Now showing at the Lake Region Art Center - corner of 4th and 4th in the former Glickson’s Store - the art of Morgan Wagner, Watford City, ND.
Her paintings are still lifes in water color on paper and acrylic on canvas. Of her work the artist, Morgan Wagner, says, “My work focuses on the essence of what makes everyday subjects beautiful. I strive to create an impression of light and form, simplifying shapes and distilling subjects down to their most important parts.”
Wagner continues describing this show titled Celebrating the Essence, “I painted these still lifes in my apartment while listening to music or podcasts, typically in my kitchen. The landscapes were painted on-site, plein air (outdoors). All paintings were made directly from life, not from a picture, in hopes of training my eyes to see the world around me with more clarity. The bulk of this work was created in the spring of 2022.”
The Lake Region Arts Center is truly a dream coming true as it evolves, according to Lisa Crosby who is director of the Lake Region Heritage Center and oversees the Lake Region Art Center. It has been a particular dream of hers to see the city of Devils Lake have a place where art is the focus. And they’ve only just begun.
As a member of the ND Gallery Association, the Lake Region Art Center’s main focus is awareness of original art and artists. Crosby explained sometimes that means educating the public about what is and what is not original art.
The Lake Region Arts Center is a community space to display and sell local and regional, original art. Like their first show of Marily Niewoehner’s “Adorit Enchantment” exhibition held in January.
Most of the art on display is for sale, LRAC retains 15% of cost, a percentage goes to ND Gallery Association and the remainder goes to the artist. You don’t have to be in the market to buy, however, to enjoy the displays. An appreciation and understanding of art can be a life changing experience.
Coming soon there are planned classes for adults and classes for children. Summer programming for school age children and workshops for teens and adults are their first priorities for the first year. Crosby adds that scholarships will be made available to help with the cost of these classes where needed.
June 15th will be the Grand Opening of the LAke Region Arts Center, coinciding with the 4th Annual Artfest.
The featured artist for March will be Bob Christie.
At the Lake Region Arts Center you may meet their chief volunteer, Warren Parsons who is also a Photographer/Artist.
Amber Fletschock, Artist is Curator and Exhibition Designer. She is originally from Devils Lake and is a working artist living in Fargo. She will be working remotely in the winter months and teaching in the summer months. The gallery will be completely volunteer operated, hours of operation will build as the volunteer base builds.
As the months unfold, the gallery space will change, evolving with the needs of each artist and display. All of this is thanks to the Arts Council of the Lake Region, Arts Midwest and the North Dakota Council of the Arts who have provided grants And Crosby acknowledges the generocity of the Devils Lake Chamber and Tourism Office, the City of Devils Lake and Mayor Jim Moe and Metro Plains that owns the building at 4th and 4th.
The Lake Region Art Center logo is coming out soon, at the printer even as we speak. For the time being it is open Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays thanks to volunteers. Crosby concludes,“We couldn’t do this without community support.”
