Meet some of our Instructors
| Amy & Adams
Amy & Adams share their inspiring upbeat music with folks in the Midwest and beyond. For nearly 2 decades they’ve touched audiences of all ages at schools, libraries, city parks, art fairs, weddings, wineries, radio, television, and especially elder care facilities.
Amy & Mark Adams-Westin found each other in the Twin Cities after decades of playing in their own worlds. They’ve produced 5 well-received CDs (including the brand new Gone ... aloft) that have garnered national & international airplay as well as critical praise. Roots Music Report declared them, “as fresh and entertaining as folk music has ever been.” But Amy & Adams covers a musical territory far wider than folk. They’ve dubbed it Eclectic/FolkRock/TinPanAlley/BluesGrass.
Amy & Adams has been featured live on TV and radio including KAXE FM, KUMD FM, WCCO AM, and WOI TV (Des Moines, IA) and KUNI FM (Cedar Falls, IA) and Mark & Amy were both finalists in the 1999 Minnesota Folk Fest New Songwriters Contest. Check out their music and stories at www.amyandadams.com and www.facebook.com/pages/Amy-Adams/210255666326. | |  |
| Dar Brooks
Dar Brooks is an award winning multi-media artist and has been teaching watercolor and mixed media for 22 years. Her teaching style is enthusiastic, nurturing, and spontaneous. This helps students loosen up and have fun! Dar has a passion for teaching adult and children’s workshops and has enjoyed teaching art workshops all around Minnesota, and all over the United States, Mexico, and France. She is on the faculty of the Edina Art Center, the Owatonna Art Center, and teaches at many others. Dar enjoys the free spontaneity of using watercolor, inks, and acrylics with mixed media. She is an intuitive painter who thrives on experimentation. Dar is constantly aware of the power of color and uses it with her evolutionary techniques to create exciting, textural illusions and dramatic collages. Darlene’s formal education has included studying at the Minneapolis Collage of Art and Design, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Wisconsin. Her in-laws live in Longville and other family members in Brainerd. Dar has always felt a strong connection to the area and is thrilled to be teaching classes at the Longville Arts Center. |  |
| Jan Forbes
Jan fell in love with watercolor almost 40 years ago and was one of the original members of the Leach lake Art League. The group led by Olive George was very enthusiastic and employed many well known instructors such as: Robert E. Wood, Ed Whitney, Charles Reid, Nita Engles, Frank Webb and many more. These wonderful Artists had a great influence in developing Jan’s passion and dedication to the Arts. She owned and operated Gallery 3 in Longville for several years.
Jan lives between Longville and Minneapolis and teaches weekly classes and workshops. A spontaneous free spirit which is reflected in her paintings and her teaching. |  |
| Julia Jones
Julia started her watercolor adventure in 1989. She joined Leech Lake Arts League of Walker, Minnesota where she eventually found her niche: The Birch Landscape. She has now painted so many birch landscapes that she is referred to as the "Birch Lady".
During her membership with the League she participated in many workshops, demonstrations and the annual Northern Reflections Fine Arts Show. After moving to Longville in 1996 she continued her painting and started her business, “Watercolors, etc”. Part of the etcetera is doing her own matting and framing using barn board and birch bark as well as her fascination with birch crafts.
Julia has exhibited and sold her artwork in galleries in Walker, Remer, Hackensack and is currently in the Gallery of New Creations in Longville. She also does commission work. Her most challenging commission was a 24" x 48" summer scene that now hangs in a private home in Sacramento, CA. Julia usually likes to paint for the smaller rooms in the house.
Julla has demonstrated her painting technique to many organizations and age groups including Deep Portage, Ah Gwah Ching, the Northern Reflections Show, and Longville Elementary School and has donated countless paintings for fundraisers for local organizations. Julia maintains she will always be a beginner as there is always a new magical effect or technique to discover when water-coloring. |  |
| Linda Paulsen
Linda began Crop Art (creating pictures with seeds) by entering in competition at The Minnesota State Fair. She has entered her pictures there for 41 years winning many top awards during that time. Linda has demonstrated the art at the State Fair daily for the past four years. She has conducted hands on for kids there for several years and at the Plaines Art Museum in Fargo ND. She has given classes to adults at Northland Camp, a recreational laboratory, in Amery WI for the past 3 years. Her passion is Crop Art. |  |
| Mike Traver
After earning a BFA degree from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) in 1970 and a 30 year career as an art director and graphic designer for some of America's largest advertisers Mike is now devoting his time to Fine Art. Mike's teaching experience includes five years of graphic design and drawing at Brown College, Visual Communications Department, Minneapolis.
This will be Mikes first year with Longville Arts Center. His classes will include graphite and color pencil drawing and original game board painting for a popular bag toss lawn game known as Cornhole. Mike has been painting, showing and selling his game art for two years at local and out of state art fairs. | |  |
| Myra Damm
Myra has been involved in art most of her life. She attended the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. In the early years she worked primarily in oils, taught classes in the northern suburbs and later opened her own Studio for nine years. Switching to Acrylics a few years ago she has been doing more exploring with the various types of acrylics and mediums, doing more abstract and collages. She began painting on different surfaces, including purses and shoes a few years ago, and has enjoyed that art form, bringing to life gently used purses with color and designs. Myra has shown her work in the Minneapolis area in various galleries, in the Hackensack area, at the Casino show, Artisans Mall in Walker, Wild Hare in Bemidji, Working Artist Gallery, The Pine River Art Show, and Arts Off 84. | |  |
| Theresa Link
Theresa Link is a serious amateur photographer who has been practicing photography for more than 30 years. She has been published in "Life Images" and is featured in the 2013 Lake Country Journal Calendar. Theresa enjoys sharing her talents with others who are photographing just for fun or as a more serious hobby. | |  |
| Therese Kunz
Therese Kunz has been a visual artist for the past twenty-five years working in the mediums of oil painting, watercolor, pastel, found-object assemblage, collage and sculpture installation. Her artwork has been exhibited in numerous juried art shows and art galleries in Minnesota including the Duluth Art Institute, the Tweed Museum of Art and a solo show at the MacRostie Art Center in Grand Rapids. Therese was awarded the 2009 individual Artist Grant from FORECAST Public Artworks for the creation of, The Rooms of Your House, a large-room artwork installed at the historic train depot in Remer for three weeks.
Therese has developed and taught visual and performing arts programs, classes and workshops for over 14 years. She created and implemented the highly successful in-school Fine Arts Program at local elementary schools. Therese was the creative director for the Longville Arts Center using her leadership skills to help launch the Center’s first two seasons of accessible arts classes for the area community. Therese knows art transforms lives and strives to be a part of that. In 2000 she founded Screen Porch Productions, Inc., a 501(c) 3 community arts organization, dedicated to providing education and opportunity in the visual, performing and literary arts. Therese is 2009 graduate of The Blandin Leadership Training Program. | |  |
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