BETSY PARDICK

I'm Betsy, a single mother of two boys, Dexter (20) and Carson (12). Originally from Illinois, I've called Minnesota my home for the past 13 years. After relocating here, I began to explore my musical style and started performing locally with other collaborators. As bandmates came and went, I worked at honing my unique style, aiming to perform solo eventually. I ventured into songwriting in early 2014 and have a small collection of songs that I'm eager to record. In my spare time since moving to Minnesota, I've taken up kayaking, discovering numerous natural treasures along the river. These discoveries have inspired me to create visual art that complements the themes found in my songs.

JANEL GUERTIN

My name is Janel Guertin, I’m 23 years old and born and raised in Granite Falls. I work at the Rock Dinning & Events in town as a waitress and bartender. I grew up doing crafts and art projects with my mom and grandmas. Painting quickly became my favorite way to express myself and one day I decided to paint myself and my cats in cartoon style, it became my favorite thing to do! Now I spend most of my free time painting cats in a cartoon style and I’ve even started digital art of cats, hoping to make cat animations some day soon! I grew up always having a cat in life and I make friends with pretty much every cat I come across. I’m also known for rescuing stray cats and I’ve fostered a lot of cats through the shelter. I now have 6 cats and one dog so I have plenty of inspiration for my art!

BRIAN-PACO

I am a poet named Brian-Paco.

My pronouns are Brian and Paco or B-P. I appreciate when people say my name. As a resident of Marshall for most of my life, I am a known local presence that is either reading, writing, taking poetry requests, or sharing creativity with friends and fellow artists.

As an “in-the-world” poet, Brian-Paco muses in nearby bars and open mic spaces.

B-P goes out believing existence is better with art in experience, so people should create and release things, then appreciate relatable pieces. Coordinating with local creators to make, print, and cut self-published zines, Brian-Paco enjoys distributing them from a poetry bag.

Bringing poems into the daily lives of those lucky folks that reach into the satchel, Paco feels words, shut away and shelved, die too soon. Often, Brian reads aloud in public to individuals but also upon stages from Sioux Falls, South Dakota to a few regional Minnesota cities such as Marshall, New London and Granite Falls.

SONJA MADSEN

I am an emerging sculptor and metalsmith from the breathtaking state of Minnesota. The wonders of nature, combined with my fascination in folklore, compel me to bring components of and creatures from my imagination to life. I was raised on books filled with magic and dragons, monsters and daring escapes. Longing for such fantastic encounters in everyday life, I seek to actualize the imagined. Therefore, I create predominantly 3-dimensional art to command attention and conjure visions of ancient legends, carving a space for the mystic within the mundane. I studied Art & Design up at Northern Michigan University and have since been searching every crevice for the whimsical otherworldly!

NICOLE BRENNY

Nicole Brenny is a multidisciplinary artist living in the prairie. She explores sharing her voice through music, filmmaking, DJing, electronic music production, visual arts, gardening & homemaking. She believes that art in its highest form can serve as a physical manifestation of what is within. So her artistic journey has been one of deep inner refinement to instill within all that can be thought of as true, good and beautiful. May peace prevail.