Artful News July 2026

In This Issue

2026 Studio Tour: Rural Art Crawl To Feature 43 Artists
Paint Outdoors in Otter Tail County: Prairie Lakes Plein Air
Photographers Capture Battle Lake on the Longest Day of Art
Creative Arts Community Builds Connections and Skills
Meet Chase Wahlund, Our New Intern
Unique Art Selling and Volunteer Opportunities
Our Members In The News

---

2026 Studio Tour: Rural Art Crawl To Feature 43 Artists
July 17-18-19 

studio tour

The Art of the Lakes Studio Tour has grown to become one of the Midwest's largest and most popular rural art crawls. This year's edition, our 26th, features 43 talented artists in 18 studios. You'll find them scattered among the picturesque hills, lakes and rolling prairies of Otter Tail and Douglas Counties.

This three-day travel and collecting experience puts you up close and personal with local artists in their workshops and showrooms. You'll learn about their creative processes, and see first-hand some of the raw materials and tools they use. When you buy a piece (or two, or three, or four) this rich background will add immensely to your enjoyment of the artist's work.

Be sure to grab a Passport for the Miles of Art promotion, then visit ten or more studios for a chance to win one of several fabulous art prizes. Along the way, search for the Scavenger Hunt items to see how many unique artist tools you can discover.

You'll find all the details, including a list of artists, artist profiles and a Google map of the studio sites on our Studio Tour page.

See you on the 2026 Studio Tour!

---

Paint Outdoors in Otter Tail County: Prairie Lakes Plein Air 

Mary Boylan workshop held June 20

Info / register

Is outdoor painting in your future? There’s still time to register for Art of the Lakes' 2026 Prairie Lakes Plein Air festival.

​PLPA 2026 is a combination of art education, exhibition, and competition open to professional and non-professional artists of all skill levels. Enjoy your summer painting in the idyllic setting of our pristine landscape - gently rolling hills, fertile farmland, clear blue lakes and streams - for an inspirational outdoor painting experience. 

Two summer workshops will help you hone your painting skills. A casein painting workshop July 25 at Henning Landmark Center, and a pastel workshop August 13 at Prairie Wetlands Center, will be taught by ribbon-winning artists Greg Preslicka and Lisa Stauffer, respectively. These workshops are also an opportunity to work on a qualifying painting for the competition.
 
If you've already signed up for PLPA26, please pick up your participant packets at the Gallery. And please use the identification lanyard and personalized sign when out on location, and promote the festival by giving one of the PLPA cards to anyone you encounter.

We hope to see you outdoors, paintbrush in hand, this summer!

---

Photographers Capture Battle Lake on the Longest Day of Art

June 20, 2026 was a busy, beautiful, art-filled day around the Battle Lake area. We kicked off the 2026 Prairie Lakes Plein Air festival at Glendalough State Park with a workshop by Mary Boylan (see above). Art alley in downtown Battle Lake got some fresh chalk. A new park was dedicated. People enjoyed the city's sculptures and other public artworks. There was ice cream.

And throughout the day, volunteer photographers captured images of the town, parks, streets and ordinary life as it happened. It was all part of something we called, "The Longest Day of Art," in celebration of Battle Lake's 135th anniversary. 

Here's just some of what their lenses captured. (A full slide show production is planned for later in the year.) Many thanks to photographers Sandra Volkmann, Daniel Reed, Tom Kuder, Chris Walker, Jann Kline, Christa Berg, Lisa Malmstrom, Ronita Reece, Beth Johnson, and PJ Eiden.

​We love our town, and you showed us why.

---

Creative Arts Community Builds Connections and Skills

Current classes

Art of the Lakes offers the Creative Arts Community an unparalleled breadth and number of classes this year, bringing people together to make friends and experience new artistic methods. Here are highlights from three recent workshops.

---

Michael Holter impressionist watercolor (Glendalough)

Attendee Judi Celaschi said, "This was an amazing experience for 18 aspiring artists! Michael's artwork is well known worldwide, and his approachable teaching style and helpful demonstrations left us inspired and confident. We were fortunate to have him for this 3-day workshop."

---

​Grace Haverty watercolor flowers

Grace Haverty taught a full class in watercolor with flowers on June 23 at the Battle Lake Senior Center. Participants enjoyed painting in a bold and loose style that only Grace can teach. Her commitment to sharing art with the community has been outstanding. She'll teach two more classes this summer:  Personalized Notecards on August 4 and Watercolor Plus Ink on September 1. 

---

Anne Kaese calligraphy and lettering

Art of the Lakes welcomed Anne Kaese to the gallery to teach five classes, June 5 & 6.  We even had participants take a couple of these classes online along with those in person.  Students painted on glass, practiced two types of calligraphy, and made “illuminated” letters and Celtic knots. Anne will be coming back next year with new classes and calligraphy.

---

Meet Chase Wahlund,
​Our New Intern

Hello! My name is Chase Wahlund, and I'm a painter and fiber artist from Columbus, Ohio. I'm currently a senior at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), where I'm pursuing a B.F.A in Painting with a minor in Fibers. Although I’m originally from Ohio, I have family ties to the Detroit Lakes area and have spent all of my summers in Minnesota since I was little. I’m excited to return this season and become more involved in the local arts community while continuing to develop my own personal practice.  

My artwork explores themes of femininity, Americana, nostalgia, and identity through saturated figurative paintings and textile based processes. I'm passionate about building community through the arts and am excited to spend the summer at Art of the Lakes as both an intern and exhibiting artist. 

I look forward to meeting all the volunteers, artists, and visitors who make Art of the Lakes such a special place. Thank you for welcoming me into the community!

---

Unique Art Selling
​and Volunteer Opportunities ​

Here are three unique ways to sell your special art creations this year. Plus, we're looking for a few helpful volunteers to make it all happen.

The 2026 Phelps Mill Festival will take place on July 11 and 12 at the historic Phelps Mill County Park near Underwood. Art of the Lakes has a booth where members can place their artwork for sale. Artwork must be individually marked and packaged by the artist (no framed glass, please). Drop off work at the gallery July 5-9. We need help hauling the booth and artwork, and help setting up and tearing down.  Please contact Debbie Ness at [email protected] if you can assist.

The 2026 Art & Craft Affair is August 8 in downtown Battle Lake. Artists can sell their work in the Art of the Lakes booth, or can have their own booth (available at a member discount). Volunteers are needed to help with the AOTL booth - contact Debbie Ness at ​[email protected] if you can assist.

And it's not too soon to start thinking about this year's Holiday Marketplace in the gallery! We'll need holiday art items beginning in the Fall, so start your creative process now, please!

---

Our Members In The News​

Art of the Lakes members are among the most active and accomplished artists and art supporters around! Here's a selection of news about just some of them.

---

Ruth Hanson has two paintings (Wooded Peace and Ripple Effect) accepted in to the 1st Biennial Beck Invitational Exhibition with Guest Juror Amy Sharpe at the Kaddatz Gallery in Fergus Falls July 7- August 15.

---

Kristi Kuder and John Shaw are pleased to announce they have installed a joint exhibition of recent work inside the Ida Graves Distillery, 5422 Lake Ida Way NW, Alexandria MN 56308.

John works with clay. You’ll find ceramic wall pieces, functional vessels, and small, playful ceramic and glass sculptures created in collaboration with glass blower John Olesen.

Kristi creates prints from local botanicals by using cyanotype and the eco printing processes to capture the natural beauty of Lakes Country. She also has included several interesting works using wire mesh.

The exhibition is the second in a series of monthly art exhibitions scheduled this season as a joint initiative between Ida Graves Distillery and the Alexandria Art Guild.

The artists will discuss their work at 5 pm on the last day of the show, July 19. The exhibition and artists’ talks are free and open to the public. Tasting room / gallery hours are Thursdays and Fridays 3 - 9, Saturdays, 12 - 9, and Sundays, 12 - 6.

---

Got AOTL News?

Please email stories and images to Art of the Lakes' newsletter editor, Tom Kuder. Deadline is two days before the end of each month. Thanks!