FY 2011 Legacy Funded Artist Mentor Grants Awarded
The Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment, passed by Minnesota voters on November 4, 2008, has made it possible for the Region 2 Arts Council to award Artist Mentor Grants to young artists in our region for the second year in a row.
This spring, twenty-six young people applied for Region 2 Arts Council Artist Mentor Grants. Nine 8th-12th grade artists received grants to either mentor with a professional artist in their discipline, or attend a workshop or camp of their choice.
Below is a short description of each of these young artists and an explanation of their goals for the Artist Mentor Grant Program.
Raven Clark, a Trek North sophomore, has received a Region 2 Arts Council Artist Mentor Grant to mentor with visual artist Malisa VanMaasdam in order to improve her technical artistic skills in various mediums. With a heightened awareness of the conflict present in Tibet, one of Clark’s goals is to create artwork reflective of that conflict. Another goal of hers is to organize a local exhibit of her work where she will sell some of her pieces and donate the proceeds to an organization that supports Tibetans and is working toward conflict resolution in Tibet. As far as her skills as an artist are concerned, Clark acknowledges that she is a strong conceptual artist. She explains, “To make myself well-rounded, I would like to improve my technique to match my conceptual strength.”
Jordan Williams, a Cass Lake-Bena Middle School 8th grader from Pennington, has received a Region 2 Arts Council Artist Mentor Grant to work with visual artist Jake Baggenstoss on shading, 3-D skills, and using color effectively. Currently, Williams spends a great deal of time drawing people and landscapes. His subjects are often people he knows, but if something or someone catches his eye, Williams will stop to draw what he sees. Williams emphasizes proportional accuracy, and through his work with Baggenstoss, he aims to make his drawing more realistic. This young artist’s future goals include making a living as an artist. He says, “if I can make a living making art, I will be able to put all of my time and energy into creating my masterpiece.”
Musical artist Analisa Huschle, a 2011 Bagley High School senior, has a real love of performing on the guitar for audiences in a variety of venues. With her Region 2 Artist Mentor Grant, she has chosen to mentor with long-time professional guitar instructor Lou Samsa. Together they will work to widen her range of chords and picking progressions, and delve into the intricacies of guitar composition. Huschle says, “When I am on stage playing guitar and singing, I never want to quit. My joy comes from singing a story with the accompaniment of my acoustic guitar. I am striving to become a better artist so I am able to keep doing what I love, and if I can do it, I aspire to make music a part of my career in the future.”
Rachel Washenberger, a Kelliher High School junior, has a passion for drawing anime and manga-style cartoons. Already skilled in the art of capturing emotion through clear facial expressions, Washenberger plans to devote the time she spends with her mentor learning how to color, shade, and add more detail to her drawings. Washenberger will be mentoring with Bemidji-based graphic designer and visual artist Nicholas Jackson, working to “improve (her) drawing techniques, find better ways to add proportion to the characters (she) wants to create, and obtain skill in illustrating on the computer.”
Kiah Hartung, a Bemdiji High School junior, is serious about finding her creative source, and has plans to mentor with a local professional artist who will help her do just that. Hartung, one of nine 2011 recipients of a Region 2 Arts Council Artist Mentor Grant, will be working with visual artist and Trek North art teacher Kristin Gustafson, studying acrylic painting techniques, and exploring her creative side. Hartung states, “I wish to improve my creativity, learn new techniques about acrylics, and learn how to critique my work in a productive way.”
Acting is not new to 2011 Lake of the Woods High School senior Ryan Cooper, who has received a Region 2 Arts Council Artist Mentor Grant to attend the Prairie Fire Children’s Theater Day Camp in Barrett, MN this summer. He played many roles, including that of Axel Hammond in the Warroad Summer Theatre production of The Nerd, which has been, in Cooper’s estimation, the most challenging experience he’s had as an actor. As for his summer plans with Prairie Fire, Cooper “hopes to gain more acting experience, observe more of the directing process, and learn from more experienced individuals about acting as a career.”
Zoey Schlemper, Bemidji High School junior, notes that he learns something important about himself when reflecting on the form and content of the drawings he’s done since he was young. He’s looking forward to mentoring with an artist who will offer further perspective on his work and will help “stimulate (his) maturing as an individual in the expressive, abstract world.” As a 2011 Artist Mentor Grant recipient, Schlemper will be working with local visual artist/ graphic designer Nicholas Jackson. With Jackson as his mentor, Schlemper hopes to gain a better understanding of the relationship of colors, creation of mood, and the process of building a successful professional portfolio.
Trek North junior Ivan Smith of Bemidji will tell you that his current artwork is a “combination of abstract painting and junk scupture.” It is not uncommon for this budding metallurgist to spend “long summer hours searching the dump for material (he) can use in (his) sculptures.” As a recipient of a Region 2 Arts Council 2011 Artist Mentor Grant, Smith has been paired with experienced sculpture artist Al Belleveau. Belleveau and Smith share an unbound enthusiasm for working with metal, and working with a professional metal sculpture artist is, as Smith states, “just the opportunity I need to bring my art to a whole new level.”
Both the Bemidji Pioneer and the Cass Lake Times have featured the 2011 Artist Mentor Grant Program on the front page. Click on the following links to read more!
http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/event/article/id/100029704/
This activity is funded in whole or in part by a Region 2 Arts Council Grant through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature, and the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund passed by Minnesota voters on November 4, 2008.
