Another Cool Project I Got To Be a Part of...Dada Duende Record Club

Earlier this year I was asked to create some new work to be included in Dada Duende’s Record Club - Volume 2 which was just released this month.

Now, if you’re a fellow kid of the 80s, a record club may evoke memories of getting a boatload of music for $.99 followed by a lifetime of stress over remembering/forgetting to return the little card each month. Fellow ADHD’ers like myself were forever scarred by the image of that little brown package arriving unexpectedly and the realization that whatever was inside was not something you had meant to order but rather the latest Bruce Hornsby and the Range or Kenny G along with a mean notice saying you now owed $29 for not opting out by returning that stupid little card.

I digress. Fortunately, the creative forces behind the Dada Duende Record Club are here to erase all of those bad memories and replace them with nothing but goodness in the form of a quarterly compilation of art, music and prose. It’s a set that is presented and packaged so beautifully it wouldn’t seem a bit out of place in a museum display yet there it is at your doorstep every few months just waiting to be enjoyed. Inside you’ll find a handmade lathe cut record featuring new musical artists for each set, a curated book of visual art and literary contributions and lastly, a gorgeous 8x8” limited edition archival pigment print.

Each quarterly set is prompted by a theme and the theme for this second volume was “duende”. As an artist who’s goal in creating art is to evoke the feeling of music through my painting, duende felt like a perfect fit for my work! In this issue you’ll also find duende inspired art from Daniela Spector, Kelly Gray, Dawn Surratt, Rachel Elise Thomas, Alessandra Sanguinetti, Ashima Yadava and music by Charles Gorczynski. You can learn more about all of these artists here!

“Happiness Hit Her Like A Train On a Track” (left)

“Living On Nerves and Feelings” (right)

MPLSART Sketchbook Project 2020

So last summer I got the opportunity to participate in a really cool project headed by MPLSART (https://www.mplsart.com/) called the MPLSART Sketchbook Project 2020. I could tell you all about it but I’ll include the press statement given by The Minnesota Museum of American Art (The M for those in the know) which tells you everything you need to know INCLUDING the fact that all 5 sketchbooks were recently purchased and added to their permanent collection! How cool is that?!?

Check out the sketchbooks and learn more about the project here!

The calendar says spring, but it sure feels like summer!

I don’t know if you’ve stepped outside today but OOF it’s a hot one! I swear it was just a week ago that I took 3 hot baths in one day just trying to warm up. Looking at the calendar, it WAS only a week ago! Minnesota is funny that way.

But enough about the weather.

Though May is now over it sure was nice to finally have the studio open for First Thursday and Art-A-Whirl® weekend. It was incredible to see so many people come through and lots of art go off to new homes including all of the pieces in the attached gallery. Wowzers! After 15 months of staring at the same old walls it seems pretty clear that people were ready for something new to look at and I am both overwhelmed and grateful!

I’m planning to take a little time this summer to create some new work to show you all when I plan to open again in September. In the meantime, I’ll keep posting new art in my store and always welcome visitors by appointment so please reach out if something catches your eye!

I hope you all have a safe and enjoyable summer and I look forward to seeing you in the fall!

Megan

Megan Bell Studio 20th Anniversary and Grand Reopening Sale

In 1999 I was 25 and sharing a studio with my Dad (rent-free! Thanks, Dad!) at the Northrup King Building in Northeast Minneapolis. It was a great experience and I am grateful for that time that we had together. After a couple of years though he was anxious to take back the walls I had made my own and I too was itching for a place where I could work on larger paintings and listen to my music loud.

In May 2001, I signed my name to a year long lease for a sweet little space just down the hall and then regretted my foolish decision immediately as I hadn’t really considered how I’d ever actually pay the rent each month.

Fast forward 20 years, and somehow I’ve actually managed to send in 240 rent checks and keep the studio going despite raising a family, a recession or two, and most recently, a global pandemic. Now after being closed for the last 15 months I am thankful to finally be fully vaccinated and ready to welcome you all back to celebrate two awesome decades of the Megan Bell Studio!

To mark the occasion, I’m offering a 20% discount on all artwork through May 31st! Use the code BELL20 to save 20% on all online purchases made at meganbell.net or simply mention the code for the discount if you come to visit the studio during my upcoming events!

Thanks to everyone that has ever come to one of my shows. To each of you that have my paintings hanging on your walls. I am grateful for every one of you and I look forward to seeing you soon!

Roehmeos!

So another pretty cool thing that happened this last year was this little collaboration with vibraphonist, Steve Roehm of the super group The New Standards.

He reached out to see if I’d be interested in painting a few of his hand built instruments called “Roehmeos” and of course I said yes! How cool is that? From Steve’s website, a little bit about the instruments… “‘The Roehmeo’ is a hand-crafted, custom-made, 7-note mallet percussion instrument. The bars you strike are made from brushed aluminum, giving the instrument a mellow, metallic tone. What makes this percussion instrument unique is it’s tuned to a G minor blues scale, so you can jam on the 12 bar blues in G.”

If you’re interested in buying one for yourself, contact Steve directly at teamroehm@comcast.net

Minnesota Department of Health 2020 Flu Campaign

In the fall of 2020 as Covid-19 was ravaging the world, the MN Department of Health (MDH) contacted me about a campaign they were working on to raise awareness about the importance of flu vaccinations.

The idea was to incorporate the work of local artists on bandages in a campaign titled “Band Together Against the Flu” and lots of catchy advertising ensued on tv, billboards, online and print news.

Though this year there wasn’t time to print bandages for mass distribution, that is the hope for 2021.

See more about the project and the artists involved here.

Metro Transit 28th Ave. Park and Ride | South Loop District

In the summer of 2020 I was asked by Metro Transit to submit work for a cool new mural project in no other than my hometown of Bloomington, MN.

When I was a kid, this area was mostly an industrial park surrounded by farm land. It is now known as the South Loop District and is a new, trendy neighborhood sandwiched between MSP Airport, the Mall of America and the beautiful Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge.

The project that I was fortunate to be a part of is located in a 5 story concrete park and ride. What better place to bring beauty and creativity? At the stairway entrance to each level was a boring, gray wall that now thanks to Metro Transit’s Public Art program now look like this. Pretty cool, huh?

The painting of mine that was gigantified was this piece titled “Longing”. Though it’s 10x10’ there, the original is a more manageable 30x30” and as of now, is still available for purchase here.

My 10 year old is super impressed as you can see.