Arts

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…

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…

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,…

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.…

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…

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,…

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…

Visions of the prairie at the Spirit Room

March 1st, 2017

The Midwestern states have often been cynically called “the flyover states” by tourists, only existing there as a forgettable, boring expanse to traverse between the coasts, where all the fun and excitement is really going on.

That may be an unfair assessment though. Us Midwesterners are in the interesting position of being in close proximity to both the rural and the urban lifestyles, able to pass back and forth between the two with only a short road trip. It’s the best of both…

Emily Williams-Wheeler: ‘Lint in My Pocket’

March 1st, 2017

“Color is my strength and passion and it shows in all my paintings,” said Emily. “Art is an involuntary movement for me – like breathing.”

Her colors can be found in her exhibitions, commercials, and residential installations throughout the country and across the oceans, such as Santa’s Whimsical Wonderland at West Acres. You would have noticed the powerful colors and playfulness in the installation as you passed by shopping.

Emily Williams-Wheeler is a professional fine…

Makers making a mark: seven years of Unglued Craft Fest

February 22nd, 2017

On February 24- 25, Unglued Craft Fest returns to the Plains Art Museum in Fargo for its 7th annual event, to give us all a chance to see, touch, enjoy and purchase items from local, regional and national makers while enjoying local beer, food and music.

This year promises the return of some old favorites and the addition of many new artists and makers.

As in years’ past, Friday, February 24 is a Craft Gala from 5-9 pm, which is a sneak preview with special perks and a $25 in advance,…