Lindsey Ries has been an Instructor within the Design programs at the Minneapolis Media Institute (MMI) since graduating from the MCAD MFA program in 2012. MMI focuses on small class sizes with hands-on training by industry professionals in business and media, game design, mobile application development, and recording arts. She has also taught for several art centers in the Twin Cities since graduating, now working solely with Artistryn (formerly the Bloomington Theater and Art Center) in Bloomington, MN. Teaching has been a huge motivator and opportunity for Lindsey to continue developing and refining her process as a professional artist and educator.
Current projects include prepping for art sales, an April 2016 exhibition in the Inez Greenburg Gallery at Artistry in Bloomington, work with the Lanesboro Art Center and FUSE in the IMS building in Minneapolis, and a personal project for the communities of the Twin Cities Metro that Lindsey has been planning for several months.
“My time at MCAD was exceptional and intense. I was honored to work with Pamela Valfer as my mentor for one semester and John Gaunt for the remainder of my two years in the MFA program. Both Pam and John encouraged me to pursue ideas and concepts, and helped me to navigate the issues I was struggling with in bringing those ideas to fruition as solid paintings. I spent every day possible painting in my studio and am fortunate to have an incredibly supportive husband and studio space in my current residence so I can still paint every day, if I can. I have to say the biggest influence to my work was John giving me a brayer to try as a painting tool – it changed my painting style completely and solved so many problems. I still use brayers in my painting process and have expanded my arsenal of non-traditional painting tools to include squeegees and spatulas. My paintings still explore the same subject matter as what I was working with in grad school, but they are more light-hearted and show a deeper interest in color. I feel a stronger connection to the work I am doing than ever before and know I would not have the confidence to continue my pursuits had it not been for the level of education I received at MCAD.”
To see more of Lindsey’s work, please visit her website
