Artful News November 2024

In This Issue

Kids' Art Intensive Inspires Battle Lake Students
Meet Jane Kelly, Administrative Coordinator
Member Spotlight: Mary Williams, Sculptor
Art Learning Opportunities + Seeking Instructors
Artful Tidbits
​Our Members In The News

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Kids' Art Intensive Inspires
​Battle Lake Students

Reception
Monday November 4, 3:30-5:30
Creative Arts Center
​112 Main St W, Battle Lake, MN

​Art of the Lakes has just finished its second Kids' Art Intensive with the Battle Lake 3rd - 6th grade students at the Creative Arts Center .

For two weeks at the end of October, 127 students experienced a variety of mediums including watercolor, oil pastels, markers, acrylics, colored pencils, and clay while learning about the seven elements of art: line, space, form, shape, value, texture, and color. 

Thank you to our talented teachers who put in extra hours and long days to make this program such a success: Sue Kalseim, Theresa Hanson, Terry Shaw, Anna Lassonde, and Sean Scott.

This program brings art education to our elementary Battle Lake students who don't have access to art in the classroom. Art for them has not been available primarily due to lack of school funding to cover the cost of expensive art classes.

While arts programs often fall victim to budget cuts, they can be an important contributor to students' success at school. It’s been proven that arts education can help kids:

• Engage with school and reduce stress
• Develop social-emotional and interpersonal skills
• Enrich their experiences
• Handle constructive criticism
• Bolster academic achievement
• Improve focus

It takes a minimum of $11,000 for Art of the Lakes to fund this program. This year AOTL received:

• $4000 from the Beverly & Roger Parks Fund
• $2000 from the Battle Lake Lions Club
• $1000 from the 542 Education Foundation
• $500 from Arvig
• $500 from the Battle Lake Community Fund
• and the balance from Art of the Lakes 

What a community effort! Thank you to all of these donors! And kudos to Sue Kalseim for undertaking this fundraising effort and organizing this program.

A reception for students, parents and art supporters will be held Monday, November 4 from 3:30-5:30 at the CAC.

If you feel passionate about how important the arts are to our youths’ development and would like to get involved, or perhaps have art supplies or money you can donate, please reach out to Sue at [email protected]

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Meet Jane Kelly,
​Administrative Coordinator

Jane Kelly recently joined the Art of the Lakes team as the part-time Administrative Coordinator. Jane is a retired Chief Financial Officer with 38 years of accounting experience at Bethany Retirement Living in Fargo. She served on the Board of Directors for Hospice of the Red River Valley and Ethos Home Care and Hospice, and was a licensed nursing home administrator. 

Jane has a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting, and a Master of Business Administration degree, both from Minnesota State University Moorhead.

Retirement for Jane meant a move to lake country.  Jane says she was “one of those seasonal lake people” for over five decades before she and her husband, Mark, built a home on Round Lake (walking distance to Zorbaz and Beach Bums, with the best sunset views!).  Their daughter Alison and son-in-law Reese live near Austin, TX, along with Jane and Mark’s beautiful new granddaughter, McKenzie.

Jane enjoys reading (Lionseed bookclub member), gardening, walking at Glendalough, hosting family and friends at Round Lake, playing and cuddling with Golden Retriever family members Decoy and Tucker, and knitting.

​Join her at the Creative Art Center on Thursdays!

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Member Spotlight:
​Mary Williams, Sculptor

Mary Williams is a treasure to our Art of the Lakes organization, and to our local community. A dedicated sculptor of stone, concrete and clay, Mary has been gracing indoor and outdoor environments with her creative work for many years.

Mary was recently featured on Prairie Public's Prairie Mosaic television series. Click the image below to watch this episode.

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Art Learning Opportunities +
Seeking Instructors

Get ready for the holidays with classes for kids and adults this month:

Clay Holiday Ornaments (parent + child)
with Kathrine McDowell. November 12, 6-8 pm.
Gather for a festive holiday crafting session and create Christmas ornaments! 
​Register

Wood Burning Birch Bark Holiday Cards (adults)
with Jammie Niemeyer. November 19, 6-8 pm.
Learn how to burn on birchbark while making a beautiful Christmas design for a card to send or for décor in your home.
Register

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Open Studio Nights - Pottery & Ceramics - Jan, Feb, Mar
The Creative Arts Center will host “Open Studio” nights in the pottery & ceramics classrooms over the winter months on Wednesdays from January through March. This is open to anyone who wishes to continue to work on clay projects and who has had some experience in the past. (This is not an instructional class.) The details are still in the works - watch the Art of the Lakes website for more information.

Winter Classes Under Development
​Classes for the winter months are getting organized. We have local artists interested in teaching classes on hardanger, acrylic painting, and knitting, plus Super Bowl appetizers & soups. Details will be posted soon on the website.

Instructors wanted
If you're interested in offering your talents as an instructor, please complete the application form here.

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Artful Tidbits

Holiday Market. Gift givers, be sure to add Art of the Lakes to your shopping list! The Holiday Market in our Gallery will be open in November and December on Fridays and Saturdays from 10-5, featuring unique holiday art from our members. A holiday open house will be held December 7. (Artists, bring items for the open house the week before.)

CAC Nov-Dec Hours. The Creative Arts Center will be open in November and December this year on Thursdays from 1:00 - 7:00, or by appointment. 

Fiber Group. An AOTL fiber group is forming, with an initial meeting November 7 at 5:00 in the CAC. Please come!

Featured Artists Wanted for 2025. If you're interested in being a Featured Artist in 2025, please make your interest known! This is a great way to be more visible and involved, and to get your artwork seen. Contact Donna Westerling, 612-386-2868 or email [email protected]

Sunday Socials will be on the calendar again this year. We'll meet each Sunday from 2-4 pm at the CAC for community, creating, and inspiration. Anyone can come and any art or craft is welcome. Bring your project and ideas to share. This is a place to see old friends and make new ones during the winter months. If you're interested in helping, please contact Donna Westerling, 612-386-2868 or [email protected]

Guaranteed Income for Artists. Springboard for the Arts is expanding their Guaranteed Income for Artists program in Otter Tail County. Fill out an interest form by Friday November 15, 2024. Eligible artists will be randomly selected from the pool of applicants. Guaranteed Income - Springboard for the Arts 

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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.

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Calvin deRuyter has won an Award of Excellence at the 87th Fall Exhibition of the Minnesota Artists Association (MAA). The exhibit is currently at the Ames Center for the Arts in Burnsville MN. The award was for his mixed watermedia on canvas, Contact, 24x48.

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Grace Haverty had her painting The Jazz Player accepted into Western Federation Of Watercolor 50th Anniversary Exhibition. 

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Vanessa Sellner's stained glass work Silenced Time is on display at the Cargill Gallery exhibit, Exhale: Reflections on Guaranteed Income at the Hennepin County Library in Minneapolis, now through November 23, 2024. 

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Terry Shaw had 2 ceramic pieces accepted into the Watermark Gallery in Bemidji for their annual show, It's Only Clay. The opening will be November 1 from 5-7 pm. The show runs from November 1 - December 23. 

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Sandra Dalton Shaughnessy is part of the festive holiday tradition Arts of the Holidays show and sale at the Minnetonka Center for the Arts in Wayzata, MN.

Sandra is also part of the 8th Annual Yunomi Invitational at the Raymond Avenue Gallery in St. Paul, MN. The exhibit features yunomis (a style of Japanese teacup for daily tea drinking) from 40 artists, and runs from November 1 through December 20. 

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Several members of AOTL will participate in the 40th annual Art and Crafters Tour in Alexandria, November 7-9. For maps and details visit the Tour's Facebook page.

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October Board Minutes

Board minutes October 2024

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Got AOTL News?

Please email stories and images to AOTL's newsletter editor, Tom Kuder. Deadline is two days before the end of each month.