"Art does not reproduce what we see; rather, it makes us see."
Paul Klee
Paul Klee
Updated contact information: use 2025artmsr@gmail.com
Studio Practice: New Works
Three Drawings and One Painting
11/23/2024
Images are presented full size. The caption announces title and dimensions given in inches, first height then width. With extreme thanks to Mr. Mickey for all photo images and tech assistance on this web site.
The Intersection of Contraries is inspired by artist Katherine Ace (1953-2023) who said, “The intersection of contraries fascinates me: life and death; humor and tragedy; beauty and corruption; natural and constructed realities; experience and news. I am captivated by complex issues that we all face, and yet experience personally, intimately. I am interested in the role of dark feelings, thoughts and states of mind in the process of transformation. I am drawn to fire beneath reserve.” This work takes effect on Arches 16 x 20 inch hot press 140lb watercolor paper using Micron pen, watercolor marker and colored pencil. For even more details see: http://artmsr.com/just-saying-mickeys-blog.html.
Perception is Controlled Hallucination is a work based on its idea that I find engaging. Google gives the philosophical AI Overview: The idea that perception is a controlled hallucination is a theory that suggests that what we perceive is a model of the world created by our brain, rather than the world itself. This theory is supported by the work of several thinkers, including: Claudio Paolucci … Argues that the imagination controls perception, which is the product of the imagination controlled by the world.” This work is presented on Arches 8 x 10 inch hot press 140lb watercolor paper using watercolor markers, colored pencil and Micron pen.
Disappointment #2: Hope Plunges. Disappointment is a feeling I addressed earlier this year too, as a simple statement. This time (#2) I wanted to acknowledge that disappointment doesn’t exist in isolation. It is typically preceded or accompanied by motivation, desire, hope and expectation. My composition is done on Arches 16 x 20 inch cold press 140lb watercolor paper. Media is similarly mixed: watercolor marker, colored pencil, InkTense and Micron pen.
An Element of Chaos. From English guitarist Jeff Beck (1944-2023) who said, “I like an element of chaos in music. That feeling is the best thing ever, as long as you don’t have too much of it.” This is expressed on a 20 x 16 inch canvas using acrylic paint.
Re: FIVE EXHIBITIONS of my Art
(and we're posting photos of the exhibits when we can)
CLOSED The month of September 2024 is showing "Absolutely Abstract" at Art at the Cave gallery, 108 E. Evergreen Blvd., Vancouver, WA 98660. It was a non-juried, invited show and Song of Myself - After W. Whitman is included. See https://artatthecave.com/ for more details on visiting. I'm especially impressed with this gallery for its artistic orientation, community involvement and extension of participation.
Click on image to enlarge.
CLOSED September 21-October 16 at Verum Ultimum Art Gallery, 1513 SE 42nd Avenue, Portland, Oregon, is the amazing Abstract Catalyst #9 exhibition. Gallery hours are Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday 11-5 and Thursday/Friday by appointment. The current exhibition features thirty artists, including my An Inane Beehive of Organized Chaos. To visit online: https://www.verumultimumartgallery.com/
Click on image to enlarge.
CLOSING SOON! Opening October 4 through November 1 is the Gresham Artist League Association thematic show, "Food for Thought." The topic is presented as wide open and will include Divine Intervention--a 24 x 36 inch acrylic painting on canvas. The exhibit is in the lovely Council Chamber Lobby, 1333 NW Eastman Parkway, Gresham OR. Viewing hours are Monday-Friday 11-4pm and Saturday 12-3.
Click on image to enlarge.
NOW OPEN! NOVEMBER 4-DECEMBER 30, 2024. The solo show of my work at the Canby Public Library is now present for viewing. We worked with the Canby librarian and Adult Programming Coordinator, Melissa Allott, who established a seamless reception and installation. (See final photo.)
Artwork greets visitors at the entrance area on the long wall to one's left; move further into the library and look right to see three framed drawings on a short wall. Continuing around the corner are more artworks hanging high! (Total is seventeen MSR artworks on view.) Please to enjoy all the Canby Clackamas Library offers. Photos start your tour.
This is our 2nd solo there, the last one was staged in 2017. We're delighted to re-visit and thrilled to support the library's efforts to expand and support a visual art presence. Address and hours: 220 NE 2nd Avenue, Canby, OR 97013; Mon-Thurs 10:am to 7:pm, Fri-Sat 10:am-5:pm. Closed Sundays.
Click on image to enlarge.
OPENING DECEMBER 3 Two of my artworks are invited to a select group show of three 2024 Artist Exhibit Program participants by courtesy of the Clackamas Arts Alliance. The exhibit will feature abstract art and be displayed at the main floor Cafe gallery, Development Services Building, 150 Beavercreek Road, Oregon City 97045. Hours are 8:am to 4:pm Monday through Thursday. Show begins Tuesday, December 3, 2024 and finishes Tuesday, March 4, 2025. Sue Allen, AEP Program Manager, and Carrie, Installation Crew, brought this show into being.
Alert! The 2025 artist participants in the AEP program can now be found at the web site of the Clackamas Arts Alliance. Congrats to all participants and participating venues! Thank you CCA.
Click on image to enlarge.
Beavercreek Abstract Artists of 2024 AEP: through March, 2025
"About that Artwork"
BONUS: A new tool for you—the index of 650 web site artworks with their back stories. File will be updated with new works periodically; introduced in June, 2024.
As visitors have noted, we present the individual back stories with the presentation of New Artworks and then the stories disappear. Now you can find them again. Six-hundred and fifty artworks are given their personal stories in a 61-page WORD file called "About that Artwork."
THE LINK: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/zl2ctp1zvxta0gs1dlzs6/ACEJRo_lRutETHADY6S0Qes?rlkey=b4zvxyk7vyyoovvy51ujdiacy&st=ilkoluh6&dl=0
You will find artworks indexed alphabetical by title. Year of completion follows in parentheses and then their back story. DATA specifies size in inches and materials used. Visit the on-site galleries and relevant year or Archives to rediscover the image.
Studio Practice: Latest New Work, September 2024
Chaos Ascending, Order Descending, 16 x 20 inches on Arches hot press 140lb watercolor paper; acrylic paint, Micron pen, watercolor markers. Intuitive.
Some years ago I heard the idea that the universe is ruled by chaos. Being one who indulges in order, efficiency, and simplicity, it took awhile to develop a love for chaos. (Too many chaotic family episodes!) However, my current understanding is that chaos is the creative element and order is tradition: one extremely limited, the other fruitful.
Some years ago I heard the idea that the universe is ruled by chaos. Being one who indulges in order, efficiency, and simplicity, it took awhile to develop a love for chaos. (Too many chaotic family episodes!) However, my current understanding is that chaos is the creative element and order is tradition: one extremely limited, the other fruitful.
16 mm Film Work: Movies, Movies, Movies!
Back in the day when I attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago on a full-tuition scholarship, I fell in love with film work. When the Chicago International Film Festival included a 60-second category depicting "The Condition of Man" it sounded perfect. This was a topic of deep consideration and this was something I could do within budget and with the 16 mm Bolex the school provided. Fortunately the Festival thought so too and my film "Popcorn" made it's premier at the 1970 Chicago International Film Festival.
The other two short clips are more exploratory and request that the viewer simply free associates with the images.
My husband, Mr. Mickey [yes, we have the same nickname], is the techie who made this Cloud link.
Thank you.
Popcorn
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cCP7Iik9B-c9hyFPux43htCqY8hZi7mB/view?usp=sharing
Violence
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hlmxqTBLpGNN0QFQRMbocvoHcK1VJrPG/view?usp=sharing
Footage
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-8-plC6clXFHxJz8rg1BiUo50-t2koZP/view?usp=sharing
The other two short clips are more exploratory and request that the viewer simply free associates with the images.
My husband, Mr. Mickey [yes, we have the same nickname], is the techie who made this Cloud link.
Thank you.
Popcorn
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cCP7Iik9B-c9hyFPux43htCqY8hZi7mB/view?usp=sharing
Violence
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hlmxqTBLpGNN0QFQRMbocvoHcK1VJrPG/view?usp=sharing
Footage
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-8-plC6clXFHxJz8rg1BiUo50-t2koZP/view?usp=sharing
It's Here! The Mickey Moon Gallery
Photos of my early artworks are assembled and ready for viewing. Use GALLERIES above to go to The Moon Gallery.The images demonstrate early explorations into collage, relief (sand casting), sculpture, montage and figurative art. All artwork was done in the 1960s and early 70s.
A bit of Backstory: After high school graduation I spent the summer at the Ox-Bow School of Art in Saugatuck, Michigan. Ox-Bow is affiliated with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and still offers amazing opportunities for study. I then did general studies, including art, at the community college and was inspired by a work/study opportunity in Europe. I worked in Switzerland and Belgium from February to October 1967. After receiving a full tuition scholarship from the Chicago Public School Art Society I graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1972.
A bit of Backstory: After high school graduation I spent the summer at the Ox-Bow School of Art in Saugatuck, Michigan. Ox-Bow is affiliated with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and still offers amazing opportunities for study. I then did general studies, including art, at the community college and was inspired by a work/study opportunity in Europe. I worked in Switzerland and Belgium from February to October 1967. After receiving a full tuition scholarship from the Chicago Public School Art Society I graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1972.
About the Artist:
Micheline “Mickey” Stefanie Moon Ronningen spent much of her early formative years being led around by three older sisters while escaping “Huge snapping turtles!” in Des Moines, Iowa, corn fields. Then the family moved to the west side of Chicago where she learned to love the smell of Italian cooking. Later, her flatlander status being well established, Mickey made the drastic move to the partially mountainous Pacific Northwest after graduating from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She was led here by her environmental design teacher from SAIC to "do environmental projects." Her first employment in Portland, OR, was as a bookkeeper for Benihana of Tokyo. As some things go, they never did get around to doing environmental projects.
Creative pursuits began with developing and using her own language until age five, drawing pictures from age four and writing fictional illustrated stories by age nine. More recent are Mickey's creative outlets including fine art, writing, performance and dealing blackjack for an event company. Performance work developed at age sixty-five with recurring character work on IFC's "Portlandia." (Mickey plays Carrie Brownstein's mom in seasons 2, 3, and 5.) Several commercial shoots, one HBO pilot, and one gig as a Featured Extra for the ABC series "Stumptown," followed. Performance work for Mickey has been absent since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Yet pursuing fine arts was formally established in Mickey's teen years with a photography course at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a summer spent at the Ox-Bow School of Art, Saugatuck, Michigan. Following study at a Chicago community college and a year working in Europe, Mickey returned to Chicago to receive a full-tuition scholarship from the Chicago Public School Art Society and earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at SAIC. Senior studies focused on filmmaking and environmental design.
Mickey's primary focus is to continue developing her artistic vision in the studio and establish contact with its special audience. Work on the business of marketing, promotion and sales is not a natural talent. She says she is still learning. Mickey has expressed the intention to "blog more often." Mickey anticipates a future blog addressing AI and image making.
Creative pursuits began with developing and using her own language until age five, drawing pictures from age four and writing fictional illustrated stories by age nine. More recent are Mickey's creative outlets including fine art, writing, performance and dealing blackjack for an event company. Performance work developed at age sixty-five with recurring character work on IFC's "Portlandia." (Mickey plays Carrie Brownstein's mom in seasons 2, 3, and 5.) Several commercial shoots, one HBO pilot, and one gig as a Featured Extra for the ABC series "Stumptown," followed. Performance work for Mickey has been absent since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Yet pursuing fine arts was formally established in Mickey's teen years with a photography course at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a summer spent at the Ox-Bow School of Art, Saugatuck, Michigan. Following study at a Chicago community college and a year working in Europe, Mickey returned to Chicago to receive a full-tuition scholarship from the Chicago Public School Art Society and earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at SAIC. Senior studies focused on filmmaking and environmental design.
Mickey's primary focus is to continue developing her artistic vision in the studio and establish contact with its special audience. Work on the business of marketing, promotion and sales is not a natural talent. She says she is still learning. Mickey has expressed the intention to "blog more often." Mickey anticipates a future blog addressing AI and image making.
Artist Statement
I investigate abstract experience. It is the wellspring of feeling and thought and establishes all one's memories. It's our experience of life and how we interact.
Visually my intention is to disrupt expectations and expand visual communication--its specific language. First viewing doesn't need to be pleasant or comprehensible yet delights in engagement. I believe such engagement--even if silent and non-verbal--advances a greater interior and exterior understanding of the whole of life and one's self. This is, I believe, what art can generate.
I enjoy the challenge of giving concrete form to things and ideas by abandoning representational tradition and translating such essentials using color, form, texture, and composition. Honoring those aspects directing one’s humanity and life course include a respect for humor and the restorative power of the meditative state.
Currently the materials I use to make such statements include archival paper, canvas, wood, pens, ink, colored pencil, watercolor pencil, pigment markers, acrylic paint and graphite. Pens offer a fine line element; markers are typically somewhat bolder and obstinate. Colored pencil and watercolor pencil offer specific textural differences, especially in how they interact with a paper surface. Ink may allow a wondrous drip or not. Paint provides solidity and the ability to change direction.
While composition establishes the relative dynamic, color establishes the energizing force. Form emerges by differentiation from background. Texture is presented primarily through choice of materials, then through repetitive marks or patterning.
I often begin an artwork with a question or inspiring phrase and answer or respond in visual terms. What expresses the joy in a Home Depot experience or the strength in diversity? What is the attraction to danger or repetitive dots and dashes? When disorder is the universe's rule, do clarity and order relate? Why is it difficult to understand and accept we are each unique? And that fact establishes a universal connection.
My ideal viewer and collector responds by investigating the statement presented by the art. The activity necessarily becomes a mutual exchange. My art is not meant to offer a beauteous grope or meet current market demands. An appreciation of color, mystery, play, adventure, humor, a sense of self, and acceptance may all further a rich exchange. I encourage viewers to wander and safely embrace the language of my art and what it's saying. Welcome fellow travelers….
Visually my intention is to disrupt expectations and expand visual communication--its specific language. First viewing doesn't need to be pleasant or comprehensible yet delights in engagement. I believe such engagement--even if silent and non-verbal--advances a greater interior and exterior understanding of the whole of life and one's self. This is, I believe, what art can generate.
I enjoy the challenge of giving concrete form to things and ideas by abandoning representational tradition and translating such essentials using color, form, texture, and composition. Honoring those aspects directing one’s humanity and life course include a respect for humor and the restorative power of the meditative state.
Currently the materials I use to make such statements include archival paper, canvas, wood, pens, ink, colored pencil, watercolor pencil, pigment markers, acrylic paint and graphite. Pens offer a fine line element; markers are typically somewhat bolder and obstinate. Colored pencil and watercolor pencil offer specific textural differences, especially in how they interact with a paper surface. Ink may allow a wondrous drip or not. Paint provides solidity and the ability to change direction.
While composition establishes the relative dynamic, color establishes the energizing force. Form emerges by differentiation from background. Texture is presented primarily through choice of materials, then through repetitive marks or patterning.
I often begin an artwork with a question or inspiring phrase and answer or respond in visual terms. What expresses the joy in a Home Depot experience or the strength in diversity? What is the attraction to danger or repetitive dots and dashes? When disorder is the universe's rule, do clarity and order relate? Why is it difficult to understand and accept we are each unique? And that fact establishes a universal connection.
My ideal viewer and collector responds by investigating the statement presented by the art. The activity necessarily becomes a mutual exchange. My art is not meant to offer a beauteous grope or meet current market demands. An appreciation of color, mystery, play, adventure, humor, a sense of self, and acceptance may all further a rich exchange. I encourage viewers to wander and safely embrace the language of my art and what it's saying. Welcome fellow travelers….