Buy T-shirts, Posters and more to help restore the bison!
|
••••• Ornberg’s bison features two of her watercolor landscapes.••••• Kay Ornberg grew up in north Fargo with two younger sisters and parents, Arthur and Francis Jensen. I remember at about five years of age walking to NDSU to take an art class for children. My father, who had a longing for artistic learning, studied and drew cartoons in his early years during the 1930’s. Art was important. After graduating from Concordia College, Moorhead, MN, I had a Fine Arts degree in Art and education. I married Paul Ornberg and later had two daughters. My focus was watercolors, less fumes, easier to clean up, and a challenge. I studied with many famous watercolor artists while finding my own style. After many years of exhibiting in National juried shows, winning awards, one of which was first place in the 65th Annual Exhibition of the National Watercolor Society in California. I also earned signature letters from the National Watercolor Society, Watercolor West and Midwest Watercolor Society [now know as the Transparent Watercolor Society of America] with Master distinction. National Watercolor Oklahoma, Kentucky Watercolor Society and San Diego Watercolor International also accepted and awarded my work. I sold work in galleries in Minneapolis, Chicago, Fargo and Rapid City. In 1991 I started working with a new media, fiber. I have been affiliated with the American Craft Council, Baltimore and Minnesota Craft Council, St. Paul. I have exhibited from California to New York doing art festivals, indoor and out, retail and wholesale. I now have a line of pieced cotton, handmade women’s clothing called Kay Louise. In 2001, my husband and I moved to Rollag, MN. After restoring a simple wood granary on our property I have opened the Gallery in the Granary. It has a show schedule of four weekends over the summer months. The latest project, in process, is a shared retail space in downtown Fargo with several artists and antique specialists. FMVA emailed members a notice about the Herd About the Prairie project. Because of my shift in focus from traveling to show and sell my work it was important to re-establish myself as an artist in my home area again. I submitted three ideas and the painted “Home on the Prairie” was chosen. One side of the bison has a North Dakota landscape seen from I-94, on the other side the landscape is from the Rollag, Minnesota area. This simplistic title has a deeper, hidden, secret meaning as my old Concordia English professor used to say. Without being aware of how much “ land development” affects ones environment until one is subjected to it, I am now distinctly aware of its continuous encroachment. As an artist the visual destruction of my surroundings are very disturbing. The bison’s history in our country is just one example of the desecration. Consequently, I am symbolically giving back to the bison his environment via this landscape. People are being made aware of this Bison project for LAAC. My neighbors have seen information on Prairie Public TV. They are very interested especially when they find out I have a bison in my husband’s heated shop and they enjoy seeing the process. Some continue to come back to check on the progress. It seems to be a good way to connect people with an artistic endeavor.
|
|||
 |
||||
