friends

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Take Me to Marine!

Artist Mary Jo Van Dell will open open her amazing studio space to host a group show mixing wood, textile, metal, clay and glass works by area artists with her award-winning landscape paintings.

Al is honored to be included with Don Gahr, Tim Harding, Asa Hoyt and Connor Isenberg.

The studio is located above the historic Marine General Store,
at 101 Judd Street, Marine on Saint Croix MN
and will be open
September 15, 10am-8pm, with an artists’ gathering & live music from 5-8pm
September 16-18, 10am-5pm

The exhibition is part of Take Me to the River 2022, a program of ArtReach St. Croix in partnership regional art fairs & festivals. The curated collection of events celebrates “Art at Every Bend in the River” over the course of four weekends in September and October.

Find more information at maryjovandell.com & artreachstcroix.org

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up to the Lake

Congratulations! to Lake Superior Art Glass, celebrating 10 years in Duluth from their fantastic Canal Park venue. In early April, Al had the honor of kicking off their slate of guest artist demonstrations, making his signature splash vase – pictured here – as well as a large platter, captured start-to-finish on video, HERE.

Demos continue through May 20, culminating in an auction & events by the lake May 21. Find the details at lakesuperiorartglass.com

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lunch break with The Landscaper’s Daughter

For cues to spots worth a visit around Chisago Lakes & western Wisconsin, we follow The Landscaper’s Daughter. We flagged her down for a visit to Al’s in Center City, caught up over lunch from Al’s Saloon and Alyssa turned her camera on the glass at Al’s Showroom. We love her point of view! Read her take HERE and find more about her work HERE

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on the radio

When Mumblin’ Drew played Al’s Saloon for the first time in March 2020, it was also the last live music at the bar before pandemic lockdown days later. We got acquainted over corned beef and uncertainty.

Recently, Al enjoyed catching up with Drew Temperante at FOCI-Minnesota Center for Glass Arts in Minneapolis, where Drew recorded this audio profile for the MinneCulture series on KFAI 90.3 FM, Twin Cities. The piece captures the sound of studio action, and Al’s thoughts on fundamentals, collaboration and working solo.

Listen here: MinneCulture | The Art Of Defying Gravity

KFAI.org

MinneCulture on KFAI is supported by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund

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Erin’s art at Al’s

Since we first saw Erin Goedtel’s elegant and mighty canvases a few years back, we’ve hoped to someday show them with Al’s sculptural glass. Erin’s paintings and Al’s glass share a sense of generous scale and brave style.

When time came to fit out the biggest white wall at Al’s new Center City showroom, Erin was the first call. Over summer, we’ve been getting to know two large canvases from this art professor, caricaturist and all around art adventurer.

Both are works in oil and acrylic from Erin’s High Horse series. They are rich in detail, with complex imagery that evokes ceremony, competition, memory, but also offers pure enjoyment in color and movement.

Barrel Racers is on loan, while Full Rein is ready and waiting to be installed in the right venue.

Through August, a visit with these paintings is another great reason to stop in at

Alan Honn Glass.
320 Summit Avenue, Center City MN

FRIDAYS & SATURDAYS, noon-6pm; by appointment, alanhonnglass@gmail.com

Erin on the High Horse Series:

“I play with and exploit American female cultural stereotypes in my work, such as the Midwestern cowgirl, and the pageant queen. One seems more natural or “authentic”, while the other artificial and manufactured. The tension that is created from overlaying these types of characters mimics an inner struggle for feminine identity.”

Read more at eringoedtel.com

About the artist:

Erin Goedtel is a multidisciplinary artist and educator. She has a 
BFA in Painting in from the University of Wisconsin Stout (2003)
and an MFA from Indiana University (2011).  After college she has 
continued to work as a creative professional in the arts, music, and
feature film industry, creating work for clients that include Prince, 
Elton John, The Coen Brothers, and Miranda Lambert.  In the
past ten years she has served as Gallery Director at Gallery 120 at
Inver Hills Community College, and taught art and design courses
at Inver Hills, the Perpich Center for Arts Education, and Winona
State University. Currently, she teaches painting and drawing at
the University of Wisconsin Stout.  

Find more information about Erin’s work at eringoedtel.com

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get by water

A true water sign, Al heads for rivers, lakes and oceans to find rest and refreshment.
This lifelong practice shows up in his glass work, especially in recent large forms.
A trio of River Pools, for example, formed the centerpiece of a solo exhibition.
Splash and Sound Wave garnered top awards in group shows.

It’s poetic that Al was commissioned to help create a baptismal font for use at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Minneapolis.

To realize their vision of a simple basin evoking water, Al crafted a glass model for approval. The scale of the liturgical space determined that the finished basin should be an expansive two feet across.

Minnesota sculptor John Sterner is commissioned to create a metal base to complete the work.

Although he typically works solo to realize his designs, the challenging size of this piece offered Al the opportunity to assemble a team of skilled and trusted glass artists for the task.

Big thanks are due to Todd Cameron, Derek Hostetler and Ty Pratumwon, along with Emily McBride, Tom Maras and Isaac Theobald, who gathered one summer evening at Minnesota Center for Glass Arts to get the job done! Finished size: 24″ wide and 10″ deep. Mackenzie Serwa took the fantastic in-studio images.

The finished basin: