A R T E - N E W S

News from the Normandale Art DepartmentA NASAD Accredited Art ProgramNormandale Community College, Bloomington, MNNovember 2019

Editor: David LukePhotographer: Dale BrownContributors: Martha Wittstruck, Lazare Rottach, Cindy Koopman, Karen Gustafson, Dale Brown, Yvonne Klocek

Normandale Students Living Artful LivesJesper Hoffman was a student in Exploring Photography, Summer Session I, 2019. The class inspired his pas-sion for photography which began in his teen years during family travels. He intends to build a photography business and create his dream job: “Recently, I have worked with some other photographers shooting weddings as well as some brand work. I am planning to shoot at least ten weddings next summer. I am also doing portrait sessions and developing relationships with brands I would like to work with.” Below are a few of Jesper’s im-ages. Obviously, his drive and motivation will lead to success.

SaraEmma Regalado, AFA in Art, participated as an exhibiting artist in the autumn Saint Paul Art Crawl October 11, 12, and 13, 2019. Her work was dis-played in the Bottle House at the Schmidt Artist Lofts. SaraEmma shared comments regarding her new resi-dence: “Moving into the Schmidt Artist Lofts has been a positively eye-opening experience….to have been welcomed into a community of artists spanning all me-diums - fine arts, design, music, dance, theater, writing, production, and more has been nothing short of inspira-tional and empowering. To live alongside others who have fully conceded to their innermost selves that life as an artist is worth pursuing is quite possibly the most supportive environment I could ever hope to find as I finish my degree. I am looking forward to many more years of learning and growth here.”

Photo by Jesper Hoffman Photo by Jesper Hoffman

SaraEmma Regalado

SaraEmma Regalado

On October 11th Art students were invited to experience an exhi-bition opening at the Northern Clay Center. The show titled Hor-ror Vacui (Latin for fear of empty space) confronted the Victorian fetish of visual clutter. Primarily ceramic works, the artists also collaborated, creating patterned wall papers that were displayed behind the work enhancing the content and overall intensity of the exhibition. The three AFA in Art students, Heidi Bakk, Bre-anna Olson, and Kyle Schottmuller were impressed by the myriad of techniques, narrative content, and skill of the artists. The Twin Cities has a vibrant art scene with opportunities for students to attend exhibitions, workshops and artist talks. Art education has a long history of learning from the masters. Students, will eventu-ally not be students anymore, and must learn the skills necessary to be professional artists.. Having the opportunity to interact and pick the brain of successful artists is very important. The Nor-mandale Art Department is committed to building a more robust AFA and AA community by bringing students together for oppor-tunities such as exhibitions and artist talks. Discovering artworks is a different experience with a group than as an individual. Having the pleasure of discussing and deliberating the technical and content of an artwork enhances one’s own personal view and judgement.

AFA Students Northern Clay Center Expedition

Pottery ClubThe Pottery Club is in full swing this year. A very active group has hit the ground running thanks to the inspirational prowess of pottery club president Sarah Monfils. The Pottery Club mission is to provide students access to a ceramics studio, to hone their skills and continue to learn as a group. To join the Pottery Club, email Sarah Monfils at Sarah.Monfils@my.normandale.edu. The club, in addition to their individual projects, has scheduled trips to local exhibitions and a pottery sale. The club meets Wednes-days from 5-6PM in F1293.

• The club plans a trip to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (Mia) to the exhibition “Living Clay: Artists Respond to Nature”. The club will go to the Mia on Thursday 11/14 from 6-9PM

• The pottery club sale will be located near the Fine Arts Gallery on December 2nd from 9am-9pm. Cash and checks accepted. The sale is a fund raiser for the club and artists as well as an ex-cellent opportunity to learn business practices in art. For more information about the sale contact Beth Dugan at badartmn@gmail.com.

• Follow the Pottery Club on Instagram @normandalepottery

Kyle Schottmuller, Breanna Olson, and Heidi Bakk

Faculty News and ExhibitionsKaren Gustafson was awarded an artist residency, along with five other artists, for the month of July, 2019 at Kingsbrae International Residency for the Arts (KIRA) in St. Andrews by the Sea, New Brunswick, Canada. KIRA is connected to Kingsbrae Gardens, known for its 27 acres of award-winning gardens. Karen completed nine free-motion embroidered drawings during her residency. Artists hosted open studios each Saturday and closed their stay with a final exhibition and artist talk.

The Beginning of Everything: An Exhibition of DrawingsThe Katherine E. Nash Gallery at the University of Minneso-ta will present The Beginning of Everything: An Exhibition of Drawings, January 21 – March 28, 2020. This group exhibi-tion will survey a broad range of approaches to drawing, and include works from a wide variety of geographies, time pe-riods, and esthetic perspectives. Karen Gustafson will have seven drawings included in this exhibition. The exhibition is curated by Howard Oransky, Director and Teréz Iacovino, Assistant Curator of the Katherine E. Nash Gallery.

Beyond the Surface St. Louis Artists’ Guild, in St. Louis, Missouri, hosted Surface Design Association’s Beyond the Surface members’ exhibition September 20-October 23, 2019. Jurors for this exhibit were Jo Stealey, fiber artist, chair, Art Department, University of Missouri School of Visual Studies, Columbia, MO and Jim Arendt, Assistant Professor, Gallery Director, Coastal Carolina University. Karen Gustafson was one of 48 featured artists in this exhibition.

Forces of Nature Gallery 101 at the University of River Falls, WI presented Forces of Nature, September 4 – 27, 2019. This exhibit fea-tured nature and environmentally inspired paintings, draw-ings, and prints. Participating artists included Emily Arthur, Shannon Estlund, Pippin Frisbie-Calder, Karen Gustafson, Eleanor McGough, and Joanne Price.

Invasive: Envisioning the Ecological Transformation of the Boundary WatersDavid Luke and Dr. Lee Frelich (Director of The University of Minnesota’s Center for Forest Ecology) co-presented on October 11th at the St. Cloud Center for the Arts. The presentation provided a unique insight into how Dr. Frelich’s research on climate change in Minnesota influenced Luke’s photographic series “Invasive”.

Luke’s body of work, Invasive, combines photographic imagery of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area with the state’s southern and central prairies. These collaged images visual-ize imminent transformations to northern Minnesota’s boreal forest due to climate change and invasive species.

Kingsbrae International Residency for the Arts

Kingsbrae International Residency for the Arts

Paramount Center for the Arts

As part of the year long celebration of Normandale’s 50th Anniversary a ceramic tile mural depicting Norman-dale’s iconic Japanese Garden was unveiled on May 14th. The image of the Japanese Garden began as a photo-graph by Dale Brown, Art CLA. This mural is the thirteenth tile mural completed at Normandale. The tiles were painted by Normandale staff, administrators, faculty, and students. One hundred and forty-four people under the direction of Piia Huson, Art CLA participated by painting a six inch square ceramic tile. Participants were not aware of the overall image. J.R. Rannikko, Biology CLA and Piia Huson, installed the mural in the Fine Arts Foyer. The reception to reveal the mural was well attended. Martha Wittstruck, Art Department Chair, spoke at the reception about how the tile mural projects emphasize the value of creating art and community at Normandale.

50th Anniversary Tile Mural

The first project created by students in Martha Wittstruck’s Ceramic Handbuilding class was a pinch pot bowl. After the bowls were glazed and fired students were asked to test them. One of the best ways to do that was with ice cream! All the students agreed that eating ice cream out of your own bowl makes it taste even better.

Ice Cream!

Sommer Lewis and Angela Stroh

Jozie Madden Christine Keller and Tyler Angelson

Dale Brown in Northfield NOW MagazineThis summer Dale Brown had photographs of the Big Boy steam train published in the local Northfield News. This led to an interview about his photography & artwork in mid August. The article with 11 of Dale’s photo-graphs was published in the monthly Northfield Now magazine on Oct. 16th, 2019.

World class artists Diego Valles and Carla Martinez from Mata Ortiz, Mexico demonstrated their incredible skill during ceramic courses last spring. In conjunction with the NCECA conference and with the generous contribu-tion by Ernie Lindstrom, Normandale was blessed to have the opportunity to host such incredible artists. The married couple demonstrated their techniques and history inspired by traditional Pre-Columbian pottery of the Paqime. Normandale has a strong relationship with artists from the village which is about 200 miles southwest of El Paso, Texas.

Mata Ortiz pottery pays tribute and references ancient pottery of the Paquime, but has become its own unique artform with continuous innovation. The pottery of Mata Ortiz has only been produced since the 1970s when Juan Quesada, after years of experimentation, discovered how to make pottery. Spencer Macallum, an anthro-pologist, discovered Juan by chance and started a partnership that created economic opportunity for an entire village and region. A poor local economy and the success of a few artists led to a large percentage of residents in Mata Ortiz to create pottery. Currently the village hosts more than 500 ceramic artists. This created a great deal of competition for collectors. As a result, the quality of the pottery has improved substantially and contin-ues to do so.

For many students, traveling is cost prohibitive. Providing an opportunity for students to have an international experience is vital to their global perspective. Even though it is difficult to bring international artists to Nor-mandale, the benefits are too great to ignore. The Art Department is always searching for ways to bring unique experiences to our students and community.

Diego Valles and Carla Martinez

Technology and the Art DepartmentThe Art Department makes use of various technologies for creating art.

Laser EngraverText and image is a traditional combination in printmaking. However, the Art Department does not have the materials for traditional printing with type. Printmaking students created their text and image prints using the laser engraver in the Nor-mandale FabLab and traditional woodcut technique. A short line of text was cut into the block using the laser engraver and then additional imagery was hand carved onto the woodblock.

The Art Department is able to create kilnformed glass by using the laser engraver to cut designs into ceramic fiber paper. “Kiln-carving” is a term coined at Bullseye Glass to describe a process that achieves a bas relief, textured, or sculpted look in glass. The process involves cutting a pattern or design in ceramic fiber paper, then stacking glass on top of the pattern and firing the piece in a kiln. During firing, the underside of the glass con-forms to the ceramic fiber paper pattern, assuming its contours and textures.

Several templates and viewfinders to aid in drawing, design, and composition were created using the laser engraver in the Normandale FabLab. Masonite templates are used to select and trim images. The laser engraver is able to make very precise tools.

3D PrinterSeveral tools were created on the 3D printer: printmaking bar-ons, stamp handles, multi-line tool, and golden-ratio calipers.

The Art Department is able to make 3D printed examples of some historical works of art and architecture. Museums are making it possible to print examples of sculptures, print blocks, and other resources for a hands-on experience. 3D files are created by making 3D scans of actual artworks/sculptures from museum collections.

Stencil CutterThe Silhouette cutter is a computer-driven stencil cutter. It is used to create stencil images for use in design and printmaking courses.

Wacom TabletsWacom Tablets use the idea of pen and paper; they are tools for drawing directly to a digital format. These are used in digital imaging and drawing classes.

Print Block

Print Baron

Classical Columns

Dale Brown took a fall colors photography class in Grand Marais, the first week in October.He enjoyed learning new compostion techniques, and how to use several different filters to enhance fall colors including: split neutral density (ND), full ND, and polarizers. The class was based out of Grand Marais, and traveled from Lake Superior up the Gunflint trail to Canada, and south past Lutsen, MN looking for fall colors to photograph.

Dale Brown Photo Class