Celebrating Women Artists: Selections from the MSU Collection
Gordon B. Olson Library, Lower Level

Curated by Michelle Borkhuis, Linda Olson, Cindy Finley Mintie, Erin Twomey and Mary Wager, MSU Art Department

Rosemary Lane
Rosemary Lane, MFA: Founder and Executive Director of "Luminare" an organization supporting future Wellness and Expressive Healing. She has established a national reputation as an artist, as well as a Professor of Art and Head of the Printmaking Department, at the University of Delaware for over 30 years. After early retirement she was invited as a delegate to the Global Peace Initiative for Women to build a bridge of peace between Iraq-US women in New York City in 2006. Rosemary’s bi-chromate prints became part of MSU’s Permanent Collection in 1985, and we are truly privileged to have her works of art here as she has had many National and International Exhibitions. One her last Exhibitions was called "What a Relief" at the Philadelphia Print Exhibition, in Philadelphia PA. Rosemary is now spending her time doing her art and coordinating the International Arts Network, a peace initiative organization committed to forwarding the arts to create a deeper understanding between diverse cultures.

Margo Kren
Margo Kren, MFA has spent most of her life right here in the Midwest, born in Texas and educated in Wisconsin and Iowa and is now a Professor Emerita of Art, Kansas State University, Manhattan Kansas. She has had exhibitions around the World and notably at the National Museum for Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C., also including in the following countries Germany, West Africa, Australia and China. Margo has had her work featured in several books, "Le Blues Braillant, Helicon Nine, Cut Bank, New Letters, Tight Rope and Stiletto. She is actively involved in promoting the arts on a statewide level as well as receiving the distinguished Graduate Faculty Members Award and the Governor’s Art Award of Kansas in 1989. Margo also was awarded The Artist Fellowship Award in 2000. Margo continues to participate in Exhibitions and was even asked to teach the Spring Semester at Jilin College of Art in Changchun, China 2005. We are truly fortunate to have Margo Kern’s art as part of our MSU permanent collection.

Judith Jaidinger Szesko
"I do not think about my art in literal terms. For me, art in general and wood engraving in particular, have always been a visual, sensual and emotional experience. Art is a stabilizing and organizing force in my life. It is a refuge from the day-to-day requirements of making a living, and from the turmoil we are exposed to in the world around us. The simple contrast of black and white echoes the contrast between the order and control the artist exercises over his work and the disorder in the outside world."

Judith Jaidinger Szesko is a very relevant artist to be included in this exhibit because she recognizes the mind/body connection, and how important it is to express one’s own creativity for a balanced life.

Jackie McElroy - Edwards
Artist’s Statement: "My work, I've come to realize, is about place. When forced to look back at the whole collection of pieces created over 25 years, I came to the realization that I am indeed a "regionalist" with a small "r." I work in series. That is, many of my prints contain similar images. It's a matter of seeing things from several points of view. If an "elevator" print works, there must be other ways to play with the same notion. More than 30 prints done between 1973 and 1980 were elevator images.

Besides elevators, over the years I have played with drains, rainbows, hot air balloons, and, now, ships. Many of these things have nothing directly to do with the Red River Valley, especially ships, but by juxtaposition of these unrelated elements with this improbable landscape, I hope to stimulate thought and response. Eastern North Dakota is not an "easy" landscape. I hope that my fantasy landscapes help viewers invest time in appreciating the subtle beauty of the open plains, the dazzling skies and color schemes. To do so is certainly rewarding. Most things worth doing take some effort."

Jacki McElroy-Edwards is important to this exhibit because she combines the familiar North Dakota plains with interesting objects. This forces the viewer to look at a typically "un-exciting" landscape in an entirely new way.

Denise Lisiecki
Denise Lisiecki was born in Cleveland, Ohio. She then attended Miami University as a psychology/pre-med major, but switched to painting with a minor in English Literature. After receiving a BFA Degree in painting at Miami University, she spent a semester of graduate school at the University of North Dakota before going on to receive her M.A. from State University New York at Oswego. As a professional artist, galleries in many regions of the United States have represented Lisiecki. In addition, Lisiecki’s work has been reproduced in art magazines, catalogues and books. Currently, Ms. Lisiecki teaches painting, and is Director of the Art School at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts.

Denise Lisiecki is important to this exhibit because of her educational ties to North Dakota. As a talented and educated artist with multiple degrees, Lisiecki owes part of her road to achievement to the instruction received while attending UND.

Cornelia McSheehy
Cornelia McSheehy is an active artist teaching printmaking at Rhode Island School of Design, and she is currently a member of the Boston Print makers. Cornelia got her BA at Goddard collage for art education, she went on to get her BFA at Massachusetts College of Art, and then she went on to The State University of New York, Albany.

She has two colorful prints belonging to the Minot State University permanent Collection. Not only are they colorful they are fun, whimsical and overtly sexual in nature, while empowering women at the same time. She has paved the way for many emerging female artists that came after her. Cornelia has had her art in over fifty art shows and her prints sell in the market range of $500.00 each. She is a wonderful role model for women to go forward and put them selves out for all to see.

Brooke Cameron
Brooke Cameron has taught printmaking and drawing for over 40 years at Missouri University. She is quoted as saying " I hope that my work is authentic, that it springs from who I am and what I think and not outside influences." She does her work for her not whether they get into shows or not, but about half of her pieces end up in shows. The fact that she does her art for herself speaks volumes and should be a reminder to all women that if they do things that are pleasing to them they will most likely be pleasing to others. Cameron says her father gave her start in art by lowering the black board in the kitchen when she was a child. She spent a lot of time creating there as a child.

Barbara Elam Dimrock
Barbara Elam, MFA, is an assistant professor of printmaking and photography at Rockford College in Illinois. She received her MFA from East Texas State University, and many of her group exhibitions have been featured in the Los Angeles Printmaking Society, Rare Prints at the Fogg Art Museum of Harvard University, and American Printmakers at the Print Club in Philadelphia. She has also been a Visiting Artist at Boston University, University of Oregon, and Illinois State University, as well as a Bunting Fellow at Radcliff College. Her work is in the collections of the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, among others including the Permanent Collection at Minot State University. Barbara continues to be involved in the College and in exhibitions. She has her work displayed and sold throughout the nation as Barbara Elam and also Barbara Elam-Dimock. We are very fortunate to have this notable artist’s works as part of our Collection.

Grace Bentley-Scheck
"The philosopher, Gaston Bachelard, said that buildings reverberate through time. For many years, my works have dealt with architecture as space humans enclose which becomes dynamic via its passage through time. The process of building a collagraph plate layer by layer, much as time and exposure to the elements have created the subject, and the marks that result from the printing process provide an evocative medium through which structural changes, layers of painted advertising of graffiti, weathered surfaces, slight shifts in color, or play of light and shadow become visual symbols expressive of an intersection of time and space."

Grace Bentley-Scheck was born in Troy, New York, and she currently lives in Narragansett, Rhode Island. She received her BFA and MFA from State University of New York at Alfred University, completing her MFA in 1960. Her preferred medium is the collagraph, a process of both removing and adding to the plate or matrix. She is a member of SAGA (Society of American Graphic Artists), the Wickford Art Association, where she serves as the scholarship chair, and Florida Printmakers. Her art and work was covered in an article in American Artist Magazine in August of 1999. Grace Bentley-Scheck is important to the Women’s Exhibit because of her impressive background as a woman in the arts since the 1960's, and her numerous achievements as a professional female artist.

Charlotte Bender
Charlotte Bender received BFA and MFA degrees from the University of Arizona. She lives and works in the Tucson valley. Her work is in numerous public collections (Tucson Museum of Art, the University of Arizona, the Tucson Airport Authority, the City of Tucson, El Paso Museum of Art, Rutgers State University, the University of North Dakota, et al) and private collections. Corporate collections that feature her paintings include Bank One, Paine-Webber and Artisoft. Charlotte Bender is a relevant artist for the Women’s Exhibit because of her inclusion in the galleries of both Minot State University and the University of North Dakota. Additionally, Bender’s specialized education in painting, and high profile collections establish her as a worthy female artist.

Linda Whitney
Linda Whitney, MFA, is the chair of the art department at Valley City State University. An internationally recognized professional printmaker, Linda has produced several series of artworks. With numerous exhibitions and collections to her credit, Linda has been an artist in residence at Minot State University, and produced the monotype on display as a part of that workshop.

Teresa Tempero-Schmidt
Professor of Drawing, Kansas State University -B.A., M.A., Central Washington University -M.F.A., Washington State University

I love the extremes in life. High contrasting values, colors and rhythms best express my idea of the intenseness I feel. Above all, a working rhythm with media, using it with confidence allows for maximum connection to emotion. I love the humor of animation in drawing as well as the dark rich contrasts in Rembrandt's etchings. I love the energy of Susan Rothenberg’s brush and the naked humanism of Alice Neel. I strive for truth of form and content. Along with her impressive education credentials, Teresa Schmidt's enthusiasm for teaching art makes her relevant for inclusion in the Women's Exhibit.

Sheila Rieman
Born in Minnesota, Sheila Rieman grew up in rural North Dakota and studied art at North Dakota State University and with master pastelist Albert Handell. From 1980, she has been dedicated to that medium, although she works in other mediums as well. Rieman works in her studio, which is an early 1900s schoolhouse in Leonard, North Dakota.

Sheila has been a full-time artist since 1986, devoting her time to developing her works in pastel ever since leaving North Dakota State University in Fargo where she studied Art, Animal Science and Business. Sheila also studied with Master Pastel Artist Albert Handell of Sante Fe, New Mexico, and with painter Ned Jacob of Skowhegan, Maine. She was also one of sixteen artists invited to participate in the 2004 North Dakota State University "Women of the Plains" Exhibition. Sheila's work has been widely exhibited for over 25 years. She is the recipient of the 2002 Artist's Choice Award and the 1994 Tuffy Berg Award at the C.M. Russell Art auction, as well as having received numerous awards from pastel societies and juried exhibitions. She is a regular participant in the Buffalo Bill Art Auction and Quick Draw in Cody, Wyoming and has been an invited artist at the Coors National Western Art Show in Denver, Colorado. Rieman is a signature member of the Pastel Society of America, the American Academy of Women Artists, the Midwest Pastel Society, and the Pastel Society.

Sheila Reiman's continued support for Women Artists, along with her strong ties to North Dakota, makes her an important person to be included in the Women's Exhibit.