Michael Workman

Before co-founding Pilsen's Vespine Gallery, artist Shawn Sheehy was searching for his voice. His creative interests were manifested early on: as a little boy growing up in Cedar Lake, Indiana, Sheehy was interested in drawing and sculpting three-dimensional forms. He used to carve wood in his garage with his dad, where he made furniture for his sister's dollhouse. Relocating here from Madison, where he studied graphic design, he came seeking inspiration in academia. He spent some time at the Center for Book and Paper Arts at Columbia College, where he completed his MFA, graduating in 2002. His experience there provided the groundwork for what has proven a prolific and inventive engagement with book arts.

After graduation, he started talking with fellow artists Leah Mayers about finding studio space. They started asking around and, as it so happened, book and paper department instructor Melissa Jay Craig was living in the space where Vespine Gallery now stands. It was perfect: at 2100 square feet it was large enough for their projects and close enough to the Loop to reach on a bike. "She basically turned it over to us," recalls Sheehy. "And we started thinking that, since we had a storefront, we were casually considering using the space as a gallery space." Then a shift occurred in the power structure of the Podmajersky family, local real estate moguls and the force behind Pilsen's Chicago Arts District initiative, and they were faced with a choice. "We were told we could either ride the commercial wave or get out."

Sheehy still lives in the space, open now since 2003. It's helped both his connection with the Chicago art community and his own art practice: he feels his central concern with popup books has deepened and become more and more complex. "Initially my head was in two worlds," explains Sheehy. "I had one foot in the limited-edition world, and another in the trade publication world, I was thinking along two different lines. I've integrated those now, and I'm interested in finding a publisher. I've moved forward."

(2005-10-11)

Also by Michael Workman

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In the midst of Chicago Artist's Month, it's worth turning away from the artist for a moment in order to train our attention on those who constitute art's system of critical reception. Specifically, those who write the first draft of an artwork's history
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Tip of the Week
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