(woman) "Prairie Mosaic" is funded by-- the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4th, 2008; the North Dakota Council on the Arts, and by the members of Prairie Public.

Welcome to "Prairie Mosaic," a patchwork of stories about the art, culture, and history in our region.

Hi, I'm Barb Gravel.

And I'm Matt Olien.

On this edition of "Prairie Mosaic," we'll learn about the opera, meet an artist who loves color, and listen to a Minnesota musician who connects with his audience through pop music.

♪ When you're walkin' out the door ♪ The Alba Bales House at North Dakota State University once served as a training site for female Home Economics students.

While such training might seem antiquated in today's world, graduates look back fondly at their time in this historic house.

[piano plays in bright rhythm] It was like the real-life experience of some of the classes that we had taken, especially in management, planning, organizational skills, nutrition, because we cooked all our meals.

So a lot of it was to make sure that we scheduled things well, that we were organized, that we learned how to manage, work together as a team lots of times, So it was sort of that real-life experience of the classes we had taken up to that point.

(Susan Curtis) 5 to 8 students lived here at a time during one academic quarter in their senior year.

So it was during this time they were able to put into practice the theory and principles they were learning the classroom.

But those weeks were really regimented.

In addition to their regular classes, each student was required to assume a role in the running of the household.

They were responsible for the cooking, for the cleaning, budgeting, grocery shopping, laundry, hosting dinners, and entertaining guests.

They also provided demonstrations to Fargo homemakers and other students.

So for many of them, this could be a really stressful experience.

This was the first time they had done a lot of this.

But it also provided amazing opportunities for them to develop their skills in public speaking, preparing research, and for many of them, it was their first exposure to other cultures and to wider social issues.

For colleges to access federal funds, they had to provide an opportunity for students to have practical experience in a demonstration setting.

In 1917 NDSU did not have that available on the campus.

Alba Bales came to NDSU in 1920 as head of the School of Home Economics.

She immediately began advocating to build a home demonstration house.

She was very persuasive with the legislature.

It was through her efforts that the funds were appropriated for this house.

Ground was broken in October of 1922, and the first class of students lived here in the fall quarter of 1923.

Alba Bales oversaw the construction of the house.

She saw that it was fitted out with the most modern and up-to-date equipment to meet the needs of the home economics curriculum.

During her tenure here as Dean, Alba Bales championed home economics research, and she incorporated classes into the curriculum that focused on improving the health of children and running an efficient household.

She retired in 1942, and in 1954 the house was rededicated from the Home Demonstration House to the Alba Bales House to honor her leadership in getting this house built and the opportunities that this house provided to the students.

(Susan Curtis) There was a faculty member who lived in the house with the girls who enforced the rules, and also all of the activities the women did in this house as students, they were graded on.

Eleanor Vergin was her name, and she lived in the apartment up on the third floor, and she was known as very strict, but she liked our group really well because we seem to get along very well with her, and we had quite a time.

The most pressure was when we were the cook or the manager, when we had to manage everybody else, and when we had to cook the meals, and we had to plan the meals, and we had to have a budget that we had to work with.

We planned 3 meals a day.

That was the most pressure.

Once you got in the house, oh, nerves kind of started to come out because there were all these expectations, and then you were concerned about doing the right thing and, of course, getting a good grade.

Many of us came from farm families, and things were a little bit loose-knit maybe because life was very busy working with outside and inside and gardening, and this was a little different situation.

We had classwork too that we had to get our homework done and our reports done as well as the house management.

It was intense.

I can remember exactly scrubbing the bricks on the fireplace and the tile down below.

And if you would not use a clean washcloth in the right way, and you ended up with, say a gray from the fireplace, all of a sudden there was a little bit of gray on that clean washcloth, you had to start all over with a toothbrush!

Not only was it that the walls had to be perfectly clean, and the windows-- oh my goodness, there couldn't be a streak!

If there was a streak, then you had to go back, start all over.

(Donna Lewis) I do remember coming over here and having to compare like, vacuum cleaners.

We had to literally measure out X number of ounces of sand and grit it into a rug with our feet, then vacuum up that, then take out the bag and measure how much of that had come in in the vacuum cleaner.

(Pat Berglund) So now I am very careful about how I set the table.

I have company, and I do-- it's not just you throw a potluck on.

I do a really formal job of that.

It has to be in good stead.

[piano plays softly] Heather Hjelle's personal journey to becoming a professional opera singer is one she wouldn't trade for the world.

Teaching people about opera and making it more accessible is one of her passions.

Listen as she answers questions from students about her art.

Hi, I'm Heather Hjelle from Barrett, Minnesota, With being a dramatic soprano I get to sing longer lines, there's less moving notes, lots of legato singing.

I was always surrounded by music.

My grandmother loved playing hymns, my grandfather listened to polka music, my mother was into '80s rock, and finally I was introduced to the musical "Grease," and there began my love of musicals which stemmed into opera eventually.

I did my undergraduate degree at Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, and there I majored in theater actually.

So I took voice lessons and was in choir and discovered my love of opera.

Then I auditioned for grad school and began singing in Chicago at North Park University.

From there I was assigned more and more roles and fell more in love with the art form.

I think when approaching opera, we need to not be scared to ask questions.

Oftentimes artists are more than willing to talk to someone that has never experienced this art form before Hello, my name is Nathan Berg, and I'm one of the general music teachers here at Kennedy Elementary located in Fargo, North Dakota.

I teach general music which consists of a variety of things from singing, dancing, or playing instruments.

Hey Heather, some of my 3rd graders haven't had much exposure to opera, so here's a couple questions from them.

Hello, my name is Jahmila, and I wanted to know how did you learn how to sing in so many different languages?

Thank you for your good question Jahmila.

It took a lot of practice.

When I went to school, we had to learn something called the International Phonetic Alphabet.

And for each letter in our alphabet there is a symbol that makes a universal sound.

We learned how to put those symbols to words in other languages so that we know how to pronounce them correctly.

So I know what I'm singing about in these songs, but I'm not very good at speaking the languages.

A lot of operas are in other languages because that style of music originated in Italy.

But now there are a lot of new operas and American composers writing a lot of operas in English.

So that's very exciting that opera is still growing.

Hello, my mane is Griffin.

I've been wondering how many different places have you sang at?

(Heather) Well, I've sung in Italy, I've sung in France, I've sung in Canada, I've sung now in North Dakota, also Minnesota, Colorado, California, New York, Florida-- across the United States.

More fingers than I have to count it out for you!

My favorite place to perform was in a church in Italy.

It was this beautiful church that I couldn't even see the back of when I was up front.

And it was a role where I was playing a nun, and it really made me feel connected to the character and the dramatic things that were happening to her, and it was just the most beautiful setting I had ever been in.

Hello, my name is Mia.

I was wondering how long have you been singing for?

I have been singing for probably at least 15 years.

So in opera the voice categories are a little bit more specific than when we talk about choral singers, which we have soprano, alto, bass, baritone, tenor.

In opera we get to classify and subclassify, so for example, I'm mainly a soprano, but under that category I would be considered a dramatic soprano, which means that I sing a bigger style of repertoire, louder, the orchestra usually has more pieces in it, bigger, fuller.

Hello, my name is Gavin, and I was just wondering how long have you practiced for?

I practice probably an hour a day.

That doesn't always mean that I'm singing during that time.

It means I'm practicing the languages and the rhythms, and on the piano, but then I sing for part of that time as well.

Hello, my name is Zoey.

I just wanted to know how you sing so long?

That's a very good question Zoey.

It actually takes many years.

it's kind of like when you first start working out in phy-ed class.

You can't go as long because your muscles aren't as strong, and then you realize you can go longer.

It's the same thing with singing with your body and your throat.

Those muscles need to build up, so you do that throughout your years of training.

Hello, my name is Aria.

I was wondering if you've ever lost your voice.

Aria, what a beautiful name and a good question.

I have lost my voice, and it's usually because of getting a cold or something like that.

Then you have to be very quiet, which isn't fun.

But it comes back eventually.

Hello, my name is Stella.

I was wondering if you've ever played a different instrument?

I used to play piano when I was very little and also clarinet, but I am not as good as the lady you've heard playing with me today.

Now I'm just better at singing.

I actually am a teacher right now.

I'm a part-time professor down at Bethany Lutheran College, my alma mater, and I teach voice lessons there.

And I also teach private voice lessons back in Barrett.

I would love to help you find your next step if you want to start to learn more about your interest in this art form.

Your career is not going to look like everyone elses.

You've just got to stay on your own path.

[singing in German] Emily Williams-Wheeler is a self-taught artist who has contributed public art throughout the region.

Emily shares how her creative career evolved from interior designer to full-time artist.

[piano plays in bright rhythm] I'm a color person, and the joy that layering of colors-- it just makes, it just makes my heart sing!

[bass, guitar, & keyboard play in bright rhythm] The journey that I have taken to get to where I am today was not the path that I planned!

[laughs] I always had it in my mind I would be an engineer.

From 6th grade on it was math and science.

No art-- didn't want that!

I went for about a year in engineering in college and knew that just didn't feel right.

So I went over to the collage of design and enrolled in the interior design program, and graduated at the top of my class and really loved it.

We decided to start a family, my husband and I did.

I wanted to be around a little more if we were able to raise a family.

I decided to do something from home!

I started doing greeting cards and calligraphy, and making jewelry and all these craft projects.

And a publisher found me and said change your greeting cards into a story.

So I ended up writing 6 little books, and they were sold internationally.

And they were very-- I call them sophisticated stick people.

[laughs] I've come a long way!

But anyway, that was pretty much the onset, and I really am a self-taught artist, so it was self-exploration the whole time finding out what direction to go.

My favorite medium will probably always be acrylics.

I just know it so well.

I love mixed media, so I'll do the acrylics, but I'll always throw in graphite or some method of sketching.

I love to sketch with it just to always make it my own.

I like to do dry brushing, a dry paint over another paint so it just snags over the top, and you can still see the other color coming through.

And it, to me, that is like, wow!

laughs] This is awesome!

I can still see the pink underneath, but this has got aqua over it and a little hint of yellow, and it just, they all are coming together, but it's textures, and that just-- that's totally why I do it if that makes me really happy.

When I start a painting, I always have an idea of where I'm going.

But for me the joy is the evolution.

So while I know I'm going to do this sheep or this leaping lamb or something like that, I have an idea of its shape but I don't know exactly what its attitude will be or the colors.

What will I punch out more?

What will I emphasize more?

I do have ideas to start with, but it's definitely an evolution.

I do an awful lot of commissions, but it's based off of what I am doing, and they like it, so they'll say can I have a piece similar to that?

Or be inspired by that piece.

But I'm also leaning much more toward large public installations like entering competitions that are on a much larger scale.

That is how I was able to be selected to be on the skyway across Broadway in Fargo.

It was an open call for art, and I have been wanting to put something on that skyway for a long time, and it was approved, and so that was another way of me getting art to the public.

I've had a wonderful partnership of working with West Acres Mall because they've given me opportunities that I probably wouldn't have had.

I've designed out at West Acres Mall the playroom, the mural out there.

If it were laid out flat, it would be about 185 feet by, I don't know, 16 feet high.

That was a wonderful project, a great opportunity to do whatever.

They just like what I do, so I get to make the decisions on that.

I don't want it to stop.

It's just-- there's another pretty painting.

So while the colors are fabulous and everything, I hope that a person is pulled closer to see the process.

I always leave the lines of sketches, and whatever happens underneath.

That's like I keep saying, the evolution of the painting.

I want people to see that.

That's the depth also.

I don't do a flower painting, just a bouquet or something.

I will do a giant flower.

I'll do something that will take you closer, pull you in more.

That's what I want the experience to be.

Tyler Herwig's charismatic personality allows him to sing from his soul and connect with audiences.

The honesty in his jazzy pop lyrics are a true testament to his unique talent.

[playing softly] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Your eyes are enough ♪ ♪ To make me smile ♪ ♪ You're touch is enough ♪ ♪ To numb my heart for a while ♪ ♪ I'd hold you so tight ♪ ♪ Tell you that I loved you ♪ ♪ I'd give you the world ♪ ♪ But the world gave you ♪ ♪ You're all I need ♪ ♪ All I've ever wanted ♪ ♪ You're all for me ♪ ♪ All I need to breathe ♪ ♪ You're my air ♪ ♪ The very air I need to breathe ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ My heart beats for you ♪ ♪ And your heart beats for me ♪ ♪ You stepped off the plane ♪ ♪ Hit the ground took my breath away ♪ ♪ Now every day ♪ ♪ I wake up to that again ♪ ♪ If life were a dream ♪ ♪ Then I've been in a coma ♪ ♪ Hear your voice and I shake ♪ ♪ Three words I need to say ♪ ♪ You're my air ♪ ♪ The very air I need to breathe ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ My heart beats for you ♪ ♪ And your heart beats for me ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ All that I know is that ♪ ♪ You're all that I long for ♪ ♪ All I feel is you knocking at heart's door ♪ ♪ All I know to be true ♪ ♪ Is that I love you ♪ ♪ You're my air ♪ ♪ The very air I need to breathe ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ My heart beats for you ♪ ♪ And your heart beats for me ♪ ♪ You're my air ♪ ♪ The very breath I need to breathe ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ My heart beats for you ♪ ♪ And your heart beats for me ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [playing in bright rock rhythm] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ I'm giving you all my love ♪ ♪ I don't need this anymore ♪ ♪ When you're walking out the door ♪ ♪ Come on and give me something ♪ ♪ Giving you all my love ♪ ♪ After all that we've been through ♪ ♪ What did I mean to you ♪ ♪ Or was it nothing ♪ ♪ Long days late nights ♪ ♪ Every time we talk yeah it ends in a fight ♪ ♪ Tryin' to do me get fixed get right working hard everyday ♪ ♪ It pays to play in this life♪ ♪ Little did I know never gonna be enough ♪ ♪ Guess you never really thought I was the one ♪ ♪ Me minus you leaves me with none ♪ ♪ I'm giving you all my love ♪ ♪ I don't need this anymore ♪ ♪ When you're walking out the door ♪ ♪ Come on and give me something ♪ ♪ Giving you all my love ♪ ♪ After all that we've been through ♪ ♪ What did I mean to you ♪ ♪ Or was it nothing ♪ ♪ One shot then three ♪ ♪ Drinking in the shower yeah I rinse and repeat ♪ ♪ A bed full of bottles and no company ♪ ♪ Nightmares when awake bad dreams when I sleep ♪ ♪ Calling all day but you won't pick up the phone ♪ ♪ Trying so hard just not to be alone ♪ ♪ But the scars on my heart never let me feel at home ♪ ♪ I'm giving you all my love ♪ ♪ I don't need this anymore ♪ ♪ When you're walking out the door ♪ ♪ Come on and give me something ♪ ♪ Giving you all my love ♪ ♪ After all that we've been through ♪ ♪ What did I mean to you ♪ ♪ Or was it nothing ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Like a knife words cut deep ♪ ♪ Breaking me down then you build me up ♪ ♪ One day at a time we could find a whole new life ♪ ♪ The room keeps spinning pouring me out then you fill me up ♪ ♪ I'm paying the price give me one more try ♪ ♪ I'm giving you all my love ♪ ♪ I don't need this anymore ♪ ♪ When you're walking out the door ♪ ♪ Come on and give me something ♪ ♪ Giving you all my love ♪ ♪ After all that we've been through ♪ ♪ What did I mean to you ♪ ♪ Or was it nothing ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ I'm giving you all my love ♪ ♪ I don't need this anymore ♪ ♪ When you're walking out the door ♪ ♪ Come on and give me something ♪ ♪ Giving you all my love ♪ ♪ After all that we've been through ♪ ♪ What did I mean to you ♪ ♪ Or was it nothing ♪ ♪ Or was it nothing ♪ If you know of an artist, topic or organization in our region that you think might make for an interesting segment, please contact us at... (Barb) You can watch this and other episodes of "Prairie Mosaic" on Prairie Public's YouTube channel, and please, follow Prairie Public on social media as well.

I'm Barb Gravel.

And I'm Matt Olien.

Thank you for joining us for another edition of "Prairie Mosaic."

[guitar, bass, & drums play in bright country rhythm] (woman) "Prairie Mosaic" is funded by-- the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on Nov. 4th, 2008; the North Dakota Council on the Arts, and by the members of Prairie Public.