Dahmes

exhibit

opens at

Kiesling

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Joan Dahmes can't really put her finger on why she decided to start painting, but she still remembers going down to the store and buying some paints and painting her first picture.

Many years later, she's staging her first art exhibit in New Ulm at the Council for the Arts in New Ulm's Kiesling House gallery.

Dahmes, who farms near Clements, paints mainly landscapes, still lifes, flowers, animals, portraits and decorative projects using acrylics, oil and watercolors.

"We didn't have art classes when I was in high school, but I did the artwork for the school yearbook," Dahmes said. "And one day, I went to town, bought some paint and painted a picture."

In those days, there were no workshops, no art books, no instructional videos, but they're pretty common now. Dahmes attends art workshops and buys quite a few art books these days.

Dahmes originally hails from Redwood Falls. In years past, she taught in rural schools and later worked in public schools as an art instructor for the lower grades.

Her exhibit opens Saturday at 10 a.m. and will run for three weeks. While it isn't the first time her work is being displayed publicly, it will be the first exhibit Dahmes has put on in New Ulm.

In the past, she's been in shows around the state and said she often enters her paintings and other projects in county fairs. Dahmes said she's into refinishing furniture, cooking, baking, gardening, sewing and tracing her family's history.

History and family are two subjects that seem to have an influence on Dahmes' paintings. For example, she brought along a picture of the New Avon-Salem United Methodist Church, a 106-year old building near Wabasso. She said the building is going to close after the service on Sunday.

Then there's the portrait of one of her 14 grandchildren holding his prize-winning banty rooster. The portrait hung in the family's home until the house was consumed by fire and was the only possession they managed to save, Dahmes said.

Another one of her paintings that involves family is the landscape of her husband's family's farm place. The painting is still an unfinished work because she plans to represent all eight children in the painting. The ultimate goal is to tell the story of his family and Dahmes said she plans to start a similar work to tell a similar story about her parents and siblings.

Dahmes enjoys commissioned works. She said although it's challenging to try to paint the picture someone else envisions, the end result can be very satisfying and the pictures can be very special to the person receiving the painting.

"I love to paint," she said. "I get a lot of enjoyment out of it, and that's it."