Art Exhibit: “Driftless Past & Present” by Jamie Schwaba

“Driftless Past & Present”
Artwork by Jamie Schwaba

August 19-September 27

Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts
1164 West Howard St., Winona, MN

Exhibit free and open to the public during MCA business hours

About the Artist:

My name is Jamie Schwaba and I am an artist based out of Winona, MN. I selected the name “Schwaba Drama Art” not only for the fun ringing sound but because my visual art practice is inspired by my lifelong love and work in theatre and music.

I primarily, create with my favorite medium which is oil pastels. I like to describe oil pastels as vibrant, creamy crayons that allow you to use a mix of drawing and painting techniques at once. I also incorporate the use of acrylic paint pens, an ebony pencil, ink pens, and colored pencils to add details.

I fell in love with oil pastels during oil pastels in 2020 while moderating online classes I was overseeing as a managing director of a community arts school. As a former professional actress and children’s theatre director, I am a musical theatre geek. So as you may imagine I was thrilled and honored to have a piece selected to be hung in the brand the new Museum of Broadway near Times Square in New York City (opened Nov. 15, 2022).

I enjoy sharing my love of the arts with others through teaching, community projects such as “Sharing Creativity” which I received a grant from Springboard for the Arts to carry out, and my involvement as a board member for Sugarloaf Theater. I am always up for a challenge. I enjoy creating unique commissions that capture a feeling and memories of time, place, objects or creatures through colors, shapes, and often printed materials.  I have created in a variety of sizes, on sheet music, book pages, maps, and more.