Mentors in Saskatchewan Honoring Artists (MISHA) Residency Pilot Program

Announcements and Programming

“As we live through unprecedented times, consider the capacity of art to console, connect, and comfort.” – For the Love of Art:  Alain de Botton on Art as Therapy

Congratulations, Artists!

Welcome, Artists, to our first online segment!    

As mentioned in our video, please take a look at Wildlife Forever State-Fish Art Contest.

“The State-Fish Art Contest was inspired in 1997 by a 5th grader’s homework assignment. She discovered there was little information on all the different state-fish in the U.S.  Wildlife Forever, a non-profit based in Minnesota, decided to create an annual international contest to celebrate fish, fishing and aquatic conservation. 

The State-Fish Art Contest is a free contest open to youth in grades Kindergarten to 12th grade. To enter, students should create an original artistic rendition of any official U.S. State-Fish Species.  Youth in 4th grade and above should also share information about their fish species in a creative writing piece, which should be no longer than one page.”—Wildlife Forever State-Fish Art

As referenced in the video, listen to Darling’s own words describing the first Federal Duck Stamp.

And now here’s your task from Alejandro….

Warm up Exercise: Art with purpose! 

1) Let’s begin by creating a mind set for conservation and preservation physically, emotionally and environmentally by going inwardly in observation as did Darling himself in nature. 

2) Your first warm up exercise will be to gather a cardboard material, size:  9 3/4 x 7 inches or 24.76 x 17.78 Cm, along with any other materials of your choice. Your work has to include cardboard as Darling’s first Duck Stamp etching was on cardboard back in 1934. 

 3) Think of conservation, preservation, stewardship of something – or a feeling important to you. Tell a story, sit, think, observe, feel or take a walk.  Afterwards, enter your studio and prepare your project using the ground material of cardboard. Make, print, sculpt, draw, paint, design, collage, (your art media of choice) and create a compelling composition inspired by the Duck Stamp and Darling’s process of observation for conservation! Darling always had a sketchbook in hand throughout his entire life, and later in our program we will be sharing some of these treasures that the public has rarely seen. Deadline for your completed artwork: July 31, 2020, and shortly thereafter we will share our works on Zoom!

Happy art making. Let the creative energy flow! 

Kindly,

Alejandro

A special surprise for our extraordinary artists!

It is time once again for a great American story!

The one-hour documentary, “America’s Darling: The Story of Jay N. ‘Ding’ Darling,” released by Marvo Entertainment Group LLC in 2013, is the true story of Jay N. Darling, a national cartoonist who changed America by influencing her presidents, shaping her landscapes, and winning the hearts of her people.

The Influence of an Artist:  “In America, our differences do not outweigh what we have in common.”  In a recent article in the National Review, “The Art of Parallel Purposes,” the author highlights the very different lives of artists, Jay Norwood Darling and Robert Rauschenberg, and yet shows “commonalities worth conserving in America.”