“What is the big deal about art?”, some people might wonder (my husband being one of those.) If you think about it, though, almost everything that touches your life has gone through the mind of an artist from the designer of your toothbrush and favorite coffee mug, to the designers of our cars and the architects of our buildings. The advertising or programming we consume have all had artistic manipulation as well. Because it is everywhere, we have made distinctions such as commercial art, graphic design, and fine art. But at its core it is all art, and its purpose remains the same—to communicate without words directly from soul to soul. 

My perspective is that the fewer steps there are between the artist and the consumer, the stronger that communication is. That’s why I believe it is so important to have original works of art in my life that have come directly from the hand of the artist. And why, as an artist I am gratified when someone values my art enough to purchase it for their own pleasure. If you have not yet purchased a work of art directly from an artist because it just “spoke to you” I challenge you to give yourself that opportunity and to listen for that spark of communication.

Hello, I’m Noni Bjorklund, Vice President of the Alexandria Art Guild. We’re a fairly new organization, begun just about two years ago in January of 2018. Our mission is to support the visual arts in our community primarily by cultivating relationships amongst the artists and then finding ways together to increase the presence of our art in our community. Our dream is to put Alexandria on the map as an arts destination. Membership is open to anyone who shares this vision, whether artist or art supporter, amateur or professional, beginner or master.

It may come as a surprise to many of you that there are dozens of professional quality artists living and working right here in our Lakes Area. Beyond that there are hundreds of art enthusiasts, dabblers, and hobbyists. It is our goal to bring them out of the shadows into the public view and awareness.

Here are some of the ways we are accomplishing our mission:

• We meet on the third Wednesday evening every month for socializing, networking, and topical discussions. These meetings are open to any interested person. More information can be found on our website and facebook page.
• We collaborate with the Central Lakes Symphony Orchestra by various members of the Art Guild displaying their work at some of the CLSO concerts. 
• We organized the Art deTour in June of 2019 which was our first of hopefully many annual studio hops. Dates for the Art deTour 2020 are June 12-13. So put it on your calendar.

You can find out more about us on our website: alexart.org, follow us on Facebook, and join us at our monthly get togethers.

If you share our vision and would like to see a thriving arts community right here in Alexandria, please consider giving a donation to the Alexandria Art Guild. You can do this directly on our website, or visit with me and my colleagues at one of our social meetings.

Noni Bjorklund, Vice President

Congratulations to CLSO on The Science of Sound project! Beautifully illustrated by AAG member Faythe Mills, this children’s book will be available for free to kids pre-k through 5th grade when they attend the Feb. 9 concert The Science of Sound. You don’t want to miss it!