Art Hounds 'hunt' for artists in Rochester

A painting of a child sitting on a beach.
A painting by Ann Riggott, who is participating in Rochester's Hiding Artists Tour this weekend.
Courtesy photo

Musician John Sievers is looking forward to discovering something new at Rochester’s Hiding Artists Tour Saturday and Sunday in southeastern Minnesota. It’s an event created by artists, for artists and art-lovers, to explore the work of local artists in the spaces where they create.

The 17 artists in the mapped tour work in ceramics, stained glass, fiber arts, paintings and more.

Ceramics and pottery on display.
Some of potter Carey Shanahan's pieces. She works in ceramics and pottery.
Courtesy photo

Squash Blossom Farm will host several artists as well as live music.


Children’s book author Tim Drake of Isanti says he was “first mesmerized” by Kelly Schamberger’s work when he saw her hyper-realistic painting of a spray bottle of glass cleaner.

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Schamberger, who lives in Duluth, calls herself a representational painter. She chooses everyday objects for many of her subjects.

Drake, who also is the executive director of Pacem in Terris Hermitage Retreat Center, appreciates both the quality of Schamberger’s work and its deeper meanings. “The glass cleaner painting is about motherhood and recovery,” Drake said.

Schamberger recently participated in the Plein Air Grand Marais Competition. Her work will be among that of 70-plus artists exhibited at the Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery in Grand Marais through Oct. 10.

A painting of lily pads next to a pond.
"One Lily Pad at a Time" by Kelly Schamberger from the Plein Air Grand Marais Competition, on view at the Johnson Heritage Post Art Gallery in Grand Marais through Oct. 10.
Courtesy of Kelly Schamberger

Landscape painter Joshua Cunningham suggests a trip to the Groveland Gallery in Minneapolis. You’ll find a quiet and contemplative show by two St. Paul artists with very different but complementary styles. Barbara McIlrath’s show “Studio Window” is in the first two rooms of the gallery.

A painting of books and a potted plant at a window.
"December-Studio Window" by Barbara McIlrath.
Courtesy of Midge Bolt.

“Barbara has taken oil painting and broken down the world around us into simpler shapes and forms,” Cunningham said.

Stuart Loughridge’s “Prints & Paintings” mines traditional media, such as oils, watercolors and etchings, to display the world “through an older lens.”

A painting of a river and trees.
"Beaver River" by Stuart Loughridge.
Courtesy of Stuart Loughridge

Cunningham recommends paying attention to Loughridge’s frames, handmade by the artist. The show runs through Oct.16, with an etching demonstration by Loughridge on Oct. 2.

This activity is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.