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Embracing
the Arts at ACNW
At
the Audubon Center we have made a concerted effort to make sure
that art is well represented in the buildings and exhibits. We
recognize the need for an appreciation of the environment on many
levels and for education to be interdisciplinary. Science and
math provide the research, inquiry, and facts, Political Science,
environmental studies provide a link with issues and processes,
physical education through adventure learning connects the person
with nature, history and geography provide perspective and a sense
of context. Art provides a sense of aesthetics, a meaning beyond
the initial contact. Through art we develop feelings, sensitivity,
appreciation, and depth.
Pine
County lacks an art museum, but not the need for art. We have
been fortunate that we could bring in writers, singers, musicians,
and to increase the visual arts on display at the center. We hope
to do more and welcome those of you who share our love of both
art and nature to become involved with us.
Below
we have highlighted several of the artists that have contributed
their talents to the center. We invite you to look through this
web gallery and then visit us to see the art in person.
Lucas
Campbell-Painter
Sponsored by the East
Central Arts Council
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Our
first Artist-in-Residence, Lucas Campbell, painted his
first mural in our Wildlife Barn on the wall in the hallway
separating the classroom from the bird mews. Lucas is
a gifted, self-taught artist that focuses his work on
nature related themes. When the Audubon Center built the
new dormitory, the hallway was another blank space that
needed brightening and Lucas saw it as an artistic challenge.
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| We
asked him to illustrate the history of this land and place
– a space that covered square footage. The project
took over 9 months to complete, but it was a project with
multiple challenges in perspective and access. The result
is astonishing, as well as beautiful and educational. Finally,
we were able to add his paintings to two classrooms –
one with an entire ceiling painted in an elaborate depiction
of ecological biomes, and the other with star charts.
In
the main dining hall, there are six panels of animal images
and two panels of landscapes that are mounted on the walls
around the dining hall.
View
more photos of
Lucas Campbell's mural
Contact
Information:
Please call 320-245-2786 |
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Kevin
and Shawn Gadomski - Ojibwe Manitou Dolls (Little Manitou)
Sponsored by the East
Central Arts Council
Freedom Enterprise
14911 Gronigen Rd
Sandstone, MN 55072
kevinsha@ecenet.com
www.freedomgallery.com |
Kevin
and his wife Shawn are a team that have created a business
based on Shawn’s family history and Kevin’s
artistic training. The business is called Freedom Enterprises
and it is described as Native American Art Wood Sculpture.
Kevin is the wood carver. Each piece is a carving of an
animal, most standing upright. The head and appendages
are visible, while the rest of the body is clothed in
beautiful leather garments that Shawn makes by hand and
paints with native designs. Each piece is completely unique.
The sculpture at the Center depicts an Osprey, which is
the symbol for the Audubon Center. The bird is holding
a fishing spear, since fish are their main prey.
Click
here for larger views
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Bonnie
Waletzko – Ceramic Potter
Sponsored by the East
Central Arts Council
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Bonnie
is a self-taught potter who began playing around with
clay as a form of relaxation from her work as a teacher.
She found that she really enjoyed the medium and the creative
release that it gave her. Gradually, she found that she
was spending more and more time making clay pots and finally
decided to give up teaching for the full-time pursuit
of potting. Her style has changed over the year by various,
mysterious inspirations.
One
of her most popular and difficult styles involves carving
away pieces of the design, so that it has a filigree effect.
Nature is a major theme for Bonnie and her pieces range
in size from six inches to over three feet in height.
Her fame has spread and now her work can be found in private
collections and public venues around the country.
The
pot that belongs to the Center is about three feet tall
with the design of an osprey painted on the side and carved
out designs of birds circling the top. Large white pines
are painted on the side and white pine needles and cones
are carved into the piece near the top. There is a removable
cap which has a fish attached as a handle and at the very
bottom of the piece fish swim around the base. Blue and
green are the dominant colors on the pot.
Willow
River Pottery
4049 County Rd. 43
Willow River, MN 55795
218-372-3849 |
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Craig
Blacklock, Photographer
Sponsored by the East
Central Arts Council
Kelly
Dupre, Wildlife Mosaics
Sponsored by the East
Central Arts Council
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These five large mosaics of deer, owl, fish, turtle and
otter march across the wall above the west facing windows.
This art was made possible in part by a grant from the
East Central Regional Development Commission and the East
Central Arts Council, with funds provided by the Minnesota
State Legislature.
Kelly
Dupre is a naturalist who has developed into a freelance visual
artist, using her love and knowledge of animals as the inspiration
for her art. She has written and illustrated a children’s
book “The Raven’s Gift” and has written
and illustrated school curriculum based on the Arctic explorations
of her husband Lonnie Dupre. They live in Grand Marais, MN.
For
more information on Kelly
Dupre and her artwork, please follow the link to her
website.
Click
here to view all of Kelly's Mosaics at the Center.
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Kelly
has studied the art and life of the Inuit people in Greenland
and has used the style and feel of traditional northern
art in this work. Each one is made with pieces of ceramic
tile and various found artifacts the artist associated
with each animal. Look closely and you will see toys or
keys or tools intermixed with tiles.
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Display
Cabinets – Built by Woodshop of Avon
The
wall cabinets on either side of the Dining Hall were built by
Woodshop of Avon with sustainably harvested wood and installed
in September 2002 in time for our Fall Open House. These units,
which are lit from within, contain a variety of educational
and artistic displays.
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The
unit on the south wall holds displays of wood carvings,
paintings, pottery, musical instruments.
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There
is a tableau of a maple syrup scene, as well as maple syrup
bottles filled with syrup made here at the Center. |
Our
Mission:
To
protect, improve and promote the enjoyment of the
natural environment
through formal and informal
education programs and research; to assist
and
encourage
environmental education programs, centers, and
careers. |
Our
Vision:
The
environment is the blackboard for the Center's educational programs;
the common ground that brings us together with the natural world and
people from around the globe to share our concerns for one another and
the future. It is through positive and shared experience that we hope
we can affect the values and actions of our people to create a world
of harmonious diversity. |
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