Our own, Anita Gislason (from EVS), won the Artistic Excellence Award (1st place) and the People’s choice Awards at the ECRAC (East Central Regional Arts Council) Image Art Show in November 2015.
Her piece is called “Garden Gifts.”
Full story by Brielle Bredsten from the Mille Lacs Messenger
With a little encouragement from a friend, local artist Anita Danger Gislason of Ogilvie decided to enter a unique piece of artwork in this year’s IMAGE Art Show. The 29th annual East Central Regional Arts Council (ECRAC) event was open to any artist residing in the Mille Lacs, Chisago, Kanabec, Isanti and Pine counties to display their work from Oct. 24 to Nov. 6.
The show honored some of the finest art in the area, including Gislason’s piece “Garden Gifts,” which took home the People’s Choice Award and won first place with the Artistic Excellence Award. The judges for the show were Mary Bruno and Lyz Wendlund. They both have a wide range of artistic skills and art show judging experience.
“I am so honored by this award,” Gislason said. “I am very thankful. It was a great experience and I enjoyed the show. The talent in this area is overwhelming, there are so many very talented people and this is a wonderful way for an artist to share with others.”
Unlike previous years, set categories were not used this year for entering artwork and distributing awards. Instead, artists described the artwork medium they used in their own words. Gislason’s entry piece, “Garden Gifts,” was crafted with a technique she coined as “Pyrography on a gourd.” Pyrography, or wood burning, is the art of decorating wood or other materials with burn marks, she explained.
“When I work with gourds I take time to study the gourd size, shape and even the skin of gourd to help me create the image,” Gislason said. “I can think about a project for weeks in my mind and when I feel I have it together I start the drawing on the gourd.”
Inspiration for the whimsical image came from the artist’s lifelong passion for nature and creatures. “I am self-taught and have tried many different mediums, but love pen and ink and the gourd work. I learn new things every time I do a piece,” Gislason said.
The fairytale-like image was created with the use of a Nibsburner. Once completed, Gislason used Danish oil, which she said helped to seal the gourd and also brought out the different areas. The final step was to use an X-Acto knife to scrape other areas to make them lighter and create a different shading effect.
The prized pumpkin has been her biggest project yet – taking over 400 hours to complete. “I broke my leg last winter and was laid up for a long time, so I had the time to work on this gourd,” she stated.
As a child, Gislason would sit with her great aunt, who introduced her to the art of painting on China. “Her excitement was contagious,” she remembered.
Another creative inspiration for Gislason is the famous painter and illustrator, Norman Rockwell. “I admire an artist who can capture people,” she explained. “Norman Rockwell could create a piece that was full of emotion and character, it was amazing even though I do not do people. Learning about this man and all the classes and research he did on the human body pushed me to do more research on my images. I learned by photos and enlarging things to see all the unseen things. This helps in creating my images.” The fruits of her labor are received when others are able to appreciate her work. “I want my work to make people feel good,” she said. “When people enjoy my work and walk away with positive feelings I have accomplished what I have set out to do.”
Along with her artwork and doing different crafts, Gislason finds great enjoyment in spending time with her loved ones. “Family is important and being a grandma tops everything,” she said.