Minnesota Prairie Roots

TO VIEW VISUAL ART created by others feeds my spirit in a way that I can’t fully explain. Perhaps it’s the kinship I feel as a creative. Perhaps it’s the appreciation I hold for their work. Or maybe it’s simply because of the feelings sparked by viewing a work of art.

Admiration. Joy. Serenity. Chaos. Calm. A myriad of emotions can arise when looking at a painting, a sculpture, mixed media, a photo, whatever the artist creates.

Recently I popped into the Paradise Center for the Arts in Faribault specifically to see the Halloween Group Show. But then I was drawn to the other galleries. There I saw “Unfurling,” mixed media drawings and an installation by Shelley Caldwell who creates art from her Faribault County farm near the Iowa border. Her exhibit seemed familiar. And it should have. In October 22, Caldwell’s work was featured in a smaller installation at the Paradise.

Then, as now, plants focus her art. She combines drawings of natural subjects with abstract drawings to create art that is signature identifiable as hers. This time Caldwell worked with micron pen and cut paper to craft black-and-white framed pieces rather than artfully staging spider plants.

Real plant leaves, though, dangling and dancing, shape the focal centerpiece suspended from the gallery ceiling. There is movement. Freedom. A certain airiness.

From Caldwell’s exhibit, I turned the corner to look at the acrylic paintings of Angelina Dornquast, a recent Waterville-Elysian-Morristown High School graduate. To think that someone this young can be this talented in portraiture impresses me. I thought in my head, “Wow, this girl can paint!” Plus, I sensed the confidence this young artist has in herself and in her work. That shines.

As I was about to head to the next gallery, Paradise Executive Director Julie Fakler pointed out an over-sized portrait of a glamorous woman on a stairway wall. The painting is the work of Jaclyn Theiss Garlock of Clear Lake, Iowa, and was a gift to the Paradise, part of its permanent art collection. The woman in the painting exudes strength, sass and attitude. I rather like her.

Inside Fakler’s office hangs more art in the permanent collection, including a trio of horses by Walter Salas-Humara of the musical group The Silos. The bold, long-legged horses are a signature subject and style of Salas-Humara. I enjoyed getting a peek at the permanent collection not typically seen by the public.

Fakler is a gifted artist, too, not unexpected from someone who leads an arts center. She specializes in animal portraits done primarily in clay. I’d recognize Fakler’s dogs, cats, goats, chickens, cows, pigs anywhere. They are bold, with personality. I could easily envision them on tee shirts, tote bags, greeting cards. They are uncomplicated and folksy in a way that reconnects me to my farm upbringing. And they are currently on exhibit in another Paradise gallery along with the work of those in a creative aging class.

There’s so much to see, experience and feel when viewing all of this art inside the Paradise galleries. Current art will be up until November 16, after which the works of more creatives will go on display beginning November 18. To have access to all this art in my community sparks gratitude within me. I had only minimal access to the arts as a child. Now I see, and experience, the arts often, much to my delight.

© Copyright 2024 Audrey Kletscher Helbling