Studio Crawl

By Kristine Kostuck
Staff Writer

This weekend some of Fargo-Moorhead’s talented artists will open the doors of their studios for the annual Studio Crawl. For participating artists, this is a great opportunity to get some exposure.

The High Plains Reader gives its readers a sneak peak at some of the artists in the Crawl that don’t get the publicity their abilities merit.

Don and Anna Renner

“No medium is ruled out when we create.” The Renners turned their home into a studio to do visual art and music. The focus is on paintings and sculpting.

Don explains his process as a compulsive drawing before incorporation. Their band “Fringe Benefit” is a break from the visual work, since they feel a “need” to listen and make music.

The couple traces their appreciation for art to their genetics, families’ encouragement and travel.
Some of Anna’s earliest memories are of her interest in drawing and painting. “Every time I saw an ancient ruin, a Renaissance painting, a Baroque cathedral, native jewelry or a landscape, I felt the urge to learn more about what the world had to offer.”

NDSU Student Art Society

At Renaissance Hall on campus, will showcase the work of undergraduate students in their personal studios at the University.

Representing the professors and coordinators of the university’s art department in the Studio
Crawl are Michael Strand, Kim Bromley and Kent Kapplinger.

Kapplinger is the director of PEARS, (printmaking education and research studio), whose assistant, Eric Johnson, will show his work. Johnson has been involved with PEARS since 1999 and now serves as a master printer in the studio.

“Throughout history people have appreciated printmaking’s abilities to communicate and
inform a broader public, both inside and out of museum settings,” said Kapplinger.  “I wanted to involve students with visiting artists who we print for. This provides our students, be they in a printmaking class or not, an opportunity to observe how artists and printers collaborate, plus it is hands-on experience.”

PEARS breaks the boundaries between students and the public by encouraging folks to stop by the studio during printing projects. Kapplinger comments that public interaction “has a huge impact in community building, sharing ideas and developing artistic partnerships.”

Val Halvorson

“Art has sparked my creative spirit. It directed me in many ways, but now every day it is fiber art.”
Halvorson has always worked with fabric. After making a handful of traditional quilts she became bored with executing the ideas of others. So she traveled the country to attend conferences and workshops on art quilting, and found her passion. From her huge fabric supply she sews architectural landscapes and portraits accented with beautiful patterns and colors.
Halvorson is also presenting a new form of art that is completely original.

“As a painter takes a photo and turns it into a painting, I take that photo and turn it into a quilt,” she said. “I want people to know that fiber art doesn’t below on a bed, but on a living room wall.”

Scott Thuen

This is Thuen’s first Crawl. He’s a North Dakota native who hopes to capture the beauty and grandeur of the state with his paintings and photos.

After moving away from North Dakota for couple of years, Thuen began feeling, “claustrophobic by the trees and buildings.”  He missed the horizon, and developed an appreciation for the North Dakota’s landscapes.

By combining his love for exploring the outdoors with his art, Thuen hopes to change opinions about North Dakota’s natural beauty.  Thuen captures some of North Dakota’s most unforgettable scenery.

Eric Syvertson

While searching for his own style, the 25-year-old Syverson has experimented with a variety of approaches to drawing and painting.  “Mixing unexpected combinations,” he says, “usually yields unexpected results, which can either turn out to be a disaster or a handy tool for future works.”
At this point in his career, “I’m not ready to settle down with a particular style so I am consciously trying to explore and break my comfort zone. I want my work to remain fresh and exciting for me and the audience in my studio.”

His art often features people transforming into objects, rather than vice versa.  Although this may seem backwards to some, Syverson believes it makes his work “more approachable and relatable to viewers.”

Robert Kurkowski

Inspired by childhood memories, Kurkowski, still playing with mud, creates exceptional ceramic work.  Said Kurkowski, “the world is full of wonders and I like sharing my perception of it.” A retired teacher, he is a founder of the Creative Arts Studio.

Kurkowski takes something as simple as designing pottery and turns it into a whimsical, functional work. He works with Raku (a type of Japanese pottery) and stoneware ceramics, along with sculptural and utilitarian work.

For the Studio Crawl he hopes the audience can recognize his craftsmanship and joy he gets from art. “I’d love to inspire others to create. Also, I would like to instill an awareness of what is required to devote a life to creation,” he said.

Kim Jore

As painter of a wide variety of portraits, abstracts, floral cityscapes and collage, Jore has been sharing her work by teaching at Riverzen, an art studio, salon and gallery in Moorhead.
She supports local art and has participated in children’s therapy through art. Jore thinks art is a way of life, something that can touch everyone.

“Being an artist, I share everything I am and know my art is a reflection of who I am,” she said. “Sharing my art and opening my salon has been a great experience and I love every minute of it.”
Unfortunately, the HPR doesn’t have space to profile every artist. Suffice it to say that the Crawl is a once-a-year event and a unparalleled opportunity in F-M for folks to see great art and meet the artists. 

Words are inadequate to describe nonverbal experiences like seeing works of art. The best word to use to describe the Crawl is “wonderful.” It is, for one thing, the best way to be exposed to art for the first time.

For more info check out http://www.FMVA.US.

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If You Go

What: Studio Crawl
Where: 39 Cass-Clay locations
When: Oct 2, 3, noon-6pm
Info: 218.299.5511