or pastel on paper, and observing the variety of sounds, colors, smells, shapes, plants, animals, seasons, clouds, pathways, and bodies of water I unexpectedly encounter in nature.  The sensuousness of nature stimulates my senses.   I must constantly pair down what I select to paint from the immense and complex natural world surrounding me, using intentional reflection and choice.  I see remnants of history, and the impact of humans on the geography and ecology of the land.    As a result, I begin to understand the cycles and interdependence of our planet, and develop personal responsibility for stewardship of the environment.   I like to revisit landscapes in person and in paint over time, noticing how the landscape and I have weathered the seasons.

Some highlights of my artistic activities include residencies in Yellowstone National Park and the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge.  I camped and painted with my dog along the Minnesota River for ten days travelling from its source in Brown’s Valley, to its intersection with the Mississippi River at Fort Snelling, and held my MFA exhibition at the refuge visitor center.  I was among the founding members of Project Art for Nature, a group of artists promoting conservation and awareness of the natural world and endangered lands through art and exhibitions.  I was an instructor in Como Conservatory’s botanical illustration certificate program.  I participated in several plein-air painting events, including the recent inaugural “Art in the Hollow” in Swede Hollow Park in Saint Paul.  I have taken art and writing classes through the Split Rock arts program, and have begun writing poetry in response to painting plein-air.

No doubt my artistic practices are influenced by growing up on a hobby farm, owning a quarter horse, and working as a camp counselor and a wilderness trip guide for many years.  I spend two weeks each year selecting a natural area to immerse myself in, conducting wandering explorations with my dog and spouse, researching in local libraries and museums, talking to residents and artists, and then plein air painting and writing in response.  I find connections in my process to historic and contemporary women artists including Georgia O’Keefe, Emily Carr, Clara Southern, Cindy House, Camille Przewodek, Jean LeGassick, Susan Shatter, Linda Blonheim, Julie Houck; and poets such as Emily Dickinsin, Mary Frye, Mary Oliver, Deborah A. Miranda, Diane Morgan, Sarojini Naidu, and Elaine Maria Upton.  I’m interested in women who write about the land and ecology, such as Susan Fenimore Cooper, Willa Cather, Sarah Orne Jewitt, Rachel Carson, and Terry Tempest-Williams.