Helen Klebesadel - Helen Klebesadel

The Muse And Her Artist

11/2/2025

Drawing Resistance: The Artist’s Dilemma in Political Conflict | A Virtual Exhibition

I an honored to have my watercolor and ink drawing 'Web' included in the Woman Made Gallery (WMG) virtual exhibition "Drawing Resistance: The Artist’s Dilemma in Political Conflict | A Virtual Exhibition".which will be on display
August 16–November 15, 2025

Woman Made Gallery reflected upon how a world increasingly shaped by political unrest, censorship, and global crises, artists are often confronted with a critical question: What is my responsibility in the face of conflict? Must art speak truth to power—or is silence also a choice?
“Drawing Resistance: The Artist’s Dilemma in Political Conflict” is a virtual group exhibition that explores the tensions artists face when navigating our creative practice in politically charged environments. The title plays on the dual meaning of “drawing”—as both a visual act and a metaphor for tracing boundaries, beliefs, or courage.
Woman Made Gallery invited women and non-binary artists from around the world to submit work that confronts, reflects on, or challenges political realities—whether global or deeply personal. Submissions could explore war, migration, censorship, social justice, protest, surveillance, gender-based oppression, or the quiet defiance of everyday survival. They were especially interested in works that wrestle with the dilemma of making art in a time of unrest: how to act, what to say, and what it means to resist.
Since August 2025 Woman Made Gallery (WMG) has presented “Drawing Resistance: The Artist’s Dilemma in Political Conflict,” a virtual group exhibition that explores the tensions artists face when navigating their creative practice in politically charged environments. The exhibition will be available online untile November 15, 2025.

The title plays on the dual meaning of “drawing”—as both a visual act and a metaphor for tracing boundaries, beliefs, or courage. In a world increasingly shaped by political unrest, censorship, and global crises, artists are often confronted with a critical question: What is my responsibility in the face of conflict? Must art speak truth to power—or is silence also a choice? Selections by WMG’s Program Committee include works that confront, reflect on, or challenge political realities—whether global or deeply personal.

Exhibiting Artists: Ellis Angel, Lucy Aragon, Amal Azzam, Jenny Balisle, Jesper Beckholt, Carol Bivins, Blackmedu$a, Sally Jane Brown, Lulu Luyao Chang, Violet Costello, Rosemary Ann Davis, Graciela DeAnda, Mary Rose Deraco, Jena Doolas, Julianna Finch, Claire Flath, Shawna Gibbs, Julie Glass, Renee Golway, Farah Art Griffin, Deborah Hirshfield, Joanna Hoge, Maggy Hovden, Doina Mihaela Iacob, Meg Katherine Johnson, Tumí Johnson, Elizabeth Kelly, Helen Klebesadel, Kim Laurel, Michelle Louis, Ruth Marchese, Kristen Martin-Aarnio, Clarissa Martinez, Lineadeluz, Heather Mawson, Lori McCoy, Angela A. McElwain, Shanna Merola, Amy L Misurelli Sorensen, Jacie Morgan, Ena Mork, Yue Nakayama, Kelsey Nichols, Laura O’Connor, Olivia Outlaw, Monika Andrew Poray, Nina Rastgar, Ippy, Kathy Sayad Zatari, Mary Senter, Rosa Silver, Sarah Sipling, Talon, Alexandra Rey, Susanne McKenzie Swanson, Jacqueline E. Tirey, Rhonda Urdang, Ria Vanden Eynde, Vikkokoro, Denise Weaver Ross, Lisa Wright, Denise Yaghmourian, Jane Zich.

See ALL the artworks here: Drawing Resistance Exhibition.

MY ARTIST EXHIBITION STATEMENT
We all can use the tools we have to make our world better. I am an artist and my art is the best, most powerful way I have to make a positive difference. Starting January 1, 2024 I starting my Drawing for Good Project. I posted on social media a-drawing-a-day each day where I drew into an existing watercolor sampler from my collection of unfinished small watercolors that were demos from teaching watercolor workshops. For all of 2024 I posted and sold the small works unframed and un-matted for $100 apiece and donated the profits to good causes of my choosing. I created 366 pieces in 2024. I still occasionally add to the collection. Now the works are sold matted and at market value but I still donate $100 from each work from the collection to good causes of my choosing as they sell. Over 150 pieces have found new homes. My main artwork is focused on the health of our planet, pollinators and climate change. These small works allow me to address issues that arise daily and are small creative ‘spells’ to name and control the uncontrollable. I continue to channel my concerns into all of my art and to uses my tools to address these times as best I can both in the art and with small bits of support where I can. We can not all do everything, but we can all do something.

ABOUT THE ARTIST Helen Klebesadel is an artist, educator, and arts activist living and maintaining her art studio in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. Born and raised in the rural Midwest, she is best known for her environmental and feminist themed large-scale watercolors. Klebesadel has exhibited her work nationally and internationally, and her artworks are represented in many public and private the art collections. A celebrated mentor to less experienced artists, Klebesadel models making beautiful yet meaningful art centered around issues important to her while working to help others do the same in their own way.

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Past Blog Posts Prior to August 2025

10/14/2025

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Helen's Past Blogs:

Past Posts 2015-2024
- Reflective Drawings / Responsive Poems: Almost a Year of the Drawing A Day for Good Project
- Watercolor on Canvas and Board …………………. Still Learning! March 2024
- Still Teaching in Beautiful Places in 2024
- A Drawing A Day For Good - January 2024‘Tis the Season for Art and Gratitude-December 2023
- Still Teaching In Beautiful Places-July 2023
- Full Spirals Podcast Interview- April 2023
- To Gicleé or not to Gicleé: Making Prints of Original Watercolors- December 2022
- Art Emerges with Spring Flowers in 2022
- Check out Art on Display ~ Fall 2021
- Hang on a Little Longer: Art is Springing Up all Over the Place - April 2021
- Using Art to Create A Better New Year for 2021: Online Watercolor Workshops - December 2020
- ‘Tis the Season….for art - November 2020
- Force of Nature: A Virtual Art Exhibit by Georgia Weithe and Helen Klebesadel -October 2020
- Cabin Fever Creative Community: Art and Social Media in a Pandemic - May 2020
- Oceans A Rising ~ Virtual Collaborative Art and Climate Justice Exhibition - April 2020
- Visual Art and Creativity This Fall ~ Wisconsin and Beyond -September 2019
- Art and Learning In Beautiful Places - June 2019
- Celebrate Sharing Art: An Exhibition and Upcoming Workshops - May 2019
- Art Matters: Social Practice and Art that Works - April 2019
- Our Mornings Plein Air Painting in Spain -March 2019
- Drawing on Nature and Circumstance ~ Two Exhibitions - September 2019
- Teaching Watercolor Makes Me a Better Artist - June 2017
- Cloud Studies: Drawing On Nature for Balance -September 2016
- Spring Art Classes Follow April Flowers - April 2016
- Colors of Light and Light by artist Ann Schaffer - September 2015

Other Venues:

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August 21st, 2025

8/21/2025

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Art Journal As Creative Practice

There are many ways that visual artists use journaling as a means of capturing their thoughts, feelings, and observations in the world. I will include resources, techniques, and journaling materials to fuel your own exploration here too.

Anyone who has gone through the exercises in Julia Cameron’s ‘The Artist’s Way,’ or her updated for retiree’s version, ‘It’s Never Too Late To Begin: Discovering Creativity and Meaning at Midlife and Beyond’ has likely added stream-of-consciousness daily journaling to their regular practice.

There are as many ways to do art journals as there are artists. Art journaling can be an open-ended form of art in a bound journal or gathered loose pages where the focus is on the process of creating and of self-expression rather than a particular artwork. The fact that it is collected and documented in a book form can be very freeing, and implies the process is more important that completing particular artworks.

Art journals are a great place to work out ideas, express private emotions, develop visual business or career plans, create personal visions for your future, record travel or get in touch with nature. I do all-of-the-above. I teach workshops about nature and travel journaling occasionally too.

Artist Journals often combine text, imagery, found materials and expressive color. Some are more words than images, some are made up of all images. Mixed-media, drawing, mark-making, writing, painting, and collage can all be components.

Working in an art journal is, for me, is a form of creative self-expression that I find energizing. I appreciate that there are no defined rules. I love the ability to combine and explore materials, ideas and techniques! I also find it interesting to look back and discover where the first ideas for current series of work may have started. I sometimes find the seeds of an idea a decade earlier in the center of some other exploration I was focused on at the time.

I like to maintain a regular art practice so some of my art journals emerged as a way to carry on my artwork in my travels. It is so much more satisfying to me to look back at images I drew or painted than photos (though I take my photos too and sometimes work from them). The reason I love nature and travel journaling so much is that with the practice I give myself permission to sit in one place and soak up the sounds, smells, and images for a longer period of time, rather than dashing through without really observing where I am.

For me it was the travel journaling that led to doing regular nature journaling. Sometimes when we are camping our way somewhere they are one and the same.

I invite you to give art journaling a try. There are lots of art guides out there that can help you get started. If you would like to try your hand at nature and travel journaling, check out my upcoming workshop at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison Wisconsin.

(Register by August 22, 2025)
https://www.olbrich.org/calendar/watercolor-nature-journaling-with-helen-klebesadel-2
You can learn more about it here:

Sat, Aug 23, - 24, 2025 10:00 am-4:00PM
Watercolor Nature Journaling with Helen Klebesadel
Join us in this two-day watercolor workshop for painters with some experience. Designed for artists interested in Nature Journaling and/or creating travel journals using watercolors and mixed media. This workshop will present several approaches to journaling with watercolors and other media. Build upon the skills you have acquired while using Olbrich Gardens to practice your journaling skills. See registration page for list of required supplies.
Instructor: Helen Klebesadel, Helen Klebesadel Art

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Drawing Resistance: The Artist’s Dilemma in Political Conflict | A Virtual Exhibition

Past Blog Posts Prior to August 2025

August 21st, 2025

Art Journal As Creative Practice

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Drawing Resistance: The Artist’s Dilemma in Political Conflict | A Virtual Exhibition

Past Blog Posts Prior to August 2025

August 21st, 2025

Art Journal As Creative Practice

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