SoMinn THE BOOKWORM SEZ

Kids create under the guidance of Kate Langlais during “Art in the Park” at Faribault’s Central Park in 2020. Photo by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

A young artist brushes paint into a scene during “Art in the Park,” led by Kate Langlais. Photo by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

new places made me even more interested in creating landscape and portrait art.

We’re all familiar with the term “starving artist.” Did you consider other career choices or was art something you always knew would be your life’s professional work? I’d like to hear about that decision, whether you faced obstacles or whether it was simply a matter of pursuing your passions.

Ah, yes. I did think about other art-related jobs like graphic design or getting my teaching license, but I really felt like I was in a position to pursue my real passion for art. I saved up my babysitting money all through my teenage years, chose the cheapest possible colleges and worked many different types of jobs to make ends meet. I lived in a van for a while to travel and avoid the usual expenses of rent/utilities. This definitely made for some great artistic inspiration.

You work primarily in oil paint and charcoal, but also use graphite and chalk pastels. Why those particular art mediums?

Throughout college I worked with so many different media in all my classes. I guess those are the ones that really stuck for me, especially the oil paint and the charcoal. They just work really great for creating portraits and my clients love the results of those especially when it comes to larger commissions.

Your specialties are portraits and landscapes. What prompted you to choose those artistic focuses?

I’ve always been pretty drawn to landscape and portrait art. I’ve definitely dabbled in other subjects but those are just what really stuck for me. A good chunk of creating art is observing and those subjects really tend to jump out at me as I experience the world.

Let’s talk about portraits first. Your subjects range from commissioned work to family to faith subjects and more. What’s the process of creating a portrait? What challenges you in the process? And how do you know when you’ve succeeded in creating that “just right” portrait?

The process for each portrait looks a bit different depending on the situation. Sometimes it starts with a photo from the internet or from the client. Other times (and these are my favorite) I get to sit with clients for sketches and I take my own photos of them to work from later. Drawing a portrait can take up to a few

Kate Langlais Photo courtesy of Kate Langlais TOP: “Faysel” portrait, “I Am Minnesota” project. Black & white charcoal on gray paper. Photo by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

ABOVE: Part of Faysel’s story from Kate Langlais’ “I Am Minnesota” project.

CONTINUED from page 27

weeks while paintings can take months to finish. I know when it’s done when both myself and the client think it looks like the subject. The challenge, I suppose, is successfully getting the portrait to look just right.

I want to expand on your faith portraits of Pope John

Paul II, Pope Francis and Mother Teresa, for example. Tell me about the influence of faith in your art.

I grew up with a lot of religious imagery especially when visiting my grandparents. Mother Teresa was probably the first subject for my religious art and I picked her because I absolutely love her wrinkles.

In 2020 you received a $2,500 Minnesota State Arts Board grant to fund a project, “I Am Minnesota.” You used those monies to create portraits of and craft short stories about local immigrants. I saw your show at the Paradise Center for the Arts in Faribault and was particularly moved. What prompted you to initiate this project? How did you find your subjects? What did you hope to accomplish via “I Am Minnesota”?

Thank you for asking about that. It was such a great experience for me to meet such interesting people in my new community. I actually get to continue the project because I just received more grant money from the Southeastern Mnnesota Arts Council to create more portraits. The next show will be in the exhibition space between Buckham Memorial Library and the community center in Faribault during the summer of 2023. It’s so important for people to be able to share their stories and equally important for their neighbors to read them and really see their humanity. I grew up around a lot of pretty bad attitudes surrounding immigrants and noticed that the worst attitudes were held by people who just didn’t know the immigrants they were hating on. I hope to reach some of those people and change some hearts while at the same time including and giving the mic to my neighbors who have been through so much to become such an important part of my community.

Now let’s turn to landscapes. I saw your landscape “Nebraska Sky” in an exhibit at the Paradise Center for the Arts. Clouds in a spacious blue sky fill nearly the entire canvas with only a sliver of greenery at the bottom. The scene reminds me of my prairie roots. I feel such a connection to that painting. I’d like to hear how place emerges in your art. What landscapes are you drawn to paint and why?

I’m so glad you feel that connection to those paintings—I do get that reaction quite a bit probably because prairie landscapes really are beautiful and sometimes it takes a painting for some folks to realize it. One amazing thing about living in the Midwest is the view we get of the sky and I definitely have taken that for granted in the past. There’s this idea that many people have that in order for a place to be “scenic” it has to have certain features like mountains. I didn’t fully appreciate what we have here until I moved away and came back.

Another important part of your art is teaching, whether in private lessons, through an art center, via community ed, “Art in the Park”, virtually and more. Why teach? Not every artist wants to or can successfully teach.

I started teaching because it’s so rewarding giving students a fun and supportive art learning experience. During the pandemic I’ve really appreciated the opportunities I’ve gotten to teach both online and outdoors. As a new mom too it’s one thing that really makes me feel like my normal self again.

You’ve offered your “Painting with Kate” classes since 2008. Tell me more about that—where you’ve taught and to whom.

“Painting with Kate” started when I was a college freshman at Anoka Ramsey up in Cambridge, Minnesota. I taught it (and variations of it) at school districts all over the area, spending summers teaching at two different districts per week. I would sometimes use the class as a mini vacation too—like traveling up to Duluth to teach there for a week or visiting relatives in Moorhead or Sauk Centre. Now that I’m in Faribault, I teach through the Paradise Center for the Arts, Northfield Community Ed and Burnsville Community Ed.

In addition to teaching students to paint portraits and landscapes and from life, you also teach “Painting Science.” What exactly is that?

“Painting Science” is one of my newest creations. It involves painting and learning about various science topics like cells, the water cycle and planets. It’s a great way to get artsy kids interested in science and “sciencey” kids interested in painting.

The pandemic presented financial and other challenges within the artistic community. How did you pivot during the pandemic so you could continue as a working artist? Did you experience any changes in what, and how, you are creating as a result of the pandemic?

The immediate pivot to teaching in an online format came surprisingly easy for me. Offering the classes virtually did have its downsides, though, as many students became tired of doing all their schooling virtually and many people value online classes less than in-person ones. Because of this I was able to secure funding through a Minnesota State Arts Board grant and offered completely free virtual classes through a year. I saw many new students become interested in art this way and am really proud of the progress they made during the online classes they took with me. I’ve continued and will continue offering virtual classes and

“Pope Francis” portrait exhibited at the Paradise Center for the Arts. Photo by Audrey Kletscher Helbling “Mother Teresa,” one of Kate Langlais’ favorite subjects in an exhibit at the Paradise Center for the Arts. Photo by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

now, with summer coming, some outdoor classes.

What do you have on your teaching schedule from April into spring/summer, whether virtually or in-person?

I’m teaching virtually through the Paradise Center for the Arts in both April and June, through Northfield in April and then through Burnsville Community Ed in July. For in-person classes I’ll be offering a drawing class for 6-11-year-olds on Mondays and a parent/child painting class for 0-5-year-olds on Tuesdays. Both of these will be in my backyard “studio” outdoors. I still have time to add more classes to my schedule if I have a few students interested in any particular topic. My classes can all be found on my website, katelanglais.com

One final question. You’re a busy mom of a nearly two-year-old daughter with your second child due in June. How do you balance everything? And is your preschooler into art?

Yes, great question. The baby being due at the beginning of June is a major reason for me keeping things virtual and outdoors this summer so our family can continue taking health precautions. Our daughter loves art and that’s why I decided to offer an outdoor class for her age group. It can be really tricky to balance everything, but with my husband’s long paternity leave it’ll be much easier to offer classes this summer and continue working on portrait commissions. 

“Blurry view from the Beach,” an oil painting shown during a recent exhibit at the Paradise Center for the Arts. Photo by Audrey Kletscher Helbling

DID YOU KNOW?

The art of Kate Langlais is showcased in the following locations or may be purchased/ commissioned directly from her: Paradise Center for the Arts, Faribault St. Cloud Book Shop, St. Cloud The Arcade (two galleries), Nashville, Tennessee

Welcome to the Grief Club, The Dark Queens and more

Welcome to the Grief Club

by Janine Kwoh

c.2021, Workman $15.95 112 pages

There is no secret handshake.

You'll never have to put meetings on your calendar, either. No one will ever bother you to pay dues or elect officers, and there is no clubhouse. And yet, you've suddenly found yourself a member of a worldwide club that you never asked to join. How did this happen? And, as in "Welcome to the Grief Club" by Janine Kwoh, how do you escape?

When someone you love has died, you don't have to go far to find somebody who's experienced grief, too. Reach out, and they'll tell you that "there are no magic fixes" for what you're feeling. You just have to work through it on your own time, although other Grief Club members will "listen without judgement or platitudes."

This Club is not for competitors; it's "NOT the Grief Olympics..." You're allowed to cry as much as you want, and swear if it'll help. You're free to feel like you're falling or like you're "riding a roller coaster" or none of the above because here's the thing: you can grieve in any way that seems best for you. Do what comforts you. Talk about it, or don't. Above all, ignore anybody who seems to think it's "time" for you to be healed already because it's not their grief.

If a "deathiversary" is coming up, know that "you should feel free to spend the day however you like." Don't feel bad if you get angry at stupid reactions, empty words, or idiotic "things that may fill you with rage." Remember that none of this – not one little scrap of it – is your fault. If you had a rough relationship with someone who died, also remember that you don't have to justify your grief to anyone.

And finally, remember that "grief softens over time." You'll learn that it's perfectly okay to be okay eventually. You'll never get over your loss but someday, "it will no longer feel like the only thing that" defines you...

If you go in search of "Welcome to the Grief Club," you might first think that it's a cutesy bit of fluff. Glance through it briefly, and you'll see all kinds of cartoony artwork and some colorful graphics. Don't walk away without looking closer.

In between those drawings – which are a reassuring part of the theme of this book – you'll find the kind of comfort that a grieving person needs to see. Author Janine Kwoh explains up-front that her words come from experience: she lost someone important in her life, too, which gives her the credibility needed to be blunt with her readers, both in acknowledging the roughest parts of grieving, and in hammering home the fact that grief is individual and survivable. For those who are crushingly overwhelmed or flailing underwater, that can feel like a hug.

Get this book for a loved one, or find it for yourself; you'll turn to it often, when you need it most. Especially today, "Welcome to the Grief Club" may be the most helpful book you'll meet.

The Dark Queens:

The Bloody Rivalry That Forged the Medieval World

by Shelley Puhak

c.2022, Bloomsbury $30.00 368 pages

Everything of the realm is yours.

The castle, the armies, the fields, knolls, woods, and waters, let's say they're all yours. You have servants, jewels, gold, and treasure. You literally rule from a throne but good luck keeping it because, as in the new book "The Dark Queens" by Shelley Puhak, someone else wants it, too.

In ancient times, the names of rulers were cast in stone: monuments, statues, stone tablets and such proclaimed the names for all to know and remember. If someone was deposed in disgrace or as punishment, their images were literally scratched from history.

That, says Shelley Puhak, is what likely happened to Queens Fredegund and Brunhild, who ruled over what is now much of Europe, the Netherlands, and parts of Switzerland "some 1,400 years ago." Their near-disappearance from history was not due to ineptness, however. It was because they were successful.

It started with a father's folly.

King Sigibert had his eye on Princess Brunhild for quite some time. She would have been a "prestigious mate" for him, and the marriage would help seal many alliances. Sigibert was the ruler of the Kingdom of Austrasia, one of four smaller kingdoms that resulted when Sigibert's father, Clothar, divided his kingdom amongst his sons.

While that might seem like an equitable thing to do, it caused a wide, bitter rift between the brothers, especially Sigibert and Chilperic of Neustria. Chilperic was determined to gain more of his father's land but he was quite mercurial, and distracted by a former slave girl who, after the mysterious murder of his second wife, became Chilperic's third bride. Fredegund, Puhak indicates, was as lovely as she was cunning.

Years of eavesdropping on the household had honed Fredegund's understanding of alliances and using connections. Likewise, Brunhild had watched her mother do the same thing in her father's kingdom. Both Queens knew what it would take to remain in power, with or without Kings by their sides.

Both would do whatever it took...

When there are several maps and a lengthy list of who's who at the beginning of a book, please pay heed. In this case, it signals that "The Dark Queens" may be a handful.

Going back to the fall of Rome, author Shelley Puhak moves forward quickly, giving readers the lay of the land and its many rulers, before getting to the meat of her tale. Yes, it's necessary but you may wish it wasn't because it's a lot to absorb. Add in battles, skirmishes, warriors, victorys and defeats in and around Frankish-held areas and you've got your work cut out for you.

You won't mind that one bit, though, if you're a fan of Game of Thrones and such. Puhak packs the intrigue and drama of early Medieval Europe in tightly, and there's a gasp-worthy ending that'll leave you breathless.

And so, if you're casual about your history, you can leave this on the shelf. If you enjoy 6th-century epics or true-story fairy tales, then loving "The Dark Queens" is within the realm of possibility.

Scarlet in Blue

by Jennifer Murphy

c.2022, Dutton $27.00 373 pages

The portrait is beautiful, but drab.

Once vivid and vibrant, the colors have become fugitive pigments – gone, lost, having left the canvas through exposure over decades. Now, you can only imagine the jeweled tones of the subject's gown, the richness of her hair, the glint in her eye, but you can't see them. As in the new novel "Scarlet in Blue" by Jennifer Murphy, it feels as though something important is missing forever.

When her mother had said it was time to go, fifteen-year-old Blue didn't bother to argue. This race was the same as the last escape was the same as the run before, but she didn't expect to land in snow country. It was cold in South Haven, Michigan.

Every time, every move, she hoped things would be different. Maybe her mother would settle down and let Blue make friends, fall in love, have a dog like a normal teenager. Maybe her mother wouldn't see "HIM," an invisible man who was part of her mother's illness. Maybe they could live in the real world for once.

Scarlet never walked, she twirled when she moved, hands above her head. People might have thought she was eccentric – she painted in the dark and destroyed her own canvases, and her palette came from natural sources – but they bought her works anyway, didn't they? After all, she was a worldrenowned painter with a gallery and shows in New York City, and she had famous friends! Moving around wasn't her first choice, either, but she had to protect Blue from HIM.

This trip to South Haven, and the revenge she'd find... that would fix all the problems.

When his wife Lily died, Dr. Henry Williams knew he'd never love anyone the same way again, and so his attraction to his new patient, Scarlet, made no sense. Yes, she was intriguing and mysterious but she was also in need of psychoanalyzation. He was obsessed with her, but he couldn't figure out why. Why did she choose him to be her doctor?

Layer by layer: that's how the Masters created their paintings. It's how author Jennifer Murphy presents her "Scarlet in Blue."

The first layer will put you on edge: Murphy starts her tale with tension and the admission that there's been a murder, but decades ago and there's no mystery in that. Uniquely, readers aren't particularly urged to solve anything. Instead, we're pulled sideways, tucked into Blue's life and her growing fears and frustrations, while we watch Scarlet dive out-of-control. And here comes another layer: her relationship with Henry has a distinctive feel of an old-time movie with clever distractions to make you sometimes forget that murder.

No worries: Murphy blends it in at just the right times, making it bleed into the rest of the story until the picture comes clear.

Set in the early 1960s, this is a noir movie lover's book. It's for fans who don't quite want a mystery to read. Just put "Scarlet in Blue" in your lap and color yourself sunny yellow.

Books for Science - Minded Readers

c.2022, various publishers $24.00 - $28.00 various page counts

The world is filled with wonders.

There are so many things to learn, so many things to learn about. So why not grab these great books for science-minded readers...?

First, for the mathematician in you, there's "Making Numbers Count" by Chip Heath & Karla Starr (Avid Reader Press, $24.00), a book that shows how numbers can change minds and lives.

For instance, you probably already know that statistics can be manipulated to a writer's whims, but how do you make statistical information relevant to your audience? How do you properly "recast" a stat for better rememberability? And how can you use numbers to do nifty tricks, help people see your point of view, and make your commute better?

The answer's in this book.

If you happen to spill something on it, well, you're going to want "Sticky" The Secret Science of Surfaces" by Laurie Winkless (Bloomsbury Sigma,$28.00), then.

This very cool book explains that stickiness is everywhere: not only does it exist in nature, but many arms of science rely on properties of stickiness and its accompanying friction. There's not necessarily an "icky" in "Sticky," as you'll see; sticky exists in very surprising places that keep us moving, working, playing, and alive.

Speaking of alive, you know you want to read "A Taste for Poison" by Neil Bradbury, PhD (St. Martin's Press, $27.99). Every whodunit fan and armchair detective needs to read this book, in fact; it's full of true mysteries, nefarious behavior, impressive sleuthing, historical plots, and fascinating ways that chemical substances and natural concoctions have be used, misused, and terribly abused throughout time – including some chillingly modern poisonings that may shock you. Though the approach to this subject is serious, Bradbury makes it very fascinating and easy to enjoy. The interesting thing about poison is this: it's not always what it does, but also what it doesn't do. Read this book to find out more...

And finally, check out "Owning the Sun" by Alexander Zaitchik (Counterpoint, $26.00), a history of "monopoly medicine," or meds that have been owned by corporations that closely guard their manufacture.

Readers, especially news junkies, won't be surprised to know that there's a lot of background to this, going back to at least World War II, and it includes business and government entities. A lot of legalities are involved, too – for instance, do we protect intellectual properties to allow for corporate profits, or do we insist that life-saving medicines and vaccines be free or extremely low-cost? Why do your taxes pay for medical research, while the companies who benefited from tax-funded grants make big profits? Shouldn't medical substances be cheaper, for the good of humanity? Argument starter, thoughtprovoker, question-asker, "Owning the Sun" is a book you need to read now.

And if these great science-minded books don't exactly speak to your burning curiosity, be sure to ask your favorite librarian or bookseller for their ideas or insight. They know books better than almost anybody. They'll help you find these four great books. You'll wonder how you ever missed them.

ShadowMan: An Elusive Psycho Killer and the Birth of FBI Profiling

by Ron Franscell

c.2022, Berkley $27.00 304 pages

A quarter of an inch.

Roughly, that's the thickness between your scalp and your brain: a tiny fraction of bone between the world and your history, beliefs, your thoughts, feelings, and ideas. It seems insignificant, but that space – about the same as four stacked pennies – is everything. What's beneath it, as in the new book "ShadowMan" by Ron Franscell, well, it's complicated.

It was toward the end of June, 1973, and it wasn't quite morning when fourteen-year-old Heidi Jaeger was awakened by a breeze.

Had she left the tent-flap open around midnight when she'd come back from an outhouse run? No, she'd been creeped-out by something and had gone straight back to the tent but she was sure she'd zipped it up tight. All was well then – her siblings were asleep like a pile of puppies – but now, at that predawn hour, something was definitely wrong.

Susie, Heidi's seven-year-old sister, was gone, and there was a neatly-cut hole in the tent near where her head should've been.

Because of federal laws, "with or without an invitation," the FBI would be involved in this case and so Special Agent Byron Dunbar was called. Dunbar was a local guy who'd served under J. Edgar Hoover before returning home to care for his parents; he knew the terrain so he started gathering evidence, but there wasn't much of it. He began interviewing people who might've had information about the abduction, but even in everybody-knew-everybody Manhattan, Montana, nobody seemed to know a thing.

Then someone began phoning the Jaeger home, taunting Susie's mother with false clues. And nineteen-year-old Sandy Smallegan disappeared.

Crime-solving in the early 1970s was still relatively simple, although the FBI had been working with intriguing new information. It'd already been established that some killers could be pre-identified by their habits and personality peccadilloes. Dunbar knew this, and with the Bureau's help, he'd severely narrowed the list of suspects but he was frustrated – until it was suggested that he use a new method of crime solving.

Voiceprinting, they said, was nearly as individual and distinctive as a fingerprint...

So, you know that squinchy-eyed face you make when the rest of your body cringes? Yeah, that's what you'll get when you read "ShadowMan."

You'll recoil because these crimes were gruesome and author Ron Franscell doesn't candy-coat that; instead, he gives readers an armchair tour of an evil, depraved mind and the things it can do. Squirm and twist awhile, make that face, then let yourself be immersed in Franscell's detailed account of the development of profiling methodology within the FBI. Yes, true crime fanatics, you'll love how murder and history are woven together, especially if you're already familiar with the Bureau's ways. Whodunit fans won't exactly find mystery in this story, but the background will appeal to you.

When you've got books about the Body Farm on your shelf, or anything by John Douglas or Robert Ressler, "ShadowMan" deserves to be right next to them. If you love a gruesome tale of crime-solving, wrap your head around this one.

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