Newsletter June 2023

In This Issue

Annual Meeting: Exciting, Informative and Delicious
New Board Members Elected
Strategy Retreat Held to Discuss Big Ideas
Call for Volunteers
Call for 2024 Featured Artists
Jewelry Display Request
Gallery Training (or Re-Training) Available
Members In The News
Alexandria Art deTour June 15-17
Interim Program Administrator Hired: Ann Hermes

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Annual Meeting Report:
​Exciting, Informative, Delicious

Photos by Tom Kuder
​About 50 of your fellow AOTL Members attended the annual meeting held on May 16. Attendees were treated to exciting tours of the proposed Creative Arts Center, delicious tacos from the Shoreline, and informative discussion of our expansion plans.

Official business included the election of three new board members (see next article), reports of our financial status, and updates from each of our volunteer work committees.

Architect Joan Vorderbruggen of Studio Birke presented her conceptual designs for the use of the former Lutheran Church building as a Creative Arts Center. Board members Sue Kalseim and Shanna Cramer presented alternative ideas for some of the "messier" arts in a building available on the south side of Battle Lake.

​The meeting was a valuable way to reconnect after a long winter, while getting up to speed on our exciting future opportunities!

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New Board Members Elected

Three new board candidates were introduced to AOTL members at last month's annual meeting, and all three were elected by the members in attendance.

The new board members are David Beddow (left), Shari Prigge (right) and Donna Westerling (not pictured).

Congratulations, and welcome!

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Strategy Retreat Held

On May 17, about fifteen AOTL volunteer leaders met at Glendalough State Park for an all-day strategy retreat. The session was led by business consultants Jody Dahlseid and Catherine Stine.

The focus of the retreat was on "big thinking," which is often challenging when dealing with the day-to-day details of running a non-profit organization. Leaders worked in small groups to put big ideas on paper, thinking freely about what AOTL could accomplish over the next five years. While no decisions were made, these exercises helped your Board and other leaders understand some of the future possibilities and challenges for our organization.

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Call for Summer Volunteers

By Donna Westerling, Volunteer Coordinator
Our organization depends on people like you to make it work… can you help?

Volunteers are needed for the upcoming Kite Event: 

• 6/17 to 6/23 - kite making in the gallery
• 6/24 - kite flying event at the Battle Lake Football Field

Both of these could be a family event of volunteering if you are looking for that!

We need help with Phelps Mill Festival this year:

• Set up 7/7
• Working the booth 7/8 and 7/9
• Take down 7/9

If you work the booth at Phelps Mill and sell a piece of your art, you will not pay AOTL commission!

Volunteers are also needed at the Art and Craft Affair at Railroad Park:

• Set up 8/11
• Booth sitting (info booth and art booth) 8/12
• Take down 8/12

If you work the art booth at Art and Craft Affair and sell a piece of your art, you will not pay AOTL commission.

If you normally work Phelps Mill or the Art and Craft Affair, and plan to do it again this year, please let Donna know.

To volunteer for these events, you can sign up in the gallery (sign up sheets are on the bulletin board in the back), or contact Donna Westerling, 218-747-2561 or 612-386-2868, [email protected]

Thanks in advance for doing your part.

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Call for 2024 Featured Artists

Featured Artist May 5-31: Kristi Floersch

Featured Artist June 1-15: Lyssa Lovejoy

By Donna Westerling, Featured Artist Coordinator
Have you wondered what being a Featured Artist is all about?  Well, here are some details.

The gallery recognizes an artist as Featured Artist each May through September. The schedule is done several months ahead of time, and names are currently being taken for 2024. 

When you're a Featured Artist, you'll have a designated space in the gallery where you can display your work.  When you're featured, you can arrange a reception for yourself, or get an article in the Battle Lake paper. You can make it whatever you want it to be!

Customers like the Featured Artist displays, and they enjoy talking with the artists. It's especially rewarding if you schedule your gallery shifts while you're Featured. This is a great way to interact with customers about your art, and you'll get their feedback, too.  

To be a Featured Artist, your membership needs to be up to date, and you need to work your four gallery shifts during the year as a displaying artist.

Throughout the summer, we have Artist Talks at the end of each month and, as a Featured Artist, you're asked to do a short talk about yourself and your art: your journey, your process, your inspiration, etc.

We limit the frequency of being a Featured Artist to every two years so more members get a chance to participate.
Please consider signing up for 2024. To do this, contact Donna Westerling 622-386-2868, [email protected]

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Jewelry Display Request

Some examples of hangers to use for displays. 

By Sandy Thimgan, Jewelry/Card Coordinator
Jewelry artists: Please make sure that your earring cards have Lip Adapters or Plastic Lip Hangers.

This is the kind of displays we have for earrings, and while we could put earrings inside the cases, that's certainly not the way the majority of customers prefer to shop for earrings. Rotating displays are the preferred shopping method.

Thanks for your cooperation in our displays. We still have room for more jewelry pieces!

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Gallery Training Available

New members and displaying artists who need training (or re-training) on gallery operations: Please contact Dan and Sandy Thimgan ([email protected], 218-371-5964) to arrange a training day. Our training sessions will probably be at 9 a.m. before the gallery opens.

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Members In the News

Ruth Hanson has artwork in the "Portraits & People" exhibit at the Red Door Gallery in Wahpeton, ND. The exhibit is showing through July 29.

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Sandra Daulton Shaughnessy is part of a two-person exhibition at the Raymond Avenue Gallery, St Paul, MN. The exhibit, "Reflections of our Journeys" runs from May 19- July 21, 2023. Check out the Gallery's Facebook page for more information.

Sandra is exhibiting two clay mirrors titled, Reflections at the New York Mills Regional Cultural Center's Regional Artists Exhibition from May 3 - June 24, 2023. There is a reception on June 9 from 6-8 pm. More information at kulcher.org.

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Mary Jo Wentz has been awarded a Career Development Grant by the Lake Region Arts Council and the McKnight Foundation. In November, Mary Jo will attend a nuno felting workshop at the Hudson River Valley Art Workshops in New York, courtesy of this grant. 

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Alexandria Art deTour
​June 15-17

You're invited to Alexandria Art Guild's annual Art deTour, a studio tour of 23 artists in 15 locations in the Alexandria, MN area.

​The tour will be held Father's Day weekend, June 15-17.

• Thursday 4-8p
• Friday and Saturday 10a - 5p

​Several AOTL members are exhibiting on the tour: Becky Albright, Calvin deRuyter, Judy Fairchild, Ruth Hanson, Barbara Johnson, Fred Kollmann, Roger Krause, Bill Seykora, Merodie Seykora, Sandra Daulton Shaughnessy, Kate Smith, Phil Smith, and Jon Thompson.
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More information here.

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Interim Program Administrator Hired

Ann Hermes has been hired as AOTL's Interim Program Administrator / Grant Writer. Ann was most recently the Executive Director of the Andria Theatre in Alexandria, MN, and has extensive experience in non-profit administration, grant writing and fundraising. She holds an M.A. in Philanthropy & Development from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, plus two Bachelor degrees: Speech Rhetoric/Public Address, and Mass Communications.

Please say hello when you see her around. Welcome, Ann!

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Got AOTL news? Please send stories and images to Tom Kuder, [email protected]