Arts

​The cowboy with a crowbar

December 20th, 2017

Bob Watts - photograph by Sabrina HornungBob Watts will be 80 next March. The Montana-based artist is armed with a crowbar and acrylic paint and can be found painting at the Miles City Saddlery during the Miles City Bucking Horse Sale each year. He painted with a brush all of his life, until he had an artist epiphany in 1975, after trying to sell his paintings at the grand opening of the Kirkwood Mall in Bismarck, North Dakota.

“I was so excited, boy, I was painting pictures and the mall was so busy with this grand opening…

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​Her story: Be heard and encouraged

December 6th, 2017

hanhe@mnstate.edu

There are a variety of types of events and groups in our communities that encourage and support women. Robin Swanson, organizer of Her Story, wanted to create another special event for herself and other women. “I was hungering for something that was really authentic-feeling; kind of like a bunch of girlfriends sitting around in a comfortable space and sharing from their hearts and gut,” and, “With all due respect, I hadn’t experienced this level of sincerity and…

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​Lana Suomala: ‘From the Cookie Jar: 12 Fairy Tales and Recipes’

December 6th, 2017

From the cookie jar - photo by Luna Suomala

hanhe@mnstate.edu

We may introduce Lana Suomala as a Moorhead High school Spanish teacher, but when you see her art, you will remember her as an artist.

Suomala gets inspired by human stories; her own, her relationships, and those she observes in the world. She explained, “I’m attracted to the stories we tell and retell, as in fairy tales. Also, patterns in the natural world, whether it’s the construction of a feather, the changing of seasons, or the life cycle of a…

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Holiday Art Market opens at APT, a creative incubator Saturday

November 24th, 2017

By Lauren Richardson

lrichar3@cord.edu

Despite the temperatures outside, warm memories are made every year when it comes time to shop for the holidays, and this season you can make gift shopping fun while supporting local art in the process, at the APT Holiday Art Market, opening November 25 at 225 4th Avenue North in Downtown Fargo.

The APT Holiday Art Market, hosted by The Arts Partnership, is open to the public 4:30-8pm Thursdays and 10am-2pm Saturdays, from November 25 to January 6…

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​Holiday Art Sale by the Fargo-Moorhead Visual Artists

November 8th, 2017

Would you like to escape your stressful daily life with a relaxing arts event? Do you like to meet with old friends and make new ones? Or maybe you would like to start your Christmas and Holiday shopping early. FMVA has the event for you.

Visit the Holiday Art Sale by the Fargo Moorhead Visual Artists at the Moorhead Center Mall this Veteran’s Day weekend. They are open from 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday, November 11 and from noon to 5 pm on Sunday, November 12. 22 artists will take you on…

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Inspiring Abstraction

October 27th, 2017

Jay Fox paints his love letter to the Aquarium

One day, Jay Fox started to paint over one of his previous murals in the entryway of The Aquarium.

“I went in one day without asking permission, and it pissed a lot of people off,” Fox said. “And I just painted over the old one. The old one had a lot of detail in it, but it just didn’t work. It never really worked for me, it felt unfinished. ‘Trust me, this will be 100 times better.’ So I did it.”

Nearly five months and 650…

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​Beau Thiege, Guitar Man

October 18th, 2017

The High Plains Reader ran into Beau, master craftsman, who works with what the Minot Daily news called “junk repurposed into musical masterpieces.”

High Plains Reader: How did you get into luthiery?

Beau Theige: I came across a guy on YouTube playing a 3-string cigar box and I thought it would be fun to make myself one. I ended up making 7 or 8 of them. The only place to buy guitar strings in Williston at the time was Books on Broadway, a local bookstore. My friend I was with at the…

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Fritz Fest, celebrating the life and work of Fritz Scholder

October 4th, 2017

The Plains Art Museum, the Rourke Art Museum, NDSU, the Red Door Art Gallery (Wahpeton, ND) and the Fargo Theatre have teamed up to bring Fritz Fest, a three-day event, celebrating the life and work of influential 2oth century painter, sculptor, printmaker and poet with local roots, Fritz Scholder.

According to Andy Maus, Director of the Plains Art Museum, the impetus for the event came from a meeting with Rourke Art Museum board member Peter Schultz and the need to “have a more…

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​F-M Studio Crawl sampler

September 28th, 2017

Since 2004, the Fargo-Moorhead Visual Artists have been opening studios and encouraging the public to get a more intimate glimpse into the creative process as part of Studio Crawl.

Encompassing Fargo, Moorhead, Harwood and Felton, the Studio Crawl includes a total of 75 artists opening their studio doors to the public for one weekend. This gives the public a chance to glimpse into the working spaces and minds of a variety of artists. From potters to painters, glassblowers to printmakers,…

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Scholastic Art & Writing Awards: a chance to be recognized for your talent

September 20th, 2017

The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are presented by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. This nonprofit organization described their mission as “To identify students with their exceptional artistic and literary talent and present their remarkable work to the world through the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards.”

For the main opportunity is to compete for recognition at the state level. There are three different levels of awards; Gold Key, Silver Key, and Honorable Mention. Any…

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