ACW’s Cabin Fever Reliever 2024
Winter Programming every week from January-March on ZOOM!
TO ATTEND YOU MUST EMAIL kellyfrankenberg@gmail.com LETTING HER KNOW YOU WANT TO COME AT LEAST 4 HOURS BEFORE CLASS STARTS WITH CLASS CODES WHICH ONES YOU WANT TO ATTEND, IF ALL, JUST SAY ALL.
SCROLL DOWN FOR COMPLETE SESSION DESCRIPTIONS.
Click Here to View March At A Glance.
SCHEDULE: (Jan & March Mondays 6-7pm Central Time, Feb Tuesdays 6-7pm) pre-workshops 12-1
SUNDAY Jan 7th 12-1 Pre-workshop BONUS SUNDAY Yoga and Breath Work for Artistic Souls (class code: J-PRE-1) Watch Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=st6aAb8m_BQ
attendees: Layl McDill, Kelly Frankenberg. Linda Fox, Barbara Bridges, Tom Lyseng, Brenda Lyseng, Jackie Swanson, Natalie McGuire, zoom user
MONDAY Jan 8 12-1 Pre-workshop Kick off series BONUS CLASS Discovering Your Joy Superpower (class code: J-PRE-2) Watch Here: coming soon!
attendees: Layl McDill, Barbara Bridges, Kelly Frankenberg, Anna Karena, Melissa Loch, Jackie Swanson, Susan Gainen, Alicia McCann, Lucy
JANUARY
MONDAY Jan 8 6-7pm Healing and Humor with Karen: Comedy for the Soul (class code J-A) Watch Here: coming soon!
attendees: Layl McDill, Barbara Bridges, Kelly Frankenberg, Anna Karena, Melissa Loch, Christy Swanson, Lisa Schrieber, Margo Ashmore, Alkemy, Pat Rogers, Angie, Anne
MONDAY Jan 15 6-7pm Plein Air Painting Secrets with Kelly (class code J-B) Watch Here: Plein air full session: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cLC2oRxf98
attendees: Layl McDill, Barbara Bridges, Anna Karena, SAM Greene, Katie P, Alkemy, Susan Webb, Jessica Anderson, Carl Anderson, Candy, Lisa Schreiber, Paul Kellett, Joan Miller, Frances Bates, Lim Boemer, Heather Harris, Gage Harris, Amada, Karen Yu, Max, Ray
MONDAY Jan 22 6-7pm Illuminating a Recipe with Ulana (class code J-C) Watch Here: Part one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NA4I4VdPDE Part two: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5ql4zhg70A
attendees: Kelly Frankenberg,Barbara Bridges,Anna Karena, Daphne McDonald,Jenny Stofer, Lucy, Alkemy, Karen Winkler
MONDAY Jan 29 6-7pm The Joy of Creating Art for Sale with Layl (class code J-D) Watch Here: https://youtu.be/HkCThCoj9QY
attendees: Barbara, Kelly, Daphne, Kayli, , Anna Karena Deb Ripp, Jean, Stephanie, Martha, Dianne, Steve, Barbara P., Farah, Ingrid, Katie P., Natalie, Linda Sharpe, Maximus, Rose Cooper, Frances, nina, allie, angie, bee, brenna, becka rahn
FEBRUARY
TUESDAY Feb 6 6-7pm WOKE: The Cultural Evolution of Toxic Words – with Barbara (class code: F-A) Watch Here: coming soon!
attendees: Layl McDill, Kelly Frankenberg, Katie P., Anna Karena, Pat Rogers, Alkemy Sadie Ward, Sadie”s mom, Frances, Denise Marlowe, Laura Burlis, Sandra Reardon, Deb, Laura Mann Hill
TUESDAY Feb 13 6-7pm Disrupting Colonial Narratives with Laura (class code F-B) Watch Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngwYmsT41QU
attendees: Kelly Frankenberg, Anna Karena, Sovatha, Carrie P, Karen Winkler, Margo M, Tina
TUESDAY Feb 20 6-7pm ACW Reading with Frances (class code: F-C) Watch Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZLYd_BO3H0
attendees: Kelly Frankenberg, Barbara Bridges, Deb Ripp, Alkemy, Paul, Don, Bernadeia, Laura Campell, Denese, Juliet, Katie P, SAM
TUESDAY Feb 27 6-7pm Write Hear: Regenerative Writing Workshop with Mimi (class code: F-D) Watch Here: coming soon!
attendees: Layl, Barbara Bridges, Kelly Frankenberg, Frances Bates, Anna Karena, Melissa Loch, SAM Greene,Jenny Stofer, Deb Ripp, Alkemy
MARCH
MONDAY March 4. 6-7pm Watch Party: Kiss the Ground with Layl (class code: M-A) Watch Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h0kRq9reJY
attendees: Kelly Frankenberg, Barbara Bridges, Anna Karena, Natalie, Margo, Deb Ripp, Don, Sandy
MONDAY March 11 6-7pm Mastering Online Marketplaces with Lin (class code: M-B) Watch Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvb8pttkczo
attendees: Layl McDill, Kelly Frankenberg, Barbara Bridges, Anna Karena, Melissa Loch, SAM Greene, Kayli Woods,Jenny Stofer, Deb Ripp, Alkemy, Sadie Ward,
MONDAY March 18 6-7pm Cultural Appropriation Discussion with Melodee (class code: M-C) Watch Here: coming soon!
attendees: Layl McDill, Barbara Bridges, Kelly Frankenberg, Anna Karena, Melissa Loch, Jenny Stofer, Alkemy, Sadie Ward,
MONDAY March 25 6-7pm Watch Party: Eldorado:Everything the Nazis Hate with Deb (class code: M-D) Watch Here: coming soon!
attendees: Layl McDill, Barbara Bridges, Kelly Frankenberg, Frances Bates, Anna Karena, Melissa Loch, Jenny Stofer, Alkemy
April 1st: A Prize will be awarded to the person who attended the most workshops! Pic coming soon! A beautiful quilt framed art piece by Lucy Schroepfer!
Most workshops the majority of the content will finish in an hour, but some may run up to 2 hours depending on discussion, questions, and participation. Plan for longer than an hour if possible.
Prep for the workshops. What you need to know!!
There is a supply list for some, so get that all ready! See below for details and who else plans to attend!
Link to the painting video demo in fast speed! https://youtu.be/u2o_ih7SGkM
Feedback:
“I used muscles I hadn’t used before.”
“I learned several tips.”
“I’m remembering to laugh!”
“I think I’m going to take out my watercolors again.”
“I really enjoyed it. It makes me think a lot about all my teachers and the way they taught me the theories that I need to remember again while I’m starting to paint.”
Full Class Descriptions and Bios:
Yoga and Breath Work for Artistic Souls –
This class is accessible to every BODY and offers many options/variations to access the poses and make them work in your body. You will start in your chair with breath work and then add movement – doing some great exercises for the shoulders, neck, wrists and hands as well as some poses for all of your body. Then you will do some standing movements with chair assistance as desired and the class will conclude with some meditation and mindfulness. Plan to learn a few new things and have some FUN with it!
Level: EASY (chair, sitting, breathing, leaning on chair)
What you will need for this class: Chair, optional yoga mat
Instructor: Angela Ogle
Date: January 7th SUNDAY 12-1pm
Attending Members: Layl McDill, Kelly Frankenberg. Linda Fox, Barbara Bridges, Tom Lyseng, Brenda Lyseng,
TO ATTEND YOU MUST EMAIL kellyfrankenberg@gmail.com LETTING HER KNOW YOU WANT TO COME AT LEAST 4 HOURS BEFORE CLASS STARTS WITH CLASS CODE: J-PRE-1
Discovering your JOY Superpower: How hobbies and passion projects can transform your life
Passion Projects and wholesome hobbies help us connect more deeply to our joy, and they have the power to heal us on many levels. They fuel our creative spirit, add richness to our lives–and keep us from losing our minds. It’s time to get back to a place where we do things, just for fun or just for trying something new. Passion projects and hobbies matter!
What you will need for this class: Notebook, pencil, optional her book Practical Joy available on amazon
Instructor: M. Shannon Hernandez
Date: Monday January 8th 12-1pm
Attending Members:Layl McDill, Barbara Bridges, Kelly Frankenberg,
TO ATTEND YOU MUST EMAIL kellyfrankenberg@gmail.com LETTING HER KNOW YOU WANT TO COME AT LEAST 4 HOURS BEFORE CLASS STARTS WITH CLASS CODE: J-PRE-2
Healing and Humor with Karen Williams
Big name in comedy, Karen Williams, who has her own HaHa Institute and healing practices will talk about the healing powers of comedy and might do some funny bits!
Tips Welcome!
CashApp: $kwilliam89
Venmo: @Karen-Williams-114
Paypal.me/hahainstitute
(Use Friends & Family for Free)
What you will need for this class: bring your laughter
Instructor: Karen Williams
Date: Monday, January 8th 6-7pm
TO ATTEND YOU MUST EMAIL kellyfrankenberg@gmail.com LETTING HER KNOW YOU WANT TO COME AT LEAST 4 HOURS BEFORE CLASS STARTS WITH CLASS CODE: J-A
Plein Air Painting Secrets
Plein air means open air, so it’s basically painting live, painting outside, and painting on location. Everyone paints differently. Each master will tell you what works for them, some of those techniques even contradict each other. It’s up to you to figure out what works best for you. Kelly will share the secrets and takeaways she learned from the Plein air convention and how you can sharpen your skills as a plein air painter and observation painter. New to plein air painting? Learn what it is and see if it’s something you might enjoy doing. Want some feedback on a painting? Bring one to share.
What you will need for this class: sketchbook or notebook, pencil/pen, colored pencils, watercolor, paint optional, a painting to share to get feedback on optional
Instructor: Kelly Frankenberg
Date: Monday, January 15th 6-7pm
TO ATTEND YOU MUST EMAIL kellyfrankenberg@gmail.com LETTING HER KNOW YOU WANT TO COME AT LEAST 4 HOURS BEFORE CLASS STARTS WITH CLASS CODE: J-B
Illuminating Your Recipe_A Guide to Illustrating a Family Recipe
Nearly every family has a box of old recipe cards, some of which have passed down from generation to generation. As a way to honor those beloved recipes, we will be creating an illustration to illuminate your favorites. Any style works! Perhaps your recipe is more esoteric, like a recipe for peace or a recipe for the perfect fall day. The instructor will show examples and talk about their process. All levels of artists are welcome!
We will use your recipes to create a single or double spread illustration.
What you will need for this class: several recipes (the shorter the better), sketch pad, sketching tools, some quick color mediums (colored pencils, posca markers, watercolor, etc).
Instructor: Ulana Zahajkewycz
Date: Monday, January 22nd 6-7pm
TO ATTEND YOU MUST EMAIL kellyfrankenberg@gmail.com LETTING HER KNOW YOU WANT TO COME AT LEAST 4 HOURS BEFORE CLASS STARTS WITH CLASS CODE: J-C
Selling Your Art: Making AND selling what you love to make-finding the right market.
“The Joy of Creating Art for Sale”
The key to pure bliss as an artist is making art you love and then finding a way to sell it that you also love. Layl McDill has been working as a full time artist for over 30 years and selling her art in many different venues from art fairs to art centers, internet sales and pop up shops. We will hear about her journey and philosophy and then spend the rest of the time sharing each other’s journeys and having conversations about what has worked and what hasn’t for each participant.
SEE LAYL’S RESOURCES HERE: https://www.arttochangetheworld.org/layls-resources/
What you will need for this class: optional notebook and pencil
Instructor: Layl McDill
Date: Monday, January 29th 6-7pm
TO ATTEND YOU MUST EMAIL kellyfrankenberg@gmail.com LETTING HER KNOW YOU WANT TO COME AT LEAST 4 HOURS BEFORE CLASS STARTS WITH CLASS CODE: J-D
WOKE: The Cultural Evolution of Toxic Words.
One of the super powers of ACW is our commitment to communicate across age, gender, abilities, and orientations. Words are a living, evolving component to our culture. Barbara collected over 200 toxic words in her 20-year experience teaching Human Relations. Let’s work together to discuss and update the list and learn about trigger words.
What you will need for this class: READ THIS LIST. Bring any words you want to discuss. Ask if they are currently toxic or share words you know are toxic
Instructor: Barbara Bridges
Date: TUESDAY, February 6th 6-7pm
TO ATTEND YOU MUST EMAIL kellyfrankenberg@gmail.com LETTING HER KNOW YOU WANT TO COME AT LEAST 4 HOURS BEFORE CLASS STARTS WITH CLASS CODE: F-A
“Disrupting Colonial Narratives through Storytelling and Theatre”
Join ACW Member and theater artist Laura Mann Hill in a storytelling and movement session centered on how art and storytelling can build relationships and break down narratives constructed by centuries of imperialism and colonization. How do we get to know ourselves and each other beyond colonial narratives presented to us in the media, art and society? Laura will include opportunities for reflection on how our own cultural lens and experiences shape our perceptions shape our ideas about race, class, culture, gender, and sexuality. We will collaboratively explore the role art can play in the global struggle against colonialism, imperialism, white supremacy and systemic forms of discrimination through embodied movement and storytelling.
What you will need for this class: none
Instructor: Laura Mann Hill
Date: Tuesday, February 13th 6-7pm
An ACW Reading.
This is a chance to share something you’ve written by reading it in front of a group. There will not be a critique or feedback, but just a place to read, whether it’s an excerpt from a longer piece you’ve written, a poem, a short story, an essay, a comedy sketch, spoken word, song lyrics, something that can be heard that you’ve written.
What you will need for this class: come to just listen or bring a piece you’ve written to read.
Instructor/facilitator: Frances Bates
Date: Tuesday, February 20th 6-7pm
TO ATTEND YOU MUST EMAIL kellyfrankenberg@gmail.com LETTING HER KNOW YOU WANT TO COME AT LEAST 4 HOURS BEFORE CLASS STARTS WITH CLASS CODE: F-C
Write Hear: Regenerative Writing Workshop
Write Hear is a generative writing workshop facilitated by Mimi Gonzalez-Barillas. Through prompts inspired by literary examples, participants are encouraged to “stop time” together and write in the comfort of in-the-moment community. Sharing what came through is optional but strongly encouraged.
What you will need for this class: notebook and writing utensil
Instructor: Mimi Gonzalez
Date: Tuesday, February 27th 6-7pm
TO ATTEND YOU MUST EMAIL kellyfrankenberg@gmail.com LETTING HER KNOW YOU WANT TO COME AT LEAST 4 HOURS BEFORE CLASS STARTS WITH CLASS CODE: F-D
Watch Party: Kiss the Ground
Watch the film Kiss the Ground on Netflix and come and discuss your thoughts on it.
What you will need for this class: Watch the film ahead of time, watch party in person may be possible.
Instructor: Layl McDill
Date: Monday, March 4th 6-7pm
TO ATTEND YOU MUST EMAIL kellyfrankenberg@gmail.com LETTING HER KNOW YOU WANT TO COME AT LEAST 4 HOURS BEFORE CLASS STARTS WITH CLASS CODE: M-A
“Mastering Online Marketplaces for Makers and Creatives”.
“Join ACW Intern Lin Boemer as they explore the options for and process of selling your art/goods on an online marketplace! What are the pros and cons of selling your art online? What do you need to have before launching an online marketplace? What websites can you utilize to sell your art online? Answers to all these questions and more in “Mastering Online Marketplaces for Makers and Creatives”!”
What you will need for this class: notebook and pencil
Instructor: Lin Boemer
Date: Monday, March 11th 6-7pm
TO ATTEND YOU MUST EMAIL kellyfrankenberg@gmail.com LETTING HER KNOW YOU WANT TO COME AT LEAST 4 HOURS BEFORE CLASS STARTS WITH CLASS CODE: M-B
Cultural Appropriation Discussion
In the current political atmosphere, artists are being asked to consider and censor the images they use. This is an important topic, a challenge and a slippery slope.
Join Melodee Strong as we try to identify how artists should proceed. Is it possible to create policy? Should we?
What you will need for this class: optional examples of artists creating art from other backgrounds other than their own and your opinion on if that’s okay and successful or disrespectful.
Instructor: Melodee Strong
Date: Monday, March 18th 6-7pm
TO ATTEND YOU MUST EMAIL kellyfrankenberg@gmail.com LETTING HER KNOW YOU WANT TO COME AT LEAST 4 HOURS BEFORE CLASS STARTS WITH CLASS CODE: M-C
Watch Party Film Discussion: Eldorado: Everything the Nazis Hate
Watch ahead of time (Netflix) and come to discuss the film about what part of the LGBTQ+ community was lost from the Nazis in Berlin.
What you will need for this class: Having watched the film ahead of time (currently available on Netflix). For an in person watch at someone’s house option, contact Kelly
Instructor: Deb Rip
Date: Monday, March 25th 6-7pm
TO ATTEND YOU MUST EMAIL kellyfrankenberg@gmail.com LETTING HER KNOW YOU WANT TO COME AT LEAST 4 HOURS BEFORE CLASS STARTS WITH CLASS CODE: M-D
BIOS:
Angela Ogle, RYT
Angela is a registered yoga teacher with 450 hours of yoga teacher training who has been teaching since 2019.
She specializes in teaching beginners, older adults, and those recovering from injuries. Her goal is to make yoga accessible for every body!
Angela has been told by her students that her cues make them feel safe and comfortable exploring and trying new things –
And also that when she teaches a Restorative Yoga class they feel like she is giving them a big hug –
She loves teaching at retreats and has been traveling and teaching around the world!
She is excited to meet new students and share new experiences and teach breath work and simple chair exercises that can help you feel better in your body!
Angela is very knowledgeable about yoga and how to adapt for injuries and different body types and loves teaching inclusive yoga class for people of all and differing abilities
Shannon Hernandez
Shannon Hernandez is ALL ABOUT THAT JOY and has dedicated her life to helping others discover their version of joy and live it fully. She is a former teacher, is the founder of Joyful Business Revolution™, and has been featured on CBS, ABC, FOX, & NBC. Her newest book, Practical Joy, continues to inspire and teach people that joy is an inside job. Shannon loves reading fiction, snuggling her cat, traveling the world, and hanging with the love of her life, Maria.
Shannon Hernandez
Joyful Business Growth Strategist
646.397.1234
Karen Williams
As the first openly lesbian Black comic in the United States to include specifically lesbian material in her act, Karen Williams changed the game for a number of communities. Since then, she’s had a prolific career in comedy. She’s released “I Need A Snack,” a one-hour comedy special that regularly aired on Logo TV; is featured in “Laughing Matters,” an award-winning film about four lesbian comic pioneers (Karen Williams, Kate Clinton, Marga Gomez, and Suzanne Westenhoeffer); and “We’re Funny That Way,” an internationally-acclaimed film that put Williams on the world comedy scene. Known for her quick repartee, insightful commentary, and audience rapport, it all comes naturally to Williams thanks to her passion for comedy and for being unabashedly herself. In addition to her stand-up, the comedian —who created her own major in “Humor and Healing” — is also the founder and CEO of the International Institute of Humor and Healing Arts (HaHA), which offers live and virtual educational programs, workshops, and seminars on the healing powers of humor. She put the humor and healing to good use this past year, performing a series of solo shows like “Karen Williams Alive” and “Heart Healing: From Pookie to Pandemic;” she also hosted comedy panels, brunches, and student shows, sponsored by the HaHA Institute and other organizations like NOBLA, the National Organization of Black Lesbians on Aging. “The most rewarding aspect of my work is sharing the healing power of humor with the world to relieve suffering and to bring out individual and collective happiness and enlightenment.”
Tips welcome!
CashApp: $kwilliam89
Venmo: @Karen-Williams-114
Paypal.me/hahainstitute
(Use Friends & Family for Free)
Kelly Frankenberg
Kelly Frankenberg has painted in every type of paint. She has painted plein air in numerous countries. Kelly has taught beginning Watercolor and Drawing for various institutions and companies. She competed in live art battles and has painted live in front of audiences. When she isn’t teaching or painting, she’s helping Art to Change the World pay artists and develop and execute projects, as Assistant Director. Some of her accomplishments have included commissions by the City of Eagan, the City of Burnsville, The Governor’s Residence Council, Fox National News, and more. Her creations have appeared on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, and she has several published books. Her art appears on windows, walls, mailboxes, electrical boxes, pianos, doors, and soon-to-be concrete barriers.
Ulana Zahajkewycz
Ulana Zahajkewycz is a freelance illustrator and an adjunct professor at Moore College of Art and Design in Phildelphia, PA. She is also the co-owner of the Carnival of Collectables Antique and Art Mall in Sicklerville, NJ. Ulana exhibits her art nationally and her print, “Murder She Wrote,” is part of the permanent collection at the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art in Minneapolis, MN. Ulana lives in New Jersey.
Layl McDill
Layl McDill grew up in Gillette, Wyoming where she began creating at a very young age. Her early works were dollhouses, marionettes and even an entire “Smurf Village”. Layl received her BFA in Illustration from the Columbus College of Art Design but she found it more exciting to make sculptural work and sell it through galleries and art fairs.
Layl lives in Minneapolis and is co-owner with her husband Josh Blanc of Clay Squared to Infinity, a tile and art studio and showroom in the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District. She has two grown daughters. She has exhibited her work around the country since 1994 at
galleries, art centers, festivals and museums.
Polymer clay has been her medium of choice using the millefiori technique and some mixed media materials added. The theme of wonder permeates her sculptures that are covered with endless details. Her work can also be found in numerous books and publications. Social media: https://www.facebook.com/layl.mcdill http://laylmcdill.com
https://www.instagram.com/laylmcdill
Linked In https://www.linkedin.com/in/layl-mcdill https://www.tiktok.com/@laylmcdill Twitter: @laylm https://twitter.com/laylm https://www.etsy.com/shop/laylmcdill Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/laylmcdill
Barbara Bridges
Bio: With a PhD in Art Education, 20 years of experience as an art teacher K-12, and 20 years of experience on top of that training general education teacher candidates, Dr. Bridges knows how to make art an educational and fun experience for all ages. Founder and director of non-profit, Art to Change the World, her vision carries out in projects, events, and shows that not only build community and create opportunity, but also get artists paid. A life-long artist herself, her work has been exhibited in Maine, Mexico, Maryland, Florida, Spain, Chicago, Canada, the Virgin Islands, and she has recently lead workshops at the Mill City Museum and Guthrie Education. Voted Art Teacher of the Year twice, she created the first online art teacher licensure program for Bemidji State University.
Laura Mann Hill
Laura is a theater artist, playwright, educator, administrator and facilitator using art for social change with various arts-based organizations in the Midwest including serving on the administrative team of Million Artist Movements. She received a Music Theater International Honor for Creating Sustainable Theater Education in 2013 for her work to establish a theater program at MS 57 in Brooklyn, NY. After nearly a decade of teaching English and directing theater arts programming in New York City public schools, she returned to the Twin Cities to join Making Waves: Hamline University’s Social Justice Theatre Troupe as the Assistant Director.
Laura worked as a teaching artist and administrator with Children’s Theatre Company (CTC), where she engaged with communities through the nationally recognized Neighborhood Bridges Program. Laura is a founding member of local arts organization Speaking Out Collective and board member of Language Attitude and Art to Change the World. Most recently she was on stage at Youth Performance Company in the world premiere of a play she also wrote, Inspired by Claudette & Rosa. In 2023 she was featured in an episode of SciGirls on PBS during her time at the Friends of the Mississippi River, where she served as the Education and Stewardship Program for three years. Laura is currently teaching theatre and dance as a specialist at Minneapolis Public Schools.
She received her Bachelor’s Degree in English and Education from Hamline University and earned her Master’s Degree in Teaching Secondary School from Pace University in New York City.
Mimi Gonzalez
Detroit native Mimi Gonzalez has traveled the world as a stand-up comic while committing random acts of publishing, freelance journalism and poetry. A lifelong activist, performer, poet, agitator, and “Elderzon” in the LGBT civil rights movement, she’s transformed her experience of slammed doors into a politics of radical inclusion. Mimi continues to build intersecting networks of support that aim toward justice and she welcomes anyone who is ready to join her to do the heavy lifting to bend that arc.
Madeline (Lin) Boemer – They/Them
“Madeline Boemer, known as Lin to most, is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. They keep themselves busy on campus being part of both science-based organizations and the Dungeons and Dragons Club. In their free time, they are an acrylic painter, both on canvas and digitally.
Within their art, they explore their love of animals and often overlooked expressive nature. Animals create a feeling of silliness that helps to distract them from their rigorous university schoolwork, allowing for a sense of momentary escape. Lin’s Tabby cat, Charles, has been a big inspiration for the frequent cat-themed art they create. In their other works, you can see their background in DnD and all things fantastical in nature.
Social Media/Contact Links:
Email: LinsLameLife@gmail.com
Etsy Shop: etsy.com/Shop/LinsLameLife
Instagram: Instagram.com/LinsLameLife
Melodee Strong
Melodee Strong has completed over 60 mural and large-scale projects in the Twin Cities and Jamaica. She has a BFA from MCAD and a Masters in Arts Education from the U of M. Her multifaceted practice as an artist allows her to create using a wide range of materials and techniques but her portfolio largely consists of murals giving attention to diverse cultures, feminism, and social justice. She is currently teaching visual art at Franklin Middle School in Minneapolis and is an adjunct instructor at MCAD, Augsburg, Metro State, and the U of M teaching courses in foundational art studies, K-12 Art Methods courses, and professional practice in illustration. She has recently earned The Minneapolis Educator Leadership Award from the Graves Foundation in 2020 and 2022. Her personal work includes symbols from her Peruvian background and the juxtaposition between the two very different cultures.
Deb Rip
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
Frances Bates
(She/Her) is a jack of all trades with experience in art, design, and engineering. Growing up her dream was to become an inventor who made the world a better place. At a young age, creating found object art and homemade gifts was where it all started. She explored her interest in engineering by participating in as many summer camps and classes related to Science, Technology, engineering, and Math (STEM) as she could.
This enthusiasm for both art and engineering led her to get a BFA in Industrial Design from the University of Wisconsin Stout. This gave her the best of both worlds as industrial design is considered the art side of engineering. While at Stout she expanded her knowledge of a variety of art forms including graphic design, sculpture, jewelry, sewing, photography, and woodworking.
Currently, Frances is a freelance artist/designer doing a bit of everything depending on what comes her way. Her art often reflects just how much she cares about helping others. She has a particular passion for issues of diversity, the world of dancing, and camping gadgetry. As a lesbian with autism, she understands how important it is to empower your community.
Her advice: “Be like Dory and Just Keep Swimming.”