Uncategorized

Catch Cantus in live in concert March 11, 7:30 at the Center for Faith and Life. For ticket pricing and information contact the Luther College Ticket Box office at 563-387-1536.

By Susie Clark

“It all started at St. Olaf College,” says tenor (and ‘99 Luther graduate) Eric (Hopkins) Ellingsen. “In lieu of flipping burgers or mowing lawns, the founding members of Cantus spent their college summers traveling cross-country, giving concerts for free-will offerings.” After graduation, the group thought it was a gig too good to retire, and so Cantus was made in to a professional non-profit ensemble. 2011 marks their eleventh season.

Cantus is now celebrated as the premiere all-male vocal ensemble in the country. Based out of Minneapolis/St. Paul, the nine-member group performs nationally – nearly 80 concerts and 40 education outreach seminars every season. Through the Luther College Center Stage Series, Cantus will present “Before Us”. a musical exploration of American composers and choral tradition.

If the group’s name, Cantus, is pronounced correctly, it’s Latin for melody or song. But for some reason, it’s stumbled over by many.

“It’s really quite amusing,” says Ellingsen. “We’ve had people announce our name (Cantus) as ‘sanctus,’’”conscience,’ and even ‘cactus!’”

Believe it or not, Cantus’ artistic work is NOT inspired by a spiky desert plant; their goal is simple: Instill in its audiences a love for choral music.

Through their position as Artists in Residence for Classical Minnesota Public Radio, Cantus will be doing just that.

In its second year of existence, Classical MPR’s Artist in Residence Program is a one-year contract bringing some of the world’s greatest classical musicians to Minnesota. The residency includes performances across the state of Minnesota, as well as an educational component- sharing their musical knowledge and expertise with high school and college students.

“We kind of act like ‘musical ambassadors,’” says Ellingsen. “Our job will be to give concerts to out-of-state communities that would otherwise not have access to a live performance of Cantus,” he explains. The ensemble will also be featured through on-air performances, and programs such as “Performance Today,” a showcasing of some of the world’s greatest classical musicians.

One would think there would be room for plenty of ego, but ever-living up to the “Minnesota Nice” reputation, it’s not the case with Cantus. (There’s even a member named Aaron Humble.) The group relies on its members for direction – a kind of musical democracy when it comes to performance and interpretation.

“Each member of Cantus has an equal responsibility and investment in the artistic product,” Ellingsen says. “We get together and choose the theme and the music of our concerts. After that, each song is assigned a ‘producer,’ who then acts as the director for the individual piece.” Through individual artistic leadership, Cantus achieves a different blend and feel for each song, treating audiences to a one-of-a-kind choral experience.

Being host to some of the nation’s best choral groups and educators, Midwest standards for choral music are high. Cantus shares Minneapolis’ choral spotlight with other greats such the Dale Warland Singers and the National Lutheran Choir. “Having the rich, Lutheran college choral tradition here in the Midwest has a great deal with making our music scene unique from those of New York or elsewhere,” Ellingsen says. “Over half of the current members of Cantus come from the Midwestern choral tradition and were mentored by Weston Noble and Anton Armstrong.” Each member’s background gives the educational component of Cantus’ mission even more impact. Visiting over 50 schools and colleges every year, Cantus works with over 5,000 students, performing master classes, school concerts, and festivals.

“Choral music, and all other arts programs in schools, teaches so much more than just music. It teaches you math, reading, comprehension, confidence, critical thinking, and interpersonal skills,” says Ellingsen. “We in Cantus find it very important to advocate for arts education.”

Luckily, it’s not difficult for Cantus to find ways to inspire students. Midwestern winters, however, are less than inspiring. “On a tour to Aberdeen, South Dakota, we got stuck in a ditch,” Ellingsen says. But despite frigid temps, snow, and ice, these men are never without a sense of humor – and a pitch pipe. “While we were being pulled out, we all broke into song, singing a barber shop tag!” Proof that, for the nine members of Cantus, there is always something to sing about.

Inspire(d) Intern, Susie Clark, (most commonly known as “Suz”) is proudly writing for her fourth issue of Inspire(d) Magazine (Holler!). Her spare time this winter has been devoted to cross-country skiing, reading, and shoveling snow. As a native Minnesotan and devoted baseball fan, Suz is “amped” for the kick-off of Twins season.

By Kirstin Roble

When you think of Ireland you might think of beautiful, lush green hills. Or delicious dark beer. Or perhaps you’re in the know, and when you think of Ireland, you think of Danù.

Named after the Mother of the Celtic Gods, Danù has become one of the leading traditional Irish ensembles of this era. Brought together to play an Ireland festival in 1995, it was never the intention to become a professional band. But as Danù button accordionist Benny McCarthy says, “That is what happened.”

The seven-member band has gone on to win dozens of awards. They’ve performed on more than a thousand stages. And they will make their way to the Luther College Center Stage March 9, 2010, at 7:30 pm. The band members are: Donal Clancy, Benny McCarthy, Donnchadh Gough, Tom Doorley, Eamon Doorley, Oisin Macauley, and Muireen Nic Amhlaoibh. Fans are entranced by their use of traditional Irish instruments, such as flute, tin whistle, fiddle, button accordion, bouzouki, and vocals (Gaelic and English). Although some of these instruments may sound strange (see the Irish instrument glossary at the end of this story if so), for the musicians there could be nothing more natural.

”We all grew up learning and playing traditional Irish music, some from the age of four years,” says McCarthy. “The great thing about the music we play is that it is very social in that we can share and play tunes with other musicians, even though we were from different parts of Ireland.”

They combine both ancient Irish tunes and more contemporary pieces for a completely unique musical experience. Danù’s concerts are famous for being exciting and high-energy, and McCarthy credits the crowd for this.

“The audience plays a huge part in the high energy of our shows, believe it or not,” McCarthy says. “Everything needs energy to work and the audience is our source.”

Seeing different audiences and different parts of the world is one of the amazing aspects of with working with Danù, McCarthy says. But it can also be one of the most difficult sides of things.

“Sometimes the travel and technical aspect of actually getting to the concert can be very grueling but performing is always the easy part,” McCarthy says. “Nowadays most of us have young children which makes it very difficult to go away for long periods. We do a lot of valuable home time too though, so compared to other careers that is massive bonus.”

When touring in the US, McCarthy and the crew look forward to a variety of things.

“There’s lots of stuff we love about touring the United States,” he says. “Great music, clothes and electronic stores. I love the selection of cuisines available. And the exchange rate between the Euro and the Dollar makes everything a bargain for us, like the old saying goes: we will burn big holes in our pockets for sure.”
It will be the band’s first time to Decorah, although not their first time to Iowa or the region.
“We love touring in the Midwest, the reaction to our music seems very special every time,” he says. “Can’t wait.”

After 15 years of playing, traveling, and managing Danù, McCarthy “has a lot of experience under his belt.” He’s experienced the bad aspects of life as a musician right along with the good, but he couldn’t imagine his life any other way.

”This is the best career for anybody who loves the stage, loves their artform and wants to share it with the world,” he says. “I think true artists really have more focus on their art and performance; the money and fame is secondary. It can take many years to develop a skill but the challenges and fulfillment you get doing this is phenomenal.”

Check Danù out at Luther College on March 9 at 7:30 pm in the Center for Faith and Life. They will perform as part of the Center Stage Series. Tickets are available to the public on Thursday, February 18 – see www.centerstage.luther.edu for details. For more information on Danù or to hear samples of their music, visit www.danu.net

Kirstin Roble is a senior voice pedagogy major with minors in English and Latin at Luther College. When not singing or talking to other people about singing, she enjoys reading contemporary fiction, foreign films, running, Roman history, and the occasional shopping excursion. She also enjoys writing, particularly creative fiction. As secretary of the Performing Arts Committee (PAC), Kirstin is incredibly excited for the performance of Danu and hopes to see all of you there!

Irish Instruments:
Bodhran: This is a goatskin drum used widely in Irish music and is also popular in other Celtic areas.
Bouzouki: A stringed instrument with a wide, pear-shaped body and a very long neck, the bouzouki is a member of the “long neck lute” family and is similar to a mandolin.
Uilleann Pipes: Originally known as the Union pipes, Uilleann Pipes are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland.

By Becky Idstrom

Pam Kester’s art studio is full of material ripe for creating. In just 10 short minutes she has already listed at least 15 different types of semi-precious stones, pulling open drawers and lifting box lids as she speaks. There are the river stones, the glass beads, the copper metal plates, the soldering materials, the fossils, the pictures, the coins – all different shapes, sizes, and colors.

In the 14 years I have known Pam, the precision, attention to detail, and artistry that she brings to her work – from a birthday card to a two-day educational hawk festival for the Audubon Society – has impressed me. Her jewelry is no less impressive. She mixes her varied raw materials to design and create one-of-a-kind necklaces and earrings in a collection she’s dubbed Rare Bird Artful Adornments.

Rare Bird Artful Adornments – jewelry inspired by nature and the beauty of the human soul – was born only two years ago. When Pam felt the urge to work with her hands, to create something, she turned her attention to jewelry making – something she had experimented with since age 18. Her creative passion has grown one bead at a time.

Looking at the materials she has laid out before us, it’s hard to imagine where one would begin. “I just start with one bead,” she says, “and ask—how can I use this? I choose something I’m attracted to, like this stone that reminds me of the delicate pattern on a dragonfly’s wing. Then the necklace just starts to build itself.”

Experimentation is key with jewelry building. Pam likes to bring together raw materials like fossils or river stones and embellish them with something delicate. She uses jade, garnets, topaz, kyonite, lolite, jasper, pearls, fossils, and more. She knows her materials well and chooses them carefully from all over the world. No matter what she makes, Pam brings a level of art to it. But it’s jewelry-making that she finds the most satisfying.

“I don’t make anything that doesn’t feel right. It’s good to have an outlet for my perfectionism,” she laughs, “because it wasn’t happening with housework.”

Rare Bird jewelry is more than simple precision. I look at a piece with chunks of light and bright blue kyonite along the front, the clasp a part of the decoration on the side, and a silver chain around the back. It has an almost living quality. Some women have told Pam they feel empowered when they wear her jewelry, that the piece embodies something especially for them. “It’s wonderful to create a piece and then find the person who was meant to wear it,” she says.

“The beauty of nature has always inspired my creativity,” Pam writes on her website. Her strong connection to the natural world has further sharpened her artistic eye, reproducing in her jewelry things from the natural world, like the beautiful sculpted scales in a milkweed pod or the shape of a butterfly chrysalis.

“I love that there is debris in these stones,” she says, gazing into a box of round river stones. “I’m not concerned with the perfect stone but the overall feel and look of it.”

While Pam makes all types of necklaces, she has themes for two special kinds: Amulets and Portals. The Amulets are a single round stone set in a large clasp on a chain. They have been used across cultures for centuries, Pam says, and are designed to bring protection, strength, and good luck to those who wear them. The Portals are more whimsical pieces: tiny collages or vintage photographs framed in glass or metal. They may contain mini collections of treasures, natural elements, or words and sayings.

The jewelry also tells stories. Some beautiful frosty-looking light blue and white beads, broken roughly into small rectangular shapes, tell a tale of another country. “I bought these at a bead show in Milwaukee from a family from Afghanistan,” she says. The father explained how the pieces are fragments of vessels, such as olive jars, which were transported along the Silk Road. The fragments are surfacing now after the current bombings in Afghanistan and people are finding them and making them into beads. Buried for centuries, the ancient glass has been given a texture and patina by the weather. Pam loves the idea of making something beautiful out of something that comes from such tragedy. “There is such a feeling of antiquity in the beads,” she says. “And it meant so much to this man to tell me their story.”

In the two years since Rare Bird Artful Adornment’s start, Pam has exhibited in a variety of shows and her work has grown. She is excited to see where the future will take her.

“I feel so fortunate to be standing in a landscape of creative possibilities that stretches beyond the horizon,” she says.

Rare Bird Artful Adornments can be viewed at www.rarebirdjewelry.com, and will be exhibited at the ArtHaus Holiday Art Fair in Decorah on December 11 and 12.

By Jim McCaffrey

 If you are fortunate enough to live in Northeast Iowa as my wife, Brenda, and I do, then you have had the wonderful opportunity to experience the changing of seasons from summer into fall. An explosive collage of color descends upon the area as the flora metamorphoses from the greens of the past six months into its final hurrah before the harsh reality of winter arrives. Brilliant shades of red, orange, and yellow merge into a kaleidoscope of panoramic splendor. Nature provides a unique setting of which one should take full advantage. So instead of being a horizontal couch slouch, unglue your hand from the remote, and spend a little quality time with your loved ones in the great outdoors. Leave the drone of ESPN behind, participate in one or all of the following activities, have some darn good fun, and then, we’ll do lunch.

The old saying, “The best things in life are free” is certainly applicable to Decorah and the surrounding area. There are miles of trails in its great parks. Hiking one of these numerous paths can be an exhilarating experience. It is also great exercise. Be sure to wear good shoes. High heels and flip flops can be disasters in the waiting; there are lots of ups and downs. A few years back, Brenda and I traversed these trails extensively as we trained to hike in and out of the Grand Canyon in one day. Ok, we were idiots, but our training trails definitely built the leg muscles we needed to accomplish that feat. The added bonus of hiking is just to be out in the woods enjoying nature. Breathe it all in. For me, a heightened awareness of my surroundings occurs when I’m out of my normal environment an in someone or something else’s. The solitude of the woods accompanied by the occasional bird twitter, a couple of squirrels chasing each other, a bright leaf or two falling, or a pair of red tailed hawks in search of a tasty mouse for their noon meal certainly tunes into one’s mind that we are just a miniscule drop in the pool of life. Actually, kind of humbling when you sit down and think about it.

Another great but lesser utilized outdoor activity readily available in Northeast Iowa is fossil hunting. The entire family can, pretty much, participate. My grandsons, who are five and six, just love to go. They have a big advantage over grandpa. Hey, they are short, sharp eyed, and quick to the find. Ah, youth! I started out as a child myself. The innocence and wonder of discovery still remains with me. Well, maybe not the innocence. Ok, I digress. Dry creek beds full of broken limestone are an ideal place to get started. Bring some sacks along to put your millions-of-years-old treasures in and wear “GOOD SHOES.” Move slowly scanning the rocks at your feet. Not only will you find fossils but lots of other interesting items. The last time I went was with my grandson, August. His bag contained some pretty important stuff. A few fossils, some pretty rocks, a lot of acorns, several abandoned snail shells, and a couple of fuzzy caterpillars to take home to mom and dad to put in jars with grass for the winter. Butterflies in the making. That plan was quashed, however, when we returned home only to find the crafty little rascals had made their escape. Other great places to find fossils are the sand and rock bars aligning both sides of the Upper Iowa River. With each new flood these rocks are turned over revealing a host of new finds. These areas are also great places to teach the young ones the art of skipping stones. Knowledge like this is always extremely handy.

My last favorite fall activity is hunting late-season mushrooms. This, of course, can be incorporated into the previous two forays. It can be a little dicey as well, so if you are not sure of a mushroom’s edibility, ask someone who does or just throw it away to avoid any problems. One of the easiest fall mushrooms to identify are giant puffballs. They are found growing on the ground in meadows and forests. They are round and I have found ones the size of a basketball that weighed up to 25 pounds. Make sure you only pick ones that look freshly white and are solid throughout when cut open. They have a wonderful earthy flavor. Cut them into steaks and sauté in butter and minced garlic. Heaven! Chicken in the Woods is another great fall mushroom in this area. You can find them mostly growing on dying or dead oak trees. They will be growing on the side of the tree about three feet up or so. They are bright yellow with maybe a little orange. They can get pretty large as well. 15 to 20 pounds is not unusual. Do not rip them off of the tree. Just cut close to the bark so it grows again the next year. A third option is found on Box Elder trees. These mushrooms grow in knotholes or tree injuries. They are known as elm mushrooms. Very edible and delightful. They look like common white field mushrooms and are a little milder. Sometimes they are higher up than you can reach, so you can work on your tree climbing skills as well.

As long as you are out and about separated from the idiot box, you might want to check the local farmers’ market too. Pick up some great fresh produce, use it in the following recipe, and grab a loaf of newly baked bread to accompany the meal as well. Whew! All this exercise has worn me out. I wonder if the Hawkeye game is being televised.

Jim McCaffrey is a chef, author, and co-owner with his family of McCaffrey’s Dolce Vita restaurant and Twin Springs Bakery just outside Decorah. He is author of a humorous cookbook titled “Midwest Cornfusion.” He has been in the food industry in one way or another for 40 years. Email him at mcdolcevita@gmail.com or visit mcdolcevita.com.

Mushroom Turkey Kabobs and Darlene’s Golden Rice

Mushroom Turkey Kabobs

2 lbs. fall mushrooms
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 lbs. boneless turkey breast
1 T. sesame seed oil
4 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 cup orange juice
6 T balsamic vinegar
2 large onions, cut into 1/8’s
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 green peppers, cut 1“X1”
3 T. minced fresh chives ½ lb. cherry tomatoes

Cut mushrooms and turkey into bite sized pieces. In a large bowl mix Worcestershire, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, chives, garlic, sesame seed oil, and orange juice for a marinade. Add mushrooms and turkey. Cover and chill 2-3 hours. Preheat BBQ grill. Have 12 metal or presoaked wooden skewers on hand. Thread with a piece of mushroom, turkey, onion, green pepper, and tomato. Twice for each skewer. Grill, turning skewers often, until turkey is cooked completely through. Serve with Darlene’s rice.

Darlene’s Rice

3 cups chicken broth
½ tsp. turmeric
1 ½ cups rice
1 ½ T. soy sauce
½ tsp curry powder
1/2 cup golden raisins 

Mix all dry ingredients in a large heavy duty pot. Add broth. Bring to a boil. Cover with tight fitting lid. Simmer for 20 minutes. Serve it up! Delicious!

By Benji Nichols

 Many people in the upper Midwest can recognize the unique wood cut prints of Decorah artist Carl Homstad – and perhaps even more have seen some of his 40 plus murals on the sides of buildings from Osceola to Calmar. But as this successful local artist can attest, the artist’s path is not usually one of riches and fame, but of honest hard work and creativity – both on the canvas, and off the beaten trail.

It was in the late 1960s that Carl Homstad traveled from Denver, Colorado to Northeast Iowa on a visit to Luther College, the very school where his parents had met decades earlier. But it wasn’t exactly an introduction to Decorah’s institute of higher learning that sold him on later returning to Luther as a student. “I came out for my sister’s graduation, and instead of going to the ceremony, I floated down the river in a canoe – that was pretty much it,” he says. “Denver was a thousand miles away, and that seemed about right.”

Of course it didn’t seem to hurt that the counterculture of the late 1960s was also alive and well at Luther when Homstad showed up that perfect spring day, but he also sites a noticeable crop of both teachers and students, particularly in the arts, that helped lure him to Decorah. Amongst the most notable art educators at Luther during that time were Orville Running and Dean Schwartz – both instrumental in getting an Art Major recognized at the College just a decade earlier – and the young, new educator Doug Eckheart.

Homstad spent much time honing his skills both with his mentors at Luther and also studying abroad. A year with the Institute of European Studies included a class on mural painting in Vienna, amongst many other opportunities. Upon returning to the US and finishing his degree at Luther, Homstad found interesting opportunities close to home. The Iowa Arts Council, led by Nan Stillians, was in its hay day with Touring Art Team projects. It was within this program that Homstad began to shape his style and ideas for recreating the Iowa landscapes and scenes that he is now well known for.

The Touring Art Teams of the progressively led Iowa Arts Council of the 1970s read like a who’s-who of now well-known Midwestern artists. Each summer, a team of eight to10 Iowa artists would visit 20 towns that had less than 1500 people. The first day in a new town they would show off their crafts and skills for the residents to see, and on the second day they would teach classes and then have them present their own show that night – and Homstad says the creativity that came out of these rural Iowa communities was a revelation

“What it really did was showed that art was for everyone – and people really noticed. It was amazing some of the talent that we found – competing kitchen bands from neighboring towns, incredible painters, musicians…” he says, trailing off.

It was also during this time that Homstad began working through President Carter’s Comprehensive Employment Training Act (CETA) program. “The town of Jefferson, Iowa wanted a mural, and through the channels I was picked as the person to do it – even though I hadn’t actually done a large scale outdoor mural! It was one of, if not the biggest, murals I have ever done. I had taken a class – a study really – on murals in Vienna and knew how to do it, but hadn’t actually done one – so it was my first outdoor landscape mural. I’ve learned a lot since then…”

The humble artist now has an impressive collective body of mural-works across the upper Midwest that is really nothing short of a legacy. Most of the works are commissioned scenes of historical landscapes or locations and Homstad enjoys explaining the almost Zen process of designing, implementing, and creating the murals. “I always tell people that murals, just like house paint, are not permanent. They have to be worked on every few years if you want to keep them – otherwise the scenes just fade back into time,” he says.

As Homstad continued to mature as an artist he found that his studio in Northeast Iowa offered him an life that he was short to find anywhere else. The natural beauty and changing seasons provided not only a lot of fun outdoor activities, but also a vast array of scenes to call up in his woodcuts. “It was Orville Running who showed me that the woodcut prints could be a decent way to make a living – as even though they take some time to create, as an artist you can then print many of them and have them in various galleries all at once – versus having one painting in one place at a time.”

The process that goes into Homstad’s woodcut prints is beautifully laid out in a series of photos on his website, www.carlart.com. Generally four different plates are carved of the same scene depicting different reliefs that are then inked by hand and printed in sequence. “It’s kind of like making a picture into a jigsaw puzzle, drawing it, cutting it up into pieces, and then putting them back together,” says Homstad of the tedious printing process. “It’s not really drudgery though – it’s interesting work.”

Through his art, Homstad has drawn from his past and yet pushed forward in his style and mediums. He says he had noticed a change in his compositions over the last decade from having symmetry to now following a more organic, flowing shape and utilizing empty space. “The hardest thing is to be simple – I’ve been creating art for the better part of 50 years and learning the whole way,” he says. “But now I sort of have to un-learn a lot of those things to find the space and simplicity.”

 Much of this he attributes to his travels and study of Chinese and Japanese woodcuts as well as ink wash painting. Homstad has also found himself at a place in life where he has rediscovered other mediums. It was an invitation by good friend Mike Noonan of Unified Jazz Ensemble fame that brought him back to oil painting.

“Mike invited me out to see a Winslow Homer retrospective in DC –he is one of my favorite artists. While I was there I realized that Winslow didn’t really start oil painting until he was 45, and I thought, I’m 45, I could still do this! I mean, trying to make a living as an oil painter is like being a quarterback in the NFL – it’s out there, but it’s pretty hard to do. Luckily because of some of my other artwork I am now afforded the chance to come back to painting.”

Taking shape from many events in Homstad’s life, his oil paintings share stories from rail riding across the west as a young man, to serene and mature landscapes of Japan, the Midwest, and many points between. It is within these landscapes that Homstad confesses his true goal in his artistic life, with only a slight grin on his wild and honest face, “What I’m ultimately working toward is a zen painting of a corn field.”

Benji Nichols has a not-so-secret passion for collecting woodcut prints of local artists, and believes we are incredibly luck to have a great history of such art here in NE Iowa. Check out this issue’s Probituary on Orville Running, the man responsible for teaching decades of young artists how to create beautiful works of art.

Carl Homstad’s oil paintings will be featured at the Perfect Edge in Decorah throughout the month of November. His rural Decorah studio is open by appointment and will also be featured on the Northeast Iowa Studio Tour October 9-11, 2009. Visit www.carlart.com for more information about the artist, as well as world of famous hermit and social commentator Art Kuntsler.

By Aryn Henning Nichols

Ashley Dull’s enthusiasm is infectious. She bustles through the door of a downtown Decorah coffee shop with arms full of paintings, at least one still mildly wet. We hug – I’ve known Ashley since she was seven and her sister and I were best friends in the fourth grade – and we both speak at once.

“I haven’t seen you since that time we talked about changing the world,” I say.

She laughs, “I’m still trying to change the world…somehow.”

This earnest mission is at the root of what inspires Ashley in her art. She’s not jaded. And there isn’t supposed to be a “yet” on the end of that sentence. Maybe she’s naïve. But who cares? She’s definitely not cocky, especially for a 26-year-old who is actually making a living at art in the Twin Cities, a place loaded with talented artists and creative folk. No, Ashley is willing to admit she’s got a lot to learn

“I’m still trying to figure out this world – I don’t know enough about anything, really,” she says humbly.

She does know a thing or two around a canvas. If it weren’t for the amazing texture created by the carefully molded piles of still-wet paint, her nature-inspired pieces could be photos. Really dimensional photos, almost like you could walk right in.

“I want people to say, ‘I wanna touch that. I wanna be there,’” she says. “I will be out walking in the woods, touching everything, enjoying the peace that nature brings – I want to put that in my paintings. I want to make people feel good.”

Ashley’s upbringing on a small farm in between Postville and Decorah was full of the big skies, beautiful trees, and picturesque landscapes of the Driftless Region. A walk in the woods could inspire as many as three-dozen future paintings. Perhaps this is where the passion she’s had for art “since forever” began.

Nurtured by teachers with good foresight – Postville High School’s Rose Schutte and Luther College’s Doug Eckheart being two major mentors – Ashley took the encouragement they gave her, “You really have something here,” and ran with it. She graduated from Luther College in 2005 with a double major in health and art. And like many recent graduates, she wasn’t sure what was next.

“I thought, ‘What am I doing? Where am I going?’” she says. “But I did feel that it was possible to really do it, to be an artist.”

It certainly wasn’t a straight shot to galleries and commissions from there though. She moved to the Twin Cities to work as a personal trainer, painting in her free time. In 2007 she finally applied for her first art fair in Edina. And got in. During that show Ashley met her now “art agent” Jack McCauley. McCauley helped her put together her first gallery show in Roseville and it was a huge success. This was the affirmation Ashley needed to paint more, train less. McCauley continues to represent her work today.

Her pieces have since been shown in seven galleries – along with four shows in the next two months alone – and she landed a lengthy internship with nationally known Twin Cities artist Pamela Sukhum. Now, just two short years since Ashley’s first show, she’s armed with a wealth of new skills and information for her life both as an artist and as a self-employed business owner.

“It is still a business, and I need to make money,” Ashley says. “If art takes me there, then okay.”

She has learned it’s a lot of paperwork. And marketing. And networking. And while it’s fun to envision a future of grandeur, she’s not expecting it – perhaps doesn’t even want it.

“You know, I think it crossed my mind what I was younger, ‘Maybe I want to be this famous artist,’ but now – I could care less about fame. I want to bring peace and beauty to people’s lives,” she says, earnest once again.

She also wants to bring hope to people’s lives, and attempts this through a “giving back promise.” Ashley donates a small percentage of sales at her shows to an organization she’d like to support. The exhibits in the Twin Cities have been tied with non-profit organizations mainly dedicated to helping at-risk youth. For her Decorah show, running from October 1 through 31at The Perfect Edge on Washington Street, Ashley has, we’re humbled to say, chosen Inspire(d) Media as the organization she’d like to support.

“I believe in what you’re doing and want to help if I can,” Ashley writes in an email after informing us of her choice. She’s also really excited to have her paintings in the town of her alma mater.

“I always hoped – and sort of knew – I’d do a Decorah show,” she says. “So many of my paintings are Decorah landscapes.”

In addition to the giving back promise, Ashley has a few other traditions tied to her work: She always picks a theme – the current show is entitled “From Darkness to Light,” inspired by the prayer of St. Francis ­– and she always hides a bible verse somewhere in each painting. Don’t get worked up – she isn’t really a beater of said bible – she just relates many of the verses to her experiences in nature: feelings of calm, peace, love, joy, beauty, change, and new life. It’s by translating these experiences to her paintings that she plans to change the world.

“If I can help someone feel a connection to the world around us and a sense of purpose in this life,” she writes, “then I know I have done right by my talent.”

Aryn Henning Nichols truly believes you can change the world with passion (the good kind) and positive actions. When she was 21, she said this to someone and they told her she’d just wasn’t jaded yet. It’s been a happy seven years in the so-called land of bunnies and unicorns. She’s not planning on leaving any time soon.

For more information and to check out some of Ashley’s art, visit artbyashleydull.com or stop by The Perfect Edge on Washington Street in Decorah from October 1 through 31.

Join us for an artist reception / Inspire(d) birthday party!

Help Ashley and Inspire(d) change the world – come to an artist reception October 16 at The Perfect Edge on Washington Street in downtown Decorah. Inspire(d) is TWO years old and we couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate than with other people who are trying to make a difference. And if you’re not sold yet: they’re will be free food and drinks too!

Ashley’s Upcoming Artist Receptions

 October 11 Pax Christie Church, Eden Prairie, Minnesota 10 am –12:30 pm
 October 16 The Perfect Edge, Decorah, Iowa, 5:30 – 8 pm (show running Oct.1 – 31)
 November 14  Kelley Frame & Fine Art Galleries, Hudson, Wisconsin
 November 20 Kelley Frame & Fine Art Galleries, Woodbury, Minnesota, time TBA