Springfield juried art show continues through Friday

At Springfield

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By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

SPRINGFIELD -- Thirty-nine area artists are displaying a wide variety of art through Nov. 26 at the fourth annual Springfield Juried Art Show in the Altermatt Room at the Springfield Public Library.

Artists range from two Comfrey 12-year-olds to teenagers, college and technical school students, to grandmothers and 78-year-old Springfield resident Morrie Gresch who created a dragon from a chunk of wood.

Despite his age, Gresch still carves with enough detail to create the likeness of Albert Schweitzer.

Other artists include Sandy Adams, Jamie Clennon, Mankato State student Betty Lou Cards, Jenna Dauer of Springfield, Michelle Dietz of Lamberton, technical school student Chelsie Feser, Benny Gessner, Mike Gresch, Sitka, Alaska fisherman and Springfield native David Gross, Sam Gross, Larry Hubert of Lamberton, Merle Janis Kieper, Jason Kiley, University of Minnesota student Michael Klitzke, Laurie Kunerth of New Ulm, Rebecca Lagerwall, MSU student Sarah Logan, Ruth Lindemann and Barbara McKee of New Ulm, Stephen Mark, June Newburg, Joan Norman, Kristen Pederson, Cedric Pidde of Comfrey, Jodi Pieschel, Candis Rogers of Hanska, Roxanne Schoeb, Nicholas Schlief, Bernice Sellner, Sandra Skarpohl, Ali and Lori Tews of Springfield, Carmen Tiffany, Southwest State student Michele Tomschin, Connie Trebesch of Sleepy Eye, Jessie Wollin of Springfield, Rebecca Wandersee and Pearl Ziegenhagen of Clements.

Clennon adds symbolism to the spirit and life of women to show the power and beauty they possess.

Dauer enjoys art because it enables her to create something special from nothing at all.

Dietz uses her imagination to draw what she calls fantasy pictures.

Feser enjoys taking photographs and working with ink and oil on glass.

Gessner combines painting, drawing and print making from sources like film, advertising, pop art, minimalism and 1980s neo-expressionism.

Mike Gresch enjoys wood carving, especially birds.

When he isn't fishing in Alaska, David Gross works at the Washington Studios Artist Coop in Duluth.

Morrie Gresch takes something real and creates an abstraction with his imagination.

Sam Gross nearly cut off his thumb while operating a paper cutter but the experience enlightened him. Now he says the scars of our lives could be the most beautiful form of art.

Hubert grew up near a junkyard, which gave him plenty of useable subjects. An excellent high school art instructor and a mother who he calls "a very talented artist" didn't hurt either.

Kieper returned to art making at age 46 and later became a student. He painted a portrait of his father from a photo and memory in 1987.

At age 55, he was accepted into the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, where he earned a Master of Fine Arts degree.

Kiley uses childhood imagery like toys, cartoons and contemporary painters for his inspiration.

Klitzke uses his own and memories he shared with others to inspire his work.

"Each piece is a representation of a part of me; a moment I hope not to forget," Klitzke said.

Kunerth returned to art after 15 years of raising three children. She has a wide range of interests and plans to explore new media in the future.

Lagerwall mixes personal history with his current feelings. He uses contrasting textures, patterns and colors to create an ironic reality of emotions through many mediums.

Logan looks at organic objects like plants, rocks and humans to create abstract elements.

Lindemann learned to allow her own expression, feelings and experiences to create her work instead of a repetition of lessons learned that have no soul.

McKee is a self-taught artist with a passion for human faces. She uses crayons as her main drawing tool. She recently began using spiritual and biblical themes in her portraits.

Mark pours paint mixed with shells, stones and bones on a flat-lying canvas.

Newburg uses oil and pencils on western themes with family members and friends as models.

Norman lately began using watercolors to express her love of flowers and nature.

Pederson said "love today for what it offers because there is eternity in each moment if we only recognize it."

Pidde has been drawing since he was old enough to hold a pencil.

Pieschel said art adds depth of a community and offers her a chance to express herself, like writers and poets do.

Rogers enjoys painting, reading, tennis and softball.

Schoeb said the woods surrounding her property draws her eye to leaves, grasses and natural forms which she incorporates into her work. Her passion is the need to communicate and create.

Schlief uses nature and the subconscious to discover new things to communicate through art.

Sellner often works from photographs to paint and draw for fun and relaxation.

Skarpohl, self-taught, has painted with oils, acrylics, chalk and now watercolors. She created an ostrich egg from a Christmas ball.

Ali Tews enjoys making jewelry in her spare time.

Lori Tews has been a calligrapher/lettering artist for many years. She has recently moved on to other surfaces and mediums.

A two-time McKnight Foundation Grant recipient, her work can be seen at www.tewscalligraphy.com and mnartists.org

Tiffany uses dark humor, eroticism and body image to show effects culture has had on her.

Tomschin is a graphic and advertising designer for the SMSU campus newspaper.

Trebesch enjoys batiking, drawing and making church banners.

Wollin has specialized in forms of the body, face and landscape features.

Wandersee uses the Montana badlands for influence on her work.

Ziegenhagen has traveled with artists throughout the world. She enjoys the beauty of spontaneity of water colors.

Artwork will be displayed from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, closed on Thanksgiving and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday.

Fritz Busch can be e-mailed at fbusch@nujournal.com.