Come to Franconia Sculpture Park September 24th

Come Early and Stay Late for my New Performance... "Dream"
At 9:30 PM the Dream will begin!!
"Dream" is Mary Jane Mansfield's Eclectic surrealist vision featuring Electric Water Sculptures, circus performer Chimgee Haltarhuu and a live soundtrack by Matt Cisler using strange toy instruments and de-tuned electric guitars processed through the computer. The performance will kick off with a Charlie Brown style Marching Band led by Bridget Beck and Carrissa Samaniego... bring a band instrument or make one and join in!!

Free and Open to the Public

Saturday · September 24th is the
15th Annual Franconia Art & Artists Celebration
10:00am to 10:00pm
Franconia Sculpture Park is located just 45min out of the Twin Cities near Taylor Falls.
29836 St. Croix Trail Franconia, MN

Mary Jane Mansfield is a fiscal year 2011 recipient of an Artist initiative grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is funded, in part, by the Minnesota arts and cultural heritage fund as appropriated by the Minnesota State Legislature with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.

Ship of Dreams

Building the sail was the first project I jumped into once I got my new work space up and running. It came together more beautifully than I had imagined. Nearly 12' tall and 8' wide, it is designed to stand in a 100 gallon galvanized steel water trough like you would find on a farm. It gives the piece a feel of a toy boat in a child's bathtub... truly exaggerated... "Dream" Style!! There are triangle frames on the front of it to hold 6 1500 Watt Ball Park lights that will be controlled with dimmer switches. I am renting a generator to run this one!!
When I finished building it on the floor of my studio, it was so big and heavy I had to tie ropes to the rafters of the ceiling to lift it. Once I got the ropes secure I literally stood under the spine of the sail and lifted it onto a beam with my back... So... that takes up half my space now and I had to do some major rearranging to make room to build the house of Dreams...

A Dreamy House ?

This Electric House with the roof blowing off has been a lot of fun designing. It has evolved nicely since the preliminary sketch you see here. It is 10' long almost 12 feet tall and has a small back deck with an electrified window and a runway on the front!! Instead of the roof blowing off in one piece it has literally blown to pieces!! I am really looking forward to setting it up at the park the week before the show and seeing it all together. In my studio I am building it in pieces the way they build pre-fab homes.

Studio Week: Show Update

Mary Jane Mansfield's Electric Water performance Art... "Dream" is Coming soon to the Greatest Sculpture Park on Earth!!
I found a sweet little garage space to rent down by the Mississippi where I can work on building a sail for my boat. After a long Winter & Spring... Moving and changing jobs, I set up shop in a double garage in the Longfellow neighborhood. The move meant splitting up my live in work space into a new apartment and what has turned out to be my favorite studio space of all time. The space opens up to the back yards of a few buildings with nice neighbors where evidently I have become the resident artist of their neighborhood. The Birchwood Cafe is across the street. Local, sustainable, organic and fair trade ingredients whenever possible... Highly recommended. They also have a cute little restroom... Studio complete!! Tuesday Wednesday & Thursdays all summer have been studio time for me. Now with just a few weeks left before the show I am pulling together the finishing touches on two really fun sculptures. Be sure to save the date... September 24th for a trip just 45 min out of town to Franconia Sculpture Park!! See you there...