Earth & Sky

Artists featured at this show:

Lisa Fratzke, painting

Marilyn Gonrowksi, painting

Megan & JD Jorgenson, Maine Prairie Studio, ceramics

Kathleen Kvern, encaustic painting

Dean Trisko, painting

ARTIST DETAILS:

Lisa Fratzke

Lisa received her BA in Studio Art at Luther College in Decorah, IA. As a junior she studied at the University of Nottingham, England expanding her knowledge of Art Theory, Art History and Photography. Growing up her family instilled the value of being good stewards of the environment. Her travel has “fueled her passion for understanding the human experience, the human form, and our relationship with the landscapes.” Her pieces have appeared in numerous group and solo exhibitions. 

Marilyn Gonrowski

Marilyn grew up in an artistic family in the Red River Valley. In the early 1960’s she joined other artists to display work at the juried Uptown Art Fair. For 33 years her work was on show there and at many other locations in the metro area. Her inspirations come from her passion for the natural world, the woods and water, and especially the textures of trees, leaves, and the different natural palettes of the seasons. Oil paints “allow me to mix my colors. Recently, I have explored incorporating oil paint with organic material as I find it adds an extra dimension to my art.”

Megan & JD Jorgenson, Maine Prairie Studio

Megan & JD operate Maine Prairie Studio in Kimball, MN, a ceramics studio, teaching space and gallery. Megan received her MFA at Utah State and teaches in St Cloud. Both her sculptural and functional ceramics are inspired by her curiosity of forming methods and application processes to clay. JD received his BA at University of Iowa. He apprenticed with Richard Bresnahan at St John’s Pottery and has taught ceramics at numerous locations. His functional objects reflect “the true beauty of clay itself, unglazed and raw interacting with fire, charcoal and atmosphere in a wood burning kiln.”

Kathleen Kvern

Kathleen is a Minneapolis abstract painter working in encaustic “for its translucency, luminosity, malleability, and strength.” Her work has been juried into numerous exhibitions. She was the recipient of the 2019 Emerging Artists Grant from IEA, and teaches workshops locally. She finds the process of encaustic meditative; scraping away and rebuilding. “Transformed from molten to solid, encaustic underscores the paradox of vulnerability as the true source of strength. My paintings are infused with my visual language of human emotions and experiences.”

Dean Trisko

Dean works in multiple mediums including watercolor, encaustic, intaglio, pastels, acrylic, oil and mixed medias. The natural world is the inspiration for his abstract compositions. He combines geometric shapes with natural light and color to develop visually complex paintings, drawings and prints. “My approach lets the art remain open to interpretation while retaining familiarity. My goal is forms filled with joy I find in reflective observation”.

Image: Lisa Fratzke, "In the Shadows"