Arts Roseville Featured Artists

Each month from September to May, meet and learn from and about a different local artist. Featured artists (visual and performance) will share about their art, discuss creativity, and respond to questions in an informal setting. This program is a partnership of Arts Roseville and the Ramsey County Library, with support from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. Programming is typically from 11-noon CST on the second Saturday of the month. All are welcome.

April’s Featured Artist

Martha Bird

April 12 (Saturday), 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.

Ramsey County Library - Roseville

Martha Bird is a Twin Cities-based studio artist that specializes in sculptural basketry. Blending traditional techniques with contemporary practices, she creates large-scale conceptual forms. Martha’s work draws from her professional expertise and life experiences to explore the human body, manifestations of trauma, and concepts of resilience, energy, and growth. A meditative and grounding aspect to her art practice is the specialty willow that she grows and harvests as her primary material. She exhibits regionally and nationally and her work can be found in collections around the US.

I am inspired by nature, open space, a sense of presence, and the beauty in imperfection.

Previous Artists

Karen Kraco

Karen Kraco is a retired science teacher and writer whose work with the Northeaster newspaper put a “real” camera in her hands for the first time in 2016. Her lifetime of paying attention suddenly had an artistic outlet; she learned how powerful the visual can be in evoking emotions and making connections. In recent years, Karen has focused on urban wildlife photography, which she sees as a form of street photography: candids of creatures living their lives, much as we live ours, in spaces that are just as much theirs as ours. She especially enjoys winter "crowtography," tracking the thousands of crows in Minneapolis as they converge every night in a huge roost.

Anjana Parua

Anjana Parua is a self-taught local artist. She has been painting from past couple of years. She mostly paints in acrylics on canvas. Also has started experimenting with Charcoal and Soft pastel on paper. She is more into contemporary still life painting. Her goal is to become a photorealist who can showcase her art worldwide.

Anjana has a unique way of finding beauty in everyday objects. She paints from reference photos, which she collects from various sources. Her paintings are colorful, cheerful and depict everyday stories around people.

Mark Maier

Mark Maier is a Roseville-based artist and writer whose body of work examines mysticism, mathematics and American culture.

Through years of experimentation, Maier developed his own approaches to sacred geometry and 4-D recursive fractals, which ultimately led him to combine pixel art and pointillism as a means of capturing subjects in our digital age.

Elena Glass

Elena Glass is a graduate of New York University, and has been performing and working within the MN theatre community since 2016. Born and raised in Roseville, Minnesota, Elena is a passionate advocate for accessible theatre for all ages. As an actress in the Twin Cities, she’s been seen at the Ordway (Mamma Mia, The Sound of Music, Annie, Broadway Songbook Series; Comden and Green), Old Log Theatre (Lend Me a Tenor), Yellow Tree Theatre (One Man, Two Guvnors), Theatre Elision (Ruthless!, Pins & Needles), Artistry (Godspell), History Theatre (Christmas of Swing, Beyond the Rainbow, Runestone!), and Nautilus Music Theatre (Stations of the Heart), among others. She has been grateful to perform at many venues and churches in town, including Crooner's, the Troubadour and MetroNOME Brewing Co. She is thrilled to be a part of this vibrant and special community.

Tanaǧidaŋ To Wiŋ (Tara Perron)

Tanaǧidaŋ To Wiŋ (Tara Perron) is a Dakota and Ojibwe mother. She grew up in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She is the author of Takoza: Walks With the Blue Moon Girl, Animals of Khéya Wíta, Animals of Nimaamaa-Aki, and Our Love Language.

She owns and operates Blue Hummingbird Woman Indigenous Gift Shop located in downtown Saint Paul and recently opened Eagle and Condor Native Wellness Center on the Eastside of Saint Paul. Tara is inspired by the loving hearts of her sons: she is a creator, plant medicine enthusiast, and has always loved to write. She believes in the healing power of storytelling and plant medicine.

Red Thread - Performance Artists

Red Thread is a new harmony-forward folk ensemble playing original music rooted in Eastern European, Yiddish, and Americana lineage. The group infuses their interpretations of traditional music with a harmonic sensibility rooted in and liberated from classical choral singing, with band members Sarah Larsson, Sophie Javna, Julia Hobart, Erika Lantz, Colleen Bertsch, and McKain Lakey each drawing from years of study with master-artists including Ethel Raim, Michael Alpert, Sam Lee, Dáithí Sproule, and stringband master-artists in Transylvania. With lush harmonies and the tight performance of a family band, Red Thread further unspools the line of folk tradition, merging rich vocal and string arrangements with the stories of real people’s lived experience that are embedded within folk songs.

You can now watch Red Thread’s performance here.

Frontwoman Sarah Larsson (Jagoda/O’Brien/Goldstein) is a musician and cultural organizer committed to healing collective wounds using folk art & tradition. Sarah studies and sings women’s music traditions from her ancestral traditions: Eastern European and Jewish diaspora, and Irish, Scottish, and Swedish immigrant music. Sarah tours internationally with The Nightingale Trio, which has been called “a revelation” by reviewers, performing on “A Prairie Home Companion”, Irish International A Cappella festival (Dublin), Zlatne Uste Golden Festival (NY), and ArtScape (Baltimore). 

Cyndi Kaye Meier- Textile Artist

Cyndi Kaye Meier is an artist from Roseville, Minnesota. She creates original surface design fabrics and original art quilts. She started quilting in the 90’s when her children started school at Falcon Heights Elementary. Meier comes from a long line of makers and was raised to use her hands for creative exploration.

She exhibits regionally and will have a solo show at White Bear Unitarian Universalist in Mahtomedi, MN from January – February 2025. In addition to making art, she helps build community through her leadership at several arts organizations including Minnesota Contemporary Quilters, Arts Roseville and the Textile Center.

Faye Passow- Printmaker

Print maker Faye Passow uses the centuries-old art of stone lithography to give her eclectic drawings rich texture and complex shading. Stone lithography is a complicated and physical process that involves multiple painstaking steps, but Faye prefers the method for the incredible gradation it provides.

Though the production technique is old-fashioned, her subject matter is not - from whimsical trailer homes to mystical landscapes, Faye’s work is far from traditional! Her work has been shown nationally, and locally at the Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. In 2001, Faye started her own business, Keep the Faye.

Pete Hovde - Woodworking Artist

Pete Hovde is a woodworking artist based in Roseville, MN.  He has dabbled with woodworking throughout his life from working on a “from-scatch” log house in his early 20’s, to carving diamond willow walking sticks in his 30’s and 40’s, to building a “little free library,” and more.  When he was getting close to retiring from an IT job, he was attracted to making cutting boards.  

Initially, the cutting boards he made were fairly simple and functional.  Married to quilting/fabric artist, he gravitated to techniques with wood that were very much like techniques used by quilters.  It was just that the medium was different.  This led him to developing a deep interest in all of the characteristics of wood species, such as color, grain, hardness, flexibility, porousness, and more.  He has now created boards and other wood objects from over 80 different species from five continents.

As he got heavier into the artistry of woodworking, he intentionally avoided looking at other woodworkers for ideas of patterns, combinations of woods in creations, technical skills etc.  He didn’t want to influence or stifle his own creativity.  Instead, he experimented with more and more wood species, combining them in ways that attendees at his art shows have been amazed.  His philosophy is that he wants the beauty in his work to be from exposing the beauty in the wood itself.  Thus, he came to naming his art practice Inner Beauty Wood Creations.

Chris Faust - Photographer

Chris Faust is mostly known for his large-scale images of vernacular landscapes. His work has been exhibited at, and collected by, the Walker Art center, The Minneapolis Institute of Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and other regional galleries. He has received McKnight, Graham, Bush and Minnesota State Arts Board Grants.
Ongoing projects he is embarking on are; An extensive re- photographic study of the original Bosse photographs of the Mississippi river from the 1880’s, documenting the extraction landscapes from the Bakken Oil Field in western ND, continuing his photographic studies of night landscapes, and ongoing explorations of Vernacular landscapes of the upper Midwest. 

He has published a Monograph of his work entitled “Nocturnes” though the University of Minnesota Press in 2007. 

Mari Harris - Musician/Actress/Keynote Speaker/Reflexologist

Mari Harris is an award-winning Singer/Songwriter and Pianist; an Actress;  a Keynote Speaker; a Voice Coach; a Certified Reflexologist; and a Lover of Life! In a world that is not necessarily designed for one to be multitalented, multidimensional, and multifaceted, she has met the challenge of creating a Life where she can powerfully Be who she is, Do what she does, and Have what she has. Mari is an amazing and fierce advocate for others as they shape and Live their best, most powerful, and most fun Lives! Mari is thrilled at the opportunity to be with us!!!

Amy Wilderson- Jewelry Artist

Amy Wilderson is a Minneapolis-based jewelry artist and teaching artist. Her work taps into memory, culture, and heritage by using metalsmithing, wirework, and knotting to revive forgotten treasures (orphan earrings, broken dishes, souvenirs, etc.) along with surplus or discarded items (computer elements, bra underwires, vintage glass Mardi Gras beads) and reclaimed metals, connecting them to gemstones that are associated with myth, power, and healing to create wearable, living stories.

Reynaldo Diaz - Painter

As a refugee who fled Nicaragua during a civil war in the 1980s, he came to the U.S. to build a life where he would have the freedom to express who he is. The worlds he falls between are:

The world of imagination

The world of identity

The world of accepting

The world of life

The world of death

Reynaldo’s paintings tell his story. Tengo un Historia que contar!

Monica Vega

Monica Vega, originally from Mexico City, is a multimedia artist mixing sculpture and painting with multiple details generating a style full of details and ornamental figures. Her works influence the folk art of Mexico and elevate the traditions of the country, especially “El Día de Muertos”.

For more than ten years Mónica has continued to offer displays of tradition and culture at various Minnesota art centers and museums, including the Minnesota Historical Society, where she showcased the Day of the Dead tradition with festive and magnificent offerings during the months of October and November. Monica has also been an exhibitor with MIA, “Minneapolis Institute of Art”, WAM, “Weisman Art Museum”, Tyrone Guzmán Center and last year for the first time at the Minnesota State Capitol.

Tish Murphy - Rug Hooker

Tish has been rug hooking for over 40 years and she brings a lifetime of creating as well as an education in fine art and art history to her craft.

Tish taught herself to rug hook in the mid-1980’s after becoming acquainted with several antique rugs in a beautiful home in Providence, Rhode Island. Tish brings to her work a lifetime of ‘making’ as well as the discipline of her art training and she tends to be eclectic in content, style and format.

Rada Kolarova - Bulgarian Folk Musician

Rada Kolarova is a versatile vocalist who has trained in Bulgarian folk and classical music. Rada started singing as soon as she could speak, and she hasn't stopped since. Originally from Sofia, she and her family moved to the Twin Cities, where she grew up surrounded by a diverse range of music. Her parents introduced her to a variety of world music, and her grandparents taught her Bulgarian folk songs. Rada's childhood was spent singing and harmonizing with the radio at home with her sisters, attending world music festivals, and learning folk singing techniques.

Bola Koleosho - Actress

Bola is a Nigerian-American actress with extensive experience in stage theater, including performances at the Guthrie Theater. Koleosho can currently be seen in a recurring role on ‘Dear White People’ on Netflix. She also starred in ‘Trees of Peace’ on Netflix, which won the Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema and the ADL Stand Up Award at Santa Barbara International Film Festival. 

Matt “Piano” Sieberg- Musician

He has degrees, experience, blah, blah, blah… learn why none of that matters. 

Not every musician has talent.

They aren’t all broke and struggling with their identity. Let’s talk about possibilities!

Duane Tougas – multi-media artist

Duane is a multi-discipline artist who works with whatever material he gets his hands on. He's performed puppetry in the US as well as Korea, England, Dominican Republic. He's worked with In The Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre, Barebones Collective, Picnic Operetta,Thingamajig theater,  the Weisman Art Museum' and the MN History Center. He lives in Mpls with his son Max and wife Kat Corrigan.

Ramona Kitto-Stately

Ramona Kitto Stately is an enrolled member of the Santee Dakota Nation, a Mni Sota Nation that was exiled from their homelands in 1862 to Nebraska. Today she lives in her original homelands in the Minnesota River Valley where she practices Dakod Wichohan, or traditional lifeways. When making tools, bags or clothing, the Dakota would decorate items designs of plant medicines or symbols that transmit information to generations.

These symbols tell a story and help everyone learn and remember our stories and ways of knowing the world. “There is no word for art in our language” says Ramona, “We made things beautiful to mirror the way the Creator made the beautiful landscape, and also to transmit knowledge to future generations.” She shares her gift of making moccasins, passed down from generations of moccasin makers and because of what they symbolize.

Patrick Cunningham

Patrick has a Bachelors in Fine Arts and a Masters in Social Work, and began his art career drawing superheroes from comic books. He studied the "Visual Arts of Africa: Gender, Power and Life Cycle Rituals" at MIA, and has taught art in St. Paul Public Schools for over 20 years. He participated alongside other African American emerging artists to create the “Celebration of Life Mural” under the guidance of African American Artist, John Biggers, with the mural dedicated to the North Minneapolis Community. Patrick continued more collaborative work with the City of Minneapolis Art in Public Places's John Biggers Seed Project.

Matt Lara – tattoo artist

 Matt Lara is the sole owner of Blasted Ink Studio in St. Paul. After working as an apprentice in 2012 at a tattoo shop here in Minnesota, he opened his own studio in 2015 at the age of 23. Matt currently employs four apprentices and four artists. Cleanliness and sanitation are most important to Matt, and he works to ensure every customer and tattoo artist is safe and satisfied throughout the entire process.  Samples of Lara’s work is displayed at this link:  https://www.instagram.com/ink_by_mattlara/

Connie Beckers – stained glass artist

Connie Beckers is an award-winning stained-glass artist who is now enjoying semi-retirement after a 25-year career. She took her first glass class in 1995, and shortly thereafter, opened the Goddess of Glass in North Minneapolis. The retail shop offered handmade gifts from local artists, custom picture framing, and a variety of glass art classes held at her studio – The Funky Bungalow. Connie has devoted many years to helping organize a local arts organization to build a strong network of artists in North Minneapolis and says building a small business network has contributed to her success.

Connie is currently taking on select commission projects, creating a line of stained and fused glass gifts, and renting a booth at Antiques Downtown in Elk River MN.

Mike Dec – photographer

I’ve always been interested in photography, took two years of graphic arts in high school, as well as one year on the student newspaper. I purchased my first digital camera in 2003 and several since then. My Dad was a sportsman, so naturally I’ve always had an interest in nature.

In 2012, I decided to start photographing some of the wildlife near my home. I don’t really consider myself an artist, but rather someone that captures the beauty of nature by using the technology that is available to us now. If I do add anything artistic to the technology, is that I always try to shoot low at eye level and in “golden light,” one hour after sunrise or one hour before sunset.

Jason Etten 

Music teacher, musician, Roseville City Councilmember

 Jason is a born and raised Roseville resident.  He started music early, singing with his family and learning Suzuki violin.  Those early music experiences, plus parents who are teachers, helped lead him to where he is today.  Jason is in his 22nd year teaching Choir at Irondale High School in the Mounds View Public Schools.  He has also taught middle school and high school choir and orchestra in other schools and programs.  After being involved with the Roseville Park and Rec commission he was elected to serve Roseville in 2012.  Last fall he was re-elected to his third term on the City Council.  Jason's wife, Jessica, is a pianist and oboist and both of their children are very involved with music.  It is an absolute joy to sing and play music together as a family!

Michael Sweere – Mosaic/Collage Artist

Michael Sweere is a visual artist that specializes in creating artwork from recycled materials. Choosing a career in advertising, Mr. Sweere worked in the industry for almost twenty years before starting his own fine art business. His original artwork installations can be seen in numerous locations in the United States including airports, health care facilities, libraries, schools and professional sports stadiums. He lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with his wife Carole and their two dogs - Ladybug and Tulip. 

Marcy McNeal

I’m a 23 year old visual artist born in Minnesota, and a student at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD). I see the world differently because I was born with Exotropia, a vision disability that I use to my advantage when making art. I may literally see the world differently, but I believe that every living thing experiences the world differently, and that idea is something I love to play with in my art. Growing up on a hobby farm, and working quite a bit with many different animals plays a massive role in my inspiration for most of my work, although nature is only the root to my curiosity for life and its place in the cosmos. I fill my pieces with easter eggs involving mathematics, biology, psychology, history, engineering and so much more.

Mindy Greiling – Author

Mindy Greiling is a former politician and member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. After leaving the legislature, Greiling wrote about her experiences dealing with the mental health system as the mother of a son with schizophrenia. The book, Fix What You Can: Schizophrenia and a Lawmaker's Fight for Her Son, was published in 2020 by the University of Minnesota Press

Timi Bliss

Timi Bliss is a children's book author, illustrator, and visual artist. Her books prominently feature Black characters, yet have  universal story lines relatable to readers of all races. Her digital collage techniques combine basic geometric forms  with bold and colorful patterns rich with texture and detail. She is a Minneapolis, MN native, grant writer for a  nonprofit organization, and doting grandma to my granddaughter, Charlie.

Reuben Kitto Stately

My name is Reuben Kitto Stately. My stage name is Kitto. I am a 21 year old recording artist from Minneapolis, Minnesota and a college student currently attending Augsburg University. I come from both Santee Dakota & Red Lake Ojibwe Nations. I’ve been writing and recording for 9 years. My goal with my music is to keep it honest with my listeners. My music harmonizes the happy & sad times and both good & bad experiences. I believe when I rap about what I’ve been through, I validate other indigenous youth who relate to my experience. I believe this makes them not feel so alone in our collective need for healing. This is my gift and it’s not only healing myself but others as well.

Shakun Maheshwara

Shakun Maheshwari, is a colorist, folk artist, and photographer. She wears various hats when it comes to creating art. She teaches, and loves to get involved with community to help in creating art for public display. Shakun has practiced folk art for more than 55 years since she started teaching painting at the age of 23. My first art show was in Mumbai before 1970. Shakun recently painted one of 20, seven-foot rose sculptures for the Roseville in Bloom public art project. This month, she is working on a complimentary community art project at Lake McCarrons Park in Roseville.

Lori Greene

Lori Greene’s work draws inspiration from both African and traditional Native American culture. Both reflect my ethnic heritage. My art school training is in textiles and I continue to incorporate patterns and texture in my work. It is deeply personal, spiritual and process based.

“I create images that are about strength, power and memory.”

Join us for a webinar with Lori on September 12th at 11 AM.

Dan Newton and Elizabeth Rowan

Dan "Daddy Squeeze" Newton has been entertaining since 1980, and is known for his work with the Cafe Accordion Orchestra and A Prairie Home Companion. He specializes in French Musette, the romantic, Gypsy-inspired Parisian street music of the 1920s. 

Elizabeth Rowan is Dan's percussionist and also his business manager. Elizabeth accompanies Dan on Washboard, Zydeco rub-board, the Cajun triangle and guiro (a Latin percussion instrument). She has studied Cajun, Creole and Latin percussion at various music camps, and earned her degree in the music business from the school of hard knocks. 

Together, Daddy Squeeze and Elizabeth have performed at venues such as Como Pavilion, Crooners, Vieux Carre, Can Can Wonderland, Underground Music Cafe and many house concerts, libraries, retirement communities and care facilities.

Joe Kral

is an American artist based in Minneapolis, MN. He grew up in a small town in Southern Minnesota and was raised on skateboarding, BMX, heavy metal, and art. He creates mixed media paintings focusing on people, typography, color, shape, and texture. The paintings are made by hand on wood panels using vintage printed ephemera from books, magazines, maps, and postcards. He is currently Lead Designer at 3M.

Marlena Myles – Artist/Illustrator

Marlena Myles is a Native American artist located in St Paul, Minnesota. She has gained recognition as being one of few Dakota women creating digital art including fabric patterns, animations and illustrations to bring a modernity to indigenous history, languages and oral traditions. Growing up on her traditional Dakota homelands here in the Twin Cities, she enjoys using her artwork to teach Minnesotans of all backgrounds the indigenous history of this place we call home.

Her first illustrated children's book will be released September 2019, "Thanku: Poems About Gratitude" (poetry anthology, published by Lerner/Millbrook) and is finishing her second illustrated book, "Powwow Day" (written by Traci Sorell, published by Charlesbridge for Spring 2020). And she is currently creating her own coloring book that will focus on the Dakota language, plants/medicines, stories and people. Her work has shown at All My Relations Gallery, Two Rivers Gallery, the Minnesota Museum of American Art and the Minneapolis Institute of Art among others.

Karen Weaving Circle

The Karen people are an indigenous ethnic minority from Burma and Thailand who have been persecuted by the Burmese military government for over 60 years. More than 17,000 Karen and other refugees from Burma now live in Minnesota, making it the largest Karen community in the United States. 

Karen people from Burma are known for their centuries-old tradition of weaving textiles using cotton thread and backstrap looms. The Karen Weaving Circle grew from a group of refugee women from Burma who wanted to continue their weaving traditions in Minnesota and pass their knowledge to first-generation youth. Weaving Circle members meet weekly at the East Side Freedom Library in Saint Paul to weave together. They also teach classes for Karen youth, and sell textiles and demonstrate their craft at local events.

Kalpulli Tlaloctechutli

Kalpulli Tlaloctechutli is a Roseville-based dance group made up of families that are dedicated to lifelong learning of the Mexica (Aztec) ancestral teachings. The group is committed to creating a safe and welcoming space for all. Tlaloctechutli means the great lord of the rain and thunder (storms).

Nathan Beverage – composer

Nathan Beverage is a Roseville resident and a student at the internationally renowned College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati where he is pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Composition. He has the dream of one day changing the world with his music as a composer for film and media, Nathan has written multiple works for orchestra, chamber, and choral ensembles, as well as theater productions, and award-winning animations.

Stuart Lenz

Stuart works in welded steel, often with brass and copper enhancements.  Using oxygen and acetylene welding and a process called Direct Metal Sculpting and some blacksmithing techniques to create his works.

His themes are nature related.  Trees in groups and single trees are his signature themes.  Stuart is a retired engineer who works full time at his art.  Prices range from $45 for small pieces to over $2000 for large, highly decorated pieces.

Stuart has been making metal sculptures since 1966 when his father took a course in welding, bought the equipment and together started sculpting.  He still has the original piece they made together.

Diana Eicher

Diana Eicher was born in Michigan. She has a BA in painting from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and an MFA in printmaking from the University of Hawaii. She studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice, Italy.  Diana is the Director of the Printmaking & Papermaking studios at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Diana works printmaking, papercutting, handmade paper, installation work and mixed media. September Featured artist: Bob Murphy

Saturday, September 22 from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm

Bob Murphy

Bob Murphy is a contemporary multi-media artist who grew up in Roseville and began taking photographs in 1969. His interactive presentation will include contemporary photographs as well as images that he made in Roseville during the 60's and 70's. He will also share a few of the experiences that he had with friends during the days of Roadside, and The Rose Drive-in Theatre. Seen from a contemporary perspective the artwork reveals a time of change as the war in Vietnam went on, the British Invasion had occurred, Feminism was getting started and the Civil Rights movement was underway. Bob's presentation includes something for everybody. His work has been shown at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, The New Museum of Contemporary Art New York and is included in many private and public collections.

Yijia Li

Yijia Li is a painter from Shanghai, China, who uses female figures as main subject matter. She admires sexuality and human desire by applying pigments and moving brushes.

Rosetown Playhouse

Rosetown Playhouse's mission is to strengthen community through inclusive, playful theater experiences. It produces two shows each year with professional directors and staff of various ages. It seeks to provide family entertainment with opportunities for large casts, and uses the power of theater to build community and provide a means for learning and creative expression.

Jancyn Bindman

Jancyn is a make-up artist and photographer. She owns Blanc Sketch Artistry, specializing in beauty make-up and contemporary portraits. 

Thomas Willicombe

Thomas is an artist and art educator currently teaching at South High School in Minneapolis. He primarily paints realistic watercolors in a variety of subjects including portraits, still lifes, and landscapes.