On Monday of this week I had the opportunity to speak to a group of art students and their parents.
Some of the families who go to our church are part of a group of homeschoolers that meet once a week for art lessons. Instead of holding their class as usual this week, they came to the Evansville Art Center (EAC). They wanted to see the exhibit and - at their request - I talked about art.
I explained how Kim Embretson and I had enjoyed frequent outings last year, to sketch and paint. I showed my original sketchbook and talked about the joy of drawing something you’re looking at, on location. I explained how the idea of the 2-person show came about. I talked about some of the different methods and media that we used in the artworks on display: many of Kim’s pieces are soft pastel on dry-mounted paper, and in this exhibit all of my works are acrylic paint on stretched canvas. Of course I cannot speak to a group of young people without discussing color and the very basics of color theory, so I pulled out the color wheel as a convenient prop.
I also shared a brief bit of Evansville history, and talked about some of the unique architectural features of the EAC building, and the story of EAC itself. I also mentioned another wonderful community asset available to homeschoolers, the Pioneer Heritage Museum operated by the Evansville Historical Foundation.
If you would like to learn more about these two wonderful resources located in this rural corner of Douglas County, Minnesota, here are links to their websites.
Let’s talk! Now, as a Minnesota boy I don’t want you to think me brazenly self-promoting here, but if you or a group you know may be looking for an experienced artist to speak about art, art-making, art history, or even to talk about my own artwork, feel free to reach out to me through the contact link.