A PLRAC/McKnight Emerging Artist grant in 2005 set the foundation for a number of solo and group exhibitions in St. Peter, Mankato, Waseca, Owatonna, and Minneapolis. Pam is known as a painter whose work has focused on themes related to the internal lives of women through simple forms and dramatic use of color. As a recipient of the PLRAC/McKnight Foundation Fellowship, Pam has worked for the past year with professional conceptual artist and teacher, Cheryle Melander to shift to new themes, media, and presentation.  She characterizes the relationship as extremely challenging and extraordinarily rewarding. Her new work evolved in unexpected ways and with unexpected methods and media. The finished pieces became investigations of the fragility of the vessel skin creates as it shields the inner physiology.

In 2010, Kay photographed and interviewed 13 retired School Sisters of Notre Dame for her first solo exhibit, Blessed Are the Hands that Have Served.  Following her exhibition, she was awarded a PLRAC fellowship grant to continue her series with a new group of subjects. This led to her current series, a collection of words and photographs highlighting individuals who worked the land in south central Minnesota.

Referencing her current body of work Kay says, “If you held a drop of water in your hand, you would be holding the brief moment written of each person’s life.  If you study each hands photo, you will get a fleeting glimpse of a moment of their story.  Learning how the people in the exhibit have used their hands throughout their lives has been a gift to me, as I hope it will be to you.”

“We are pleased to use the Arts Center of Saint Peter,“ noted Brenda Byron, PLRAC Executive Director.  “The arts center has two levels and can accommodate over 40 pieces of art work.” At the reception, artists will be introduced and allowed to discuss their work and Michael Jorgensen, St. Peter a baritone vocalist will perform.

Artists featured in the exhibit are: Pamela Bidelman, St. Peter-oil painting; Cheryl Casteen, St. Peter-photography; Denise Friesen, North Mankato- monotype works; Michael Jorgensen, St. Peter-vocalist; Mika Laidlaw, Mankato-ceramics; Lois Peterson, St. Peter-mixed media; Patti Ruskey, Mankato-mixed media; Todd Shanafelt, Mankato-mixed media sculptural works; Janice Tanner, Janesville-mixed media; Brad Widness, North Mankato-printmaking.

Mai Yia Moua

Cassie Napoli

Sam Hemmerich

Passang Chozom

Eydie Kramer

David Pedersen

Evan Taylor

Heather Pallas

Blong Lor

Zabrina Stellburg

Encapsulating the outstanding talent of a handful of Minnesota’s acclaimed rural artists, the RACA group exhibition will feature:

Karl Unnasch
Michon Weeks
Liz Miller
David Hamlow
Gregory Euclide
Benjamin Gardner
Alan Montgomery
Lisa Bergh
Andrew Nordine
Diana Joseph
David Clisbee
Erik Waterkotte
Brian Frink

Curated by Mankato-based artist, Brian Frink this group exhibition features everything from prints to paintings and installations to photography.

On the steppes of Central Asia the nomadic herdsmen live in them.  They call them yurts.  In Zambia, Africa, they have thatched roofs.  They call them rondavels.  In the Caribbean Islands they are on the beach to protect from the sun.  In New York City, Chicago, and Minneapolis they are made of wood and are on tops of buildings for water storage.  In Southwest Minnesota they are made of galvanized steel and are used to store grain.  This common shape – triangle over a rectangle – is the source of my current work.  Nearly every farm place has a grouping of grain bins and I see them constantly in many different sizes and arrangements.  In previous work I often imagined a secret people inhabited them.

Most of my work has a border of rectangles that surround a central image.  This allows me to play with shapes and colours many times within a piece.  The idea of a series of film stills, or comic book frames, or windows on a computer screen is what I have in mind.  This predella format was used a lot in altarpieces and folk quilts.  Colour is very important to my painting.  It develops layer by layer as the work progresses, showing some hints of the previous work as the composition changes.  My drawings are pen and ink and they are direct: once the mark is made it is final; there is no erasing or redoing.  I enjoy working both ways.

Painting and drawing are the ways I explore and reflect on my surroundings.  One of the things that art can do is make us see things differently.  It is my hope that after seeing my paintings and drawings people will become aware of this universal shape that sits humbly in our landscape just as it does in other parts of the world.  Often we overlook what is right in front of us.

-David Strom

“As I pursue the act of pleine aire painting [En plein air is a French expression which means "in the open air", and is particularly used to describe the act of painting outdoors] it becomes a process of not only painting but of staying in the moment; a meditational device that keeps me in the present and seeing clearly.   When that actually happens it promotes a wonderful connection between nature and the mind, an ideal realized,” states artist, Sara Leadholm.  Leadholm’s professional career has led her to serve as an art director in New York City for advertising, a student of acclaimed pleine aire landscape painter Joe Paquet, and art teacher in the public schools of Minnesota for over ten years.  As a long-time resident of St. Peter, Leadholm has captured beautiful landscapes across Minnesota to the pacific coast.

Her work is displayed in multiple private collections, homes and businesses across the state.  Leadholm’s paintings demonstrate her innate ability to interpret natural landscapes and transfer them onto canvass in a matter of hours.

“I’m working at obtaining the ideal, a symbolic truth that can heighten my awareness to what is around me. And though I struggle at it, my desire to gain the abilities to capture one particular instant will keep me painting for a long time,” states Leadholm.

Making her first appearance in southern Minnesota, Carrie Elizabeth Thompson will be filling the galleries with her recent series of photographs titled ‘I Hope We Go Together’.  From Los Angeles to Minnesota, Thompson’s work has been featured in exhibitions across the country.  A recent recipient of the McKnight Artist Fellowship Award in 2009 and Minnesota State Arts Initiative Grant for Photography in 2010, Thompson’s work is garnering national attention.

Carrie Thompson’s work has explored her relationship with her family, roots, rootlessness, and restlessness.  Her most recent photos document a trip to Japan that preceded the birth of her first child, Goma, and what began as a search for a subject became instead a series of ongoing interrogations.  Thompson’s photographs capture a stillness that entrances onlookers and challenges the perception of everyday people and places.  Her large-scale color images embody the American experience and find beauty in commonplace encounters.  The nostalgic appearance of Thompson’s work makes each image seemingly relevant.  Being able to relate to each image makes this series a meaningful undertaking.

On loan from the American Swedish Institute, this exhibit offers a unique photographic documentary of the Swedish heritage in North America. ‘Signs of Swedish Roots in North America’ is a different and original view of the pioneering days of Swedish settlement and a living reminder of the thousand of sites and settlements from Alberta to Wyoming to Connecticut founded by Swedish explorers and pioneers. Artist and author Nikolas Werngren traveled across the continent photographing and interviewing the descendents of the original settlers and those who came after. He provides an engaging document of the survival and transmission of Swedish heritage.

An always exciting exhibition highlighting a wide range of artistic styles, approaches and subject matter from our member-artists, the Annual Membership Show proves time and time again that St. Peter and the surrounding community has top-notch artists with a plethora of experience and talent.  This unique exhibition highlights the diverse styles and background of the Arts Center’s member-artists and is sure to have something for everyone.  From weaving to photography and oil painting to ceramics, this exhibition is one of the most eclectic gathering of artists from around the region.