Denise Friesen

Statement

Denise Friesen

My life intertwines with the river. I have always lived where the waters meet, the transition zone between Prairie and Woods in a place easily found on any world map, the bend of the Minnesota River in Mankato. Flowing flooding rivers are a part of my earliest memory. In the small area surrounding Mankato six rivers join at the Minnesota River and begin flowing north.

My art reflects my fascination with water, the ebb and flow, the wild spring floods. Changes and edges, transitions are all a part of my relation to the river. I have never been able to leave the valley for long, my exploration of its large and small wonders keep me here. Earliest memories are of fascination, not fear of rising waters.

PAN has been a part of my life for the last ten years; it has given me a larger voice and way of sharing this love. My sites located near Mankato Minnesota inspire my monotype art. Monotype is a painterly printmaking method in which I paint an image on a plate and using the pressure of my printing press transfer the image to paper creating the final artwork or monotype.

The sites I have selected include the Kasota Prairie Scientific and Natural Area along with my own 20 wooded acres bordering the Big Cobb River, a small river flowing in the Minnesota River Watershed as well as a 20-acre privately owned prairie that I am helping to restore with the Many River's Chapter of the Prairie Enthusiasts just west of Mankato. The sites include prairies, wetlands, rivers and woods. My sites are bound together by flowing rivers, as is my life

At River's Edge