August 1-25 "Memories Captured" by Daphne Clark

Artist Reception August 19th 7-9pm

Daphne Clark

I was born and raised in rural North Dakota only three miles from the Montana border. There is a rough beauty to this area few people get to enjoy as the population remains classified as frontier. Most of these counties have an average density of two people per square mile much because of their rough country. I believe the people who stay in this area are some of the most unique people in the world.

I want my work to capture a “snapshot in time” for the future or in some cases reinventing the past for people to remember. To that end a number of these works are of people who are characters who live in this area others are of people who were dearly loved who have passed on. Other works in this collection are from discarded old photos that no one wanted anymore or no longer remembered who the subjects were. There is a great satisfaction in capturing not only a person’s likeness but also their essence.

I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Biology in 2003 and in 2012, I enrolled at the Academy of Art University attend for a Master’s Degree in Fine Art Painting. I am approximately halfway through the program working primarily in oil and pastel.

It is a natural fit to bring together my background and love for this area, it’s people and the outdoors into my painting. There is a story in these rural areas just waiting to be told to the rest of the world and I want to be one of the people telling that story.Ar

July 1-29 Gallery I: Patricia Marquard "Tone Poems of Color", Gallery II Williston Area Visual Artists

“Currently I am an artist/art teacher residing in Minot, North Dakota.  I am a commissioned artist, as well as an instructor, and art demonstrator for Minot Council of the Arts in various events during the year, and occasionally at MSU.  I teach High School art at White Shield School, on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.

A Wisconsin native and art graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, I have won awards at art competitions in Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.

 I paint with an Impressionistic style.  My artist’s philosophy is that form is concrete, although it can be combined and rearranged.  Color is relative and can be used in any way that the imagination can perceive.  My realism in drawing sometimes has surrealistic overtones.  My mediums are oil, watercolor and colored pencil.

 In my Cathedral Series the buildings are impressionistic in that while the architecture is representational there are details that are omitted and areas that are somewhat vague.  Color is definitely arbitrary. For example the interior of a sanctuary may encircle the façade of the cathedral.  The next series was “Hawaiian Flowers and Trees,” some of which have been sold and are no longer part of the traveling exhibit. Occasionally I will paint a scene from my travels in the United States.

The motivation for my style is that while I am a realist in rendering, I take liberties with what I see, according to mood, interest and the flow of the picture.  I sometimes enjoy color for color’s sake and that makes for arbitrary color in some of my artwork.”

 Patricia Marquard

Celebrating 50 Years of Fort Union, June 1-30, 2016 Gallery II

Gallery II

"The Largest and Best Built": Celebrating 50 Years of Fort Union, 1966-2016  

June 1-30, 2016

Michelle Lindblom "Nuances" June 1-30, 2016 Gallery I

Artist Statement: The title of the exhibition “Nuances” describes the visual subtleties of the textures, colors, shapes and movements in nature which are an apt metaphor for our everyday encounters. I’ve always been intensely mindful of my surroundings and as my artistic journey continues, I find a heightened sensitivity and an increased interest in engaging and visualizing those everyday encounters. The resulting visual nuances are intriguing and unique, much like nature, herself.

Process: This exhibition is a result of experimenting with and assimilating the monotype and collage processes. These processes lend themselves well to the concept of layering materials and ideas. My manner of experimentation and discovery is both conscious and subconscious, not unlike like that of a child playing and naturally interacting with his/her environment. First, I create a number of simple monotypes that I can use as base layer for the collages or that can be adhered using the technique of chine-colle’. Secondly, I surround myself with a variety of materials which include printmaking paper scraps, dried leaves/plants, ribbon, wire mesh, string, scraps of previous prints, and whatever else is available and can be run through my printmaking press or glued relatively flat on a sheet of BFK printmaking paper. When using thin papers such as Japanese rice papers, I can sometimes layer up to four monotypes on a single piece, in addition to the variety of other materials I adhere to the surface. Once the collage is complete, each piece is then brushed with matt medium and pressed flat.

Chine-colle’ – printmaking technique in which the image is transferred to a surface that is bonded to a heavier support in the printing process, allowing the printer to print on delicate surfaces such as Japanese papers or linen.

Monotype – A single print taken from an image created in oil or printing ink on glass, plexiglass or metal.