Displaying Artists
Every year, members of Art of the Lakes are given the opportunity to display their artworks in the gallery. On this page of the website, you are able to learn more about our current displaying artists! We hope that you see some familiar faces and discover someone new!
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Becky Albright
mnfishart@gmail.com www.facebook.com/MnFishArt/ beckyalbrightartist.com “As a fiber artist, I have always been fascinated by various surface design techniques. Applying this interest to gyotaku seemed a natural extension. I have been making gyotaku fish prints for several years. The first fish I rubbed was in my sister’s kitchen so I could record the size of a trophy walleye for my nephew’s visiting friend from Alaska. I now offer my original gyotaku art and reproductions for your enjoyment. I hope you appreciate nature’s beauty of fish as you see them up close and personal.” |
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David Beddow
dbeddow01@msn.com “I started painting as a hobby a few years ago after being introduced to the process through art classes with my twin daughters. I enjoy the rural bucolic landscapes and the quiet lake scenes that are so abundant in Minnesota. I use mainly acrylic paints but have started to use oils more as I have gained more experience through practice and taking lessons. My plan is to continue to paint more as time allows and expand into abstract art also some day.” |
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Coleen Behm
flashbehm@gmail.com “I have always appreciated color, texture, and working with my hands, however, a career as a social worker and raising our family were priorities during most of my adult life. In 2000 I took my first art class at Southwest State University in Marshall, MN. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I had a passion for pottery! My glaze choices tend to be colors that I see in nature and I fire my pottery in an electric kiln. My drawing and painting experience also has its origins at Southwest State University.” |
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Judi Celaschi
judicelaschi@gmail.com “I started promoting the arts when I owned a store named Yesteryear in Jamestown, ND. Yesteryear was an arts, craft and gift shop. Fortunately, there was space for a classroom where I taught various forms of folk art and painting with oils. We also had regular guest artists that offered watercolor, oil and china painting workshops. Yesteryear closed in 1982, and I took on a new career in travel. With over 35 years in global corporate travel management, I retired and have returned to my first love which is painting. Oils is my preferred medium, though I also love the freshness and spontaneity of watercolor. I found in my travels around the world, that I most often found myself enjoying the gardens, flowers and simple architectural settings. Hence, my favorite compositions are still-life and most likely will have flowers. I am a resident of Arizona, however live on Hancock Lake in Minnesota in the spring, summer and fall – enjoying nearly every season. It’s our little piece of ‘paradise’!” |
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Della Conroy
dellaconroyart@gmail.com “A musician by training, Della Conroy has also found a place in the visual art world. In building a collection of work that reflects her interest in the beauty found in Western Minnesota, she paints scenes depicting the grasses, trees, rivers, and lakes found in that area. She has a strong feeling for the prairie landscape which she enjoys exploring with different mediums. Her soft but colorful landscapes exude peace, serenity, and calm.” |
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Duane Dahlvang
dahlvang2@cox.net “Duane has always enjoyed being creative in different ways by drawing, building and painting pieces of furniture, setting up displays in his grocery stores and artistic landscaping. Many years ago, his brother-in-law gave him some raw gourds that he had grown in his backyard in Tucson, AZ. A few years later he came across a book showing various ways to enhance raw gourds, converting them to pieces of art. He has developed his own unique style and has taught his technique to many other gourd artists.” |
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Peggy Dahlvang
dahlvang2@cox.net “Peggy took oil painting classes and has enjoyed painting on canvas for many years. Similar to her husband, Duane, she became interested in enhancing gourds and started painting, carving, and wood burning them. She uses several power tools for carving, a wood burner with a variety of burning pens, ink dyes, acrylic paints and transparent acrylics. She draws the designs on the gourds free-hand, burns the design and then applies the colors.” |
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Janet DeMars
janetkdemars@gmail.com “Janet DeMars began her career in ceramics and printmaking while completing a Fine Arts degree from the University of Minnesota. She worked as a production potter and exhibited prints, paintings, and mixed media throughout the Twin Cities before moving to Arizona twenty years ago. Her continued study of paintings has led to exhibits, sales, and commissions. She has recently studied with Rembrandt stylists Greg Kreutz and Joshuah Fallik.” |
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Calvin deRuyter
calsportfolio@hotmail.com “I am a product of the Midwest. Home life remained structured, disciplined, and grounded in religious dogma. Schedules were rigid. Conformity was encouraged and valued. Exploration or experimentation, shunned and suspect. This ying-yang conflict affects me to this day. Often in my landscape painting, there is tension between the freedom of color and brush stroke against the solidness of the earth; the violence of the sky against a calm earth; or the chaos of earth against the serenity of the heavens. Sometimes I’m accused of painting two different paintings on the same sheet of paper – but in reality, I am painting the truth, the ying-yang that is deRuyter." |
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Clarice Dieter
cdieter@fedtel.net “Clarice’s Norwegian heritage prompted her to study the art of rosemaling and Hardanger embroidery. She has been rosemaling since 1977 after taking classes in the Telemark style though Community Education in Morris, MN. Since then she has taken classes from teachers from Norway including Han Wold, Sigmund Aarseth, Sigrid Midjas, and more. She now teaches glazing and rosemaling natural edge bowls.” |
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Sylvia Dudycha
sylviasdesigns@aol.com “When ideas come to me, I must try them. I admire complex structures, but for me, color and texture have always been the key elements. Work is mostly in fiber using whatever technique is appropriate for the particular piece. There is always a new idea out there to pursue. I hope others enjoy using what I have enjoyed creating.” |
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Dar Eckert
otterlady9@hotmail.com "Dar Eckert received her BFA in Sculpture from Minnesota State University Moorhead in 2013 which was the realization of her lifelong dream. Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Eckert received a BS degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Minnesota and worked in the environmental field for over thirty years. During that time, she raised a family and remained active in the arts through classes and antique collecting. In 2010, she pursued a new career in sculpture and ceramics while producing pottery and working at Art of the Lakes Gallery. She primarily does raku firings with her ceramics and enjoys challenging herself with difficult processes. Her subjects range from landscapes to abstract designs and takes inspiration from places she has hiked." |
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Judy Fairchild
deadlake5@msn.com “My name is Judy Fairchild and I have joined the Art of the Lakes Family as a clay artist. I started my love of wheel thrown clay at the Owatonna Art Center 15+ years ago and admit to being addicted. My husband and I spend the winters South in Owatonna, MN and the summers north at Dead Lake in Dent, MN where I became aware of the Art of the Lakes Gallery. I have been inspired by the artists I have met through AOTL and Owatonna Art Center to pursue this craft. I hope to enjoy my association with AOTL for many years and become inspired by the very talented artists I have met there.” |
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Diana Fuder
dfuder@hotmail.com "In college Diana was able to study art from well-known artist, Charles Beck. She has recently been taking workshops through art of the lakes which she believes has really helped to further her career as an artist. She currently works with watercolor and resin." |
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Judith Grooters
jgartstudio5@aol.com “Creating artwork is often a journey to find an individual voice or style. Always fascinated with the freshness and immediacy of traditional watercolor technique, I found watercolor with mixed media more stress-free and a good use of the techniques I’d learned as a designer. It incorporated the tools and principles of harmony and color; texture and pattern; and those of scale and placement. My collages are abstractions of nature often but at other times totally non-representational.” |
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Mary Gaslin |
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Lynn Hansen
LKHansen10@gmail.com “I started painting as a child. I try to help people see things they don’t see unless I point them out. I also want people to understand metaphors in nature. My work has quite a bit of variety because I enjoy conquering a technical painting challenge. Consistent style, genre, and subject matter are not important to me. The challenge is the point. Even so I tend to paint landscapes because I enjoy living in them while I paint. Sometimes I just like to paint my family! My paintings often begin as sketches I develop in Photoshop from my photos. Sometimes the photos themselves say it all.” |
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Ruth Hanson
oldsweetsongofruth@gmail.com "Having an artistic mother who nurtured her creativity, Ruth has been making art from a young age. While studying for an art education degree she also found an interest in church art and even taught photography in Vienna as an undergrad. Currently she works mostly with watercolor batik and occasionally oil pastels. Her subjects tend to be centered around nature and landscapes, being particularly drawn to the beauty of the natural world. Ruth found herself at our gallery presenting her photographs after student teaching abroad. Once Ruth and her family settled down in Vining, she eventually started showing her amazing pieces at Art of the Lakes." |
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Jean Harney
jeanharneyart.com "Over 35 years ago I began painting in oils on canvas or masonite. Several years later I discovered acrylic paints and loved acrylics on paper and gradually switched over to watercolors which is now my medium of choice. Along the way I learned the printmaking form of serigraphy (silk screen) and interchanged that with painting for about fifteen years. After many years, the hard physical work that comes along with serigraphy caused me to give up the practice. However, I still paint and enjoy my summers on Ottertail Lake.” |
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Grace Haverty
gracehaverty@hotmail.com “Growing up in the New York City area afforded Grace the opportunity to visit the Brooklyn Museum of Art as well as the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Although she loved art she never even gave a thought to pursuing a career in that field. Grace worked for an advertising agency on Madison Avenue until she and her husband Michael were married and moved to the Chicago area. She started taking art lessons when her children were very young. After years of studying, Grace is now a signature member of the National Watercolor Society, Transparent Watercolor Society of America, and more.” |
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Annette Hochstein
sasafras@arvig.net “Annette Hochstein lives near Battle Lake, MN. Born and raised in Omaha, NE, she has always had a great interest in art. Photography, collages, painting, and mosaics are just some of the mediums she has worked with. In July 2004, she directed a community art project, sponsored by Art of the Lakes, which has resulted in the creation of a mosaic mural. This mosaic can be seen at the corner of Lake Avenue and Main Street in Battle Lake. Recently, she has devoted most of her time to working on mosaics - the art form that she feels is her passion.” |
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Barbara Johnson
bajohnson65@yahoo.com “Barbara started from taking photos of her grandkids and family and has since developed her skills in nature and wildlife photography. She uses a canon SLR camera for her photos for its speed and accuracy in capturing elusive animals or grandchildren. A fun fact about Barbara is that she's visited 6 out of 7 continents! When asked if she would go to Antarctica, she replied, "Why would I go to Antarctica when I live in Minnesota?"" |
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Phyllis Joos
pljoos@hotmail.com “My ‘hobby’ became a way of life and the art often becomes an obsessive passion but the most joy comes in the creation. When I begin a piece I usually have an idea of what I want it to look like but then it takes on a life of its own as the piece progresses. The usual themes in my work relate to women, aging, personal experiences and the intricate interaction between human life and nature. I work in a varied range of printmaking processes but prefer etching. The imagery is often in a colorful palette with multi layers and textures.” |
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Kristi Kuder
kristi@kskuder.com “False facts. Fake news. Alternative history. How do people deal with the contradictory, uncertain, and illogical aspects of life in a highly systematic and self-evident society? As a sculptor and installation artist, I apply fiber and textile processes to wire and wire mesh in response to these diametric conditions. My work is often about the illusory boundaries and deceptive places in our lives—our incongruent memories, biased sense of reality, and conflicted relationship with nature and the world at large. I’m intrigued by the process of comprehension and understanding within this context.” |
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Nancy Little
nalittle321@gmail.com "I started painting about 5 years ago. We live in Maple Grove and spend summers at our lake home a mile outside Battle Lake on West Battle Lake. I mostly work in watercolors, but started in oils. I pay closer attention to shapes and colors. I also work with glass making mosaics yard and garden art." |
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John Mehl
johnandormehl@gmail.com “I’m John Mehl, a member and displaying artist at the AOTL Gallery since 2007. I started out as a Scandinavian style wood carver, making characters, spoons and bowls. The Battle Lake street bench project in 2014 introduced me to glass mosaic, which I have emphasized since that time. I'm a Breckenridge, MN native who grew up in a multi-generation floral business. After school, the military and college, I spent a career in accounting and computers, while living in the Twin Cities. My wife, Ann, and I then retired to a lake home near Battle Lake. We've now left that life style behind us and now live in Fergus Falls. I continue to work with glass mosaics and occasionally do a little Carving." |
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Lou Miller
luj07miller@prtel.net “Lou Miller’s painting career and involvement with the Art of the Lakes Gallery started in early 1999. She retired from the Federal Cartridge Company in Anoka, MN after 25 years of service and now lives with her husband in a home on Leon Lake near Phelps Mill. Lou started painting in oils and watercolor thanks to a neighbor who invited her into her art studio. Her main focus is watercolor paintings of still lifes, florals, fish, and landscapes.” |
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Faythe Mills
faytheam@charter.net www.faythemills.com “After graduating in 1990 from North Hennepin Community College with a Graphic Design degree, Faythe started her own business in Glenwood. Graphics by Faythe was born from her passion for art - working in pastels, watercolor, inkwash, pencil, and acrylic. She has illustrated over three children’s books. Faythe has two grown sons and five grandchildren. They have all appeared in some of her illustrations or artwork.” |
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Lucy Norman
halfpint12350@gmail.com “The Lightbenders Glass Studio has been creating art from sparkling light since 1982, telling stories in stained glass hundreds of families, companies, and congregations who have commissioned the studio to capture their vision. Lucy started the business as a custom beveling and new stained glass window business, but soon her husband Jon joined as a designer and builder. Lucy has a talent for texture and colors. The couple also works with wood to create woodturned pottery.” |
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Elise Olson
"Traditional hand hooked tapestry is an American Folk Art that dates back to the early 1800's in the New England states. With the industrial revolution this became a dying art. In the Early 1900's the Association of Traditional Hooking Artists was formed to keep this art alive. I have enjoyed this art for 40 years and have also received a McGown teachers certification." |
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Jodi Peterson
7013612982 wolfnestglassworks@yahoo.com www.wolfnestglassworks.com “I find glass to be an exciting medium. I have been working with glass for over 18 years and started Wolfnest Glassworks about the same time I fell in love with glass. I blow glass occasionally and mostly slump, fuse, and do flame worked pieces from beads to small sculpture. Glass is amazing, when it hot it moves like molasses and when cold it’s solid. Light gets refracted through glass to show dazzling color. When I work with glass, there seems to be a kinship with ancient glass artisans that touches me on a soul-filled level.” |
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Vicky Radel
3203043907 vradel@westtechwb.com www.vickyradelartist.com/ “Although I have always had an active interest in the arts, it has only been the last 10 years that I have actively engaged in artistic pursuits. I started with photography and various classes in painting and mixed media. It wasn’t until I took classes in encaustic painting that I felt she had found “my” medium. I was finally able to achieve the look and the feel I had been looking for and I was thrilled. I have further integrated use of R&F pigment sticks and photography and other pigment sources into my work and consider myself a mixed media artist with a focus in encaustic painting. In my experience with encaustic painting, the medium itself is as much a participant in the process as my own ideas. We work as co-creators of each painting. I am often surprised by the interactions of heat with the pigmented wax which will move and shape with my guidance, yet, often give birth to a texture or blending of color that is unexpected. The process is an interactive and interesting journey of discovery and joy. I live in the country with my husband and chickens and draw inspiration from the beauty of the prairie that surrounds me.” |
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Marcella Rose
marcella@marcellarose.com marcellarose.com/ “Growing up on a western Minnesota farm spawned my lifelong love of all nature, in interconnection to the land and sky - and an infinite relationship to Spirit. Everything I create as an implement of Spirit speaks to the beauty - and potential - that life offers each of us. We all have the capacity to forge a path of our own choosing. To me, that path is one of relection, affirmation, and enlightenment. My work is built upon a central theme of my own life: in Gandhi’s words, ‘Be the change you want to see in the world.’ My heart has always resided with the expression of emotional, esoteric, metaphysical, and universal truths through painting and sculpture.” |
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Arlene Sherman
asherman@prtel.com “Arlene Sherman has been painting for about twenty years; using many mediums but her favorite is watercolor. Favorite subjects are painting florals such as poinsettia and pansies. She enjoys painting landscapes of Glendalough State Park and other subjects. Arlene has attended many workshops and spent much time developing her painting style through the study of books written by artists she admires, through practice, and through experience. Her perseverance has resulted in now having the joy of fulfillment in her own work and in the teaching of others.” |
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Jan Smith
jansmith@arvig.net “Jan Smith, a Battle Lake area resident for the last 11 years, displays two different forms of art at the Art of the Lakes Gallery. These two venues are writing and illustrating a historical novel and Scherenschnitte (or Wycinanki). She has written a book titled Rambling ‘Round Maine which is a fictional look at the daily life of a homesteading family of five in the year 1890, the year Phelps Mill began production. Scherenschnitte and Wycinanki is the art form of paper cutting. She learned the intricate form for her parents and has been practicing ever since.” |
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Mary Smith
msmith56334@gmail.com “For pretty much all of my life I have gravitated towards being creative with my hands. These creative activities included quilting, knitting, crocheting, stained glass, and macrame over a 50 year time period. I discovered the joys of basket weaving more by chance than by plan. I have worked to learn new techniques and perfect my skills since taking a “filler” basket weaving class in 2004. Having retired from my full time job in 2011, I am now able to focus on improving my skills and attend as many basket weaving courses as I can. Many of my baskets are for practical purposes.” |
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I.H. Sönju
ihsonju@aol.com Sönju was educated at the CSB/St. John's University as an art historian specializing in the history of India, Asia, Africa, and Oceanic art under the direction of Johanna Becker, Balu Kahn, and Bela Petheo. In studio art she developed the abstract emotional expressionism style through the inspiration of Philip Morsberger and Gordon Gettoman, who said "your colors will take you far." Sönju is an abstract emotional expressionist artist who paints not just what is see but what is deeply felt, expressing the seen and unseen in a way few others dare to communicate, a communication beyond the spoken word. The emotions of the being are deeper than the thoughts of the mind of feelings of the physical body. I.H. Sönju, superb and sensitive colorist of abstract emotional expressionist art takes you introspectively deeper than words alone dare to go. Each painting has a life of its own given to it by the artist who put strength and expression into its creative process. Sönju's work has been described as "passionate, inspiring, visually intriguing and aesthetically captivating." "The melding of bold colors makes her paintings feel as though they are alive." |
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Dan Thimgan
2188625594 thimgan@digitaljam.com “For many years, I have enjoyed crafting original, copper foil technique glass creations — from windows and sun catchers to kaleidoscopes, mobiles, and stained glass accent lights. Apparently, I like to break glass into little pieces and then reassemble them. My wife, Sandra, and I are longtime residents of the Battle Lake area. In our former lives, we were educators.” |
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Sandra Thimgan
2188625594 sthimgan@gmail.com “I have always been interested in creating — my methods of creating have changed many times over the years. Presently my passions include creating unique jewelry using chainmaille, repurposed silverware, and especially hand building original fine silver and copper pieces. I also enjoy paper arts including origami, paper cutting, handmade cards, and book folding. I am always looking for new ways to be involved in artistic creation.” |
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Jon ‘JT’ Thompson
jtmaui2003@gmail.com www.facebook.com/jtmauidesigns www.etsy.com/shop/jtmauidesigns “Born innately creative and resourceful, I have always loved to work with my hands, even though my career took me on several other scenic routes. I enjoyed a long career centered on hotels and hospitality, and enjoyed much travel abroad, before honing in on my skills in jewelry creation. My adventures have included Japan, China, Florida, Las Vegas, as well as many years in the Hawaiian islands. My chosen materials sometimes include lake stones, but also lava, coconut, natural gemstones, driftwood, shell and sea glass. From the lava and gemstones representative of the islands, to the Japanese influenced shapes in my designs, each carries a tiny part of who I am. I also grew up with a love for science fiction and fantasy, which is now evident in my steampunk creations. My favorite venture is creating industrial magic with mixed metals and moving gears.” |
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Michael Weatherly
6123851851 mweatherly56235@yahoo.com mweatherly56235.wix.com/michael-weatherly www.facebook.com/Michael-Weatherly-Artist-645964185494648/ “I do not set out to produce art about one subject matter. I am constantly inspired by everyday events and my work tends to focus on things that reminds us of the natural world, things we see, people we have met, and places we have been. Art can speak to all of us, it can lift spirits, provoke memories, create emotions and connect the past to the present. I am mainly a printmaker working with mono-prints, wood and linoleum cuts. For me creating is a liberating experience, I love to see the effect of pressure and ink on the paper. I am currently working on a new series of large scale wood, linoleum, and mixed media prints. These large prints will range from 2/4/8 feet wide and 8/12/16 feet long would consist of both two-dimensional wall base prints and three-dimensional prints mounted on columns and other structures. I have recently been incorporating chine collé into my prints. Chine-collé is a special technique in printmaking, in which the image is transferred to a surface that is bonded to a heavier support in the printing process. One purpose is to allow the printmaker to print on a much more delicate surface, such as Japanese paper or linen, which pulls finer details off the plate.” |
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Brad Wegscheid
brad@wegscheid.net www.macaronicircus.com “Brad has been making art most of his life. He graduated high school from The Perpich Center for Arts Education in Golden Valley, Minnesota. After high school Brad went on to receive a bachelor of fine arts in graphic communication from Northern Michigan University. Brad spent over a decade doing commercial art in the midwest, working mostly with traditional commercial printed work. This print work included everything from newsprint, magazines, billboards, and cardboard displays. Currently Brad resides in Wadena, Minnesota focusing on ceramic sculpture and tile. Brad also does some illustration, woodworking, and graphic design.” |
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Donna Westerling
donna@trumanrc.com “Donna Westerling has been on a journey of self discover, spirituality, creativity, and healing for many years. In 1998, she discovered watercolor as a way to deal with the grief following the death of her father. It is through this that her world expanded and she has never looked back. ‘My hope is that others will enjoy my gift of art as I have… My paintings are inspired by others, prayer, and meditation. I love to paint landscapes, flowers, and angels. I find that there is always light that, to me, gives hope, tranquility, healing, and peace.’” |
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Mary Williams
happy.flower.70@gmail.com “At the end of a gravel road in rural Minnesota is the place Mary sculpts and calls home. Although her first love is stone she. also creates in clay and bronze. The core of Mary’s work is abstract and figurative. Through simplicity of design and flowing lines she entices the viewer to handle the finished piece. Mary received her formal training at the Art Institute of Chicago. Over the years she has taken and given many classes, exhibited works in many shows, and received numerous awards. Mary received a Lake Region Art Council/ McKnight foundation Individual Artist grant in 1994 and the prestigious Lake Region Arts Council/ McKnight Foundation Fellowship in 2000. In 2002, Mary was selected to sculpt a limestone monument, celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Otter Tail County Historical Society. The piece, a life-sized limestone sculpture of a seated Ojibwa woman, overlooks West Battle Lake from her scenic spot in Halvorson Park.” |
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