Inspired by Tools of the Trade

Carnegie Art Center, Three Rivers, MI, June – August 2010
Artists take their inspiration from a host of sources internal and external, personal and universal,
sacred and profane. . . but one of the many things we have in common is a “connectedness”
with the tools that we use to explore ideas and create our work.

For this exhibition, I asked a group of Kalamazoo area artists to consider their tools in a more conscious way,
to allow their imagination to dwell on the things they use on a daily basis to create their work,
to look at the tools they may take for granted in a new way. . .

Show Statement

Michael Dunn, Urban Tools, watercolor and graphite triptych
– Everything becomes a potential tool in the city. We all are surrounded by, stand on and take for granted tools.

I use the standard pencil, brush and paint that all artists have at their disposal, but my major tools
are my eyes and the surfaces around me. Rocks and trees, manhole covers and sidewalks, walls and roads
have all become my tools. By changing my tools from the conventional ones to the found objects surrounding me,
I have opened an awareness to everything around me. Nuances are in the textures and the letters.
Light and color shine from within, while the rich black graphite burst through the surface