A Balanced Community: Business and Artistic Ventures Are Key

I think my lack of artistic ability was apparent at a pretty young age. I recall being around 5 or 6, when a simple first grade art project of painting a tree on a piece of legal size paper ended with me being put in a separate corner of the classroom with drop cloths all around. Sigh.
But it was two years later when an art teacher taught me, art can take many forms, and as long as it is done from the heart is always beautiful to someone. There is no right or wrong,she said,and unlike the grammar lessons I loved so much (seriously, I loved them, weird I know) art had no “rules.”
To be honest, though, that really never stuck and I ended up never understanding or even attempting many artistic ventures since then. But the older I get, and as I watch my children try different creative pursuits from music to sculpting, I am thinking, “why not pursue those things now if I want?” I'll tell you why not. It's still intimidating.
I would walk into an art studio and not be able to tell a pastel from an acrylic (I'm hoping those are actual art terms, I recall my 10-year-old telling me about them.) But, I should have known this community I love so much would come through for me. You see, we hear all about how our region is growing; manufacturing, professional business, population. Well, the arts community is growing right along with it.
And mixed in with the restaurants, bars, and office buildings downtown is a little place called the 410 Project. It is a non-profit, completely volunteer-run art gallery and "experimental station." (I’m told it’s the only one of its kind in Southern Minnesota.) I had the pleasure of meeting the volunteer director, Dana Sikkila, last week. She and her troop of dedicated volunteers open the space on weeknights and weekends, after working their full-time paying jobs. They give “amateur” artists a place to display their work and they offer classes. They have such a heart for it because they know for a community to truly thrive, you need to have a way for people to express and explore.
It was clear this is a place where even I, who can’t tell my Picasso’s from an 8-year-old’s painting (true story), could go to try something new. It’s totally open to everyone no matter age or ability. And the vision Dana has for it is incredible, she truly has a passion for bringing this community into full balance between artistic ventures and business ones.
The 410 Project, its volunteers and the community members who help support it are all part of what makes this “The Good Life.”