We belong to a place of beauty, but it’s a beauty that can be as moody as it is elusive.
It can require a certain light to reveal its full grandeur, or an up close look at the tiny parts that comprise the whole to appreciate its spirit.
That’s where Kristi Fernholz steps in, camera in hand.
The prairie and farm lands of the Upper Minnesota River Valley have been the focus of her art since she first picked up a film camera while a youth in 4-H.
She’s called to photograph the place she calls home out of her love for it. There is also the desire to open the eyes of others to its beauty. “…it is an important resource, and when you know it better, we will feel even better about preserving it,’’ wrote Fernholz.
She is the featured artist for the 2014 Meander Upper Minnesota River Arts Crawl. It’s an honor bestowed by her peers.
Fernholz and her husband, Brad, are parents to two children and operate an organic farm in Lac qui Parle County near the Marsh Lake dam. Fernholz is a senior planner with the Upper Minnesota River Valley Regional Development Commission in Appleton, where she has worked since she and her husband moved back to the area in 2000.
Two years earlier she had graduated with a degree in fine arts with an emphasis in photography from the University of Minnesota, Duluth. The North Shore had been hers to explore. She found herself longing for what she called the open palette waiting for her back home.
Her love for art came from home, too. Her mother, Jane Link, is a well-known artist in the region and encouraged her daughter’s interest. Fernholz credits her 4-H experience with introducing her to photography, and attributes her love for the outdoors to having grown up on a farm.
She also credits the Lac qui Parle Valley School, where she graduated in 1993, for ‘’developing’’ her passion for photography. She was a student when the school opened in 1990. Waiting there for her was a brand new darkroom. “Me and a couple of other people were in that darkroom all the time,’’ she said.
Now her time is spent with a digital camera, and almost exclusively outdoors. One of her chief passions is capturing the intricate design, beauty and color of the native prairie flowers found in abundance just a short walk from her home. “They’re so fun. I love going out into the prairie and thinking ‘oh, this is my job.
“I have to check out the prairie today,’’’ she said. “It’s fun. I feel so lucky.’’
She’s also hard driven, and endures mosquitoes, long hours on foot and long waits to hunt down and wait for the right elements to come together.
“Photography is a continual exploration in composition and light,’’ said Fernholz of the art.
Chasing those elements is one thing. Knowing her subject is the other.
“She has a really special eye for small things on the prairie that most of us pass by or don’t notice,’’ said Anne Thompson, who features Fernholz’s art at her downtown Milan store, Billy Maple Tree’s.
Patrons appreciate the full range of her works, according to Thompson. They love her portrayal of everyday life on the prairie and its open spaces, as much as they do her macro-images of farm implements or other up-close subjects. “They’re beautiful in their simplicity,’’ said Thompson.
The camera also gives her the ability to capture the images created by the blurred shapes and forms that escape our direct focus. “I think I show people with a camera things they can’t see with their eyes, so maybe it’s again, a little more thoughtful,’’ said Fernholz.
That her photography is noticed in a world where everyone has a digital camera speaks to her talents, but it is only part of the story, according to Lucy Tokheim, a visual artist in rural Dawson. She encouraged Fernholz to pursue her art early in her career.
Tokheim said Fernholz is very talented in a variety of medium, from painting to graphic art, and hopes that she will continue to explore her opportunities.
Those are Fernholz’s own thoughts. She said her goals going forward are to explore other mediums and to turn her camera more frequently on new subjects.
Yet no doubt, she will continue to open our eyes to the elusive beauty she knows so well.
“I love Kristi’s work,’’ said Luanne Fondell, whose role with the Dawson-Boyd Arts Association has acquainted her with the works of many of the region’s best artists. “I particularly appreciate her eye for detail, as well as her way of capturing open prairie spaces. Whether images of prairie grasses, cows, brick walls, fields of flax or a small girl in a ballet tutu pushing a tricycle … they all make me stop, look and usually smile. Her work beautifully reflects the life and landscape of western Minnesota.”
