Rebecca David
Rebecca was born in rural Pennsylvania and currently resides in Southside Minneapolis. She began her formal education at Edinboro University of PA and completed a BA in Art and BS in Business Administration at Waynesburg University in Pennsylvania. She has participated in workshops with Brian Kakas, Valda Cox, Jimmy Clark, Val Cushing and most recently completed the MN NICE (MN New Institute for Ceramics Education) under the supervision of Ursula Hargens at the Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis
She is a firm supporter of the ADA, STEAM initiatives (Science Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) and the belief that ALL children deserve the opportunity to bring their creative voice forward no matter what race, culture, creed, ability or financial status.
Rebecca’s ceramic work is both functional and decorative, a mixture of utilitarian wares and wall pieces. This work expresses the tension between the containment and release of emotion in dealing with societal conflict. Her return to painting in 2021 explores these same concepts; along with her love of nature in simple botanical studies.
Prior to relocating to Minneapolis in 2016 she has participated in multiple artist residency projects through what is now known as the Pittsburgh Center for Arts and Media, Teaching Artist Guild,and the PA Arts Education Association (conference presenter). She is currently a member of Art to Change the World, NCECA (National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts) and an active volunteer for The Art Shoppe at the Midtown Global Market. Contact: Rebecca David justbeckydavid@gmail.com
Hannah Foster
Hannah Foster’s exploration of art led to a love of cutting, pulling, hammering, squeezing, smashing, and stuffing physical materials. Surrealism, 80s and 90s pop-culture, and the human body are heavy influences in her work. She attempts to guide the audience to a place of presence, curiosity, and slight discomfort with her odd shapes and material combinations. A recent transplant to Minneapolis, Hannah Foster balances a life of art-making, hiking, watching bad films, and supporting artists with disabilities at Fresh Eye Arts.
Website: www.hannahfosterart.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/hr_foster
Kelly Frankenberg is an illustrator, writer, teacher, and wanderer. She has jumped into every kind of art she can find whether it’s music, film, fashion, painting, sculpture, glass, woodworking, or performance. Kelly’s travels across the globe are her inspiration for her photography and painting. Her abstract work comes from memory and her influential art comes from her passion for unity and inclusivity and reform in a world of vast cultural diversity. Her spiritual art comes from meditation and channeling the subconscious and source energy.
Some classes Kelly has taught include Drawing, Watercolor, Piano, Guitar, Clarinet, Critical Thinking, and other humanities and sciences. Her educational background consists of a BFA in Illustration from MCAD and a MFA in Creative Writing from the University of New Orleans with studies in Ireland, Scotland, and Italy in Poetry, Creative Non-Fiction, Screenwriting, and Visual Art.
Some local clients for books, illustrations, and murals have included Minnesota’s Governor’s Residence Council, Minnesota Children’s Theater, and the Islamic Center of Minnesota. Some national clients for live performances, courtroom sketches, and 3D art have included the National Architecture Convention, Fox National News, Macy’s, and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
Kelly’s work has appeared in film, TV, books, newspapers, magazines, on the radio, on walls, windows, pianos, mailboxes, and electrical boxes. During the year her work is displayed in solo and group gallery shows, and is for sale at local art festivals. She is currently finishing her screenplay and feature-length film.
Susan Gainen is a Whimsical Wildlife Documentarian and Abstract Painter of Connections and Neighborhoods.
Her first art memory is the desire to finger paint all over everything all of the time. Putting a stop to that, her Mother bought a crayon set (24 in a box). In 1955, Susan used those crayons to help Winky Dink, the first interactive tv adventurer, to save the day. Unfortunately, she neglected to install Winky’s easy-clean magic screen. Getting crayon off the tv screen caused consternation and kerfuffle.
During the next 30 years, she did all of the summer camp crafts, lots of the Girl Scout crafts for badges, and most of the hippie crafts. In 1989, she landed on needlepoint, working on 22-mesh-to-the-inch canvas. She was obsessed with tiny spaces.
This passion for tiny spaces and detail began in the 6th grade when she could not see the blackboard. Between diagnosis and delivery of her first pair of glasses, her Girl Scout troop had a bird watching trip. She saw nothing – not a bluebird or a red bird. “Delusional” wasn’t in her vocabulary, but she was memorably grumpy. When she put on glasses and could see every leaf on every tree and every blade of grass, she knew that it was magic. She celebrates the magic of detail every day. She arrived in Minnesota in 1992, was introduced to the State Fair, a magical place. She began winning ribbons for needlepoint, jam, jelly, and barbecue sauce.
Pivoting from needlepoint to paint, in 2006, she began a watercolor journey through brightly colored boxes that are both two and two-and-a-half-dimensional, rings and links that celebrate personal connections and friendship; hundreds of whimsical creatures; four years of Image-a-day painting which, when channeled through Photoshop, has allowed her to create thousands of digital magical images, and more.
She founded the School of Painstaking Exuberance in 2009, formalizing her creative process: pencil drawing, clear gesso, painting inside the lines, fountain pen outlines, and topping with self-leveling clear gel.
As a Whimsical Wildlife Documentarian, she welcomes creatures to her living room studio where they sit for portraits, tell their stories, and eat her snacks. Among her pals are creatures from The Lost Cave Paintings of Saint Paul; the Parliament of Owls; the Pandas & Frogs who guard The Hidden Bamboo Forest of Saint Paul; Backyard Roosters of Saint Paul; 4 LLLama (their spelling) Families; 120 Cats; some Dragons, Hippos, and a Wart Hog.
Neighborhoods and Connections In a defining moment, she realized that her abstract paintings represent Neighborhoods, and stand for “every piece looks better because of the pieces that surround it,” a Liberal Olde Broad’s vision for the future (if not the present). For example, the Starry Night group combines her love of color, obsession with detail, and commitment to the shapes that she can draw but not measure because she has forgotten the finer points of her beloved Solid Geometry.
The patterns her earliest tiny paintings, larger abstract paintings, and in creature portraits, explore connections between and among people and formal and informal organizations. They ask, but don’t answer, questions such as: What connects us to one another? To our work? To our world? How does work get done? How do people work together? How does friendship work? How can we create connections to make a better world?
When she turned 60, she abandoned activity requiring safety equipment or liability waivers, including tile and glass cutting, and bungee jumping. She creates mosaic tile with paper and acrylic mediums.
Always looking for new inspirations, materials, and processes, she lives by the words of Martha Stewart, who, on the occasion of her 70th birthday said “When you’re through changing, you’re through.” More Susan: https://www.susangainenartist.com/
Debra Ripp
I am a native Minnesotan born in Mankato and based in the Twin Cities. I welcome you to come visit my studio in the Dow building and in the Creative Zone of St. Paul. The Dow building is on the Green Line of the Twin Cities Light Rail System~ Tobersonstudios, 2242 University Ave. W. #201B, St. Paul. MN 55114
Tobersonstudios is home to a broad range of spirited images by Debra Ripp in mixed media. Toberson is the doghead figure that you see in much of my work. He is an original insignia character in my work, the guide to all of my imagery.
I am Mixed Media artist which means I love to explore all possible media, anything that will make the image emerge stronger to obtain the voice it is meant to have. My favorite thing is to vacillate between media and observe how the image can transform and mature as it is manifested in different media, including 3D media. Debra Ripp/ Tobersonstudios
Nina Robinson
I am an emerging St. Paul based contemporary textile artist. For the last few years I have been producing textile installations that have been focused on sustainability and neurodiversity. The term neurodiversity was coined to explain the differences in brain function and behavioral traits within the human population. In 2018, my 23 year old son was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. ASD is a condition related to brain development that impacts how a person perceives and socializes with others, causing problems in social interaction and communication. The disorder also includes repetitive patterns of behavior. My observations of my son and his specific autistic traits, along with intensive research into
neurodiversity has fueled my current exploration into repetition, texture and movement. Utilizing repurposed clothing and my sewing machine, I create site specific textile installations. The driving force behind using repurposed clothing is my son and his repetitive behaviors. I spend hours mending his torn clothing. The byproduct of this repairing becomes clothing that can no longer be mended and can be recycled into my art. My artistic process begins by deconstruction of a garment and then reassembling the pieces to create a figurative form. With my sewing machine, I then manipulate the surface of the piece with repetitive stitching that changes its texture and generates movement. The diversity of the forms highlights the individuality of people on the autism spectrum while maintaining their humanity. The site specific installations are meant to be interactive and sensory friendly. The bright colors and movement draw the viewer in and my intent is to open a dialogue about awareness and acceptance of neurodiversity. Read More: https://www.artprize.org/nina-robinson
Brian Serrano Aka Scorpio
Scorpio is an International artist, specializing in Visual art. Using multiple skills for visual design such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Procreate, painting, and sculpting. while using his work to visually attract his audience the experience is more about the story telling, creating a portal to a world that may or may not exist. Working all across the country such as Florida, California, Colorado, Minnesota, and even international in Spain.
Diving into the art world to experience the thrills of human creativity is life changing I invite you to try it Website: ScorpioRisingArt.com
Email: ArtScorpioRising@Gmail.com