Ellen Mueller

Zines Acquired in National Collecting Institutions

by Ellen Mueller on June 3, 2025, no comments

cover of a zine printed in maroon on cream paper

Observational Walking and the Five Senses

Some fun news from earlier this spring: I learned that both Hennepin County Library in Minneapolis and Baylor University Book Arts Collection in Texas have acquired copies of my zine, Observational Walking and the Five Senses, via Minnesota Center for Book Arts where I have been consigning zines and books for several years. Additionally, Baylor also acquired the full Social Practice History 1-8 zine bundle.

McKnight Fellowship

by Ellen Mueller on June 1, 2025, no comments

screenshot of McKnight Fellowship announcement from MCBA website

screenshot of McKnight Fellowship announcement from MCBA website

From the MCBA announcement: (click link to see the images and statement/proposal I submitted with the fellowship application)

“Ellen and Sarah will both be awarded $25,000 in unrestricted funds to explore and deepen their art practices thanks to our partnership with the McKnight Foundation, which annually supports two exceptional Minnesota-based book artists. The pair will also receive a range of professional benefits through MCBA, including studio visits from a national critic/curator; a travel stipend, residency opportunity, and educational stipend; the opportunity to participate in an artist panel at Open Book; 24/7 studio access for two years; and a group exhibition in MCBA’s Main Gallery.

Ellen Mueller explores themes of capitalism, environmentalism, place, health, and interpersonal communication through visual and conceptual contrasts in her zines, drawing, fibers, and writing. “My work is inspired by several events and phenomena at once, and often hinges on a bizarre juxtaposition of two or more seemingly unrelated influences,” she states. “Using this approach, I challenge the binaries humans continually construct, and hope to disrupt seemingly infinite cycles.”

In Mueller’s soft books and zines, she uses self-produced or online imagery in her compositions to reflect her stance on late-stage capitalism and its effects on humanity. “I mine the ways capitalism is integral to all aspects of everyday living and decision making, from food and shelter, to clothing and energy. Absurdity and humor address this creeping influence, even if such gestures are largely symbolic.” She looks forward to deepening her connection to her practice through conversations with peers during the McKnight Fellowship.

With an emphasis on queer and transgender identity, Sarah Evenson creates hand-printed artist’s books, DIY print media, and new media. Evenson’s work reflects the physical relationship between their artistic practice—screenprinting—and their body. “It is a medium in which the pressure needed to create a print comes from the same areas of the body that were most affected by my gender-confirming mastectomy: the chest, arm, and upper back muscles. This connection between my physicality and my craft results in indexical images, works that testify to the strength of my transgender body.”

Evenson uses their work to promote accessible and community-driven book arts within its creation and distribution. They will use the McKnight Fellowship resources to develop their practice and further their reach in hopes of engaging with a larger audiences of queer and trans people across the country. “Subject-wise, my work celebrates the tenderness of human connection and positions Queerness as a practice of transformational love,” shared Evenson.

The finalists were selected by esteemed jurors Helen Hiebert, Sarah Matthews, and Catherine Alice Michaelis (bios below). They shared their impressions of the artists and their work following virtual studio visits with the finalists.

Sarah Evenson’s innovative book work—incorporating the hand (illustration) and technology (animation and printing)—excites me,” shared Helen Hiebert. “Their poignant insights about the body, encapsulated in bright colors, bring queer joy to light.”

Catherine Alice Michaelis noted, “Ellen Mueller’s work engages the broader community as well as the artist, leaving me energized and hopeful.”

Explore the work by the 2025 McKnight Book Artist Fellows below by viewing their winning portfolios and full artist statements. Beneath that, you can also find biographical information about our jurors.

Congratulations to our 2025 fellows!

A Line That Grows – at Test Plot MN

by Ellen Mueller on May 24, 2025, no comments

A Line That Grows

What: “A Line that Grows” – a living installation? a drawing? a garden? a zine hand-out event? Come check it out and decide for yourself!
Who: Ellen Mueller is initiating this long-term plant-drawing with nodding onions (Allium cernuum) in collaboration with Test Plot MN
Why: Native plants are cool, and alliums are bunny resistant and thrive in the sun (planting for climate change). How often do you get to participate in a collaborative conceptual line drawing?
Where: Test Plot MN (at the intersection of Pierce Butler Rte and Lexington Pkwy N in St. Paul – look for the tiny wood fence)
When: Saturday, May 31 at 3-4pm 
How: Stop by any time between 3-4pm to say hello, and plant one of the plants if you want to. Grab a free zine about nodding onions and native plant gardening in Minnesota. Very appealing for those who want to get their hands dirty, or those who just want to chat while people are planting a long line of native onions.

OLLI Course Summer 2025 – Walking as Artistic Practice

by Ellen Mueller on May 8, 2025, no comments

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute – Summer 2025 Catalog

I’m delighted to share I’m doing an online talk and an in-person walk focused on my book, Walking as Artistic Practice, as a part of OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute via the College of Continuing & Professional Studies at UMN). OLLI’s vibrant learning community for people aged 50+ is host to hundreds of high-quality noncredit courses each year—offered both in person and online—as well as intellectually stimulating social, cultural, and volunteer opportunities.

Know someone 50+ that might be interested? Not an OLLI member? On the fence about joining for a full year ($325 annually)? Our summer-only membership makes it oh-so-easy to give us a try. You’ll receive access to 57 courses and tours during the summer term (June 2–27). The cost? Only $49!

This talk will share foundational information about the history of walking as an artistic practice, making it accessible to participants of all backgrounds. We will review a variety of topics from observational and sensory experience, leading versus following, rituals, place, and more.

Online talk: Friday, June 20, 12:30-2:00pm, online (there’s already 46 people registered! 500 total spots available)

In-person walk: Saturday, June 28, 12:30-2pm, meeting at the intersection of Minnehaha Creek and Dupont Ave S, Minneapolis

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute Walking as Artistic Practice talk

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute – Summer 2025 Catalog; Walking as Artistic Practice talk/walk