(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.

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

Hi, I'm Matt Olien.

I'm Barb Gravel.

On this episode of "Prairie Mosaic," we'll meet an artist who is inspired by nature and the prairie, visit a new museum in Park Rapids, Minnesota, and listen to a group of musicians who are all about family.

[playing in country rhythm] Trey Everett from Crookston, Minnesota is a versatile, pen and ink artist who infuses spirituality in everything he does.

He specializes in large-scale murals that can be found in and around Crookston.

[bass & drum play in bright rhythm] (Trey Everett) Sometimes I feel like I'm in a really good creative space.

And it doesn't take me very long to come up with something that I really like and other times it's more of a challenge.

I'm primarily a pen and ink artist, so it's just white paper with black pen.

I do sort of tattoo style artwork-- heavy line work, heavy outline around the image.

There's all kinds of different tattoo styles, but it's the kind of a style that is not photorealistic, but it's more of the image that kind of pops when you look at it.

So it's not your typical artwork most people would want to hang on their livingroom wall or show grandma, no offense to grandma.

It's more of this kind of edgy type of work.

I've always been interested in art and drawing.

I moved up here to Crookston, and I was working with the Minnesota Institute of Contemplation and Healing and a coworker of mine saw that I liked to draw and doodle during meetings, and he said, well, why don't you do that more?

And in a weird way it just kind of exploded.

Before I knew it I was drawing a lot, and people were asking me to do commissions, and I created a little book, and I was going to seminars and doing live drawing, and that's kind of how it resurfaced.

I also like to do a lot of mural work, mostly in color, but some are black and white.

I love to do indoor, outdoor murals for businesses or organizations or schools.

Right now I'm working on a mural at the Care and Share, which is here in Crookston.

I'm working on a few different murals.

This one in particular is in the entryway.

It's a mural designed to honor Sister Justina who was the instigator of the Care and Share originally.

Figuring out what I'm going to do for the rest of this mural.

I come up with a few different ideas, and then I look 'em over and sleep on it.

I decided I'd create it so that she has this stained-glass look like she is a stained-glass image.

The Highland Elementary School, and I created a mural there.

Last year I was the artist in residence.

So it's a long 50-foot mural so that it's sort of a giant insect image.

At the Grand Theatre her in Crookston I created this movie-style series of murals, Batman and Gothem City, Yoda and Star Wars the Death Star and then Scooby-Doo.

Inside of the Ace Hardware Store in town it's a huge mural I created about 3 years ago, and it's a series of 6 different hands, giant hands of different skin tones.

Then there's another outdoor mural on the side of the building of the Crookston Community Theatre building.

My artwork, often there are words within it, and I just find that really evocative, and kind of brings out what I'm trying to say.

The theme is always trying to look at our inner lives.

That's always the theme.

So there's this outward image, but there's always this what's happening below the surface.

And so it's very symbolic, a lot of metaphor, and I try to create images that evoke something that people can look at, and it kind of pull them in, or they think "Oh, that's interesting."

Spirituality, the idea of compassion, of unity, of there's something much greater than we often see or acknowledge.

That kind of informs my artwork.

A colleague of mine, Theresa Bly who lives in Phoenix, for the last few years we've been collaborating and making these different cards which are the size of tarot cards.

We're working on a series of mystics and saints.

We've done 20 of those, we're working on the next set of 10.

Sometimes I just feel like, wow, I can't believe I'm able to do what I'm doing, and I'm excited that people love my work and the style, and that's been a nice surprise for me.

I'm not that interested in people wanting to purchase my art, even though that's great.

I'm really more interested in, this is what is calling me, this is what really interests me, this is what is coming out of me, and I feel like it connects with a lot of people.

I want them to have that similar connection of community and compassion and there's something powerful and good within all of us.

A new museum in Park Rapids, Minnesota is a testament to the hard work and perseverance of Native Americans in our region.

Giiwedinong: The Anishinaabe Museum of Treaties and Culture chronicles historic tribal treaties, Native American culture, and the longstanding fight to protect water.

[wooden flute plays softly] ♪ ♪ (Sarah LittleRedfeather) Giiwedinong means "In the north."

♪ It is a little museum that could.

We did it in 7 months, which is unheard-of.

(Winona LaDuke) Each of these treaties has some agree with-- the only part that they kept was they promised to take our land, and they took it.

When folks come into this museum, the vision we have is when you come in is like you're walking into the world of the Anishinaabe people.

Who we are-- who we are as a culture, who we are as a society, what is our beliefs, what are our morals.

That's why you see some of the clans when you come in, you'll see the mural of the clans, you'll see the migration maps.

Then you come in and the outside display is on treaties, but it's not just treaties with Americans.

The first treaty is with the creation.

Then the treaties with the Haudenosaunee, the Six Nations, the Dakota, the Buffalo Treaties.

We wanted to show that treaties are agreements made between nations in civil society to make things better.

The 2 inner exhibits are really the Water Protector exhibits.

We wanted to actually honor people's courage and honor the Water Protector movement.

(Sarah LittleRedfeather) And also when you come in here, we're in this beautiful room for Rabbett Strickland.

His paintings tell these stories as well, like spiritually.

We said wanted to buy this and put this together and everything we said it was going to be talking about the Anishinaabe people, justice, our art, and culture and also the Water Protector exhibit.

This is all done by donations, this wasn't done by grants or anything.

There was a handful of us who volunteered to remodel this and gut it out.

(Winona LaDuke) This was once a Carnegie library.

I think of Carnegie libraries as a place of enlightenment.

I always thought it should be this, then when Enbridge bought this museum and turned it into their headquarters for basically expansion in this area, I was really offended.

I really wanted to see something better come of it, so when Enbridge started selling off their properties, we were able to buy it.

I and Sarah are both veterans of Standing Rock.

we spent a lot of time out there at Standing Rock, and we spent 7 years fighting Enbridge.

In that territory and in that land, we learned a lot, and we saw a lot of courageous people.

We saw a lot of people who went to great risk.

We saw corporations that did wrong.

(Sarah LittleRedfeather) For me personally it's a cultural duty.

It's because it brings back to the whole vital that it's life.

My children and nobody else's children can live without water-- nothing can-- so that's what it means to be a water protector.

[drum beats; men sing a ceremonial song] I think we should all be water protectors.

You can live without oil, but you can't live without water.

Water is life, and in this area we have a lot of water, and this is a 5th of the world's water.

And in a world that is parched and is water challenged, increasing people do not have access to drinkable water, we have water.

And so we think that it should be protected.

None of us were really familiar with pipelines.

I wasn't either-- they're out of sight and out of mind.

I don't think about them.

This country is criss-crossed with millions of miles of pipelines, and a lot of those pipes were put in a long time ago.

They're falling apart, so I really think that the company that made the money off of the pipeline should clean it up.

It's just basic common sense-- you made the mess-- you clean it up.

They put the pipeline in a new corridor which cut through this pristine territory.

We tried to stop them.

I as a citizen went to almost every public hearing.

I'm with thousands of other people, 69,000 people testified against the pipeline.

(Sarah LittleRedfeather) We did everything we could.

The regulatory system, to us, I felt that it was broke.

I remember coming to a community meeting here in Park Rapids, and the school was full.

Enbridge and everything was here.

It was overwhelming residents from Park Rapids said they didn't want the pipeline, but still they did it.

I would do it over again.

[wooden flute plays softly] Some water protectors would come in, and we were here.

To them when they left the building, that's all healed.

First of all, the Native folks that do come in, they're excited.

They're like, is this just temporary, or are you here forever?

It's like, we bought it, we're here forever.

Especially elders, they're excited, they think it's good.

As far as folks non Native, oh my god, they're so excited.

Every person that comes in or didn't even know what to expect, when they've walked around, I've seen some folks in tears.

I've had some folks come up to me and say, I just want to say to you, I'm sorry.

I've seen that and they're like, thank you for doing this, this is so great.

My biggest goal when they come out is that our children can have an equal balance of who they belong, where they belong.

And to the Native students, I'm Anishinaabe, I'm Dakota, and I'm proud.

Did you hear about us, did you learn about us in this museum?

So that's what I want folks when they come out of here.

(Winona LaDuke) One wouldn't wake up and say I'm going to put together a museum.

In my mind I had this, that this should be something great.

I was raised in museums.

So I realize that people can make museums.

You don't have to be a professor.

People can make museums.

At the end of the day we're still here.

Who left?

Enbridge.

Our territory and our land is beautiful.

This is healing.

To create this was like a creation of healing to be honest with you, and yeah, it is, a victory to me, because you know what?

We're still here.

Vicky Radel is a mixed media artist, who uses encaustic medium and cold wax, to create art full of texture, depth, and color.

Every piece is inspired by her love of nature and the prairie, and every pass of the torch, helps bring her art to life.

[orchestra plays in bright rhythm] ♪ ♪ I like working as an artist because ideas come to me, and I want to have that come to life.

Sometimes it's frustrating, but there just is that joy when it really does all come together.

I'm Vicky Radel, I am from the western prairie of Minnesota between Wheaton and Norcross.

I am a mixed media artist working primarily with encaustic hot wax and cold wax and oil.

I always loved art.

When I first started taking classes they were all kind of in acrylic.

I got frustrated because I couldn't get what I wanted.

Then I took the encaustic class, and I totally fell in love with it.

I like how this is coming through the feel with that yellow.

I actually got what was in my head to the wood, it just felt like magic.

Encaustic, it's beeswax with resin, which makes the boiling point go up so it doesn't melt easy like beeswax does.

Then you just add different pigments to it.

Then my palette is a pancake griddle with tuna cans, [laughs] then you put the regular beeswax in and then this pigment to beeswax in these cans , and then it's all melted liquid.

And when you apply it to the board, it gets solid really quickly.

So then you have to apply heat to get it to adhere to the board and to melt again into a nice layer.

So it's either heat gun, or I actually prefer a torch.

It's kind of fun to be able to paint with fire.

I go back and forth now between doing encaustic and doing cold wax.

With cold wax, it's still beeswax, but instead of the resin added to it, it's adding a solvent to it so that it gets almost like paste.

Then you mix that with regular oil paint.

I have to work on wood because the canvas can bend, and that would break the wax.

So I work primarily on wood I can use a palette knife, I can use a brayer, I can use a bowl scraper, a spatula and create a lot of nice textures and those different aspects in my paintings.

You can layer these layers of paint so you get this incredible depth in the surface.

A lot of my inspiration comes from living on the prairie.

It's that peace and quiet, and I love that just wide-open feel.

The prairie and the sky like can hold everything that I feel.

Often in my paintings there's expanses of space.

I've found that I can't paint the same painting twice.

The wax has it's own way of doing things.

Sometimes that's frustrating, but mostly I like it because there are usually surprises and they kind of take me in another direction.

So it's kind of like really getting in tune with the medium.

And following that a bit as well as my own ideas.

The raw wood series was kind of an interesting little accident.

My husband worked at the lumber yard, and one day he came home with a board that had this kind of eaten-out part of it, so they couldn't use the lumber.

And this is when I became a mixed media painter because what I realized is if I used encaustic on the whole piece of wood, you wouldn't see the wood grain.

So I'd find another way to have more transparent color so that the wood grain would show through.

So that's when I started using some wood dyes and ink and other things.

I'd like people that look at my art to feel something.

And that they resonate in some ways with the artwork that's done.

I think that's one of the reasons why the raw wood works so much better because people can tell what it is, and there's like a basicness to it.

And then it has like a twist.

And I think they resonate with that because it feels familiar.

I have benefited so much from living in Minnesota because of the generosity of the arts community.

One of the things about being an artist in a rural community, and we're in one of the least populated counties in Minnesota, is that there's not a lot of other artists.

It's hard to find the resources as you continue to move in your career.

I've joined different art galleries where you can get that kind of commiseration back and forth.

I've had some shows in the small town here, I've had shows through our Lake Region Arts Council.

They helped me set up my encaustic studio.

I'm glad I get to do it.

It feeds a part of me that doesn't get fed anywhere else.

Aaron Tinjum and the Tangents started out as folk-rock project, who have broadened their sound to include an Americana-country style.

They've released several albums and music videos and look forward to touring again.

Here's part of their set from an episode of Prairie Musicians.

[playing a blues/rock intro] [guitar solo] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ So tell me how are your wife and kids ♪ ♪ Oh I thought you had some I could've swore you did ♪ ♪ You know it's getting pretty late in the game ♪ ♪ Don't you think it's high time to make a change ♪ ♪ Man If I wanted your unsolicited advice ♪ ♪ If I want to do things and pay for them twice ♪ ♪ If I need a dark take on my life ♪ ♪ I'll come to you ♪ [guitar solo] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Yeah we used to dance and we used to scheme ♪ ♪ 12 years later you're still doing the same ♪ ♪ You could've made a 30 under 30 list by now ♪ ♪ I think I've got a guy who can help you out ♪ ♪ Man if I wanted your unsolicited advice ♪ ♪ If I want to do things and pay for them twice ♪ ♪ If I need a dark take on my life ♪ ♪ I'll come to you ♪ [guitar solo] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ You're the jack of all trades and a master of none ♪ ♪ Those millennial critiques are a bit overdone ♪ ♪ Maybe we'll buy up some stock in the next generation ♪ ♪ Cuz if the Tide Pod challenge is any indication ♪ ♪ You got a little older and now it seems ♪ ♪ You no longer dream you just fall asleep ♪ ♪ Oh and ambition sank so long ago ♪ ♪ Passions are numb desire's burning low ♪ ♪ Man if I wanted your unsolicited advice ♪ ♪ If I want to finally take things under the knife ♪ ♪ If I need a hot take if I need a think piece ♪ ♪ If I need a remake of every movie now ♪ ♪ If I ever want a single thing that you've got ♪ ♪ If I'm ever lost in that old school of thought ♪ ♪ If I ever find myself ♪ ♪ Quite so distraught ♪ ♪ I'll come to you ♪ [guitar solo] ♪ ♪ [playing in country rhythm] ♪ ♪ ♪ Did you think you'd ever recover ♪ ♪ From the storms you brewed and tides you turned ♪ ♪ On all of your friends ♪ ♪ Just to come back and make amends ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Unhappiness is your part-time lover ♪ ♪ You threw up your walls so you never discovered ♪ ♪ The life you could leave ♪ ♪ Apart from the buffoons you've entertained ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Still this stupid city skyline ♪ ♪ Ain't the same without your smile ♪ ♪ Silhouetted by the sunset ♪ ♪ Of some ever-changing style ♪ ♪ We turned on Grand ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ And I said I will love you ♪ ♪ I will love you I will love you ♪ ♪ Like I always have ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ You came and went and nothing happened ♪ ♪ Questions were asked and my answers were at risk ♪ ♪ Of showing my hand ♪ ♪ Woe be the willful ignorance of some gamblin' man ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Still the Fargo city skyline ♪ ♪ Ain't the same without your smile ♪ ♪ Silhouetted by the sunset ♪ ♪ Of some ever-changing style ♪ ♪ I took your hand ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ And I said I will love you ♪ ♪ I will love you I will love you ♪ ♪ Like I always have ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ And I said I will love you ♪ ♪ I will love you I will love you ♪ ♪ Like I always have ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ And I said I will love you ♪ ♪ I will love you I will love you ♪ ♪ Like I always have ♪ ♪ ♪ [guitar solo] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ If you know of an artist, a topic, or organization in our region that you think might make for an interesting segment, please contact us at... (Matt) You can watch this and other episodes of "Prairie Mosaic" on Prairie Public's YouTube channel, and follow Prairie Public on social media as well.

I'm Matt Olien.

And I'm Barb Gravel.

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

[guitar, bass, and drums play in bright country rhythm] (Barb) "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.