Current Artists
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She/Her
My painting is a means of communicating how the physical body feels at a specific point in time through an imagined visual anatomy. I developed this process by studying medical imagery and experimenting with ways to portray internal health. I am interested in how it feels to have a chronic illness or pain, or a very healthy body. How some bodies are visible and seen for their physicality and some are walking around in pain and no one knows. Illness and less than perfect health is viewed as a failing that must be hidden. And yet, physical health is an all-encompassing part of our lives. When the human figures are placed in environments visual narratives occur. This allows me to explore social impacts upon one’s health as well. This results in a combination of silhouetted expressionistic figures in slightly abstracted environments.
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Duane Penske was a primitive artist working in Vesta, MN 1961 - 2014. His work explored daily rural life, spirituality and the farm crisis of the 1980s.
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John Stumme is a Minneapolis mixed-media artist who paints on a variety of surfaces, most notably mulberry paper, archival tissue paper, and silk. Once the materials have dried he will either tear and compose them into abstract nature pieces or into backgrounds for his figurative work, like the ones for his Bodies of Resistance collection.
John finds wonder in the flowing together of diluted acrylic paints on various surfaces. He observes how colors blend and textures occur organically as the paints dry and decides when and where he needs to add additional paint. Intuition is an important part of this process. John enjoys working with face, body and nature images because of their tangible connection to life and living. John’s mother, who died two years, was an artist. He sees her hands when he looks at his own and feels her spirit when he views his finished work.
While John has no formal arts education he has sought out and benefited greatly from the guidance of some gifted Minneapolis artists including Susan Shields, Suzanne Beck and artist, mentor, and friend Deborah Foutch. John is forever grateful to his husband, Kyle, for buying him a class to Deborah’s Artist Way class for his 50th birthday. It awakened his artist soul and John has not stopped making art since.
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Amber Pierce is a multiracial (BIPOC) artist, mother, and spiritual healer. Born and raised in Minneapolis' Northside, navigating life as a middle-aged "disabled" woman. Having survived trauma of both body and spirit. Amber uses her creative gifts to rise above her circumstances. Applying acrylic paint and collage to reinvent the "Vision Board", placing her intentions in many of her pieces. Continuing her tradition of depicting and uplifting through her cultural experiences. Straddling a line between still needing economic assistance, and building a way to self sufficiency; Amber uses her art to empower herself and others.
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Based in Isanti, MN, Samsonette is an artist whose work radiates diversity and stands out with a distinct style and character. Her versatility and eagerness to embrace various forms and mediums give rise to a vibrant spectrum of works. These pieces, drawing influence from lithography and graphic design, keenly observe both the natural world and human nature. Through her exploration of texture and materials, and her nuanced interplay between figure and abstraction, Samsonette exhibits a bold approach to both subject matter and artistic medium.
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My work is deeply rooted in the exploration of personal experiences, memories and the human connection to nature. Through blend of analog photographic processes, mixed media techniques, and the transformative power of memory, I strive to create imagery that evokes the viewers own memories, feelings, and experiences.My creative process typically begins with finding an image associated with an emotionally charged personal memory on my old cell phones, cameras, or film and using that image to create an instant photo. To me, instant photos are not only a popular way of quickly capturing a moment in time, but they have a particular aesthetic in their imperfections that evokes a sense of nostalgia. Then I “touch” the memories and manipulate them through the emulsion lift process, and frequently integrate them with other media such as graphite or watercolor. The resulting pieces often become vague, distorted, and/or transformed during the process, often adding new sensations, feelings, or abstractions. What was originally an old memory associated with a particular situation in my life has become something new and taken on new meaning. Sometimes this is a way that I work through painful past events and can be a healing process for me.
Despite the personal beginnings of each piece, it is my goal that the viewer can find a piece of themselves in my work, and that the experiences I've embedded within the art become shared memories that foster a deeper understanding of our collective human experience.
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Sue Cranston’s art is often about documenting details from her 1970's & 1980's childhood. Her paintings depict vegetables, florals, animals and most especially, sentimental items from childhood. Cranston is particularly fond of bikes, trikes, roller skates, vintage school chairs, Pyrex mixing bowls and all things related to Brownies and Girl Scouts! Sue Cranston lives in River Falls, WI and works full time as a high school art teacher in St. Paul, MN.My “School themed and Girl Scout themed” artwork started to develop when I learned about the extraordinary printmaking artist Kathe Kollwitz. I am in awe of the way Ms. Kollwitz captured emotion and a range of human experiences with her printing techniques and charcoal drawings. The honest imagery influenced my very first linoleum block print of a school girl wearing a plaid jumper uniform. After experimenting with mixing mediums, I learned how to digitize my artwork and transform photographs of my printmaking prints and my paintings.
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She/Her
Donna Budzinsky creates characters of people she has met using vibrant colors and abstracted features. Her work has a nostalgic factor that brings viewers in. The details she includes provide personality and depth, emphasizing the fun-loving quirkiness that exists in each of us but is often hidden. Donna takes her inspiration from the simple aspects of our personalities and amplifies them in wondrous ways. Donna lives and works in Minnesota.
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I specialize in whimsical art and advocacy that delights humans of all ages. Using a unique mixed-media style, I combine traditional watercolor technique with dynamic and expressive character design. Together, let's color our world into the just, equitable, and joyful place we always dreamed it could be.
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Raven Gizhibaayaanimad Mae of Whirlywind Artworks is a Mixed, Queer, Fat, genderfluid, Two Spirit, visual and mixed media artist. Born and raised in Minnesota they have dual citizenship with the US and Red Lake Nation of Ojibwe/Anishinaabe. Committed to community building and the healing power of art they held (pre-pandemic) weekly Art It Out events. These weekend events were meant to create social spaces and local community for creative dabblers and artists to gather together and create in a common supportive space. They work to weave emotive narratives of their experiences and local events into their work. Their favorite mediums are inktense pencils, water blendable oil pastels and acrylics
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Artist Shirlene Perrin's paintings reflect her fascination with outer space and science fiction. The space we can see from earth, from satellite images, images from Nasa, the imagination of creators of science fiction films old and new, galaxy and space related art all inspire her work. A love of the outdoors also inspires her work as well as the hope that other worlds as beautiful as Earth exist. The James Webb telescope imagery brought a new “look” to images of space we have become accustomed to viewing and are also an inspiration as you can see in her paintings “James” and “Webb”.
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My mixed-media narrative paintings colorfully encourage reflection on our relationship to home. I am intrigued by the erosion of private and public spaces and how exploring our relationship to place and time through spatial disorientation can subvert normative ideas about gender, sexuality, and racialized subjects. Through painting “private” spaces and objects used in domestic settings I challenge how women’s expertise is often confined to the “Four F’s”— food, fashion, family, and furnishings— to expand our cultural attitudes for more expansive understandings. My work engages home and belonging, presence/absence, and what perpetually remains at the margins of societal focus; the evidence and social impact of women’s/femme labor inside and outside of the home. I draw on themes of Xicanx feminism, domesticity, intimacies, iconography, and historical erasures to teach viewers something new, while simultaneously providing visual pleasure.
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I was born and raised in Tasmania, the island state of Australia, and now dye, spin, and weave on the family farm in rural Buffalo, Minnesota.My wearable art is rooted in my love of color and texture and the joy of following where the fiber takes me.
I am intentional about minimizing textile waste, which has influenced the evolution of my weaving process, from reclaiming and dying cotton yarns, to techniques for eliminating loom waste, to saving every scrappy thread and yarn trimming to incorporate into future handspun yarns.
Dyeing yarns for weaving led me to explore fabric and clothing dyeing, including tie dye and shibori techniques.
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Sculptor, Painter, drawer, etc.Creator of dark and beautiful creatures
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She/Her/We
My art reflects insider dialogue, existential curiosities and pain, and human experiences. My inspiration comes from my travels, raising my children, my childhood, nature, local and Swedish lore, and observing and experiencing human behavior. Both photography and painting are the media I use to express myself. Although I have been a practicing artist since 1994, I have been reviving my passion for experimental processes since retiring as a professional photographer in 2009 and returning to graduate school for art psychotherapy.With a 1970’s Land Camera, the love for instant analog imagery was born. Tapping into the foundation of expressing soft imperfect memories, felt human experience, and personal wonder. My paintings often depict deeper, surreal, dreamlike imagery. Imagery that is visually complex and offers hidden meaning for those who wish to study and are inspired by the need to understand and contain observed or felt emotional pain.
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After a brain tumor diagnosis, I discovered the healing power of art. Unable to return to work and feeling isolated, while my husband continued his daily routine, I turned to creativity as a source of joy and personal expression.
My process begins with play, where I experiment with various art supplies and layers, often without a predefined vision. As stories emerge within the work, I transition to deliberate marks and brush strokes, marrying spontaneity with intention to create a visual narrative that captures the essence of the human experience.
My art is a bridge to connect with others, inviting them to explore the hidden stories within each piece. It's a testament to the extraordinary stories that can emerge from the interplay of spontaneity and intention in the world of art.
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She/Her
Boldly going where I have not gone in a very long time! This is a new adventure for me in my recent retirement. Enjoying the hunt for thrifted denim clothing and trying every upcycled arting process that I can come up with. Delving back into my true love of wheel-thrown and hand-built pottery. Hoping you enjoy the journey as much as I am.
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I’m a transgender, autistic artist who does digital and acrylic paintings often inspired by mental illness and my own neurodivergence. The way I see, interact with, and feel in the world translates into my art.
IG@wildcardyn.
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She/Her
Cindy Fuerstenberg is a fiber and mixed media artist. Her work is a culmination of all the making and doing, the observing and learning she has done along the way. The subject matter is grounded in the earth, traces the footprints of humans, and reflects the natural places she has been. Cindy hand makes many of the components and uses natural dyes or processes whenever possible. You will discover complex layers that have a story to tell, a reason to look deeper. She may work with a multitude of fibers, textures in paper, or use altered or up-cycled fabric. You may also find paint pushed past its boundaries, clay, reclaimed metal, or a trail of rusty bits. The result is a tactile and visual feast of harmony.
All those bits and pieces, both tangible and experiential, continue to propel Cindy into the welcoming unknown. For now, she is here and has a chance to share her art with you, to tell you a story or the “why”. Perhaps that will give rise to the comfort found in nature’s voice, bring you an understanding of some small mystery in science or an environmental awareness. Maybe it will prompt empathy, action, or a realization that helps you to heal.
She hopes that it will.
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She/Her
My books are a result of curiosity and fascination with the form, especially at its most unique and unexpected extremes. I’m partially self-taught, currently studying at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts. My projects explore what a book is, playing with scale, expectations, and text. Resourcefulness is a priority for me, so I repurpose materials, minimize waste, and recycle fiber scraps through papermaking. I often incorporate other hand work I’ve done and collaborated on, from embroidery to batik fabric and handmade paper. I live in Lowertown, St. Paul, and the city’s history and present inspire my work.
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She/Her
I am an artist who believes in the power of self-expression through
various forms of creativity. From a young age, Ihave been captivated
by the world of art and have dedicated my life to honing my skills and exploring
di erent mediums. My journey as an artist began withdrawing and painting,
where I discovered the joy of bringing images to life on a blank canvas. As I grew
older, Idelved into other artistic realms such as sculpture, photography, and
digital art. Each new venture allowed m e to broaden my horizons and push the
boundaries of my own creativity.
Show Your Art With Us
For many, artists this is the first step to a strong career. For others, it is a means to address the many barriers that exist as artists seek opportunities. Our artists reflect diverse artistic visions providing visitors a rich, entertaining and intellectually challenging experience.
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