As part of my exhibition Creative Connections (2021), I was invited to be the artist-in-residence at Arts In Motion in Holdingford, MN. During the residency (2020-2021), I facilitated a collaborative and experimental internship space for 18 local high-school age students at Art in Motion. During this time, I guided discussion, critique, brainstorming techniques, collaboration, creative problem solving, and interdisciplinary art making with the ultimate goal that the students exhibit their work at Arts In Motion in April. In April, students showed work that highlighted their time during the internship. Their work included ideas of self reflection, personal imagery, experimentation, sculpture, drawing, painting, music composition, performance, poetry and stained glass.
The source material for Creative Connections comes, in part, from discussions with students. The 18 students were each inspiring in different ways. They are strong individuals, creative artists, and resilient people with a vulnerability and hope for the future that I found inspiring. The rich dialogue we shared and the subtext of words and actions is something I carried with me between meetings. Because of the lockdown, the experience of creating community online was more intense and intentional for each participant and myself. It is this tender feeling of tangential connection that I share in my works. In the intensely explored themes, I show our vulnerability and determination. And this connection is what I found most powerful in our work.
