Artist Highlight/Interview
When the Earth Sings
Local artist Brianna Harrington spends a lot of time outdoors as an avid hiker, wellness coach, and master gardener, connecting to the earth and listening to the ground beneath her feet. Brianna’s new series, “Soil Song: Exploring the Decaying Vibrancy of the World’s Soil,” now on display at White Bear Center for the Arts, uses…
Read MoreFirst Person Plural: Honoring Immigrant Stories in White Bear Lake
You might see new—even familiar faces on the grounds of White Bear Center for the Arts. In the form of huge black and white mural portraits, local artist and White Bear Lake resident Cadex Herrera’s latest project, “First Person Plural,” shares the journeys of immigrants who now call White Bear Lake home. Through in-depth conversations…
Read MoreQ&A with Into Nature Judge Michele Combs
When Michele Combs took her first painting class at 38 years old, she couldn’t have guessed she’d become a renowned, award-winning plein air painter. She began her painting journey in an acrylic painting class at the Minnetonka Center for the Arts, the art center where she ended up teaching. When she entered her first painting…
Read More“Ode to my Umi”: Celebrating Black Motherhood, Ancestry, and the Revolutionary Power of Rest
The newest exhibit in White Bear Center for the Arts’ Ford Family Gallery, “Ode to my Umi,” honors Black motherhood and ancestral wisdom. But the curator of the show, 2023-2024 Emerging Curators Institute Fellow Eshay Brantley, wants to make one thing clear: this exhibit is for everyone. Directly influenced by the women in her family…
Read MoreAn Abundance of Love: Artist Highlight with Genie Hien Tran
Genie Hien Tran (Trần Phan Minh Hiền) is an interdisciplinary artist and designer based in Minneapolis, MN. She was born in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and recently received her MFA degree in Visual Arts at Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Her work takes the form of collage, painting, installation, and writing in order…
Read MoreA Creative Streak: The Artistic Journey of Ken Baltes
Ken Baltes was a familiar face around White Bear Center for the Arts for many years. He began taking art classes with teaching artist Lisa Fertig in 2013, but his interest in art started long before then. Ken Baltes always had a creative streak, which might seem in contrast to his 50-year career in computer…
Read MoreStorytelling through Photography
Awa Mally Artist Highlight Photographer and artist Awa Mally grew up in north Minneapolis, in a neighborhood composed mainly of immigrant families. As an immigrant herself, having moved from Togo at the age of seven, she felt a strong sense of community with her neighbors. “I feel like my identity as an immigrant influences my…
Read MoreThe Journey of Scott Lloyd Anderson
Scott Lloyd Anderson learned at an early age to value realism in his art. Growing up near Chicago Illinois, Scott was praised for drawing accurately, and he grew up enamored with early 20th century illustrators. When it came time to decide what to study at school, he chose graphic design, and spent 20 years as…
Read MoreArtist Highlight with Candice Davis
Can you describe your journey as an artist? How did you end up at Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD)?I have always been an artist but when I graduated high school, I didn’t recognize art as a viable career. I spent a year in pre-veterinary medicine before I decided that I wanted an education…
Read MoreArtist Highlight with Laura Berlage
How did you first become interested in fiber art? I’ve always been a very creative spirit—drawing incessantly as a child, making up stories, turning ideas into form. I was fortunate to grow up in a home where textile traditions were still passed from mother to daughter, from sewing to embroidery and beyond. My mom first…
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