1. Mr. Steven Grubish

     Steve was born and raised in Owatonna.  His family includes his wife of 10 years, Samona and his two children, Patrick, age 9 and Sean, age 8. 
     Steve is an OHS graduate who attended the University of Minnesota.  Steve is an Area Sales Manager for the Wenger Corporation.  He has served in this position for the past 3+ years.  His territory includes the states of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.
     He is currently finishing his term on the Wee Pals Board of Directors and is also currently serving a term on the Sacred Heart-St. Joseph’s Religious Education Program Board.
         Steve enjoys golfing, sports, reading and camping in his leisure time.

2. Mr. Bill Foreman

     Bill was born and raised in Missouri and moved to Owatonna in 1967.  His family includes his wife Sarah and two children, Will, who lives in Wisconsin and Pam, who lives in Alaska.  They also have two grandchildren in Wisconsin, Shane and Dana, who they are very proud of.
     Bill worked for Federated Insurance for 30+ years as an underwriter and Vice President of Property and Casualty Underwriting.  He retired from Federated in 1994.
     Bill’s interest in the arts can be attested to by his work with LTO where he has been the house manager for many years and is also a long-time member of the Arts Center.
     In his spare time, Bill enjoys reading, traveling, golfing, driving the van for Real Life, and serving as chef at the summer grill.
     Bill looks forward to working with the Arts Board and admits he has a lot to learn but is a willing learner.

3.  Ms. Sheila Meixner

Sheila is an Owatonna High School graduate with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Marketing and Spanish.   She also holds a Masters Degree in International Business from the University of St. Thomas.
Sheila has been employed at Viracon for almost eight years, currently working as an internal business consultant with the title of 6 Sigma Champion.
Sheila is a local hobby artist with does pastel drawings and paints in oils and acrylics.   

 

      The 2002 McKnight Fellowship recipients Maren Kloppmann (Minneapolis) and Keisuke Mizuno (St. Cloud) will exhibit new work in this seven person show, along with 2001 Residency Grant recipients Vineet Kacker (New Delhi, India), Patrick Taddy (Vancouver, British Columbia), Janet Williams (Marquette, Nebraska) and 2002 recipients Tom Towater (Lincoln, Nebraska) and Sandra Westley (Ann Arbor, Michigan).  All seven artists have received extensive recognition for their functional and sculptural work.
    Maren Kloppmann’s work has appeared in both national and international exhibitions and in several publications, including “Ceramics Art and Perception”, “Ceramics Monthly”, “American Craft” and “Clay Times”.  Kloppman’ s work is inspired by concepts of containment and space.  Her forms often suggest the idea of containment, but do not rely on the promise of function.  Her soda-fired porcelain forms are created by throwing, altering, coil and slab building, and are decorated with a variety of terra sigillatas and glazes.
    Keisuke Mizuno’s work has been exhibited in galleries throughout the states.  His work was also included in the traveling “Ceramic National 2000 exhibition, which was organized by the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, New York. Mizuno’s delicate handbuilt porcelain sculptures are decorated with a variety of colorful glazes, creating lush surfaces.  These intricately formed sculptures depict images from nature, typically flowers and fruit.  His recent work communicates the many stages of life, from birth to death to decay.
    Vineet Kacker’s work has been included in several international exhibitions, publications and national public commissions.  A lot of his focus is on the sculptural aspects in wheel-thrown and handbuilt work, while examining issues of surface, scale and series.
    Patrick Taddy’s work has also been included in several international, national and regional exhibitions. In his work, he uses machinery as a reference to create elaborate handbuilt industrialized teapots.  He used molded parts cast from found metal objects such as pipes and gears to create his forms.
    Tom Towater has exhibited his work throughout the Midwest and has several pieces in permanent collections.  He hand builds abstract forms in white earthenware with lush surfaces, which suggest body organs, bones and archaeological artifacts.  His primary interest is form.  Objects that he creates are non-functional ceramic vessels and are intended to discuss the relationships between: ceramics and sculpture, craft and concept, male and female, sensuality and repulsion, and the object and the observer.
    Sandra Westley’s work has been featured in numerous regional and national exhibitions.  She creates installations using repetitious fragments that refer to the human body; these assembled elements become part of non-linear narratives.  She states: “While I have no interest in translating a specific message, I am interested in narratives that engage our intellects as well as our emotions.”
    Janet Williams has been featured in several international, national and regional exhibitions and publications.  She is drawn to the elemental and transformative nature of clay and its ability to retain impressions after being fired.
 

  Insty Prints has awarded the Arts Center a grant for $600 in printing services.       
     These funds will be used to have a fresh, new, color pamphlet created to help others learn about the Arts Center and its programs.
     Liz Sundet is working on the design and layout for this new pamphlet.
     Thank you Insty Prints!

  The holidays at the Center are a  unique time of year in so many ways. The Christmas show develops in its own way and takes on a life of its own.
     If you would like to be a part of the planning and decorating this year, or if you have a collection to share, please let Silvan know by giving him a call at the Arts Center-451-0533.

  The Center is a very busy place.  You have the opportunity to become involved by joining the Friends Committee. This committee and its volunteers assist at various programs and events.  Member’s help and ideas keep the Center energized and running smoothly.
     We welcome you to meet with us at OAC on Thursday, September 11th at 1:00 p.m.  Bring a friend!

  Autumn is a beautiful time of year with warm golden afternoons, perfect for a musical interlude at the Arts Center.  On Sunday, September 7th, the date is set for a concert with Dr. David Carter on the cello, and Kent McWilliams on the piano.  Both of these gentlemen are from St. Olaf College in Northfield.  The program will include the Muczynski Sonata for Cello and Piano and works by J.S. Bach and Grieg.   
Prior to coming to St. Olaf, David Carter was an instructor of cello at Wichita State University and the principal cellist of the Wichita Symphony.  He has performed as soloist with the Minnesota Orchestra under director Neville Mariner, at the Wichita Symphony, the Pueblo Symphony and with many other ensembles.  Though legally blind as a result of the retinal disease, choroideremia, Dr. Carter maintains an active teaching and performing schedule.
Kent McWilliams lived in Poland for a year where he studied with Andrzej Jasinski and researched the Polish folk elements in Chopin’s mazurkas and polonaises.  He has studied in Germany, where he earned an Artist Diploma with highest distinctions, under pianist Oleg Maisenberg at the Stuttgart Musik-hochschule.  Mr. McWilliams has enjoyed a successful career having performed in over a dozen countries and has been a winner of many competitions.  

This program is made possible in part with funds from the Sally P. Oswald Fund.

  On this Sunday afternoon, Claudia Schmidt will be performing at the Arts Center.  Tickets for this concert will be $12.00 for OAC members and those purchased in advance.  All tickets purchased at the door will be $15.00.
Owatonna’s own, the Tuition Daddies will start the afternoon off with their music which has been described as jazz fusion and popular.  The Tuition Daddies are composed of Dave Williams, Dave Strand, Bruce Bernhart and Lisa Purvis.
Claudia, the “Creative Noisemaker” as she calls herself, says that she has irritated some critics; while the audiences of Ms. Schmidt are most often delighted!  They have learned to expect anything from her concerts—hymns, poetry, bawdy verse, torch songs, satire and the gamut of emotions.  Claudia’s live performances are not to be missed.

    In the tradition of your favorite girl groups, the Hot Potatoes sing it and swing it through five decades of pop music.  You’ll enjoy your sentimental journey from the ‘30’s through the ‘70’s, including such hits as “Choo-Choo Cha Boogie”, “Catch a Falling Star”, and “The Shoop-Shoop Song”.
    Four women create a vocal blend that’s easy to enjoy and hard to forget.  Their arrangements are finished to perfection with the sensational improvisations of Deb Schreiner-Brecht at the piano.  The Spuds will bring along their favorite men, too…From “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” to “Johnny Angel”, you’ll get to know them all.
    Tap your toes and doo-wop along with the music—you just can’t help yourself when the Hot Potatoes get started.  And we know it’s a great night when dancing breaks out in the aisles.  Light-hearted humor keeps Potato audiences grinning between numbers, so the fun never stops!
    The Hot Potatoes are: Deb Schreiner-Brecht, Bev Cashman, Tammi Ferch, Cyndi Maas and Gail Thompson.
    Tickets will be $10.00 for OAC members and for those purchasing advance tickets.  At the door, the tickets will be $12.00.  Join us!
 

      The St. Olaf Faculty Trio will perform on Friday evening at the Owatonna Arts Center.  The flute, clarinet and piano program is sponsored by the Minnesota State University Performance Series through a grant from the NorAm/Minnegasco Foundation.  
    The Trio is composed of JoAnn Polley on clarinet, Kay Sahlin on the flute and Kent McWilliams at the piano.    The program will include works by Erwin Schulhoff, Martin Rokeach, and Carl Maria von Weber.
    Ms. Polley is Professor of Music at St. Olaf College where she teaches clarinet, coaches chamber music and conducts the St. Olaf Philharmonia, a 95 piece symphony orchestra.  She has performed with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Minnesota Opera Orchestra, the North Star Opera Orchestra and other orchestras and chamber ensembles in the Twin Cities area.  
    Ms. Sahlin is an Instructor in Music at St. Olaf College, also.  She served as Principal Flute with the St. Louis Philharmonic.  Currently, she is Principal Flute with the Philomusica Chamber Orchestra and the Rochester Orchestra.  She is also a member of the Minneapolis Pops Orchestra and serves as substitute/extra player with the Minnesota Orchestra.  
    (The biography on Mr. McWilliams is listed under the September 7th concert information.)

  For over one hundred years, the Thursday Musical has created and offered opportunities for classical musicians to share their love of  classical music with a receptive audience.
    This Thursday Musical concert will feature Paul and Helen Baumgartner playing four hand piano works by Schubert.

 

  What a wonderful way to welcome a guest when they know they can rest their feet and take some time to enjoy the company and ambience!  We would like you to consider purchasing a music hall chair or contributing to the cause.  The old chairs in the hall have served us well for twenty plus years and now new ones that are more comfortable are being requested by concert-goers.  The classic 40/4 chair is $80.00.  Please contact Silvan at the Arts Center if you can help us out.