Potter, Advocate, Teacher—Robert Kurkowski

By Paul Hankel
Contributing Writer

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” – Pablo Picasso

North Dakota has been the birthplace of many talented and influential figures. Artist and North Dakota native Robert Kurkowski is one of them. Kurkowski, a potter and sculptor, has been teaching and perfecting his craft in and around the area for decades. He has also served as an advocate for many different artistic groups and committees.

Born is Bismarck, Kurkowski, 66, was raised in Fargo before joining the Navy. He was stationed mainly on Guam during the early 1970’s. During that time, Kurkowski married his wife, Barbara. Following his enlistment, Kurkowski attended the University of Minnesota, Morris and received a degree in Studio Art and teaching. Soon after Robert began a career working for the Fargo Public Schools that would last nearly thirty years. During that span, Kurkowski mentored and taught countless youth about art, its history and its practices through his teachings and the founding a Creative Arts Studio in Fargo.

Along the way, Kurkowski and his wife, Barbara, had two children, Peter and Christina. The couple recently celebrated 40 years of marriage earlier in the year before she sadly passed away last month due to a chronic liver condition.

After several years Kurkowski shifted his focus to his own studio, Marbakka Studios. A large, welcoming white sign greets all who pay Robert Kurkowski a visit at his studio in Walcott, North Dakota. Emblazoned with the words “Marbakka Studios,” it sits at the entrance of the once farmstead that Kurkowski and his family renovated and turned into his personal studio. The studio rests on ten acres of farm land and features a cottage-style home along with a barn that Kurkowski turned into his workspace. “A friend of his found an old granary for sale so they tore down the walls of it to use and put in a foundation at the farm,” said Christina Peek, Kurkowski’s daughter. “They even added a loft to use as a drawing studio and then brought in all of the equipment for making pottery.” Peek, a landscaper, even did some of the planting and landscaping herself.

An expert pottery and ceramics artist, Kurkowski enjoys doing many different kinds of throwing including a unique style Japanese style called Raku. Raku differs from traditional pottery in regards to how the piece is baked. In traditional ceramics, pieces are put into a kiln and slowly heated up and then allowed to cool in the kiln very slowly in a process that can last several days. Raku, however, is a much faster heating process in which the piece is heated very rapidly and for a much shorter period of time, roughly twenty minutes according to Kurkowski’s daughter. The piece is then placed, still hot, onto a table of sand and covered with a metal trashcan filled with newspaper or leaves which then catch fire. The remaining oxygen is then burnt out. “That process is how you get all of the unique metallic blue, green and copper glazes. It’s a hard technique and I can personally appreciate the talent it takes to do it,” Christina said.

Throughout his expansive art career, Kurkowski has served in several capacities within the arts community including as the first Director of the Fargo Moorhead Visual Artists (FMVA), a group he helped to found. The group’s goal is to “promote and support quality Visual Arts in the Fargo-Moorhead area by educating and encouraging visual artists and their communities” and they do so by helping bring awareness and recognition to the local art scene.

The FMVA, along with its partners, are hosting the 2011 FMVA Studio Crawl on Oct. 1 and 2. The event takes place throughout Fargo and Moorhead and will feature a unique chance for FM area residents to enjoy many different genres of art made by local and regional artists. Art fans will be able to tour several studios of working artist from our area and be able to see not only art pieces but also the artists themselves. A special Studio Crawl preview event is being held at the Plains Art Museum on Friday, Sept. 30. The event will feature one piece from each artist participating in this year’s studio crawl.

Robert Kurkowski, one of the group’s most influential leaders, will be on hand to display his talents and art pieces. His appearance, however, is dependent on his health as he is currently struggling with health concerns.

It is apparent that Kurkowski is one of the area’s foremost advocates for the arts and artists. This is evidenced by his 30+ year career teaching, lecturing, and doing demonstrations of his craft, all while striving to further art and to help it reach its potential area. We at the High Plains Reader have nothing but the utmost respect for Robert and all the work that he has done. We wish him the best throughout his health struggles and look forward to him continuing to bless our local community with his wonderful works.

A few thoughts and comments from some of Kurkowski’s family members, students, and fellow artists:

“In any successful arts community there needs to be someone who is fully involved and dedicated to the development of the arts; Bob Kurkowski is such a man. Educators are the best people to build knowledge and understanding within a community and Bob, if nothing else, is an educator”  -Patrick Tupa-Student

“Just wanted to say THANKS! Bob is a true community gift” –Brad Berger, FMVA Member

“He’s (Kurkowski) an inspiration and an advocate not only for art and artists but for creativity in general.” –Former Student

For More Information on the FMVA Studio Crawl 2011 visit http://www.fmva.us.

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