Alison Aune is a professor and area chair of art education in the Department of Art + Design. She holds a B.F.A. in painting and art education (University of Massachusetts Amherst), MA in painting (University of Minnesota Duluth), and Ph.D. in Comparative Arts (Ohio University Athens). Aune’s paintings have been exhibited in over 90 solo and group exhibitions in the United States and in Nordic-Baltic countries.

She has received numerous awards including the George Morrison Artist award from the Arrowhead Regional Arts Council, American Scandinavian Foundation Folk Art fellowship, Art Educators of Minnesota Higher Educator of the Year award, a Minnesota Artist Initiative grant, a Fulbright Scholar award, and a Jerome Foundation International Artist Travel Grant.

Aune has published chapters, articles, and instructional resources on artists, art education, and museum-based learning and she regularly presents lectures and art workshops to all ages regionally, nationally, and internationally.

Amanda McElray Hunter is a multimedia artist whose work is deeply rooted in the geographical location of NE Minnesota and involves the exploration and reinterpretation of fairy tales, myth, fables and folktales into my current-day context.

She has been building a visual lexicon for about eight years, inspired by metaphors, symbols, and archetypes found in research into stories from Celtic, Nordic and European cultural traditions.

She has focused on these regions as a way to rediscover the cultural richness of her ancestors that was abandoned for a homogenization of whiteness and colonialism.

Repurposing the archetypal devices of these commonly held narratives, she inserts them into her lived experience hoping to encourage viewers to address challenges and remember the “magic” found within their own stories.

For the past several years, she has been creating work as part of her Feral Biome series. Feral Biome is a call to viewers to re-wild the imagination and consider new possibilities for addressing climate change and social inequities in our tangled Northwoods biome.

Jon Hinkel, proprietor of the Tight Squeek Press, is a letterpress printer and bookbinder specializing in multicolor block-print illustration. Jon's creative work includes original hand printed cards, limited edition prints and private press books. His bookbinding includes book construction, edition binding and book repair. He offers classes in relief printing and bookbinding at his shop in the Spirit of the Lake Community Arts building.

Michelle Wegler's paintings have been exhibited locally and nationally. Commissions include portraits of people, pets and homes. Her paintings have won awards and honors, and are included in private and corporate collections.

Ms. Wegler has studied under national and regional pastel artists. She is affiliated with Lake Country Pastel Society, Portrait Society of America, Outdoor Painters of Minnesota, and Duluth Art Institute.

“An aspect I so love about my life as an artist is being able to watch the reactions on people’s faces as they view my work. I paint to capture the images that quicken my heart and I’m always delighted when I see people respond with the wash of joy, happiness, or memories that fills them when the painting touches them.

“I have always been drawn to draw. I initially worked in graphite, and then discovering pastels, compressed sticks of pigment applied to paper, I discovered my medium. The luscious colors and the special light that finished paintings emit drew me to them and keep me painting with them. n goes here

Hello! I’m Susan, seamstress/sewist and the root of On The Hem. My love for sewing began when I was gifted a sewing machine after graduating from high school over 30 years ago. My experience over the years came through a variety of sewing ventures, classes, mentors, sewing for a winter apparel design and outdoor gear industry. I also had the opportunity to work with the Minnesota Ballet, where I had the pleasure of assisting the costume designer/manager with fittings and alterations.

​​My soul is fed with needle and thread and find sewing on occasions meditative. I take pride in my work and love seeing the reaction of clients when they see or try an item specifically altered or made for them. When I’m not at my machine or have needle and thread in hand, I enjoy spending time with family and friends, traveling, hiking, yoga and fishing.

Susanna Gaunt is an award-winning mixed-media installation artist and instructor living in Duluth. Using mediums such as weaving, photography, embroidery and collage, she analyzes the human condition through a philosophical and scientific lens. Inspired by historic European curiosity cabinets, natural history museums and personal specimen collections, she tangles human anatomy with animal taxonomy, creating works that encourage curiosity and reflection.

Susanna holds a BFA in Painting, Drawing and Printmaking from U of M Duluth and a BA in Philosophy from Boston College. Her work has been shown in solo and juried shows throughout the region. She taught photography for 10 years at Rocky Mountain School of Photography and currently runs the Youth Photography Club at Duluth Art Institute. She looks forward to additional teaching opportunities and engaging more with community through the Spirit of the Lake Community Arts.

Dale is a full time artist. As a painter, his primary medium is oil, but also works in charcoal and pastel. He has received several awards including two Best of Show and several first place awards; which are among many that he’s earned at the annual Artists of Minnesota show. He has also earned awards for his Plain Aire outdoor paintings.

Dale has taught portraiture at the old Pineapple Arts store and has taught a semester of studio art at University of Minnesota Duluth for seniors.

Dale’s style of painting is based on the Dutch masters techniques.

Nancy helps her students build a capacity for learning with a developmentally appropriate, experiential approach to education that nurtures the imagination, develops an awareness of the world, and integrates the arts and academics for children from preschool and beyond.

Nancy Lewis is certified as a Waldorf Early Childhood and Grades Teacher with over 30 years of teaching experience who started her career as a public school K-12 art teacher.