2020 Visions by The Mind's Eye Gallery

Artist Statement

I’ve always been interested in the Cowboy Lifestyle. I grew up on a ranch and around some of the most interesting people I have encountered thus far. With this kind of background, it was inevitable that I would end up slightly fascinated by the whole concept. While I do consider myself an artist, I consider myself a writer first. Most of the inspiration for my writing, just as for my visual art, comes from where I live. Given this, combining the two simply felt right.
The poem style is called a “Where I’m From” poem. This format was introduced to me during a writers clinic put on by Lindy Obach, a fellow North Dakotan writer. Normally I tend to stay away from poetry as it is a style I have never fully connected with, but this poem seemed to write itself. Which could stand as a testament to how much I adore where I grew up.
As for the accompanying photos and drawings, I chose to do a combination because of the stylistic differences. With photos I could get the detail I wanted, like the texture of old leather or a field of cut down corn stalks. However, with pencil and charcoal I could control what was in the picture and where. Combining charcoal and graphite only occurred to me when I was introduced to Mary Ross Buchholtz in a drawing class, but after I tried it, I loved the way the charcoal softened the darkest shades in a way a pencil can’t.
This show combines all of the things I love, writing, art, and where I grew up. I hope that shines through in the artistry and you feel it too.

-Hailey Entze

Nowheresville, North Dakota
By: Hailey Entze

I am from beat up boots,
From Copenhagen worn wrangler pockets
and dusty Resistols.

I am from the Knife River Valley,
a strong, ever changing current of muddy waters.
From the cottonwoods,
who’s seeds spin through the air,
sticking to my childhood skin, still damp from the sprinkler.

I am from branding irons, smoke, and rope burns.
Dally wrapped saddle horns and quick-witted neighbors.
From long sundrenched days ending with
dirt clinging deep in every crevice of my face,
hands coated in mud, blood, manure, and hair.

I am from long cold winters.
Crispy air, stabbing my lungs like icicles with every breath.
From sweltering summer fields.
Radio blasting Top 40 over
a roaring tractor engine and clanking rake teeth.

I am from the middle of nowhere,
invisible on any map.
From gravel roads twisting like veins
through a hidden western wonderland,
leading me home.

I am from the old adage,
“Boots and Chaps and Cowboy Hats.”
From fearless young cowboys,
who turned into successful old cowboys
by sheer willpower and hard work.

And though it’s not where I’m going,
I’m proud it’s Where I’m From.

Artist Statement
Flowers can be an example of emotions. Many times, when people look at flowers, they see them from afar and think they are beautiful, however, they don’t take time to look at them very closely and see their real beauty. Most times people don’t see the flowers until they are up close and smelling the flowers. Many artists tend to paint flowers from afar rather than up close and be able to see the real beauty of the flowers. The times that I have looked at certain flowers, they bring out certain emotions. With roses it is love, with lilacs I feel calm and serenity, with sunflowers it’s happiness.
There are a couple of artists that I use for inspiration while painting my flowers, one is Georgia O’ Keefe. Her abstract and up-close oil paintings of flowers are stunning. Each stroke is smooth and leads you through the canvas and the beauty of the flowers are shown in a different way. The other artist is Claude Monet, his oil paintings of flowers from far away are beautifully done and show the outward beauty of the flowers. Not every flower can be just one specific emotion, because human emotions aren’t always specific themselves! There are a variety of mixed emotions and with roses that represent the feeling of love, there are different kinds of love. The romantic kind of love that you see in the movies, the brotherly love, family love, etc. Each color that I paint in the rose represents the different kinds of love.
Which is what I try to portray in my watercolor paintings but in my own way and to also show the emotions I feel when looking at certain flowers alone or when they are together.
Kendra Wokal