artists.
Anna
Melodee
Paul
Mariah
Kelly
Tamina
Barbara
Artist Bios
Kelly Frankenberg
Kelly Frankenberg is an illustrator, painter, and mural artist with over 25 years of experience. She has done interactive murals for Minnesota’s Italian Festival, St Paul’s Park Square Theater, The City of Eagan, The Islamic Center of Minnesota, and various others. She has been commissioned by The Minnesota Historical Society Press, The Governor’s Residence Council to create the Minnesota State Coloring Book, and the Girl Scouts of St. Croix Valley. Having worked in Burnsville as a full-time illustrator, painted murals in female-owned businesses there, participated in Burnsville’s Art & All That Jazz Festival, and exhibited work at the Burnhaven Library and the Ames Center, she is no stranger to the Burnsville community and the growing want for the arts and creative vibrancy there. Her murals have appeared on mailboxes, windows, walls, doors, pianos, barrels, and electrical boxes. kellyfrankenberg.com
Melodee Strong
Melodee Strong has completed over 60 mural and large-scale projects in the Twin Cities and Jamaica. She has a BFA from MCAD and a Masters in Arts Education from the U of M. Her multifaceted practice as an artist allows her to create using a wide range of materials and techniques but her portfolio largely consists of murals giving attention to diverse cultures, feminism, and social justice. She is currently teaching visual art at Franklin Middle School in Minneapolis and is an adjunct instructor at MCAD, Augsburg, Metro State, and the U of M teaching courses in foundational art studies, K-12 Art Methods courses, and professional practice in illustration. She has recently earned The Minneapolis Educator Leadership Award from the Graves Foundation in 2020 and 2022. Her personal work includes symbols from her Peruvian background and the juxtaposition between the two very different cultures. melodeestrong.com
Anna Karena
Anna has been a lifelong creative person to include dance, theater, art, and many fine crafts as well. She is an intuitive abstract artist working in a variety of mediums to include painting, collage, mixed media, and beadwork. She works in a very layered fashion and goes where the work takes her without a preset plan for outcome. This keeps her work vibrant, lively, and honest. Her passion within art is color and the use of many layers to tell a story of depth and nuance. Anna shows her in various locations around the Twin Cities and people love the bright and inviting nature of her work. Anna is a published bead artist and enjoys teaching and sharing her knowledge with others and can be found working in her studio in the NE Mpls Arts District at the Carriage House Arts Studios in Studio 200. You can see her finished works as well as watch her works in progress on Instagram: @anna.karena and Facebook: annakarenaartist
Mariah Laster
Mariah considers herself a portrait artist who conveys not only powerful depictions of black people and POC but soft, sad, happy and intimate emotions of those people. She has exhibited work in St. Paul and various other locations.
Dr. Barbara Bridges
With a PhD in Art Education, 20 years of experience as an art teacher to kids, and 20 years of experience on top of that as an art educator to art teachers, Dr. Bridges knows how to make art an educational and fun experience for all ages. Founder and director of non-profit, Art to Change the World, her vision carries out in projects, events, and shows that not only build community and create opportunity, but also get artists paid. A life-long artist herself, her work has been exhibited in Maine, Mexico, Maryland, Florida, Spain, Chicago, Canada, the Virgin Islands, and she has recently lead workshops at the Mill City Museum and Guthrie Education. Voted Art Teacher of the Year twice, she created the first online art teacher licensure program for Bemidji State University. As a septuagenarian she brings her life experience to a project along with advocating to keep the elderly community involved in the art experiences. arttochangetheworld.com
Tamina Muhammad
Tamina Muhammad is an award winning illustration artist and professional face painter. She studied illustration at Pratt Institute Manhattan N.Y. She was born in East Orange N.J. and has been residing in The Twin Cities with her family for 8yrs. . Tamina has been drawing and painting since childhood. She is inspired by the world around her. She works in various mediums. She loves to design art that tells stories and is a reflection of her multi-cultural heritage. Her goal is for her art to awaken the imagination through her unique creativity and relate to the viewer through various bold colors and expressive details. Tamina’s art has been showcased and published in a few Face Painting magazines, Artist magazines, galleries, cafes, museums, numerous competitions, clothing lines, record covers, internationally and online stores. She has been an inspiration to artist around the globe. Tamina is also the winner of the 1st Art Battle in Minnesota. She enjoys teaching youth in the inner cities as a lead artist for the Art Mobile program and The Creative Connections program for seniors 62 + through East Side Arts Council in the spring and summer. She believes the greatest gift is giving back and sharing art to help others believe in themselves and to inspire and be inspired. https://www.facebook.com/TaminaDesigns?mibextid=LQQJ4d
Paul Kellett
Paul Kellett creates images to captivate. He uses a variety of mediums and tools to make paintings that focus on manifestations of bright positive energy, while acknowledging oppositional forces. A notable influence on Paul’s paintings were the Bay Area Figurative painters. His abstract paintings convey the activity and transformation of energies through color, form and line. The principle of yin/yang is a priority in his work. Paul’s paintings are “intended to radiate positivity into a space, so that when a person comes near it they can feel and see positive vibrations.” Paul shows his work in the “Studiopolis” Gallery & Studio in the Northrup King Building. His work is collected globally, and he has garnered numerous awards for his artworks.
The Barriers Which Bring Us Together. Burnsville Jersey Barriers Project in Nicollet Commons Park.
The plan:
Our group of seven artists has one project manager, Kelly Frankenberg, who will facilitate the group and development of our theme. We would like to incorporate the themes: nature, the history of Burnsville, and the moto, “You Belong Here,” with the working title, “The Barriers Which Bring Us Together.” We will also invite residents and the city to give input on the theme. We will make sure the overall design theme will be consistent, yet still reflect each artist’s individual styles. Each artist has their own expertise and talent and we will use our skills together as a group, creating community, working together.
On Volunteer Paint Day, (April 20th 10-12:30, at least 3 artists will take in and lead several local volunteers to help paint in colors, prime the surface, and varnish/anti-graffiti the 12 barriers. We will put a call out for volunteers for the painting sessions.
On Community Unveiling Day, (July 11th at the Party in the Plaza 5-8pm), we will add an event called, “The Barriers Which Bring Us Together,” where the community can come and paint a small take-away mini painting of their own, one of our artists will face paint, the community can meet the artists, there can be a scavenger hunt of little hidden images they find throughout the 12 painted barriers. We can have educational, illustrated brochures on the history of the city and a trivia game to engage them, which would be created by our group for this event. Find William and/or Find Black Dog. Prizes and take-aways will be handed out to remember the event and the art.
​
The barriers are owned by the city and moved around for different events in the park. Enjoy the beauty of art on them for years to come!
​
​
​
-
The Community mural concept came from wanted to include the motto of "You Belong Here" and "Burnsville Strong" with bright colors that the community could help paint in.
Anna Karena created this above mural and she says, "My painting style is one of intuition and being in the moment without a planned outcome. That can be scary sometimes and the barriers presented unfamiliar territory in shape and substrate. My focus is on color and freeform expression to express joy without limits. To allow the viewer an opportunity to see what they want to see in the work."
This above mural was created by Tamina Muhammad and she says,"I love capturing landscapes in an illustrative way. in this piece I researched pics and looked at Burnsville scenic city views. I loved the rich color and variety of trees and flowers. While i hope to have captured the comfort and pleasure of living in Burnsville and years of the past. This has been an exciting journey for me. The colors I used, bold lines, textures and shapes. I seek out to entice the curiosity of the viewer and to tell a story that anyone will relate to in someway."
The above mural was created by Tamina Muhammad and Kelly Frankenberg. We wanted to include Burnsville residents' suggestions and represent fun activities in the city including roller skating, singing, skateboarding, and playing in the water park. We combined our styles to create a fun piece that pops out at you.
The mural above was created by Kelly Frankenberg. She says,"I wanted to represent the different art forms of music, dance, theater and visual arts, while paying tribute to the Ames Center and the Art and All That Jazz Festival, in a whimsical style."
The mural above was created by Paul Kellett and Kelly Frankenberg. They wanted to created a playful atmosphere with children and dogs and nature and color to capture the light and fun of childhood.
This mural was created by Paul Kellett. Paul says, "my concept was to begin with the Burnsville city colors of green and blue, and the school colors of yellow and black. Writing words of positivity and encouragement on my barrier, I think added more shapes and colors to build exciting movement that reflects a sense of harmony, community, and a spirit of celebration."
This above mural was a collaboration between Paul and Mariah. They wanted to combine their styles with shapes, color, and flowers and portraiture.
This above mural was created by Mariah Laster. She says,"I wanted to include a few close friends that are Burnsville residents. These black and brown men and women are inspirational in their own ways. I wanted to include diversity in my piece. "
The above barrier is by Barbara Bridges and called, “Black Dog Village/Burnsville.” It takes the viewer on an historical journey through the days of habitation by the Dakota peoples through the arrival of Irishman William Byrne and notes the present delights and community markers which makes Burnsville the community it is today. The symbols include an Irish Celtic sign, The Minnesota River, Writer and Ojibwa Historian, Anton Treuer’s silhouette from his book “The Cultural Toolbox” .
The barrier above is a collaboration between Melodee and Barbara and it's a celebration of culture and ethnicity. How a community stands together as one for the greater good, including all.
The above barrier is by Melodee Strong. She states, "My barrier celebrates MN fauna! I wanted to focus on a few native animals and wild flowers of our state. I also wanted to celebrate the waterways of the area (Blackdog Lake and Long Meadow Lake, and the Minnesota River). Autumn is also one of my favorite times of the year in MN because it really showcases the natural beauty of our landscape. The most significant animals included in my design are the loon, turtle and owl. The loon was included for the obvious reason- it is our state bird. The turtle has several meanings for its inclusion in my design. In many cultures the turtle represents healing, wisdom, spirituality, health, safety, longevity, protection, and fertility. To some Native Americans, the turtle contributed to the creation story because the turtle enters into the primeval waters to retrieve mud to create Mother Earth. It's especially significant to me because it has become the symbol between my son and I. Owls can mean very different things to many cultures. I grew up understanding that owls bring death or hold the spirit of the afterlife, similarly to the Ojibwa. I felt it was appropriate to include animal symbols representing life and death. The full circle of life and spirituality. I also included the fox, raccoon, walleye, duck (mallard) and deer."
The Barriers Which Bring Us Together Event:
Kelly and Mayor of Burnsville, Elizabeth Kautz
