Nolan Prohaska
Glass Artist
What does art mean to you?
The whimsical flower sculptures I create ultimately become a reflection of the viewer. I have a degree in horticulture and am inspired by the natural world around us.
How did you get into art?
[The class] “Introduction to Glass” with Jim Engebretson sent me to a career in glass art. “If you spend enough time in the glass studio you will learn how to blow glass,” he’d say, “making it your own (ideas and artwork) is the hard part.” By combining my love for plants and glass I feel like I’m achieving that.
What is your creative process like?
In the hot glass studio, I make lots of individual parts. Once they cool they get sandblasted and acid-etched to give the glass a matte finish. I then assemble those parts to complete a sculpture.
Jeffrey Babineau
Reclaimed Wood Artist
What does art mean to you?
Art is something I’ve always appreciated and shared with people I love. It has been a vehicle for me to connect with family, friends, and the community. I work with sustainable materials gathered on the shores of the Great Lakes and rivers, combined with reclaimed redwood and cedar.
What is your creative process like?
My process started years ago with the collection of driftwood. I love spending time wandering in nature along the shores of the Great Lakes and rivers. I noticed that each piece of driftwood had its own personality. As my collection grew, I began to think of ways driftwood could be combined to create something meaningful to share with others. The process of gathering, envisioning, and assembling driftwood to create a tree has developed over the past eight years.
What is your biggest inspiration?
I love the solitude of wandering the shores, collecting the driftwood, and creating something that returns the wood to its original form - a tree. I’m inspired by the life cycles of nature. A tree lives a life, it then dies and falls apart. Through curiosity, care, and a desire to share nature’s beauty with others, it can live again. My first tree was seven feet tall which I made for my family for the Holidays. Every year I assemble it for the season and it gives me much joy.
Ruth Johnson
Oil Painter
What does art mean to you?
Art is really a language as is speech, literature, music, dance, etc. Doing art is as old as humanity and is another way to convey thoughts, emotions, attitudes, and convictions. It’s a way to “play” with these elements. Oil painting is my favorite [form] of art. I love the many ways oil behaves and its luminosity.
How did you get into art?
As a child, I was especially encouraged by my grandpa, which is still a fond memory. Also, life-long friends and my other family have been there and kept me going more than they could realize. I would say that co-existing with others who are in similar pursuits is a lovely way to find yourself in your life’s work.
What is your creative process like?
I begin by stretching linen canvas on multiple sizes of stretcher bars and priming them with several layers of gesso. I like to start each intended image with a wash drawing, which is then probably altered many times during the work on a painting. Sometimes, I’m unhappy with how a painting is going in the evening, but come back the next day and find, almost without being aware of what changes were being made at the time, that things worked. When a painting finally seems completed, I construct my own frames.
Joel Nichols
Fine Furniture Crafter
What does art mean to you?
I think art should be incorporated into all facets of our lives. Civic projects like bridges and parks should be approached as functional art installations. After a few generations of that, you end up in a city like Paris. In your home, your art investments will also be enjoyed for life versus mass produced items that end up in a landfill after a few years.
What is your preferred medium?
I work mainly in wood but do use metal in many of my projects. I use a lot of reclaimed wood. Time adds another layer of beauty. Some woods are downright boring, but you give them a job to do for 100 years and they become very interesting storytellers.
How did you get into art?
After college, I was working for my dad remodeling an old building in Minneapolis into a restaurant. The building's owner wasn't happy with the architect's design for the bar and asked if I'd like to design and build it. Not sure why he asked me but I felt like I could do it so I did. The bar turned out great and the owner loved it. That was my first commission and really ignited my passion for designing and building beautiful things.
What is your biggest inspiration?
I really enjoy pushing myself. Pretty much everything I make is one-off. Each piece is a journey that endears itself to me. I burn the scraps from my projects to heat my house and enjoy pulling them from my wood rack and remembering vividly the table or chair or whatever that produced it. It's like when you travel you can remember every day of a trip but yet can't recall what you had for lunch earlier that same day. I travel every day in my small shop. I'm very grateful for that.
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