BEST IN ART v1.25

Tuesday, 1.28.25, 5:30-7:30 PM
Shared Spaces at Emy Frentz
The Best in Art Series occurs three times a year and features three artists showcasing their work in hopes of being awarded $1,000. Each of the three artists receives a stipend for participating, with event guests voting for which artist will receive the $1,000 grant.

PRESENTING ARTISTS

TEGAN DALY

Tegan Daly is a bookbinder and book repair technician, papermaker, letterpress printer, and poet. She is interested in the interactions between words, images, materials, and forms: how the whole is created from its parts. She loves details. Daly holds an MFA in book arts from the University of Iowa Center for the Book and an MFA in creative writing from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She considers herself both a craftsperson and an artist, with an interest in history and tradition as well as contemporary creative practices. She is a nature lover and often her work incorporates natural materials and explores environmental ethics. Daly works as the Cellar Press and Art Program Coordinator at The Grand Center for Arts & Culture in New Ulm. She lives in Mankato.

Kayla Rose

I experience true joy and purpose hen I am actively creating through my painting and photography. I adore deep and meaningful connections with the people in my community, and I am most exuberant sharing a space with fellow creatives!

There are many things we deem priorities in this life. Almost everyone will agree community is one. I believe there is a superpower created and felt when we come together.

My goal is to provide an all inclusive space where everyone will have the opportunity to experience the same joy through creation and community that I do. There is power in that connection and I would be thrilled to share it.

I can’t wait to know you, fellow artist. www.offbeatartistry.com

Stephanie Kay Spencer

Growing up on a farm and living in rural Minnesota my whole life exposed me to a lot of beautiful landscapes and as a result a love of nature and the outdoors. That was the draw of painting to me, is being able to recreate a moment in time not to be repeated.

I have a dear friend who is a very successful artist. So, when he offered painting classes, I was in. Learning both brush stroke and pallet knife techniques, my fondness for pallet knife increased. It w2as explained to me that impressionistic paintings give the eye and the mind something to figure out.

It’s been stated, “A true masterpiece does not tell everything”. Therein lies the power of suggestion. When you stand close to a painting of this type, it can look chaotic, but when you back away your mind studies the strokes and placement of color. This is what really inspires me variegates strokes of color and thick texture. To me it makes a painting interesting and beautiful. It made me happy when friends and family started to request paintings from me. I hope you like my paintings too, because I really enjoy creating them.