Newsletter March 2024

In This Issue

Creative Arts Center Development Underway
​AOTL Receives Two New Grants
Studio Tour Registration Due March 15
Phelps Mill Festival 2024: New Artist Program
Wood Carving Class Added to Education Schedule
​New Members Added in 2024
​Gallery Training for New and Returning Members
If At First Your Art Doesn't Sell, Don't Give Up!
Got Recipes? AOTL Cookbook Planned
Members in the News
Correction / Clarification on February News

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Creative Arts Center
​Development Underway

By Tom Kuder
AOTL's new Creative Arts Center has already hosted some fabulous events, but there's much more to come. On the heels of its recent classes, theater, music, comedy and kids' activities, the CAC is poised to blossom with even more creative energy as further development gets underway. 

Creator Spaces
One of the driving visions for the CAC is to make it a go-to destination for artistic creators. Bringing this vision to life will take a lot of elbow grease and fundraising, but the possibilities are truly exciting!

First up in 2024, we plan to build out a ceramics studio, a fiber arts studio, a culinary kitchen, and an improved performing arts space. After these initial areas, we hope to add a glass studio, a digital media lab, and an exhibition space in future months.

The nascent ceramics studio (to the right of the main entrance) now has a shiny new epoxy floor, plus a donated professional kiln and ceramics tools. We also have a washer / dryer for the fiber arts studio. Yet to come are additional equipment, supplies and electrical / HVAC improvements. As these spaces come online, we'll hold open studio events so you can experience them firsthand.

​Expanded Programming
This spring, the CAC will offer a plethora of new ways to learn and be entertained.

• Hands-on workshops will provide watercolor batik, wood-burning, beekeeping, fiber arts, cold wax, mead-making, and other skill-building experiences.
• Theatrical presentations include Seussical the Musical (at the high school) and a free performance of Creamed Corn Queen (at the CAC).

Community Connections
The CAC's emerging studios, classes and performances all provide wonderful ways for our community to connect through the creative process. In the future, AOTL plans to add a community gathering space, quiet reading nooks, meeting rooms and a pollinator garden to the CAC for even more ways to come together.

Your Help Is Needed!
Many volunteers have already contributed their time and donations to get us this far, but much more is needed. Your ideas, efforts and financial help are essential as we make the CAC vision a reality and a shining part of our community's fabric. Please contact Donna Westerling to volunteer, or Ann Smith to donate money / items. Thank you!

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AOTL Receives Two
New Funding Grants

Art of the Lakes recently received two significant new grants that will provide funding for some of its CAC offerings.

• ​A Minnesota State Arts Board Education grant of $35,000 will help AOTL deliver art education to local elementary-school children, including a two-week art experience for 3rd - 6th grade students at the Creative Arts Center this month.
• A Lake Region Arts Council Legacy grant of $9,510 will support AOTL's performance and theatrical events through the CAC, including Monroe Wright III, Whatever Happened to Warren, Creamed Corn Queen, Seussical The Musical, and theater classes for youth.

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2024 Studio Tour
​Registration Due March 15

The deadline for the 2024 Art of the Lakes Studio Tour registration is March 15. For artists who don't have a studio, we'll find a location for you. Attendees of the Studio Tour truly value visiting with the artists and viewing their artwork in their studios.

​Don't miss out on this great opportunity to display and sell your artwork! Make the Studio Tour part of your art journey this year by registering before March 15. Contact Judi Celaschi if you have questions.

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Phelps Mill Festival 2024
​New Artist Program:
​Free Booth Space

July 13-14, 2024
​Phelps Mill County Park

With a continuing focus on fine arts and fine crafts, this unique, successful event blends entertainment, food and an inspirational setting. With the century-old mill and river in the background, this park makes a perfect spot for the area’s largest art event of the year. 

The Phelps Mill Festival is providing an opportunity for three new and emerging fine artists and three new and emerging fine crafters to apply to the show and receive a free booth space and the use of a 10 x 10 canopy, along with paid insurance for the event. 

More information and an application form can be found here. Contact Ken Martin, Festival Manager or Val Martin, Assistant Manager with questions.

Art of the Lakes will once again have an exhibit at the Festival.

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Wood Carving Class Added to Education Schedule

As the temperatures rise, our class offerings for spring and summer are heating up as well.

A wood-carving class is a recent addition to our schedule this June. This is an ideal class to try woodcarving for the first time! Learn to carve and paint a traditional Swedish Dala horse with Alan Pearson from Red River Valley Woodcarvers. 

Visit our Education page for more information and to register for this and other classes.

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New Members Added in 2024

AOTL is growing its memberships! So far this year, over a dozen new members have joined our organization:

• Stephanie Burley, Paul Eidenschink, Sandy Freeman, Helen Gettner, Rachelle Graham, Vicki Hull, Jill Kohler, Vanessa Sellner, Patrick Sepnieski, Lowell Siebels, Anne Wyneken, Brian Wyneken

Welcome one and all!

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Gallery Training for New
and Returning Members

2024 members, we're so glad you've chosen to be a part of this amazing organization!

• If you're a non-displaying member, we thank you for your interest in and support of Art of the Lakes.
• If you're a displaying member, you'll need to work four days in our gallery during the 2024 season. If you haven't been trained on gallery operations, or if you wish to refresh your knowledge, we can arrange training sessions. Feel free to contact us at any time with questions or information.
• Again, welcome to AOTL 2024!

Sandy and Dan Thimgan
[email protected], or 218-371-5964

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If At First Your Art Doesn't Sell,
​Don't Give Up!

By Marcella Rose
A customer stopped into my gallery eight years ago, admiring my work. She told me her husband and she were building a new home on the lake and she wanted one of my bear paintings, but it wasn't the right size.

I mentioned commissioning one, but I didn't hear from her again until this winter, when she found out I had moved the gallery to my home.

She set an appointment with me and told me the home was built, and they have a wall specifically planned for the painting. After perusing many galleries over the years, mine was the only one speaking to her.

I gave her my book for inspiration as we decided just what to create, and as she opened the book to the page of that once available smaller bear painting, she knew exactly what she wanted: The same bear, more blues. We had an agreement.

Here it is, waiting on installation. I couldn't be more honored as an artist to have this experience! One never knows who is coming back. Just because there isn't a sale on the first visit (and there rarely is), don't give up hope. A sale - and new friendships - just might happen. 

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Got Recipes?
​AOTL Cookbook Planned

A plan is in the works to make an AOTL Creative Cookbook.  Contact Ann Smith to serve on the Cookbook Creation Committee. Members and friends will be asked for favorite recipes and artwork to illustrate the pages. 

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AOTL Members In The News

A selection of activities, honors and news about our members.

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Art of the Lakes is currently showing Fibre Expressions, an exhibition of fiber art by members and non-members from our community. Members with work in the show include:

• Becky Albright, showing Sunfish Ghosts, a gyotaku fish print on fabric, and Ferns, a fabric print with stitching.
• Kristi Swee Kuder, showing Joomchi in Red & Black and Joomchi in Orange, both made with mulberry paper.
• Sandy Thimgan, showing Word Birds, collaged paper.
• Mary Jo Wentz, showing Briefcase (cardboard and fiber) and Birds of the Prairie (needle felting).
• Donna Westerling, showing The Song of Angels and The Last Dance of Autumn (both watercolor on silk).
• Mary Williams, showing two hardanger stitching works.

​The exhibit is in the AOTL gallery until March 31.

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Lynn Hansen has been accepted to the White Bear Center for the Arts exhibition. This image shows a part of the exhibit. 

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Kristi Swee Kuder was honored recently to have Prairie Public TV produce a story about her creative work for their series Prairie Mosaic. The video story is being broadcast this winter on the Fargo PBS station, and can be viewed on Prairie Public's Facebook page, and on Kristi's website.

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Sandra Daulton Shaugnessy has been invited to exhibit her work at The Grand Hand Gallery as part of March Mugs Month. The exhibit features mugs by 36 current and former Grand Hand potters. The exhibit runs from March 7 to April 5, with an opening reception March 7 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. 

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Correction / Clarification

Last month's news article about AOTL signing a lease and moving into the Creative Arts Center had some readers wondering if that might mean the gallery was moving too.

The gallery will continue to be a vital part of AOTL's mission and footprint in Battle Lake, and won't be moving at all. If anything, the new CAC will allow the gallery to be even more effective by creating a separate facility for different functions.

Apologies for any confusion this may have caused.

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