Arts

​New murals at International Market Plaza promote unity and diversity

May 10th, 2017

A drab strip on Main Avenue in Fargo will soon be brightened by murals on the International Market Plaza, reflecting the growing diversity of Fargo. Created by local artists and a youth mural painting group at the Plains Art Museum, the murals will be installed at a reception this Saturday afternoon.

“We think that visual art is important for the aesthetics and identity of our city. And what is represented in our art should reflect the identities of people experiencing it. With a…

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​Emma Beatrez; the Inverted World

May 10th, 2017

Beatrez has created a series of chromatically inverted negative paintings – abstract nude forms. The artworks are designed to be more approachable and Beatrez intended creating the style to engage audiences with form, color, and anatomy. The show that Beatrez is presenting is the work form that she has made from testing out a negative painting to having a nude portrait of her – the artworks are rejected from two different art shows because of the nudity – Beatrez hoped to combine…

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Gardens Galore!

April 27th, 2017

After months of planning, a theme was chosen. This year the Plains Art Spring Gala totes a decadent Art Nouveau-inspired theme with Gardens Galore. Art Nouveau imagery is known for its flowing, organic, nature-inspired forms as it found its way into commercial art, architecture and fashion from around 1890 to 1910.

Thematically, think elegant flowing dresses and floral embellishments in the hair of the ladies; and top hats, well-tailored waistcoats, tuxedos or tails for the men straight…

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​The nature of Eric Johnson

April 26th, 2017

High Plains Reader: How long has "The Nature of things" been in the works?

Eric Johnson: I was asked in the fall of 2015 to exhibit. At that time, I was hoping to do an all-new body of work, but soon realized that at least with the reduction relief process I work too slowly. The last body of work I made that really stuck together took me seven years, so I should have known.

So what I decided to do was to take some work that I had completed in the last several years, and do my best to…

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Ink drawings: There is no going back

April 26th, 2017

Art is complicated. It is not only about drawing or painting, but of putting the soul into the artworks. In a variety of art forms, the maker can fix it until it satisfies them.

Rarely, with ink drawings, can you go back to fix your piece. Ink drawing artist Milena Marinov called the form “a very unforgiving medium.” She picked up this fact as her most challenging part in creating art; there is no going back in ink drawings. “You cannot erase it and it takes a lot of time and…

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​Light after darkness: Local artist offers Art of Hope and Healing in memory of her children

April 19th, 2017

Nikki Anderson’s home brims with ephemera that embody her life as an artist, teacher, wife, mother, chef, survivor, and healer. A gold medal glistens in the spring sunlight hanging next to a tattered baseball cap on the coat rack. School photos of her three children adorn the wall by the stairs and the mantel. The smoky jazz of Norah Jones fills the air that was once full with her son playing the piano. Creativity is woven throughout every room, including handmade pottery, mosaics,…

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​Spinning and weaving

April 5th, 2017

Life is not just to keep up with but to enjoy and find our own happiness. The Spirit Room is one of the places where we can enrich our lives and ourselves as well. There are a variety of programs prepared that would take our wretched complexity into the life of well-being and full development.

The purpose of this non-profit organization is to encourage individuals and organizations with educational experiences through three primary components; Creative, Contemplative, and Healing Arts.…

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​Subject matter that matters

March 29th, 2017

Art courtesy of Barbara Nagle

Next week marks the beginning of the 50th annual Hawley Art Show. Featuring food, music, people’s choice judging events, and more. This year’s show will really demonstrate the sense of community that has been fostered for fifty years.

The exhibit is free of charge and open to the public, and submissions from artists only require a small fee. Any artist can enter their work in the show, regardless of skill level, and children’s submissions are also…

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Governor’s Award winners display variety

March 22nd, 2017

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the North Dakota Governor’s Awards for the Arts. Recipients of this year’s awards include a wide range of different artists working in a variety of different methods of expression. A reception and ceremony will be held in Bismarck on March 28.

Recipients of the Governor’s Awards are Paul Noot of Bismarck for Arts in Education, The Arts Partnership in Fargo for Arts Organizations, and Deb Belquist of New Rockford, Bennett Brien of Belcourt,…

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Megan Mitchell’s ceramics: the tension between freedom and belonging

March 8th, 2017

She has been studying painting, printmaking, and ceramics throughout her academic journey and has become an amazing ceramic artist. Megan Mitchell, ceramic artist, is having a gallery talk at the Plains Art Museum in Fargo.

While growing up, she enjoyed creating artworks but she did not consider herself an artist because she thought she was not talented in the field. But, making art challenged her and made her curious about what she was capable of and what was around the next corner. The…

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