Featured in March ... metal artist Bob Rickard

During a 30 year career in computer software, Bob Rickard avidly pursued his passion for “puttering out in the garage.” Combining knowledge from an early stint as a theatrical stage designer with an interest in industrial tools, he eventually found that his favorite material was metal. Bob’s process, he states, is to “harness the myriad properties of metals: their rigidity, their pliability, and their essential chemical make-up.” His work ranges from furniture and wall pieces to his distinctive line of KronosWorks clocks.

After using a hand-held plasma cutter to carve his designs into a base metal, most often steel or aluminum, the artist coats each sculpture with other metals, typically copper, bronze and iron. Each of these metals reacts differently to the chemical patinas and dye oxides with which the pieces are finished, creating a rich palette of hues.

Bob attributes the quiet, calm quality of his work to the landscape surrounding his Taos, NM studio.

Pictured above: Country Blues Diptych, 24" x 37"; below: Hill and Dale Diptych, 24" x 37"
Contact the gallery for availability.

Featured Artist for February: Marilyn Cuellar

Marilyn Cuellar, a Cambridge, MN artist, works with graphite to render detailed botanical and architectural studies and well-considered portraits.

Marilyn’s artist statement:

The Details of Life
I find my vision in the details of life. My art brings out the subtle details in its subjects, creating a picture of life more particular than the fleeting glance with which we normally look at the world.

Perception
The representational drawings I create are rich in depth and character when viewed from a distance. Viewed more closely, emphasis on details and texture create an abstract inner-life.

Technique
I draw with graphite, using a palette of white to black and all of the tonal variations between. This allows me to explore complexity in texture and shape in seemingly simple images. It is the effect of light and the shadows it creates that define my images – not lines.

Vision
My artistic touch is the final element in the process. When I view an image and apply the pencil to the board, it is my vision of the image that is brought to life.

When you look closely at my work, mark every detail. That is where the life of my art truly is.

Marilyn's notes on the work:

Ukrainian Women Series - Maria and Inna
Graphite on Archival Board

The faces of these women, Maria and Inna, reflect their strong characters and difficult lives. With the draping of their babushkas and pattern of clothing, a softness is added; and the contrast of complementary textures in the clothing enhances the lines etched in the women’s faces. Both women invite the viewer to pause and engage in conversation, especially Inna (on the right) whose gentle eyes are always seeking out the viewer, at any angle. Both women reside in a rest home in Chigirin, Ukraine.








Slice of Autumn Series #2
Graphite on Archival Board

Using the image of the maple tree framed by our front window, realism and abstraction combine in this view of just a slice of autumn leaves. As the piece can be hung vertically or horizontally, a vertical presentation suggests a “water/flowing” view while a “land/grounded” view is suggested by a horizontal presentation.
























Daru Mother and Child
Graphite on Archival Board

This young mother and child (Mariama and Rokey) look at the world from different vantage points. From the Village of Daru, The Gambia, West Africa, Mariama was our daughter’s closest friend while she served in Daru through the Peace Corps. My husband and I visited the village in 125 degree F. weather. When Rokey was born, Mariama gave her the same name as my daughter was given in the village. The delicate features of Mariama’s clothing tie mother and child together. Three elements are at work in this drawing: design, texture, and the life portrayed in the faces of the subjects.


The artist holds a BA from the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, and takes part in a local mentoring group to shape her artistic vision. She exhibits her work at juried shows throughout the Midwest, often winning honors including multiple Best of Show titles.

Works by Marilyn Cuellar are on view at The Grand Hand throughout the month of February.

Our January Featured Artist: Barbara Evan

St. Paul painter Barbara Evan’s works in oil are composed with intuitive line and form and are typically rich with color. The artist holds degrees in English from the University of South Dakota and in Studio Arts from the University of Minnesota. She maintains a studio in the Lowertown neighborhood and is a regular participant in the twice-yearly St. Paul Art Crawl: her images are regularly selected by jury to promote the event. Barbara is a member of the Women’s Art Registry of Minnesota (W.A.R.M).

About her current work, the Barbara states, "Before starting a painting I set myself an elusive problem, like seeing if three unlikely colors can work together, or seeing how many layers I can build up and still see through to the first one, or finding out what a pile of lumpy stone-shapes would look like, or all of these at once. I work in terms of time, watching intently, feeling and seeing the different effects of deliberation and speed. If I hit a dead end I might wipe out large sections, then use what remains as a basis for the next version. Gradually – and sometimes after dozens of layers and wipeouts – it turns into something: it has a certain combination of formal balance and emotional content that reflects an inner, inarticulate part of me. My work is perhaps a kind of inchoate writing."

Some of the paintings on view throughout January at The Grand Hand, along with the artist's notes on the work, include:

Garden (pictured above): I deliberately set out to make something beautiful, which usually means ending up with a mess. That happened this time too, but I kept at it until this painting emerged. I love how a few faint lines (like the barely noticeable pink streaks along the bottom) are terribly important, and some of the bold strokes, which could have ruined the whole thing, fit right in.



Straightened Curly Leaf is the gradual abstraction of a curly leaf Aralia frond. There are several other versions. One was full of brilliant colors (Bold Curly Leaf). Then I painted over it with beige (Muted Curly Leaf) and, surprisingly, that made it glow. This one is more controlled, hence the name, but it has its own kind of mystery.


Silly Girl is based on a tiny sketch from several years ago. Stone shapes or perhaps crystals float in the air, with a delicate figure holding things in place. They are stones or heavy clouds, ponderous but suspended in a field of bright, cheerful washes of color. Silly girl is strong enough to not worry about appearing silly.


Untitled started out as a black, gray and white boulder on a solid white background. People who didn’t expect to like it, liked it. It looked heavy and real, even though it wasn’t much more than a line drawing. But it sat there for a couple of years, too tempting to leave alone, so I tried adding paint. After several disasters, a wipeout, and finally several layers of insubstantial circles, it turned into this painting. A black circle sits in the center, against all the rules, right where it belongs.


Entrance was difficult. They are almost always difficult, but this one more so because I was trying to show language emerging from layers of shapes that alluded to letters or symbols. I couldn’t do it. It was becoming a doodle, and doodles don’t count as art. Finally, I just let it be a really intricate doodle that’s also a kind of puzzle or a snarl. It’s kind of a free-form mandala, with simultaneous agitation and stillness. Entrance has two meanings, of course.

Most of Barbara’s paintings have a documented history because she takes photographs along the way. Earlier versions of her works may be available as small booklets or prints.

December's Featured Artists: Barbara Keith and Chuck Solberg

Barbara Keith is a glass mosaic artist based in Lanesboro, MN. We've loved her landscapes and animal studies for years - her latest charming series of small (8" x 8") cat portraits captures a range of feline moods.

"During the time I was working on these cats," Barb explains, "a kitten showed up at our very rural home, probably dumped with it's litter mates on the road. So now Ollie has become part our our family! It was so much fun to be working on these cats while the new kitten and I discovered happiness with our new situation. Cats have such a universal appeal, and I decided to give them universal names, translating 'cat' into a number of languages." (Gato is pictured above.)


The artist also crafts fun bird ornaments that have flown into the gallery this season!

Click HERE for more on Barbara's work.






St. Paul’s Chuck Solberg is a nationally recognized clay artist and, with his keyboard, serves as The Grand Hand’s always popular “house band.” Chuck’s work in wood fired stoneware and porcelain is included in the permanent collections of the Weisman Art Museum, The Minnesota Historical Society, the University of Wisconsin and numerous private collections. He was awarded a prestigious Jerome Grant for his work with sagger firing. As a musician, Chuck has toured with Luther Allison and played with BB King, Muddy Waters and Chuck Berry.




See an expanded array of Chuck's work at the gallery through December and hear the artist in action with his keyboard midday on Saturday, December 11 and during Guys' Night, Thursday, December 16 from 5-9 PM.

Click HERE for more on Chuck's work.

Your Grand Hand Staff

Susan Clayton is the Grand Hand gallery manager and has been on staff since October 2004. She is a former curator of art at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, where she earned an MA in Art History and Art Exhibition. Susan’s academic research focuses on Minnesota artists and arts institutions.























Linda LaNasa came to The Grand Hand as a longtime collector of Minnesota craft. Linda is especially knowledgeable about our local artists and their work, and has a knack for finding the perfect hand crafted piece to enhance your home, your wardrobe or to give as a gift.

Joanna Scavone (left) recently launched and now coordinates the gallery’s online shopping services. She is a painter and a graduate student specializing in arts and cultural management at St. Mary’s University in Minneapolis.

Brad Homan brings his gifts for organization and “getting it done” to our gallery space. He is a packaging specialist at General Mills and is also a patent-holding inventor!

Rachel Nusbaum (right) is a print artist and a recent graduate of the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. She coordinates the gallery’s offerings in woodblock, linocut and etching and our great selection of greeting cards. For more on Rachel’s work, visit www.rachelnusbaum.com.























Jan Painter, a photographer, art collector and neighborhood resident, has been a helpful friend to the gallery since it began and pitches in behind the sales desk when we need her most. (Jan is wearing pieces by her friend – and gallery artist – Lori Bacigalupi.)

Tessa Somermeyer is a life-long lover of craft who, since childhood, has been visiting exhibitions and artist studios with her mother, Jan Painter. She is currently a graduate student at the University of Minnesota. (Tess’s scarf is by gallery artist Randy Darwall.)























Click here for a profile of gallery owner Ann Ruhr Pifer.