Please join NWMAC Staff Kristin Eggerling and Trey Everett as they speak with Hallock artist Beau Bakken on Friday, March 8 at 1 PM. The conversation will take place live on our Facebook and YouTube channels. The recording will be available on our website afterwards.

Bakken is the featured artist in the current NWMAC Gallery Exhibit at NCTC in Thief River Falls — Around the Farm. The conversation will be about the exhibit, Beau’s the inspiration, body of work, and much more!

The exhibit Around the Farm is open until April 25 at the Northwest Minnesota Arts Council Gallery at NCTC in Thief River Falls. This exhibit includes 27 pieces of art created by 15 artists in acrylic, watercolor, pen and ink, photography, ceramic, and mixed media. Beau Bakken, the featured artist, has twelve 2' X 3' acrylic on canvas paintings of tractors, elevators, trucks and farmers from NW Minnesota. Many of the pieces are for sale.

Bakken explained, “Ten years ago or so I was working on a farm and found visual inspiration from my boss’s farm trucks. They were decades old, rusty, and full of battle scars. But at the turn of a key, their engines fired and were ready for the day’s work. I filed away in the back of my brain to paint a picture of at least one of these modern workhorses. I’m good for packing away more ideas than I ever have time to put into reality, so this inspiration sat dormant for almost a decade. But over the last year or two, I’ve finally leaned into painting pictures of trucks, tractors, and machinery and quite enjoyed it. Most have been painted from personal photos but also from generous photograph lenders. I never took a photo of the 1960-something green Ford truck that first inspired me, but a photo recently was given to me of my former boss pouring grain out of the old Ford’s back gate. The painting titled, “Ron and the Ford” was a meaningful capstone for me and this farm art project in many ways. Ron Petersen, now with Jesus, was a great boss, farmer, and man of God.  If I continue painting farm related pictures, I hope to find more ways to depict farmers along with their machinery.”

Watch this video for a virtual tour of the exhibit at https://youtu.be/NoQwejK5jmI

The NWMAC Gallery is located at Northland Community and Technical College in Thief River Falls. The gallery hours are Monday-Friday from 8 -5 PM and at other times when events are held at the college. Please check to make sure the college is open before making a special trip to see the exhibit. Summer hours can change. Enter through Door B, which is right next to the gallery.

Please let us know if you have questions about the Artist Spotlight.

Please join NWMAC Staff Kristin Eggerling and Trey Everett as they speak with regional artists Cindy Kolling and Gail Ose on Wednesday, July 24 at 1 PM. The conversation will take place live on our Facebook and YouTube channels. The recording will be available on our website afterwards.

Kolling and Ose are featured in the current NWMAC Gallery Exhibit at NCTC in Thief River Falls — Awareness: within and without. The conversation will be about the exhibit, the inspiration of the artists, their body of work, and much more!

The exhibit Awareness: within and without is open until July 31 at the Northwest Minnesota Arts Council Gallery at NCTC in Thief River Falls. This exhibit features 54 pieces of artwork by Gully Visual Artist Cindy Kolling and Thief River Falls Visual Artist Gail Ose and is open through July at the NWMAC Gallery at Northland Community and Technical College in Thief River Falls.

Showcase Specialist Trey Everett shared, “Cindy Kolling is a master at capturing the life cycle of plants through her pen and ink and silkscreen artistry. Gail Ose's visionary and highly symbolic work is a fascinating process as well as mesmerizing to gaze into. This exhibit is a complementary combination of two distinct styles which give careful attention to the form and the formless, what is without and what is within."

Cindy Kolling’s work includes two sets of 12 silkscreen prints of the life cycle of native plants white sage and blazing star plus other work. These are different handprints of one plant in a continuing series originating from pen & ink drawings of Cindy’s that reference her field sketches, artist’s photos, and observation experiences.

No two handprints are alike and there are no more. These original prints may be released as high quality digital reproductions later, as determined by the artist ,but the original handprint is unique and unable to be done the same again.

Gail Ose is a visionary artist and founder of Serendipity Art Hub based in Thief River Falls, where she lives on a farm. In her studio classroom and workshops, Gail offers painting classes taught from the perspective of Heart, Soul, and Spirit while nurturing authentic, creative expressions regardless of talent or experience. Gail weaves her passion for creativity and spiritual connection into her painting practice and throughout her life and leads others into uncharted areas of their creativity, both inward and outward, to live and create more authentically.

Watch this video for a virtual tour of the exhibit at youtu.be/Rcys2dLpwlg

The NWMAC Gallery is located at Northland Community and Technical College in Thief River Falls. The gallery hours are Monday-Friday from 8 -5 PM and at other times when events are held at the college. Please check to make sure the college is open before making a special trip to see the exhibit. Summer hours can change. Enter through Door B, which is right next to the gallery.

Please let us know if you have questions about the Artist Spotlight.

Watch our Artist Spotlight with Andy Hall. This will be live on Monday, January 22 at 10 AM on our Facebook or YouTube page. Or watch the discussion afterwards on our website. Here is the link: https://streamyard.com/pjh6xzyyt6mj

NWMAC staff Trey and Kristin will speak with Andy Hall for an Artist Spotlight to highlight the Pulled in Many Directions Photography by Andy Hall Exhibit. We will speak with Andy about what influences him artistically, his photography, his subject matter, the exhibit, his technique, and much more. Pulled in Many Directions Photography by Andy Hall is open until February 26. Let us know if you have questions!

Join us for an online discussion with Thief River Falls Photographer Bert Foster on January 23 at 4 pm. The artwork of Bert and his wife Christine Foster will be featured in our upcoming exhibit — Northern Exposure: Paintbrush and Camera at the NWMAC Gallery at NCTC in January and February. We’ll talk about the exhibit, Bert’s background and photography, insight into creativity and inspiration, and much more! The discussion will be live on our Facebook page and YouTube Live. Afterwards, you can view the recording on our Facebook, or YouTube pages or website. Reach out with any questions!

Join us for an online discussion with Thief River Falls Visual Artist Christine Foster on January 20 at 11 am. The artwork of Christine and her husband Bert Foster will be featured in our upcoming exhibit — Northern Exposure: Paintbrush and Camera at the NWMAC Gallery at NCTC in January and February. We’ll talk about the exhibit, Christine’s background and her artwork, insight into creativity and inspiration, and much more! The discussion will be live on our Facebook page and YouTube Live. Afterwards, you can view the recording on our Facebook, or YouTube pages or website. Reach out with any questions!

Join us for an online discussion with the artists who have work in our Dynamic Voices Exhibit, including Therese Jacobson, Connie Nelson, Rachel Gustafson, Heidi Danos, and Stephanie Olson! We’ll be talking about the exhibit, their backgrounds, insight into creativity and inspiration, and much more! You are also able to ask the artists questions. The discussion will be on our Facebook page and YouTube Live. Once the broadcast is done, you can watch it at anytime with a link that will be shared on our website and Facebook page. Let us know if you have any questions!