Art on the river

Two Winona State University College of Liberal Arts departments, Art and Design and English, recently collaborated with the Minnesota Marine Art Museum to hold two workshops aboard the Cal Fremling Interpretive Center and Floating Classroom. A plein-air painting workshop with visiting artist Beau Carey was offered to advanced WSU painting students, as well as interested community members. Under Carey’s guidance, painters created a portable palette out of a cigar box, provided by WSU, and created several landscape paintings that were observed directly from the amazing views of Winona’s unique topography accessible aboard the Cal Fremling.

Simultaneously, English Professor James Armstrong taught a poetry workshop, integrating the experience aboard the boat into a student assignment to create a series of poems about the Mississippi River. The poets mingled with painters and asked Carey questions about his artistic practice as a means to gain inspiration for their writing.

The trip was a glimpse into the amazing outdoor learning environments and interdisciplinary experiences possible at Winona State University.

The College of Liberal Arts is committed to multi and interdisciplinary perspectives in problem-solving, providing the skills to act responsibly, and being highly engaged in and committed to academics, the arts and community — from local to global levels.

For more information, contact Roger Boulay at 507-457-5532.