Sartell Newsleader • www.thenewsleaders.com
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Friday, June 27, 2014
Artist, 15, earns 22 awards, garners raves
by Dennis Dalman news@thenewsleaders.com
contributed photos
Above: Claire Miller loves to explore textures and the interaction of colors in her paintings, as in this picture of a flower. Left: Claire Miller excels in evoking pensive moods with her portraits.
Don’t be surprised if the works of Sartell artist Claire Miller someday grace the walls of major museums. At Miller age 15, the Cathedral High School student’s paintings have already garnered raves and awards. Twenty-two awards, to be exact. Miller’s high-school art instructors are Tony Keller and Dan Nelson. Recently, she placed third in the Sixth Congressional District’s High School Art Contest. In addition, she is the first Minnesota high-school student to win Blick’s International “Celebrating Art” contest. Two of her works (one of a cow, the other of a ballerina) were among the top 10 winners and photos in that contest, and they were published in the Celebrating Art book. She also won honorable mentions in the Cleveland Art Institute’s National High School Contest and in the Minnesota Junior Duck High School Art Contest. Other awards include four honors, including Gold Key awards for painting and drawing in the Minnesota Scholastic Art and Writing Contest; five awards just recently in the Central Minnesota High School Art competi-
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6:30 a.m. and make her rounds, picking up as many as 77 children to take to Sartell schools. In the afternoon, she’d do pickups at the schools and get home by 4:45 p.m. “Last winter was about the worst winter ever of the 45 years I drove school bus,” Patty said. “A good winter to retire after. The worst kind of weather
tions (Granite Ride and Minnesota State High School League). Miller’s works have found places of honor on the walls of many area museums and venues – exhibitions in Little Falls, Elk River and, most recently, at The Rivers Art Exhibit at the Paramount Theater. Miller, the daughter of Deb and Todd Miller of Sartell, just received a grant from the Central Minnesota Arts Board to work with acclaimed artist Yudong Shen to help prepare her portfolio for when she applies for college. “He’s amazing,” Miller said of Shen. “He has a studio in Shoreview, and I’m taking lessons from him in oil painting, charcoal and pastels.” Another teacher is Harvey Schroeder of Elk River, now retired, who teaches oil painting on Wednesday nights. Miller paints in his studio in the winter months. Miller began painting when she was in eighth grade. “I’ve always liked art, ever since I was little,” she said. “I remember the first painting I did was of a tree.” About half the time Miller paints directly from the life in front of her and about half the time using photos as starting points. She even painted a few outdoor photos while standing amidst the setting she was painting – a challenging way to paint and which artists call “plein air” painting. Painting right in the open air from nature was pio-
neered by French impressionist master Claude Monet, who is Miller’s favorite artist. “I just recently went to Chicago’s Institute of Art and saw all the Monets they have there,” she said, her voice filled with awe. “They were amazing paintings. And they had a lot of other great impressionist painters’ works there too.” Before doing a painting, Miller usually first thinks of what she wants to achieve. Sometimes it’s a certain color or color combination; sometimes it’s a certain design or composition; sometimes it’s a mood or emotional evocation. “A lot of my paintings are very exact and very refined,” she said. “Others are more impressionistic, looser, not photographic looking.” Miller defines her art as based on the visible world, representational rather than abstract. She’s done many small paintings, as small as 5-by-7 inch, but more recently she likes the challenge of bigger canvases, up to 20-by24 foot. Miller has a twin sister, Elise, who sometimes dabbles in art but who wants to major in the field of medicine. Claire’s postgraduation plans are just as definite as her sister’s. “I’ll be going to an art college,” she said. And she will no doubt be winning more awards and places of honor on museum walls.
for driving school bus is when it’s foggy or icy.” Some of Schunemans’ favorite school-bus driving memories relate to special times of the year, like Easter and Christmas, when children would bring her little gifts. During one Christmas season, all the kids on the bus – all but one little girl – proudly presented Patty with gifts. The girl, feeling abashed and a bit sad that she hadn’t brought a gift, walked up to Patty and bashfully gave her a big sugar Christmas cookie
with a bite taken out of it. On June 4, the official date of her retirement, Schuneman’s family and friends held a celebration for her in St. Stephen Lions Park. One daughter brought a bottle of champagne. “It feels good that I’m retired,” Schuneman said. “That’s because I’m so busy. I have a big yard, a big garden. We have a summer place up north by Hackensack, and I love to fish – summer and winter. And now I can spend more time with my family.”
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