We came across Teri Bloch’s artwork on MnArtists.org after seeing an announcement for an urban-themed art exhibit at Dean Gallery on Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis. There was something about the little dog and the mittened hand holding its leash that said “winter in the city” to us and was just right for MOQ’s winter issue (pictured at left), so we were delighted when Bloch agreed to let us use the image on our cover. The winter issue was just printed on Saturday and will be wending its way to subscribers in the next couple of days. Here's a little more information about Bloch and her artwork.

Bloch earned her BFA at the University of Minnesota, currently lives in Fridley, and paints at the Northrup King Building in Northeast Minneapolis. You can see more of her work on her MnArtists page, and through December at The Gallery at Frame Ups in Minneapolis and Three Havens Artworks in Alexandria. Her studio in the Northrup King Building is open on the First Thursday of every month.

Tell us a little about your preferred media.
I paint in acrylics on wood panels. I have always used acrylics; patience not being in my nature, the fast drying time of acrylics suits me best. Working on wood panels came to me by accident. Several years ago I bought an eight dollar sheet of masonite and had it cut up into smaller pieces. I was in a slump and wanted something inexpensive to play around on. Around that same time my mother gave me a box of childhood photos. Those photos inspired a series that resulted in a show at the Phipps Gallery in Hudson, Wisconsin, and the discovery that I loved working on wood. I now have the panels made for me on white birch, cradled on maple, which makes for a nice presentation and is a surface that allows me to scratch and sand into the paint creating surfaces I can’t get on canvas.

Many of your paintings are themed by series (the Central Ave. series, the cat series), do you set out with the intention of doing a certain number of paintings about, say, Central Avenue, or do you not realize it’s going to become a series until after you’ve painted a few pictures on a given theme?
I like the momentum working in a series gives me. I don’t start out with a defined number of paintings in mind but continue working until I lose interest or some other idea catches my attention. Subject matter is secondary to my process but it does act as a stimulus.

Would you like to say more about your Central Ave. series -- what inspires it, why so many paintings on this theme, and when do you think you will have completed the series.
I grew up and lived most of my adult life in St. Paul. Approximately three years ago my husband and I moved to Fridley. To my surprise I went through a grieving period over the loss of place. I think working on the Central Avenue series has in some way helped me connect to my new surroundings.

Currently I have a daily commute six miles down Central Avenue from Fridley to Northeast Minneapolis where my studio is located. Being new to the area I have been pulled in by the activity and diversity of Central Avenue, it is all new to me. I suppose it’s somewhat voyeuristic, glimpsing the activities and fragments of strangers. I wonder about the people, who they are, what are their stories. Most people are alone so there is a sense of loneliness. I think about whether other commuters, who drive the same route, notice the people or do they become part of the landscape — not different from the light post, the garbage can or the bus bench they are sitting on?

I am not sure when the series will end, the material could be endless. Recently, on a trip to New York, I shot some photos that may inspire me to transition out of the Central Avenue series. We will see where that takes me.

You earned your BFA at the U of Minnesota, and have exhibited exclusively in local and a couple of regional galleries. Do you feel any urge to “break out” and get your work shown outside the area?
I am open to all opportunities and evaluate each one based on what will support me in continuing my work but still leave me time to pursue my priority goal of making good paintings.

Central Avenue Series #4, by Teri Bloch