THE ART OF PAINTING
Jeff Renner
Myra Damm
Myra has been involved in art most of her life. She attended the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. In the early years she worked primarily in oils, taught classes in the northern suburbs and later opened her own Studio for nine years.
Switching to Acrylics a few years ago she has been doing more exploring with the various types of acrylics and mediums doing more abstract and collages. She began painting on different surfaces, including purses and shoes a few years ago, and has enjoyed that art form, bringing to life gently used purses with color and designs.
Myra has shown her work in the Minneapolis area in various galleries, in the Hackensack area at the Casino show, Artisans Mall in Walker, Wild Hare in Bemidji, Working Artist Gallery, The Pine River Art Show, and Arts Off 84.
Wolffworks Studios – Marsha & Gary Wolff
Tom Soucek
After high school he went to Bemidji State and graduated in 1976 with a degree in art and social studies. He’s done art shows for over 30 years in MN, WI, IA, and the Dakotas. He works only in watercolors – landscapes of the north woods and a number of barn scenes from central MN. Most of what he creates are miniatures, smaller than 8 x 10.
Tom has been influenced by the north woods of Minnesota. He spends a lot of time along the North Shore of Lake Superior, hiking, skiing and enjoying the beauty of the area.
Meadow Hightshoe (Student Artist)
Sue & Ross Cornelison
Sue Cornelison is a children’s book illustrator, illustrating many books for children for over two decades. Along with painting and drawing, recently she has rediscovered her love for clay and uses a whimsical approach to her sculptures as well as utilitarian pieces.
She and her husband, Ross, collaborated on creating pull toys this past ‘covid’ year. She designed and painted and he did all the woodworking. Sue also likes to spin wool and creates felt hats and hand bags. Sue and Ross are new to selling their creations but have enjoyed attending the Art Crawl for many years. They have a seasonal cabin and spend their summers in Hackensack MN.
Gabe & Anne Carlstrom / Forever Favorites – Painting, Woodworking, and Jewelry
Always marveling at the beauty in the landscape of the world, Gabe Carlstrom has been exploring acrylic painting since the age of 16, taking up oil painting just recently. He is self-taught and oddly enough, color blind. Big bright colors of sunsets, sunrises and cloud formations have always been the focal point.
Around the same time, his passion for woodworking was growing as well. The use of reclaimed wood, tree roots, epoxy and found objects is a constant. Gabe also incorporates area lake rocks, driftwood and tree root pieces into his paintings. All frames are handmade on hand stretched canvases.
His wife, Anne Carlstrom, discovered her artistic side during the pandemic. Painting and pour painting at first then moving to jewelry making. She uses reclaimed jewelry pieces, hand-cut reclaimed leather, metal, fabric, rock, gems, wood and flowers from the garden. Always adapting and changing styles, Anne has found her true passion.
Hannah Anema, Erin Haws – Fisheries Fine Art
Laurie Slanga – LS Creations
A self-taught Minnesota artist, Laurie Slanga has taken her passion for art and infused it with her everyday life. Utilizing mainly acrylics and mixed-media styles, her artwork focuses mostly on wildlife and nature, something she surrounds herself with every day. Much of her work has been inspired by Lake Superior, a staple of her life growing up on the North Shore, whose beauty, power and ever-changing landscape encourages her with every creation.
Laurie discovered her passions later than many, after taking a “paint-and-sip” class while visiting her brother in Alabama. Ever since, she’s been continuously honing her crafts, as she attempts to share the simple beauty of the world through every canvas and jewelry piece she creates.
Some of her canvas pieces include mixed media, standard brush painting and pour-painting (mixing acrylic paint, a flow enhancer, oil and water.)
Her jewelry is created from an extension of pour-painting. Dipping transparent glass Cabochons in a pour-paint mixture of acrylic paint, flow enhancer, oil, and water. Once dry, prepped and sealed the glass is set-in stainless-steel jewelry pieces.
Sheree Gatewood – Painting, photography
Sheree Gatewood is new to the art scene this year. She has previously worn the hats of a cosmetologist, mechanical drafter, and an EMT. She has a four-year degree in Marketing Communications that was utilized in the advertising industry many years ago. As an empty nester, Sheree has made a deep dive to develop her art skills and accomplish her dreams of creating. She enjoys long walks outside capturing photos and then uses them to help develop ideas to accomplish her paintings. Currently, Sheree uses acrylic paint, alcohol markers, photos and magazine cutouts to build a variety of different sized collages. The collages each have their own unique story that she will certainly share with you if asked.