Hello from Larchill Farm!
I am excited to share our beautiful farm with several other artists and the patrons who come out to see us on the tour. We will have a lot of space for social distancing and many creative ways of helping to stay safe and keep warm and dry if the weather calls for that.
Many of my art fairs were cancelled this summer and I had actually hoped to have a little more time this year to have the luxury of exploring but instead, I was very lucky to have several shows already scheduled and a couple more that I was invited to which have kept me very busy.
The show I am currently most excited about is a solo show of my work called “Anthropocene” opening August 22 at the Lanesboro Arts Center in Lanesboro, Mn.
The show will run through October 18th So any leftover work from the exhibit will not be in the artour. However, the show and work will be available online. Just check https://lanesboroarts.org/ .
Here is part of my artist statement for that show:
“Humans were initially successful as a species because we could adapt to our environment. We became so successful we began to adapt our environment to ourselves and have reached the point where we are forcing other animals to adapt to this human-made environment.
I am interested in how animals are doing that now.
Many of my pieces are fanciful imaginings of what could come to be or commentary on things I’ve seen or stories I’ve encountered. My goal is to make people aware that if we are going to share space with other living beings, we need to notice them and respect that they have a right to live also.
What I make becomes a window to the world that I live in and how I experience it.
Ceramics becomes a permanent record of those ideas about that and is given further layers of meaning by being made into quotidian objects in people’s homes; people, use them, look at them, live with them, perhaps think about them.
It is a human ability: making permanent that which is transient.
I am (literally) making solid my experience of existing on this planet right now.”
It’s always inspiring to me to make a cohesive body of work for a show with a overarching concept.
I love making work.
Glynnis Lessing

Christie Clarke creates one of a kind slab built pottery and necklaces that evoke thoughts of ancient objects yet have an unmistakably contemporary sensibility. Each piece is textured and colored with underglaze and glazes that create vivid colorscapes. Some vessels have additional touches of gold leaf. Her work has been exhibited in several group showings of the MN Women Ceramic Association in the Twin Cities, the Northfield Fine Craft Collective, the Anderson Center for the Arts in Red Wing MN, the Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport and is in the permanent collection of the Goldstein Museum of design at the University of Minnesota. Her work is sold at the Grand Hand Gallery in St. Paul, Fleur-de-lis gallery in Faribault and the Northfield Arts Guild in Northfield.

Christie has a piece in the Minnesota state fair fine arts building. No State fair this year but there will be the physical art show in the building and open to the public. Please visit https://www.mnstatefair.org/competitions/fine-arts/fine-arts-exhibition-event/ for more information about visiting the fine arts building at the Minnesota State Fair.

Studio ArTour artist David Allen has been showing us his studio, his process, and much much more during his weekly Facebook Live videos. You can see uncle Davey Facebook Live videos Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evenings at 6:00pm https://www.facebook.com/davidallenart

David Allen is a prolific artist who specializes in watercolor and acrylic media. He has taught art for over thirty years to high school students and adults. His paintings and sculptures are included in many public and private collections. Allen earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Art Education at the University of Minnesota at Mankato. Currently, he resides in Northfield, Minnesota. “I love to paint small towns especially those that take a unique interest in their community,” he says. “I try to capture the feelings of timelessness and tradition that these towns offer, attempting to invoke the kind of nostalgia that we all feel for the places we grew up in. It is a responsibility and a pleasure to paint something that represents the pride, history, and sense of community that these communities display.

His work is available to purchase online at www.davidallenart.com

My love of nature and natural elements inspire me to create pieces of jewelry that reflect its beauty. I endeavor to create pieces using natural elements such as semi-precious stones, metal, shells, wood and glass. Jewelry that has a rustic, earthy feel.

CALLING ALL ARTISTS!

Interested in participating as a studio or guest artist on the 2020 Studio ARTour?  Applications are now open (with a March 30, 2020 deadline). Please visit this link for all of the details. Questions? please email studioartour@gmail.com.

Applications will open soon! Stay tuned for an email coming out by the end of January notifying artists that applications are open for the 2020 ARTour.  Not sure if you’re on the list?  Email studioartour@gmail.com to receive the notification.  

Studio #11 artist’s Tami Resler and Bonnie Gunelius will both be having exhibitions at the Paradise Center for the Arts October 4 – November 18. Opening reception October 4th 5:00pm-7:00pm. Paradise Center for the Arts is located at 321 Central Avenue Faribault MN 55021    https://paradisecenterforthearts.org/

Check out the studios that will be featured on the 15th Annual Studio ARTour and plan your visit! This year’s tour includes 44 Artists at 18 Studios:

Calling all artists! Interested in participating as a studio or guest artist on the 2019 Studio ARTour?  Applications are now open!  Please visit this link for all of the details. Questions? please email studioartour@gmail.com.