“This Good Earth”
First Saturday of the month from 1-5pm beginning December 2018 through September 2019, in The Paradise Center for the Arts textile lab. $40/month or $350 for all ten. Supply fee $5- $20/ month depending on the dyes required for that months project. Supply fee is paid directly to the instructor.

As people become more concerned about the sources of the food they eat, they are also becoming concerned about the sources and materials of the clothes they wear and the fabrics in their homes. During “This Good Earth” workshop series you will learn about natural dying with materials from plants, trees and the earth. Examples would be indigo, avocado, black walnut, goldenrod, onion skins, wood shavings, weld, madder, logwood and many more.

This series will provide the information you need to create a colorful pallet for your clothes and home furnishings. Natural dying is also a great way to repurpose fabrics with environmentally safe and sustainable materials.

December 1, 2018 the first session will be indigo dying, the blue that made Levi Strauss famous. Participants will learn about indigo and Japanese Shibori resist techniques that can be used with indigo and future workshop projects. I will have several items available so you can choose what you want to dye. We will also be discussing the materials and processes the participants are interested in learning about in the future series. Supply information will be sent after registering.
January 5, 2019.. will be dying with dried pomegranate skins (start saving them). Preparing fabrics for dying will also be covered. (Cotton, Linen, Silk and Wool)

The 2019 topics will be posted in January and will include locally found dye materials and also dye materials purchase from suppliers. The series will include a session on botanical/eco printing on paper and fiber.
Instructor… Judy Saye-Willis
Studied natural dyes with Michel Garcia at his lab in France, Botanical printing with Jane Dunnewold in San Antonio and Shibori stitch resist with Joan Morris in Vermont.
Natural Dye Solo Exhibitions
“Natures Gentle Colors” 2014 traveling in Southern Minnesota
“From Garden to Gallery” 2017 Paradise Center for the Arts
Taught natural dye classes at
Textile Center, Minneapolis
Northfield Arts Guild
North 50, Northfield
Paradise Center for the Arts, Faribault

To get registered call 507-332-7372 ext. 1 or 4

Paradise Center for the Arts 321 Central Avenue N. Faribault, MN 55021

https://paradisecenterforthearts.org/classes/#visual-arts-classes

Tami Resler (left to right), Dianne Lockerby, Audrey Sand, Julie Fakler, and Char Johnson did one last Raku firing before this year’s Studio ArTour. Be on the look out for Raku pottery in studio #10 & #11.

Tami Resler will be teaching Ceramic Surface Design: From functional to fantastic. September 15 and September 22 at the Paradise Center for the Arts. To get registered call 507-332-7372 ext. 1 or 4, for more info please visit https://paradisecenterforthearts.org/classes/#visual-arts-classes

Here is a little bit of info about Tami-

I have been making pottery since 1991 and focus primarily on highly textured sculptural and functional pieces. I enjoy using pottery as a means to tell stories and illustrate ideas and themes. In the last couple of years I have been learning and experimenting more with raku-fired pottery and recently was awarded a grant from the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council (SEMAC) to build my own raku kiln and create works that will be exhibited in an upcoming show at the Paradise. My philosophy of teaching is that there is no wrong way to make pottery, so I love to see students find their own voice and what makes them happy, which is all I think art needs to do. Apart from pottery, I work for Affinity Plus Federal Credit Union (so I can talk banking while we sculpt!), and I love to garden, build stuff and take care of my family.

http://www.southernminn.com/faribault_daily_news/news/article_b6dc732d-6021-55ee-b6ad-ab823374621d.html

https://paradisecenterforthearts.org/classes/#visual-arts-classes

Love of the Subject

I love the prairie and take a lot of photos of the grasses.

Oh, but they are hard to paint! Just looking at the photo below with the various lines, textures and colors are fascinating to me because texture is multi-colored. Such nuances defy easy answers.

It was hard to capture. And really, why put myself thru this ordeal? Maybe the challenge and maybe the love of the subject?

I took an inspiring workshop a year and a half ago that allowed me to add in cold wax to the oil paint, and it opened up a whole new world for me to capture this texture. With using scrapers, chopsticks, brayers, and whisk brooms. Who would have guessed?!

A year and a half later I have produced 45 paintings, about three times more paintings in this technique.

The love of the subject can be found in the work through the nuances of texture of adding in cold wax to the oil paint.

To see more of Rebecca Tolle’s work, visit: http://rebeccatolle.com

Judy Saye-Willis (studio #7)was chosen to be one of the artists on Main Street, to be part of a place making project in historic downtown Faribault. Keep your eyes peeled for more of her work and other fun art pieces that will be going up around downtown Faribault between now and October.

“This activity is part of Artists on Main Street, a partnership between Faribault Main Street, Minnesota Main Street and Springboard for the Arts with support from the Bush Foundation”

Glynnis makes functional high-fired porcelain ware and decorates each pot’s surface using sgraffito with black or colored slips. Designs are drawn free hand; each one is unique. She often covers the surface with slip, draws the design and then carves away what is not  needed for the image.

Studio Artour artist Jessica Prill will be featured on PBS show called “Lets Go Minnesota” in August. The series focuses on an outdoor adventure with an artist. The artist then creates a piece of work in their medium that was inspired by their adventure. Jessica biked the shooting star trail in southern Minnesota and then did a jewelry series inspired by it.

http://www.ksmq.org/PBSOnline7.html#page=schedule&day=20180616&provider=Broadcast

It will air Saturday, August 4, 5:30 p.m.; Sunday, August 5, 12 noon; and Tuesday, August 7, 7 p.m.

Once it’s aired, it will live on KSMQ.org under the Let’s Go, Minnesota!

Beads are my clay and paint, my poetry and dance

The moment over 18 years ago I first picked up needle, thread, and beads, I knew I had found my medium. What my mind saw I was able to create. The process is introspective, and although I begin a project with a loose idea of the final form, I let the beads and the techniques take over and guide me. I studied both architecture and art history, both of which strongly impact my work in structure and texture.

I began my beading career making art-to-wear and successfully run my own business selling my work online, in galleries, and at juried art shows. For the past 6 years I’ve evolved my beadwork techniques to make personal and political sculptures and three dimensional works.

I find inspiration everywhere. From fishing the local rivers to biking/hiking trails, using artisan made components to natural stone and wood beads. There are ideas everywhere to translate into textural beadwork.

Darcy’s upcoming events include

+Uptown Art Fair 2018, Fri. August 3rd to Sun. August 5th. Minneapolis, MN

+Art in Bayfront Park 2018, Sat. August 18th, Sun. August 19th. Duluth, MN

+ArtSplash 2018, Sat. September 1st from 10-6p and Sun. September 2nd from 10-5p. Sioux City Art Center, 225 Nebraska St, Sioux City, IA

+Rockbrook Art Fair, Sat. September 8th from 10-6pm and September 9th from 10-5pm. Rockbrook Village, 108th and Center, Omaha, NE

+Sogn Valley Art Fair, Sat. October 6th from 10-6pm and October 7th from 10-5pm. Cannon Falls, MN

+Studio ArTour, Sat. October 13th from 10-6pm and October 14th from 10-5pm. Northfield Arts Guild, 304 Division St S, Northfield, MN

Website: thejadedog.com

Facebook:   thejadedog

Instagram: @thejadedog

Blog entry by Robert Christy, studio #18

 I create many different kinds of art, from serious paintings to playful wooden crank toys, but the kind of painting I enjoy most is plein air – painting in the great out of doors. I like it because it gives me a great excuse to be in beautiful places, and observe them closely. It’s amazing what wildlife, plants and insects (Poison Ivy? Watch your feet for ants!), and subtle changes in weather and mood you can experience if you’re just quiet and there and looking.

I used to be a fly fisherman and that involved some of the same elements. In fact, plein air painting is a lot like fishing!

You never know what you’re going to come home with when you head out for the day. Maybe a lunker, maybe you get skunked.  And it doesn’t take a lot of fancy equipment. Mostly you just have to pick your spot and concentrate on making it work for you.

I do have few special tools I like to have handy when I paint outdoors – besides the bug spray. You need to work fast – the sun is always moving and the shadows change and the day will end. So, I use a portable easel that sets up quickly (some people prefer the “French easel” but those don’t work well with large canvases – they blow over). Also, I like to get my drafting done quickly. I put a grid on my canvas, and then use a matted, gridded clear plastic to hold up to the scene I chose. Then, with the scene framed, you transfer the main shapes to the grid on the canvas (using pencil or –  pick your color – black, blue, yellow, red; doesn’t matter because you will cover it up along with the grid lines). I also keep a straight edge handy for straight lines if I’m painting buildings (just hold it near the canvas and run the brush along its side). One other very useful tool if you paint with acrylics is a spray bottle filled with water. You can wash your brushes on the spot, and if the paint is drying too fast, you just spray down the entire painting. I’ve painted in the desert a lot and on a hot day there, the paint almost dries on the brush as you try to get it to the canvas. Sprayed my own head to cool off once or twice, too.

 Speaking of the painter’s comfort, I usually wear boots (especially in the desert – lots of bitey and pokey things there) and a long-sleeved white shirt for sun protection. A large-brimmed straw hat is nice too, but it makes you look like everyone’s image of Van Gogh which is a bit of a kick-me sign. Someone is sure to stop and offer you advice about what is missing/needed/not right in the painting!

  I haven’t mentioned yet how I choose my scenes, or compose a painting. But that’s the easy part. Once you’ve found a place worth painting, subjects worth painting will be all over. When I first moved to Northfield a few years ago, I looked around for a few weeks, both in town and in the countryside, for places to paint. I quickly settled on the Riverwalk area, because there was something worth painting in every direction. The were trees for shade so I didn’t have to paint in the sun. I was out of the way of traffic (country roads in Minnesota can be dusty and hazardous). There were old buildings and rocky textures and water and people. Everything a painter might want in a scene.

One last thing about outdoor painting. Just like fishing, it can be more fun if you go out with friends. You can get instant feedback, see how they approach a subject, and steal their ideas. Maybe there’s a little playful competition? And it gives you a little extra stick-to-it when the bugs or the wind or silence just make you want to give up and go home. Hang in there and now that you’re here just start a painting – you never know what you might catch.

Joseph Feaster, Roman5Studios (@ The Upper East Side) studio stop # 15, 213 Central Ave. Faribault MN 55021 www.roman5studios.squarespace.com                  

Joseph has taught art class workshops for Goodwill’s Youthbuild Program in years passed. In these classes, students learn and grow together by creating our own projects to complete. Project topics have included drawing and painting collaborations, photography courses, and mural work. In addition, we would talk about the importance and splendid diversity of artistic options whilst walking through nature.
Other projects (volunteer based) are large public murals in Sioux City, Iowa.

Typically, when creating a painting, Joseph looks at the overall image in layers. Depending on the depth, composition, time-frame, etc, a painting may have as few as 2 layers or as many as 20. In the examples provided, this particular painting has over 25 layers. When building up a painting, he always starts with the intended background and slowly add layers until the final details are placed at the end (top layers.) With this approach, he has discovered an interesting way to create unique color palettes directly on the canvas as he paints. The tricky part, is knowing when to stop adding paint!!!

Joseph always is networking and connecting with local patrons and potential customers to share his artistic skills. He recently has joined a local BNI chapter: Better Business Builders to meet with other entrepreneurs in the Faribault community. Currently, Joseph is applying for a grant to fund a public art project for downtown Faribault. This activity is part of Perception-Artists on Main Street, a partnership between Faribault Main Street, Minnesota Main Street and Springboard for the Arts with support from the Bush Foundation. He hopes to have his project approved for the Faribault public to enjoy this summer!

Joseph says, “I am a pretty normal dude! I live several blocks from my studio on Central Avenue in Faribault. I have three cats, two dogs, and four fish tanks. My yard is almost completely gardened with a variety of flowers and vegetables. I currently work full time in Faribault and “squeeze in” my art on my days off. I hope that will wonderful programs such as this one, I will have more exposure in our community. My dream is to produce my art full time and satisfy my passion for creativity. In short, I can’t do this without you!”

Joseph will be available during the allotted times for Art Tour. Visitors are welcome to take photos, ask questions, and participate if they wish! He is open to sharing ideas and techniques if need be.

Joseph has a wide variety of artwork ranging from illustrations, graphic design, acrylic painting, oil painting, digital illustration, film photography, digital photography, ceramic sculpture, and beadwork. Although he makes many things, his main focus in his artistic career is digital photography and acrylic painting.