Fall 2023 Show

 

Take Me Back  By Adie Larsen  Guitar and vocals

Howdy! My name is Adie Larsen, I am 16 years old, and when I’m not daydreaming I’m probably doing school in my bedroom. This session I got to work with Aaron Sutton and we had a blast trying to figure out how on earth to cram a dyslexic, crazy, and easily distracted brain into a song.

The mountains have always been and will always be an extremely important place to me. Looking back I’ve made some of the most awesome and challenging memories there. With my family’s best friends and both my grandparents living out west, it always feels like I’m coming home to family. I wanted to somehow capture all the feelings and emotions that the mountains bring to me. Isn’t it incredible that one place can make me feel my strongest and my weakest? The most alive and the least important? I was a little hesitant at first because lots of other people have written songs about the mountains and I didn’t want it to just be one more song. Also, I honestly wasn’t sure if I could accurately describe this place without accidentally idolizing it. But I’m really glad those fears didn’t stop me.

The session has really taught me how words have power and I can either use them for good or bad. Time and time again I’ve seen how my words and other people’s words constantly affect the people around us. This session has also really helped me to realize that yes, the mountains are great but the biggest reason why I love them is because I feel close to God there. Finally, I wanted to thank my parents for taking me on all the incredible adventures. Not only to the mountains but through life and not giving up on me.
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Brutally Beautiful by Brinkley Salvevold  Vocals

My name is Brinkley Salvevold. I’m in eighth grade, and I go to Cornerstone Academy Homeschool.  The mentors I worked with are Aaron and Molly.

Previously, I wrote a song for my little sister, called “Little Fighter.” I created this album cover for that song and for the new song that I have written for Jensyn.

Jensyn was born with a rare genetic disorder called Trisomy 5P.  For six and a half years, she struggled with many illnesses and spent lots of time in the hospital and at medical appointments.  She could not speak, or walk, or interact with us very much.  She mostly spent time in her bed, but we loved being with her whenever we could.

I wrote a new song for the album called “Brutally Beautiful.”  It is about the night my little sister passed away.

Brutally Beautiful

The day we let her go is a day I’ll never forget.
How God was there taking her peacefully with him.
And at twelve thirty six am she had passed away.
And I can’t believe it happened this quickly. 

It was the most brutally the most beautiful day
to have let her go into the hands of Jesus
not the prettiest, but the most glorious day
to have let her go into the hands of Jesus

The night we said goodbye is night that just keeps coming to my mind 

And when it was time to let her go I was praying for a miracle 

It was the most brutally the most beautiful day
to have let her go into the hands of Jesus
not the prettiest, but the most glorious day
to have let her go into the hands of Jesus 

It was the most brutally the most beautiful day to have let her go into the hands of Jesus
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“Tick Tock”  By Emma Sutton  Vocals

Hello, my name is Emma Sutton. I’m almost out of high school as a senior, I’m 17 years old and am homeschooled as well. My mentor was my dad. The title of my piece is called “Tick Tock” (like the sound of a clock). This song is essentially about me being overwhelmed by the crazy things that are happening in society these days such as the war in Ukraine, abortion, and the identity challenges. And about the non-Christians out there who don’t know Jesus, running out of time to accept the way, the truth, and the life.

So, I think God put the people who are struggling with identity on my heart and He inspired me to write the song. I have friends who struggle with identity challenges and I hear about Ukraine, and the sad reality of abortion. It all makes me sad and I feel like God gave me the idea to write this song.

My dad helped me a lot with writing this song. The lyrics before were way more wordy than they are now and he helped me not be so ‘preachy’ as he said, which just means I was talking to people instead of talking about my own experiences. He helped me a lot through the whole process. What I gained from this session is meeting people with different stories and seeing how they incorporate their stories into their art. I think it’s cool.

Finally, I thank my God most importantly for giving me the talent of music making, and my dad and the other PA students for helpful critique. Thank you!
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Orbit   by Shane Christopher Mahon      Powder Coated Steel    approx. 48” x 28” x 24”

The piece was commissioned by The City of Saint Cloud. It’s for a vehicle charging station.  It’s an atom with three electrons.  Do you remember the Periodic Table? What’s the Third element? Here’s a hint: the atomic symbol is Li. It’s a lithium atom. The charging station charges lithium car batteries, get it?

This session, I realized a new meaning: Bible time.

Beloved: Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. 1 Peter 3:15a

Sometimes, biblical phrasing is a little old fashioned. Let’s do a paraphrase. The paraphrase isn’t perfect, But it sums it up.

Loved ones: Put Jesus in your heart. Put him in the most special place

I’ve heard people say, “ Put the Lord on the throne of your heart.” How about we say put GOD in the center? It’s like the nucleus of an atom. Things change when we do this. If we choose to be the nucleus, everyone else is an electron. They orbit around, but they are lesser beings. (Seriously, electrons are tiny. They weigh practically nothing.) With yourself in the center, it’s harder to love others. It’s easier to be selfish, greedy & want what others have. People become things to be used.

With Christ at the center, you are equal to people around you. It’s easier to forgive. You see their flaws are the same as yours.

There are other benefits when we orbit around Him. It would be a long list. I think I’ve made you read enough. Bear with me a tiny bit longer. I’ll try to sum it up. He will be with you & being with Him is pretty much the best.

If you want to know more about orbiting Jesus, You can talk to a mentor or read one of the little books. They are on the sculpture stand (the books, hopefully not the mentors.)

Extra credit reading: I’d like to give special thanks to Jesus, He’s a great consultant. Also thanks to Chris Gustafson at ArtxEng engineering & All Pro Powder Coating.

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Rocky circa. 1992 (1954-2022)    by Matt Hebert   Oil on Panel  12″ X 16″

Strictly speaking, for me portraiture is about observation first… interpretation second. But… predictably perhaps, I’m not so strict. I’m not as careful as I could be to order those two disciplines. The two commingle for me in the studio. As a result, my memories of a man mix with the mechanics of memorized rules for human proportions. Stories bump against the particularities of sizes and shapes. But somehow, if all goes well in the making of a portrait, the dance between observation and interpretation eventually carries me toward something like the essence of a person. You’ll have to decide if we got there with Rocky circa. 1992.

In the fray of paint and personhood, I’ve noted some things about this man (observations or interpretations?):

• Like mine, Rocky’s facial features have changed over time.
• He never missed an opportunity to start, warm, and clear his wife’s car on winter days.
• He loved, and still loves, the God of the Scriptures.
• He cherished chances to make the Good News of Jesus clear for others, especially to folks for whom the story had been made, for whatever reason, foggy.
• His smile looks sly… in the reference photo, and in my limited memories. 
• He was the kind of man who cared enough to tie shoes tightly for those who couldn’t yet tie their own.
• His beard was subtly multi-colored in 1992, the year the reference photo was taken.
• He wore facial hair like a champion.

Though my vantage point is a limited one, my honor and respect for Rocky… from a distance (and up close)… have only become more so in the making of this portrait.

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Formidable  By Grace Rolling   Oil paint on canvas

Hello everyone, and thank you for coming to our show. I am eighteen years old and homeschooled. I live in Foley. My mentor for this session was Matt Hebert, who I am especially indebted to as this was my first oil painting endeavor. My piece is called Formidable, and I made it using oil paints on canvas.

This is the first session I came to PV with an idea of what I wanted to do, which was very good because this took way longer than I was expecting it to. I wanted to paint a knight fighting a dragon because I love stories about people with courageous tenacity to fight with the demons that plague their people, metaphorical or not. I think that the ideals of courage in the face of overwhelming odds, self-sacrifice, and a calling to a higher mission expressed in these stories have been lost in our world today and I wished to express them in my piece this session. I don’t know whether I’d rather believe that this particular knight won or lost his battle in the end. The important thing is that he knew what he had to do and he did it, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to do it in his own strength.

This session, I benefited from meeting new people and having deep conversations with them, and I appreciate the honesty and vulnerability that is encouraged in this environment. I would like to thank Matt firstly, as oil painting was an absolute beast of an art medium for me to try this idea on since I was both unfamiliar with doing a piece like this and the medium I worked with, and I also appreciated his eye for color and advice on helping the piece come together. I would like to thank my parents and family for supporting my passions and ideas.  Without them I would not be able to pursue my goals. Finally, I would like to thank God for giving me my passion for art and all the opportunities I’ve been granted. I am so lucky to be here and to share time with all these wonderful people. I hope you enjoy the rest of the show!
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Wish You Were Here  By Anika Van Vooren  Oil on Canvas

Hi, I’m Anika! I’m currently a homeschooled sophomore. My mentor for this session was Matt Hebert, and mentor Harriet Braun, also helped me with inspiration and encouragement as I created this piece.

I created my oil painting Wish You Were Here in memory of my grandma Sherri, a wonderful person and an incredibly talented artist. This piece is based on a floral still-life painting she created as a teenager. Although I only knew her for six years before she passed away from early-onset Alzheimer’s, her creativity was a huge influence on me, and so I wanted to create a piece as a tribute to her.

Throughout the painting, I used the Victorian language of flowers, a code that assigns meaning to different flowers and was used to communicate hidden messages during the Victorian era. I incorporated this symbolism to represent who my grandmother was and how I felt about her death. There are several flowers that hold meaning in the painting: carnations (meaning heartache and love), lily of the valley (meaning death), yellow and pink roses (signifying admiration and love), bluebells (meaning everlasting love), hawthorn (meaning hope), and canna lily (signifying beauty). Additionally, every flower in the painting is from a photo that I took somewhere meaningful. Adding this symbolism to the painting really helped me think about the deeper meaning behind what I was creating, and allowed me to connect to the painting in a deeper way.

Painting Wish You Were Here allowed me to connect to my grandma’s memory and process the way I felt about her absence. Although I deeply miss the memories and experiences I never had with her, I also know that everything happens for a reason. Even though I may not understand why God chose to take my grandma so soon, I trust His intentions and purposes. His plans are always for good.
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The Splash  by Karina Trejo   Oil Paint

Hi my name Karina Trejo, I’m 15 years old, I’m a sophomore at Sauk Rapids- Rice High School. My mentor was my very own grand cousin, Matt Hebert. My artwork is called The Splash, my medium is oil paint.

Something I love about this piece and that I find ironic is that I have never seen the ocean or sea, I have only seen it from an airplane window. I created this piece because I have always found the ocean/sea calming, mysterious, and majestic. I have come so far in this piece. I have taken before and after pictures of this piece and it doesn’t feel like the same painting. I named this piece The Splash because I have always wanted to splash around in the ocean/sea and as childish as it may seem, it has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl.

I chose oil painting because I never oil painted before and I wanted to spice things up with my art. With Matt as my mentor, I had the right help and guidance to make this piece. When making this art piece I learned that oil paint can be toxic, literally. I learned that it takes time and patience to make something great. I really took to heart Elijah’s life story because we may be grown people but deep down we are still kids and that’s ok. This piece was definitely a piece of work, not just on me as a person but spiritually as well. I definitely prayed to God a lot about this piece and I think it turned out amazing.

I wanna thank my mentors, my family, friends, YFC, and most importantly God for helping and supporting me throughout this journey.
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Open Door by Lydia Larsen   Oil on Canvas    14” x 16”

Hello everyone! My name is Lydia Larsen. It is bittersweet to say this is my tenth and final session of PV as a student. I started PV as an eighth grader and never looked back. I graduated on May 12th, from Saint Cloud Technical and Community College as a homeschooled PSEO student. My piece Open Door depicts an oil painting of a sunrise over a lake through a door frame. As I have grown to love oil painting and the culture of “The Swamp”, it seemed fitting to make my last piece with this medium.

I was inspired to make this piece by a phrase a pastor and family friend often says: “My future is incredibly bright.” It reminds me that I may not have my life figured out, but I know who has a good plan for me. Too often, I am anxious about what will come next when I should trust God’s sovereignty. The door represents the future opportunities and possibilities for my life. The sunrise in this piece was inspired by a photo I took off the roof of my family cabin last summer. 

This session of Portable Vision was unique for the oil painters, as Matt Hebert was on sabbatical for half of the session. As the most experienced oil painter, I got to step up and help lead the swamp dwellers. Kindly, they found my comments and advice helpful. I enjoyed our random conversations and am so glad nobody ate the forbidden frosting (toxic paint). Thank you, Matt, for your presence during the second part of this session, and thank you, God, for holding my future in your hands.
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Beauty and Peace in Small Things  By  Jeremiah Rolling  Wood

Hello, my name is Jeremiah Rolling and by the time you’re reading this I will have just graduated from my senior year in high school. This session I worked in the sculpture studio with Shane. My piece, “Beauty and Peace in Small Things”, depicts a hand grasping a simple flower.

This is an important piece for me. Not only is it my last session as a student, but the creation of this peace represents not only my past, but a future I hope for as well.  It started off as a piece filled with anger; filled with hate, hopelessness, and fear. I wanted to depict something very different from what it is now, something that I’ve always wanted to make a piece about. The details of what that is don’t matter, what matters is what happened to both me and the piece along the way.

To put it simply, I ran out of time.

I was going to have two hands, taken captive by a force that is cutting them up and not letting go. But I didn’t have time to make two hands, let alone such a complex piece. And that’s when I realized something.

I don’t have time for hate. I don’t have time to sit at my desk and be angry at people for things that I can’t change. I don’t have time to make things so complicated just to prove a point. So instead I simplified. I couldn’t do what I wanted in the first place, and that was freeing. Instead I made something lighter, a hand holding a simple flower that, while beautiful, is pretty common and simple. That’s what I want to express with this piece. We have such a short time on this earth… Why do we choose to use it for things that don’t matter? We distract ourselves from the simple beauty of this earth and each other and drown ourselves in anger, which we ironically then try to drown out with false happinesses. Instead, I want to hold on to the simple beauties in life– like a small little flower growing in my yard.

Psalms 73:21-22
“When I became embittered in my innermost being I was wounded, I was stupid and didn’t understand…”

Psalms 23:2
“He lets me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside quiet waters.”

One really sounds better than the other, doesn’t it?

I’d like to thank Shane, especially, for his help with my pretty ambitious plan to make a hand out of wood. I’d also like to thank my parents and everyone who mentored me through these years of high school, especially Christian Kirmeier and Kent Chilson. Without them I don’t think I’d be the person I am today. I also can’t forget my friends– William, Evan, Jake, Owen, and Garret– who’ve been such great guys to be around and I hope that we can continue building each other up and shouting about social deduction games for many more years to come.
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Wonder in The Forest by Maiya Couzens  Encaustic

Hello, my name is Maiya Couzens and I’m a homeschooled/ PSEO student. I am so grateful to have had Colleen and Shane as my mentors. I also am so thankful to have had the input of many others, such as Brian, Harriet, and Paul throughout this process. I created Wonder in The Forest using encaustics which is basically painting with wax on wood. You start by heating up some wax, choosing or mixing colors, painting on the wood, and then setting the layer of wax by heating it up with a heat gun.  

This piece is based off of a picture I took of some flowers at Beaver Island where my parents and I like to go on long walks with our dogs. For this session, I tried to find meaning behind my piece along the way instead of before starting a piece. The picture I used brings back memories of exploring outside in the sun and of simple joy. At the beginning of this session, I had absolutely NO IDEA what I was going to create. I had decided that I was going to work in the sculpture studio but that didn’t narrow down my options very much. Shane brought up the idea of working with encaustics and I was immediately intrigued. Encaustics sounded like nothing I had ever tried before so I was excited to experiment with it. Brian and Harriet had told me about one of Brian’s pieces with encaustics and how he layered a picture under the wax and incorporated some parts of the photo into the piece. I thought this was a great idea and was inspired to look through my photos for a picture to incorporate into my work. 

This is my third session in PV and I’ve always appreciated the input of mentors and other students throughout the session. It’s so helpful for me to be able to bounce around ideas about my piece and hear really cool ideas that I wouldn’t have thought of. 

I love how PV (and YFC in general) are accepting of all people with all different backgrounds. We dwell on deep questions that aren’t always about God but are gently encouraged to look for God working in our lives.

I would like to thank my mentors and everyone that has helped me along this process with my piece, my parents for always encouraging me as an artist, all of the wonderful mentors and volunteers who dedicate every Tuesday night to make art with us, and lastly, YFC for being so generous with their space and time and for creating such a great environment for young artists.
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Incomprehensible by Lucas Couzens  Mixed Media

What’s kicking my little chickens? My name is Lucas, I am in grade 8 and I’m homeschooled. I was one of Shane’s many disciples in the sculpture studio. I created Incomprehensible which was inspired by an overlook at the Cuyuna Mountain Bike Trails, using mixed media including denim, yarn and various kinds of wood. 

A local adventure camp went out to Cuyuna for a day trip. Me and a good buddy of mine, Josiah Phifer, just got done with a 13ish mile ride and were ready to go out again but we needed a leader so while we were waiting for one of the old men to get ready, we biked over to the overlook and just stood there in awe of the incomprehensible landscape that we were witnessing. Speechless and dumbfounded, we continued to have the best mountain bike ride and tried keep up with Josh Phifer *was not very successful. Whenever I am in times of doubt of my faith or just feeling lost in life, I think back to this image and everything makes sense.

Shane was a big help/inspiration with my piece. Sometimes I get too many ideas where it’s almost paralyzing and I can’t do anything. Shane helped keep me grounded in what is realistic; however I did end up getting away with using a few mediums. Through the process of working with many different mediums, I learned how to better deal with imperfections and frustrations. 

I was raised a Christian, but never really had a personal relationship with Jesus. Over the past couple years, I have been wrestling with that idea and learning about myself and my faith. Doing this through different youth groups and churches, YFC being the most influential. PV/A has been great in encouraging me to dig deeper into my story. 

I’d like to thank Shane for being the most awesome-est mentor and all of the leaders and fellow students for being so encouraging and helpful.
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Untitled by Paige Nelson    Sculpture

Hi, My name is Paige! I’m 18 years old and am graduating this year! I am homeschooled with my two siblings, we live in Becker. I worked with Shane and Molly on my project this year, they were amazing to work with!

What inspired my art piece was an incident that happened when I was 16 years old. I met a guy and was sexually assaulted and abused by him throughout our relationship. I felt like I was falling away from God at that time and was trapped in a world I didn’t recognize. I became someone I said I would never be.I chose to make it appear that a woman was being controlled and held down by a man while reaching for God because that is how I felt throughout that time.

I am a makeup and nail artist so this was stepping way out of my comfort zone. I chose to do sculpting to open my eyes to the art world and try something new.

I feel like I really stepped out of my comfort zone and learned a lot of new things when it comes to art. I made new relationships and became more confident in myself. I grew up a Christian and grow closer to God every day yet it was amazing to be with a bunch of Christians around my age and hear and share how God has worked in others’ lives.

I want to thank Shane and Molly for encouraging and helping me in this process. It was tons of fun and I really enjoyed working with them. Thank you Matt for introducing me to Bob Marley and thank you to all the people who made us food before each session. Thank you to the rest of the mentors for being willing to take time out of your Tuesday nights and Saturdays to help us. And thank you for coming to our show and showing your support! Hope you enjoy it!!!
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Unfathomable Love  By Holly Heinen  Sculpture

un·fath·om·a·ble

adjective 1.incapable of being fully explored or understood.

It should be no surprise to us that God is unfathomable – if He was fathomable then He would not be God! Isaiah 55:8-9 

Hello, my name is Holly Heinen, I am 15 years old and live on a farm near Saint Joseph, MN. This is my first session in Portable Vision and my mentor was Shane. Being here, I learned about God’s unfathomable love and my faith has grown stronger.

The inspiration for my design came from the unfathomable love of God. Even after all of my mistakes, God still loves me and not only that, he willingly gave up his son for me. My composition is a sculpture of Jesus’ empty grave, and it is called Unfathomable Love. I love the word unfathomable because it gives strong meaning and I cannot begin to understand the wondrous love of God. I really wanted to symbolize that Jesus’ grave is empty because he died and rose again so that we might have life. To make this come alive, I used a lot of different materials to give it depth, texture and character. Among those are foam, rock, wood, paint, gold leaf foil and moss. I learned about different art mediums and tools. I also realized when you are making an art piece you have to make it your own, following your vision from God and not worry about what others might think.

Each week I was excited to work on my project and enjoyed seeing the progress and how this came together. I also loved to see all the other amazing art pieces my peers created. This session God opened my eyes to the realization that his love is so much bigger than us, and his love defines us and gives us purpose.

I would like to thank my parents for driving me to YFC every week, my mentor Shane for giving me direction and inspiration, and all of the volunteers who were here each week. Most of all, I would like to thank God for loving us all more than we can fathom.
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The Things He Loved By Courtney Fischer   Mix Media Sculpture

Hello! My name is Courtney, I’m 17 and a senior at Litchfield High School. My piece is created from wood, clay, paper, colored pencil, paint, and other small trinkets. The Portrait is done with colored pencils. The crack resembles the harsh reality of his passing.

In March of 2022, my dad was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. Five months later on September 9th, 2022, he passed away. A few months later I had the idea to create a piece to honor him filled with things he loved. Here are the things he loved:

Acting Faces- He built the sets and was a part of the theater for about 10 years.

Dog Paw Print- Our family dog, Raven’s, paw (secretly his favorite child)

Legos- In his final months he found lots of joy in building Lego sets, these are the leftover pieces from those sets.

Beaded Bracelet- This was a bracelet that I made for my dad that said in morse code “I Love You.”

Star Wars- By far his favorite movie series

Island- Oak Island is from the show “The Curse of Oak Island”. This was a big bonding point for my dad and I.

Captain America Shield- He also loved all Marvel movies and convinced me to watch them with him.

Truck- His truck that he had for over 18 years (I think that explains itself).

Rubix Cube- Loved solving these…. Especially when he had the book that told him how to solve it (I called it his cheater book).

My sister and I- The ones he would sacrifice the world for.

Harley Keychain- The man loved his motorcycle.

My mom- The love he had for her. Let’s just say it was beautiful.

Puzzle pieces- He loved a good puzzle.

Holding cross- He loved making these and giving them away to everyone.

I want to thank all of the mentors for encouraging me and teaching me so much. I would especially like to thank Shane and Colleen for lots of ideas and help during this session. I would also like to thank Ella for helping me finish my piece. Lastly, I would like to thank everyone at PV for giving me many memories over the past five sessions.
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The Sword of the LORD  By  Hudson Johnson  Wood/Wood burning
Hey, my name is Hudson and I’m 14. I go to Sauk Rapid-Rice Middle School, or SRRMS for short, and I live in Rice, MN. Mentors that helped me and worked with me were Shane and Brian.

My piece is a sword made of wood and has wood burning on it. It is named as the Lord’s sword because it protects the loyal followers of the Lord. There’s a matching verse on the side– Daniel 6:22 (you should look it up).

This art piece connects with my story in the way that I think it should. It is the protecting hand of God and I have felt that in many ways throughout my life. Maybe in the dumb ways and maybe in the serious ways. This art is my representation of God’s work in my life and how He has saved me from many situations that only He could save me from. I chose the media I did because I thought wood would look like “life” in the sword and I chose to not paint, but wood burn instead because when I burn the wood it feels natural. If I painted, it would have gotten rid of the beautiful colors in the wood.

I gained knowledge that I hadn’t had before, I could use the tools here but not as well as I can now. Now I can use those skills that I have been taught on new art that is 3D . I think my involvement in PV/A has affected me spiritually by opening my eyes a bit on how much God has done for me in my life.

I want to thank the people who helped me through this sesh at PV. First, I would like to thank Shane for being a great mentor and helping me a whole lot while making this project and Brian for helping me figure stuff out when I was struggling. I would like to thank my parents for bringing me here every Tuesday and most Saturdays and finally I would like to thank God for showing me that He is there.
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Not Actually a Rock  By Jonah Beck  Mixed media

Hey, I’m Jonah. I’m 16 and I live in St. Cloud and I’m schooled at home. Throughout this session, Shane has been my mentor and has helped me to properly use the mediums that I used. My piece is made from plaster and acrylic paints as well as live plants. It’s supposed to be a rock that has been cracked open to reveal that it is a seed.

Around a year ago some pretty big changes happened in my life that I didn’t have a choice in and I couldn’t see a silver lining. Since then I have found that God has a purpose for everything and that even something like a “rock” (challenges) might have something “special” on the inside (positive outcome/silver lining).

I love plants so I knew I wanted to do something that involved live plants some way or another. As for the rock, I’m not the best with painting or drawing or music so that’s why I went with sculpture as I’m better with something that I can physically mold and shape.

Something that I benefited from throughout this experience was not only the chance to work in a studio setting, but also the chance to meet new people and create meaningful relationships. I have become more comfortable sharing with a group of people and it has strengthened my relationship with God as well.

I want to thank Shane Mahon, my mentor, and my mom for encouraging me to come to PV in the first place, as well as the people with whom I share a workplace with.
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One Life by Ruby Helgeson    Mixed Media

What’s up, my name is Ruby Helgeson and I go to Sauk Rapids-Rice Middle School. My mentor this session was the one and only Shane, but I also got advice from the other great mentors in the studio. My piece is One Life and is about life seen through the eyes of a stray cat named Shamus.

I chose a mobile for my art piece this session because I had done a few mobiles before and thought it would be relatively easy to make… I was wrong. Throughout the process of making this mobile I made several mistakes and wanted to quit multiple times…while writing this paper I still want to quit. I’m not sure if it’ll be done before the show but if it is, good job me. If it isn’t done, I know I can make it work with the few cool bits and pieces I have done. Even though this was quite literally one of the most time consuming and stressful art pieces I’ve ever done I’m super proud I stepped out of my comfort zone and even more proud that I haven’t scrapped it by now.

During the session I benefited from having to be able to work overtime on this project and as a result of this, I like to think I’ve gotten a bit better at time management. I would like to thank my mentors for encouraging me, my mom for paying for me to experience this program, YFC for having me, my table mates for putting up with all of my shenanigans and mood swings, and all of the people that have come to the show.
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Embedded in Creation  By  Grace Raftevold  Mixed Media

Hello, my name is Grace. I am 16 years old and go to Calvary Classical Academy in St. Cloud. My mentors this session were Shane and Colleen. I created Embedded in Creation using wood, acrylic paint, watercolor, paper, and twine. In other words, mixed media.

I have always felt a deep connection with nature and love to be around it. My piece is about being part of nature or God’s creation. I’ve always been intrigued by those images that look like people or faces, but are really elements of something else. It makes you look deeper and gain a different perspective. I tried to do that with my piece. For past sessions, I’ve always stuck mostly to my comfort zone and had an idea of what I wanted to create. For this session though, I wanted to try something a little bit out of my comfort zone, but still somewhat familiar.

This session, I learned a lot about how to work with ideas and the time you have. At first, I had an idea, and then I tried a new idea, and then I finally came up with the piece I created. I think that God shows Himself in the process of creating since He created it and loves the person who is creating. He gave me my inspiration for the piece and the ability to do it. I’d like to thank Colleen and Shane for helping me in my decision process and God for giving me the endurance to finish and the ability to create.
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New Beginnings By Ella Anderson  Sculpture

Hello my name is Ella Anderson and I am a Senior at Apollo HIgh School. For my last PV session of my high school career I have created “new beginnings” using resin, glue, and “found” items. I tend to use resin a lot simply because I like the outcome, NOT because I enjoy using it. Thankfully my friends know that I will take random items from them and turn them into art. I got the super cool geodes from a good friend of mine from when she was cleaning her room.

Last session I had decided to create a piece called Full Circle and it represented me and how I got here in life. So this piece will represent the future and how I am finally being able to move on with my life since I will finally graduate on June 3rd. We all know that butterflies start out as caterpillars, then go into a cocoon, and then turn into a beautiful butterfly, but what some people might not know is that even after they break out of this cocoon they still have to wait for their wings to fully form and be able to start flying. Currently it feels like I’m stuck in this waiting period. I’m stuck in high school, I’m stuck waiting for jobs to call me back, and I feel stuck waiting for my motivation to hit me. I feel as though in a few months my wings will finally be formed and I’ll be able to fly, I just have to get there first. I can not wait for when I’m able to fly on my own. Even though it does feel like I’m stuck, I’m also super excited for what’s to come. It’s like stepping into new territory that you have never seen. Thankfully I have good friends and family to be with me along the way.

Through creating this art piece I’ve learned that art can just come naturally to me, creating is so fun and I love to brainstorm new pieces (and not finish all of them apparently). It’s been so much fun getting to know so many new people and just being in a great community where people care about you as well as feel heard. I truly believe that sticking with Youth For Christ has gotten me out of my shell a lot more and I have been able to progress as a leader. Slowly I have been going to church more and actually thinking about my religion. Going to PV and other such programs has helped me learn about myself and about my faith. I would like to thank my mentor Shane for putting up with me for this long and anyone I have met in these last 5 years for just being here and being creative. I am so thankful to have landed at YFC in 6th grade.
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Bloom by Svea Weeks    Mixed Media

Hello! My name is Svea Weeks, I’m sixteen years old, and homeschooled. My mentor for this session was Harriet Braun. My piece is a bouquet of watercolor flowers that I assembled with green, painted dowel rods, and a lot of tape and glue. I enjoyed being able to create an array of flowers in all shapes, sizes, and colors, but overall my favorite part of this piece has been assembling the bouquet for the last few sessions. 

My inspiration for the piece came from an idea that I got in February while I was playing around with watercolor one morning before school started. I had been experimenting with using some different colors I had mixed together, and I decided to add some pen details on top of the watercolor for fun. I ended up really liking how it looked, so I cut out the shapes and set them aside for a few minutes, thinking of how I could use them in a project. I decided to add stems to the shapes, and create a small bouquet with the five flowers I had made. The spring Portable Vision session was starting the next week, so I decided to use the smaller bouquet I had created to start a larger, more colorful bouquet to display as my final piece in the art show at the end of the session.

While going through the mentoring process I learned how to use different types of watercolor, and how to achieve different textures on the flowers. I also benefited from asking people for advice on my piece. I have frequently gone to my friends and mentors over the past few months asking them for advice on where to place flowers, what color flowers to add to certain areas of the bouquet, and how to display my bouquet. Lastly, I would like to thank my parents for driving me to Portable Vision every week, and my mentors and friends for the help they have given me along the way.
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Untitled By  Bryon Newson  Chalk Pastel on Paper

My name is Bryon Newson and I live in Saint Cloud. Shane Mahon is one of my mentors. Paul was the other, but all the staff helped me in some way.

This Art is For Delinquents
It’s Kinda Talent-less,
|I think there’s beauty in repetition
All emotion can be captured with a face
But it’s wild energetic and reckless,
As I said it’s pure delinquence
I hope you don’t like it
It’s supposed to be grotesque
They’re all Nameless and Endless within creation,
They are like stars when they blanket the sky.

The drawings are animalistic in nature, fierce and striking lines, but I feel as if these drawings don’t know if they’re the boxer or the bag.
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I’m Sorry. Please Forgive Me    by Everett Paul Burris   Digital

I illustrated a comic book called Spiritman. The words are written by my long time friend, Scott Snyder. My art for this show is page 17 from Spiritman issue 3. In the context of the story Martin is telling a girl named Chelsea about Jesus. Meanwhile, Spiritman is battling demons in the spirit realm. Actually, Martin and Spiritman are the same person. Martin gives us a picture of the physical realm while Spiritman gives us a picture of the spirit realm. In the spirit realm, Martin wears the armor of God and battles the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly realms.

In the pages before page 17, Martin tells Chelsea about Jesus. Chelsea responds, saying…

“If this Yahweh, or Jesus, or whatever you want to call Him, is so real and so in love with me, then why can’t I find Him.  Why have I never found Him in anybody that claims to be His!?!”

A brutish demon backhands Spiritman across the room, knocking him unconscious.

Martin responds, saying…

“You’re right. I’m sorry.”

This is where page 17, my art in the show,  picks up. When Martin says the words “I’m sorry. Please forgive me.” Spiritman recovers from the demonic attack, draws his sword, and skewers the demon.

The point is that kingdoms of wickedness come crashing down with the words “I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”
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Molly Oliver- No artist statement available

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Trauma Rain By Amanda Asch  Gouache, Marker, Pencil

My name is Amanda Asch. I am 13 years old and live in St. Cloud. I worked with Angela and Harriet. The rain is fear and sadness and the umbrella in the picture symbolizes happiness and keeps past trauma away from me. I didn’t have any other way to portray happiness or the story in general.

It is satisfying to use gouache because I can get it to work the way I want it to.

In 2021, I started having a feeling of being overly sad, then I met my friend Arianna. She is technically my umbrella that keeps sadness out. The life stories help me to learn about other people and they also make me feel like I’m not alone. Here there are other art nerds. Having a spiritual life makes me feel like God cares.
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Fort Myers Beach by Harriet Braun    Casein and Gouache   22″x30″

The idea behind the painting Fort Myers Beach was to make use of the many sketches I did over the years while visiting family members in Florida. Sitting in a sand chair with a pen, a sketchbook, and a small box of watercolors, I made visual notes of the scene: the people, the colors, the movement, all the while physically taking in the sounds, smells, heat, and sand. 

Trying to paint the scene “warm” proved to be a challenge, so I opted to paint the sky an intense orange. The intention was to convey the heat of a sunny beach day and complement the beachgoers. The painting was finished in mid-July 2022. A little over two months later, this scene at Fort Myers Beach was pummeled with fifteen-foot waves and 150 miles-per-hour winds that left 97 percent of the buildings destroyed or rendered uninhabitable. In essence, this scene no longer exists. 

I am finishing up my eleventh session mentoring with Portable Vision. Eight of our students will be graduating and moving on. Some of our seniors have been involved in every session since seventh grade and some in fewer, but the point is our involvement with these eight students will change. Change is inevitable—sometimes hoped for, and in some cases, unexpected. In the short time we are with these students, we strive to demonstrate that they are made in the image of God and worthy of His love, and to show what they create has value because God created them. Hopefully, they will choose to learn more about Jesus. In the meantime, if we lose track of them while on this planet, we will look forward to seeing them in heaven.
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Untitled  By Erica Cuozzo   Pen and color pencil

My name is Erica Cuozzo, I am 17 years old and I am an exchange student at Apollo High School. I currently live in St Cloud but when the school year will be over I will move back to Italy, my home country. My art piece is a drawing made with black pen, golden markers and color pencils and it represents an angel.

Angels and other fantastic creatures like demons, fairies or other human figures with fantastic elements have always been the main focus of my art. When I started sketching this piece I was kind of in a rush ( I was able to participate only in the last few sessions of PV) and didn’t really think of a meaning behind it, but now looking at my artwork I think it represent all the people that helped me during my life, and especially during my exchange year. This March I had some health issues and I was hospitalized for almost a month but thanks to my host family and the people who supported me and helped me go through my hospitalization I can tell that this will still be probably the best experience of my life.

Sometimes I get a little bit of anxiety when I am around people I don’t know but hearing life stories helped me a lot with it because it made me relate to other people even if they were strangers. I would like to thank my host family, my host sister (Ella), my boyfriend, my friends and the mentors who are helping me through this wonderful experience.
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Bottled by Colleen Woods   Mixed Media

In addition to witnessing the creation of all kinds of amazing art being fashioned here, I love getting to hear the life stories. Little glimpses into the lives of each precious and unique one … more than faces. Stories.

Some involve laughter and some tears.

God sees our tears. It can sometimes feel that in the darkest of our sorrows, God is nowhere to be found. We wonder and question if He sees us, if He cares.

You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. -Psalm 56:8

Psalm 56 brings comfort to those who feel forgotten in their pain. It tells us that every tear David cried was placed in a bottle by God. What beautiful, intimate imagery that God is near in our hurt. The God of the universe is aware of every tear that leaves our eyes. He hears our prayers. He loves us.

And if we will but seek Him and bring all of those hurts to Him, He will comfort and heal us.

Some of the art on display was created with a fair amount of struggle in the process. Some of it involved cracked, broken and crumbling things. Heartbreak and tears. I admire the diligence applied to persist in the process. And not only persist, but to bring beauty in the restoration of these unexpected things.

Like our good and great God, bringing beauty from the ashes of our lives!

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Night Ski by Sophie Hebert  Water Color

Hi my name is Sophie Hebert! I’m currently a PSEO student at the St. Cloud Technical and Community College. This session I had the pleasure of having Harriet Braun as my amazing watercolor mentor. I created Night Ski using pen and watercolor.

I started creating this piece with a memory in mind that I hold near and dear to my heart. This January, my nordic ski team and I took a trip up to the north woods for a ski meet. One night as we were skiing, we turned around and the moon was rising above the still pine trees. This experience truly left me speechless. Personally, I have often thought of moonscape paintings as a kind of cliche idea, but when it comes down to it, nothing of what God has created is in any way cliche or cheesy. Nature is a masterpiece from our Creator. Throughout this year, I’ve had a bit of a hard time with injuries, and painting this reminded me of God’s beauty even when our lives don’t seem beautiful. 

Throughout this session, I have not only gained a new skill of painting with watercolor, but I have also gained a better appreciation of not only the artists around me, but also the different stories and experiences we each have. I would like to thank my parents for their wise advice in not only the painting process, but also in everyday life. Thank you Harriet for your honesty and for sharing your incredible knowledge of color with me!
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Syringa Vulgaris By Breah Sutherland  Acrylic Paint and Book Pages

Hello my name Breah Sutherland. I am 13 years old and I am in 7th grade. I attend Calvary Classical Academy. In this PVA session I have worked with many mentors who have helped me with my piece. My art piece is called Syringa Vulgaris which is the latin name for lilacs. I created lilacs and hydrangeas using acrylic paints and book pages. I chose to make this painting because people do not have time for little things anymore like stopping to smell the roses. I chose to use Acrylic paint because it is my favorite medium to use. I used book pages because I wanted to incorporate some of my interests into my painting.

During PVA I got to meet many incredible people and learn their stories. I also learned that people have challenging time periods in their lives and chose to hide it from others instead of telling them about it. This process has affected my spiritual life by helping me understand other people’s stories. I would like to thank all of the mentors at PVA for giving up their Tuesday nights to help us with our art, and helping everyone come together.
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God’s Will by Madalyn Fimrite    Watercolor

I am 17 years old and graduating from Sartell High School after finishing my high school requirements through PSEO at the Saint Cloud Technical College. I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do for this session for the first few weeks. I walked around and looked at what everyone else was doing and they seemed to dive right into exactly what they wanted to do. I ran into Harriet who sat me down with some watercolor.  At first, I thought,  I’m drawing doodles like a kindergartener, but then she came over and told me how cool it looked, which allowed me to take a step back and imagine that my art was good. I got the confidence I needed to keep going and then I started forming a plan in my head that Paul helped me execute.

Lately I’ve been interested in puzzles. So I wanted to incorporate that and the board was kind of a reminder of the serenity I feel up at my cabin. After the first few pieces of just incorporating any feelings or ideas in my head onto the canvas, I started to try and dig deeper and tie them together. The first one I made was this castle in the clouds. I always have this idea in my head when I stare at the sky. Then I wanted to incorporate the fast-moving train that never stops just like life, and the adventure through climbing a water tower to get to the castle. I believe the next one I did was of me and someone special going ice skating under a pink hazy sky. This was kind of a reminder to not let the small things override the beautiful memories. I then painted the image of a heart being crushed by a tree and attempted to make it graphic. I don’t like scary movies, but I’d watch the goriest one if I could prevent getting my heart broken by people who weren’t good for me, but left me with such sweet memories to cry over. 

I guess the thing I never want to forget is that the close relationships I have now won’t last forever, so I don’t want to take them for granted while they are still here for me. After going through a break up, I didn’t know what else to draw. So I decided to reminisce on a childhood memory of binge watching Pirates of the Caribbean, and the scene where he gets stranded on an island by Captain Barbossa. The final picture I created was a symbol of me and my future. I tried to incorporate skateboarding, New Zealand, and birds and flowers that bring me joy.

This will be only my second session, but my final one. I really want to thank Lydia Nygaard for introducing me to this place and the people. I have become part of wonderful things like the Wyoming trip last summer, Satisfied, and more.  I fear I never would have been exposed to such wonderful people if it hadn’t been for Lyida, as this community has shaped what I want to do in my future. I want to thank Maci Lee Klotz for welcoming me with open arms my first session here and meeting me for coffee. You have such a loving heart and if you hadn’t been so open about your journey, I probably wouldn’t have considered YWAM this fall.  I will miss this place. Thank you all!
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Mendenhall Towers by Brian Braun   Multi-color Reduction Woodcut 

I finished this print early in this session of Portable Vision and am showing it because I was not able to finish a new project. This print is from a place that is about a five minute drive from my son’s house in Auke Bay, Alaska. The scene looks inland towards the mountains and glacial fields by Juneau. 

My printmaking subject matter is generally the natural world, specifically wild places that are dear to me. The printmaking process for me is a very tactile process; from the initial planning of the separate color plates, cutting the plates to size, transferring the color separations to separate plates, carving the plates, mixing the ink colors, rolling the ink onto the plates, and hand printing or using a press. All of these variables affect the final appearance of the print. 

This session of Portable Vision was a challenge with the largest group of students we have seen and some weather challenges early on. Fortunately, it was a focused group of people, students and mentors, and we were able to pull it off! I love the sense of community that developed during the session and the honesty and insights, spiritual and worldly, that were experienced by all of us. Also, the creativity of the young artists never ceases to amaze me.
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Reaching for God  by Mary Kelsch    Colored Pencils

I’m Mary, I am 14 years old, and I go to Prince of Peace Lutheran School. Angela Chilson gave me advice as I worked on my piece. I used colored/water-colored pencils to make my artwork. I felt God reaching for me and that I was reaching for God.  

When I found out I got into Sauk Rapids School I was both very excited and worried. The unknown of the future, friendships, and all the schoolwork. I chose to paint a sea of worries being calmed by the cross and light bursting out from it. God’s hand was reaching for mine, and I wanted to grasp it, but I was worried. 

I chose colored/water-colored pencils because I’m not comfortable drawing hands but I am comfortable with colored pencils. I feel like I’m more confident with my artwork and art skills because the mentors really pushed me. I feel the peace has brought me closer to God. 

I want to thank Angela Chilson for pushing me the extra mile.
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The Little Things By Julia Rassier   Collage

My name is Julia Rassier, and I am a homeschooled freshman. This session, like the two before, Colleen and Shane were huge blessings in helping me create my piece, and each and every week I am so very grateful for their encouragement, advice, and ability to push me a level deeper, whether in finding deeper meaning or creativity. This session, I put together a set of three shadow boxes, exhibiting tiny trinkets that I have treasured throughout my life. In this composition, every tiny component means something special to me, from a cherished letter to a ball of cave-mud to miniscule beads from a past friend.

Since I was a toddler, I have habitually collected memorials from cherished moments and events, placing them each in my “special box”, which, over time, became “special boxes”. The first thing that I remember saving is a leaf that I plucked from a bush in California when I was about five, on a family trip with cousins. This session, I managed to assemble that leaf from a decade ago, with some help from mod-podge and resin. All this to say, I wanted a place to assemble some of my tiny treasures that meant so much to me, a place to display The Little Things that were so important to my story.

In past sessions, I have been a bit ambitious in the projects I’ve chosen. This session, it was lovely to just have fun, reflect on the little ways that God has blessed me throughout my life, and put together a collage that I can look at every day. I had a lot of fun preparing each detail, working out color schemes, and learning strategies for making the assembly flow. The Little Things is an “Ode to Joy”– a remembrance that God is present in every moment, regardless of how small it may seem.
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Cowboy  By Elijah Phifer  Printmaking

Hello. I am Elijah, I am 12 and I am also homeschooled. My mentor was Brian Braun. When I started to think of something to do for my piece my brain went completely blank and I could not think of anything to do. Then I remembered a piece that my sister did when she was in college and I liked the idea of doing a piece that meant something to me and someone else.

I chose printmaking because I wanted something that I could have more than one of. With painting you can be done with that painting and then you would only have one but with printmaking you can make as many prints as you want. From watching people work on their art every Tuesday I felt peaceful, just being able to do my art watching or hearing other people work on their art. It’s just a calm space where I can do whatever I want and not be judged.

And lastly I would like to thank Brian for helping me through this crazy session even though it’s my first. Also thanks to my sister Bekah, for whenever she comes over to help me with school, I tell her about my piece and we talk about it for like 10-15 minutes. She helped me figure out what to do for the rest of my piece.
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Walk on the Water by Abby Kilanowski      Acrylic

Hi all, my name is Abby Kilanowski. This is my second session as a mentor and (I believe) my seventh session of PV overall. I live in Clearwater, but spend probably 85% of my time in Sartell or St. Cloud. The piece I created for this session is based on Matthew 14:22-32, aka when Jesus walked on water (and Simon Peter tried). I decided to use acrylic paint for this piece because I wanted it to have strong colors, and I usually enjoy working with acrylic. 

Simon Peter is the favorite disciple in my household. We love how passionate he is, as well as how he dives head first into every situation and thinks after. If the phrase “bull in a china closet” described anyone, it would be Simon Peter. During this past year, I’ve had to learn how to function as an adult (a very amateur adult, but that’s beside the point) and that’s been a tough transition. I also promised my parents that if I didn’t go to college this year I would figure out where I wanted to go next. So as I’ve attempted to find my way, I’ve felt a connection to Simon Peter. His story is one of being called to love and lean on Christ while stepping out of stability, and often falling short. In the series The Chosen, when Simon was being called by Jesus, he was willing to do anything for Him, but all Jesus commanded was “Follow me.” I struggle with not understanding my path or purpose, and I so often forget that Christ’s command to me is to follow Him and He will lead the way. 

At the beginning of this session, I wanted my piece to capture that moment because it so heavily resonated with me. Then as the weeks went on, some really tough stuff happened. I felt burdened and weak. The only thing I could muster up the strength to do was call out to my Lord and hope He would help me. In Matthew 14:22-32, Jesus commands Peter to walk out to Him across the water. Peter stepped out with full faith in Christ’s power. Then he sees the waves crashing, the clouds swirling, the wind out of control, and he takes his eyes off Jesus. Matthew 14:30-31 says “But when he saw the strength of the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand, caught hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”

The best way I can describe these last few months is by telling this story. In the moments when I take my eyes off Jesus, I see the strength of evil, the power of sickness, the hopelessness of this world. All I can do is cry out to my Jesus, “Lord, save me!” and He is faithful to immediately catch my hand (then gently rebuke me and tell me I need to have more faith in Him). For anyone struggling out there, the story of my life tells of Jesus’ faithfulness and His power to save. Call out to Him, I promise He doesn’t disappoint! 

My time here these past few sessions has been so special. A huge thank you goes out to each and every mentor for bringing me in as your own and for teaching me what it means to be a mentor in this space. I feel so honored to be a part of Portable Vision. I also want to give a shoutout to my space mates Jadyn, Anna, Meagan, and Breah. Hanging with you cool cats has been so much fun and you all helped so much in my art process, from being my pose models, to giving critiques. The biggest thank you of the night goes out to Jesus. Thank you for teaching me and being faithful to me, even and especially when it’s not reciprocated. He’s a real cool dude and I am truly nothing without Him.
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Evalyn Snyder- No Artist Statement Available

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Rejoice in Suffering By  Jadyn Rolling   Watercolor

Greetings and Salutations. I’m Jadyn, I’m a sophomore homeschooler. I made this piece with watercolor, blood, sweat, tears, and passion. I started by painting the background and all the trees, then I used Harriet’s magic eraser to create a lighter spot and added white acrylic there and to some of the surrounding areas. Afterwards, I painted the flower and red light and after that it was pretty much completed.

A topic on my mind a lot is the idea of joy in suffering. About a year ago, I was in a very dark place mentally. I isolated myself from friends and family and started cutting myself as an attempted release. Up to this point, I was a pretty good kid. I prayed and went to church. I was very sure that God would take care of me so I gave him my all. So when I fell into depression and started self-harming, I was very bitter. I had this mentality of, “I’ve done everything right and I’ve always trusted God and he abandoned me when I needed him the most.” I hated it when people told me to find joy in suffering because I felt like I had no reason for joy. Looking back on that time, I’m wise enough now to realize that joy isn’t as much of a feeling. Whether you feel good or bad, we all have a promise that our God wins and our God is more powerful than our trials, even if we are not (which is always the case). That is where you find joy.

This year has been pretty rough, and it’s been really beneficial to have everyone in PV/A to walk with me in that. I would like to specifically thank Harriet Braun for her guidance and encouragement, and also Anna, Abby, and Meagan for being awesome and inspiring and tolerating my shenanigans.
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My Mom’s Garden in the Summer By Ayla Nygaard   Mixed Media

I am 14 years old and am a homeschooler. During my art mentoring project, Matt Hebert, Harriet and Brian Braun helped me with my piece. The title is My Mom’s Garden in the Summer. It is filled with healthy vegetation and beautiful flowers.

When I am at  my best and happiest I am most likely outside, and surrounded with plants and the warm sun with a cooling breeze. As I was coming up with what I wanted to paint on my canvas, I thought about what my favorite place to be last year was, and that is my mom’s garden. That is why I chose this image as my project, and then I came up with mixed media being my medium. I love using acrylic, colored pencil, posca paint markers, literal trash that I found in the garbage can and making art out of it.

During my art mentoring process I have benefitted sharing my life’s story in a group setting for the first time. I’d say that my spiritual journey was affected after hearing everyone’s life story, and even sharing my own.

I would like to thank my mentors and my parents for being so encouraging throughout my art journey.
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Lake Wissota by Mya Blackmore  Watercolor Pencils

My name is Mya Blackmore and I am a Freshman at Sauk Rapids-Rice High School. This is my second session of creating art at PV. While making my piece I worked mostly with Angela, but I also got little tips here and there from other mentors. For this piece I was inspired by a picture of Lake Wissota in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. I decided to try watercolor pencils for the first time on this piece, and I’m really happy with how it turned out. 

Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin is a nice, little town a bit over the border between Wisconsin and Minnesota. It is about three hours from Saint Cloud, and I have spent so much time in that town in my life. Glenn and Roxie Baldeswhiler are practically another set of grandparents for me and they have a beautiful home on Lake Wissota that I absolutely love. Every year for the 4th of July my whole family goes out to their house and we usually spend anywhere between 3-7 days out there. It is so nice to be right on the lake for that time, but it is also nice to not really have everyday responsibilities when we are out there. I always love how we can just go out there and have great company, no responsibilities, and a beautiful view. I tried to grasp all of these feelings and ideas by trying to capture the view from the lake side for my piece. The watercolor pencils really helped me do this. This place that seems just like a dot on the map to many people is very special to me. I can’t wait for Glenn and Roxie to see this piece of art that I made all because of my relationship with them and their home. 

Being in PV has really helped me be more sensitive to the people around me because you never know what people are going through. I really saw this in all of the life stories. Also hearing the life stories helped me connect with God more. My relationship with him has strengthened throughout this whole process. I would love to thank YFC, all of the mentors, and everyone who has helped me throughout this whole journey this spring. I would also like to thank my parents for transporting me and always supporting me when I needed it. Last and definitely not least, I would like to thank God for helping me during everything this session. He always helped me while working on stuff at PV, not stressing about other things while working on my art, and every other aspect in my life.
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Metamorphosis by Olivia Randall  Linoleum Prints

Hello there! My name is Olivia and this is my art! I am a senior at Foley High School, as well as a full time college student. This means that this is my last Portable Vision Art Show. I currently take classes through Saint Cloud State. I will be continuing my schooling at Saint Cloud State to finish my bachelor’s degree in Community Psychology with hopes to earn my masters in School Counseling. The piece is titled Metamorphosis and it is made from a linoleum print and ink! 

I have always loved the natural beauty of the things around me. Whether that is trees, flowers, animals, or insects. I especially love the butterfly because of its symbolism. A monarch butterfly symbolizes hope in the new changes coming in the future. Since senior year comes with a lot of “lasts”, I know that it also means I am leaping into a new season of my life. This transition from being a high school student, to now coming into the “real world” has been an overwhelming experience that no one quite prepared me for. 

Throughout this process I was able to grow in my experience with printmaking. This is my second round printmaking. I am beyond grateful that I was able to have other friends in the studio by my side with me every Tuesday. Also a huge shout out to Brian Braun, he is an absolute amazing mentor and friend to me. Brian was able to give me a different perspective on how to view what I create, and I appreciate that deeply. I also want to thank the whole YFC gang for always putting on a memorable program. It is crazy to believe this is my fifth session and final session with this organization and it gets better every time. Farewell Portable Vision it has been a bittersweet session!!
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My Chains are Gone  By Annika Nelson  Water Color

My name is Annika Nelson, I am in tenth grade and I am from Becker MN. I worked with Harriet on this art piece. I painted everything with water color and pasted all the different pieces on top of each other. I based my piece off of a poem that I wrote for a night where I felt filled by the Holy Spirit. The moment that specifically inspired the piece was when I really felt like Jesus was with me and I had the overwhelming peace knowing my chains are gone and I have been set free. I chose this image to try to capture the feeling that I felt. I choose water color because I have briefly worked with it before. I really benefited by finding ways to share experiences through art, by seeing others’ art pieces and getting input on my own. I want to say thank you to all of the mentors at YFC, especially Harriet for all her help and input.

Here is the poem that I wrote.

We heard word of a deliverance night
So we decided to take a long ride
We all had been feeling a bit uptight
The night felt short but we all left in stride

We felt let down when we got to the room
It didn’t seem to make up to the hype
But I guess we were too quick to assume
I can’t believe we felt the need to gripe

It is a night none of us will forget
The whole ride home was loud and full of laughs
Not one of us left with any regrets
I know now we are all on the right paths

God is present and always keeps his word
I am so glad that His quiet voice was heard
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Display of Power By Anna Rushmeyer  Water Color

Hello! I am Anna Rushmeyer and I am a Senior at Sauk Rapids-Rice High School though I am taking my classes through SCTCC. My large piece is a storm over a grassland with a tornado as well as many other storm related pieces. They are all watercolor with dark greens and grays. One has a girl in a pink dress watching the storm, another with a tree house withstanding the storm, and another with a horse in the storm.

Storms often represent difficult situations and uncertainty but not in this piece. Have you ever seen a lightning storm and just had to watch out the window because it was so beautiful? My favorite is to watch storms near lakes. It is an incredible display of untamable power. The rain pelting towards the ground, the loud thunder rolling in the sky, the consuming bright lightning, and the strong wind. It’s an awesome combination that reminds me of how powerful God is.

Senior year has been good but a lot of waiting to hear from colleges, trying to make plans for gap years, and my summer schedule filling up. A lot of things feel like they are out of my control which is hard because if I am honest I like to be in control a little bit. Sometimes it’s hard for me to trust God when all I can do in a situation is to trust God. During one of the storms that broke through the ongoing winter this year there was quite a bit of lightning. It was so beautiful and powerful… though not enjoyable to drive through. After the storm I was talking to a friend who is also at a similar spot in life and she reminded me that God who is in control of orchestrating the powerful storm is God who is in control of my life. He is powerful and wonderful and cares about His creation and so I can surrender my illusion of control to the all-powerful God who is in control.

Colossians 1:16-17

 “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

I want to say thank you to Brian and Harriet for continually giving me good advice throughout my years of Portable Vision. I have learned so much from Harriet this session about water color, how to fix mistakes, and how to put a lot of planning and thought into my art. I also want to say thanks to Abby Kilanowski, Meagan Madsen, Jadyn Rolling, and all the others who worked next to me during this session. It was a lot of fun and very meaningful to me. Finally I want to say thanks to God who both calms the storms of life and who has displayed His power through storms that remind me of His certainty and awesome power!
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Speed of Life by Elijah Tweten    Graphite on Paper

Hello, my name is Elijah Tweten, I am 18 years old and I live in Becker MN. I worked with my  mentor Paul Burris this session. I made Speed of Life entirely with graphite and  charcoal. The main centerpiece is a staircase filled with cats representing fragments of  life (I’m much more partial to drawing cats than people).

The stairs represent the difference between believing in God and not believing in God.  On the stairs, characters are grounded on it as they’re grounded in their knowledge of  God. Some on the stairs are just living their lives, while others are going through trials that happen on their walk with the Lord, and others are about to fall off the stairs.  Underneath the stairs, characters float over a void, or clump together into an ungodly  sight. It doesn’t represent the underworld, but it represents the dark cloak of Satan that  can range from seemingly blissful existential confusion, to evil and deceiving ways. It  may all seem confusing living in the world we live in that prefers to be under the stairs.  A world that would rather be utterly lost.

There was an idea that came to me about life as the spouse of a human being and when we are married to life, we are alive. But when we divorce life, we stop living.  At the top of the stairs there is a newly married couple that represents that idea in my usual surreal way. You can treat life in many different ways. You can love life or hate it;  fill it with good memories, or fill it with anxieties and fear; life can treat you well or life can run you over with its truck. It’s much like a marriage in a sense; a marriage that happens when you’re aware that you’re living your own life.

This session I refined my ability to create an overarching message in the style of art I create. Due to my abstract and collage-like drawing style I’ve found it difficult to find meaning in the art I do in that way. This piece completes a trilogy of graphite works I’ve made the past three sessions that are all similar in composition and size. But this time around I feel like I’ve really refined this particular style that I’ve developed into something more meaningful and reflective of my own life.
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Mystical Mystery by Meagan Madsen    Acrylics

Hi all, my name is Meagan Madsen. I am in eighth grade and I have been homeschooled my whole life. This is also my first time being in Portable Vision.

For my piece I had first tried going for northern lights and some mountains and then it kinda took a turn into looking like a fire dragon. So I decided to go ahead with it and see how it would go. I then looked at it a little closer and saw that I could add something more so I went ahead with the mountain and the different shades of color to make it more vibrant. Afterwards, I saw it more as the dragon being the light in the darkness because of its vibrant colors with a darker background. My correlation with my painting is that I have an opportunity to be the light in the darkness since I am homeschooled and taught different things as my public school friends, resulting in me having different beliefs as some of them. 

I am really thankful for my family and friends for helping me through my journey with Christ and school and having to face a bunch of ups and downs.
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Worldly Things by Lauren Barthelemy  Linoleum Print

My name is Lauren Barthelemy and I am from the small town of Foley. I am currently a Senior at Foley High School and do PSEO at St. Cloud Technical College. I will be attending the University of Minnesota-Duluth this fall to major in biology with a focus on pre-medicine. This was my first and last Portable Vision session. Brian Braun was my mentor for linoleum printing. My piece was a mixed medium of linoleum printing and acrylic paint. I named it Worldly Things.

This artwork was inspired by my story and journey in my faith. This image shows a colorful woman hugging a colorless man. This represents me holding on to worldly things that are not centered around God rather than focusing on my faith. The hand reaching down signifies God’s love chasing after me even though I do not always put my attention in the right places. It also shows how his hand illuminates the earthly things around it, giving them color or “life”. This piece also represents learning to trust God’s plan for me even though I am not able to see over the mountains. The mountains fit into my journey in faith by representing how God is greater than my highs and my lows.

This piece has allowed me to express myself and make something that has a deeper meaning to me. Throughout this session, I have gotten to know more people on a deeper level, which has shifted my perspective in the best way possible. Brian was a huge help in the whole printmaking process. I am super thankful for his guidance as well as his efforts to get to know everyone he works with on a personal level. I am also super grateful for the YFC group as a whole and its mission to create a safe place for kids to express themselves and share their stories.
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