Ruttgers Bay Lake Lodge in Deerwood hosts this annual arts festival, sponsored by the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. The three-day event is organized around hands-on studio art workshops, including ceramics, glass, kiln firings, jewelry, drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, and installation art.
Featured presenters include keynote artist/educator Tate Rich. Rich is an artist, teacher, collaborator, business owner, and inspirational speaker. As a full-time faculty member, he teaches ceramics, sculpture and 3-D design at Cochise College in Douglas, AZ. He is recognized for organizing the Southern Arizona Pit Fire Festival, which involves entire communities making pottery together using ancient production methods.
His presentation, “Build a Community Around Creativity and Commitment,” is intended to remind artists that their commitment to their community matters in many ways, including their contributions to economic stimulus, tourism, art therapy, history and story telling.
Doug Padilla will also present. He is a self-taught visionary artist of Norwegian/ Mexican/cowboy roots living in Minneapolis. In his 63 years he has lived in a tent through a sub-zero winter, farmed soybeans, survived the psychedelic travails of Haight-Ashbury, created and lost a million-dollar a year business, trained with an armed underground anti-war cadre during the Vietnam war, meditated and lived with his guru in India, done thousands of drawings and paintings, and founded numerous organizations, among them Art Jones Gallery, Grupo Soap del Corazón, Salon Artisimo and Paris Northeast.
The festival program also includes creative flow yoga, labyrinth paths, nature hikes, a high-ropes course, kayaking, dancing, music and performance.
