Nick & Rosie, Founders of Minneapolis 11th Annual Spiritual Art Show

THE JOURNAL
By Michelle Bruch

MINNESOTA - Nick and Rosie Heille host the annual Art-A-Whirl trolley tour. Nick and his wife Rosie helped found the Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association (NEMAA), they are often spotted at gallery shows, and they continually add to a personal art collection that represents about 40 artists. In addition to serving as founding members of the Northeast Minneapolis Arts Association, Nick and Rosie advised the city on its Arts Action Plan, which is meant to strengthen the artists’ presence in Northeast. They also founded the annual Spiritual Art Show, which is a juried exhibition of religious artwork that is now in its 11th year. “We want to get churches to realize the quality of the art that’s out there,” Nick said. One of this year’s winners is an oil painting that depicts Demond Reed, a four-year-old Minneapolis murder victim, surrounded by angels outraged by his senseless death. Nick said the painting is representative of the high-quality work he wants to highlight. [link]

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Lutheran Arts Festival Returns to Minneapolis

SOUTH WASHINGTON COUNTY BULLETIN
March 20, 2011

MINNESOTA -  The 11th annual juried Christian Arts Festival is being held at Woodbury Lutheran Church March 23- April 17. The sanctuary show is open for public viewing from noon to 4:30 p.m. daily except on Wednesday when it will open from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Festival awards, including a people’s choice, will be presented to the winning artists on April 10. The festival has three visions: to glorify God, to showcase the work and witness of Christian artists and to provide a visual setting for meditation, prayer, and worship in the church sanctuary. Approximately 40 pieces of artwork, including paintings, sculptures, photography and mixed media, are on display. This year’s featured artist is Ashley Dull, a young painter who earned her fine arts degree from Luther College, in Decorah, Iowa. Woodbury Lutheran is located at 7380 Afton Road, just off Valley Creek across from Target. For details, visit http://www.woodburylutheran.org/. [link]

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Church uses Bible illustrations for Lenten lessons

SAINT CLOUD TIMES
March 7, 2011

MINNESOTA--The Rev. William Meier doesn’t just want people to read the Bible during Lent but to experience it. With illuminations from The Saint John’s Bible, the congregation at First United Methodist Church will be doing just that. The St. Cloud church will offer a Lenten study using art from the world’s latest handwritten and illustrated Bible and the first Bible to be commissioned in 500 years. “We have the facsimile copies of the Bible itself, which we will have on hand, but primarily we are using a DVD with computerized images that we will be projecting for the whole group to see and reflect upon,” said Meier, lead pastor of the church. The original Saint John’s Bible, commissioned by St. John’s Abbey, is more than 2 feet tall and 3 feet wide when open. Its construction parallels that of its medieval predecessors — natural handmade inks, hand-ground pigments and gold leaf. “Our church has many high-quality professional artists in it, so there was an appreciation of art to begin with there at our church, and the intersection between art and spirituality seemed like a natural fit for us,” Meier said. [link]

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