Hamline University and the Midway Public Art Working Group are excited to announce three finalists for the Hamline Mural: Lee Blauersouth, Ilana Budenosky, and Sarah Lentz (read more about the project here). The selection committee will be choosing the final artist this month. You can learn more about each of the finalists below:
Lee Blauersouth
I’m a classically trained artist who’s education focused on traditional (Dutch style) oil portraiture, who later turned to drawing comic books because I love art most when it tells a story. Aided by both my studio art and art history minors from Hamline, I’ve spent my adult life trying to honor both the independent comics I love, as well as the old masters who originally inspired me to start drawing. From 9-5, Monday through Friday I’m a mental health therapist who focuses on addiction and PTSD. Through the connections I’ve made at work, as well as my own experiences I’ve come to value social justice goals, and the way art can break boundaries and heal wounds. I’ve been in love with the midway since my first college tour in 2000 and have lived here nearly my whole adult life. Two years ago my wife and I bought a house here, with the intention to raise a family in this vibrant, diverse, community-oriented neighborhood.
Ilana Budenosky
Ilana Budenosky is a visual artist whose interest in the dynamics
between living beings can be seen in her mural in the Janet Wallace
Fine Arts Center at Macalester College. She is graduating in May of
2017 with a B.A. in Studio Art from Macalester College and her work has been shown at the Southern Graphics Council International Conference in Atlanta, Georgia; at the Gorman Rare Art Book Collection at the University of Minnesota; and at Galeria Jesús Gallardo in Guanajuato, Mexico. She has gotten to know the Hamline-Midway neighborhood through years of public transit use and is so excited to be selected as a finalist for Midway Murals 2.0.
Sarah Lentz
Sarah Lentz is a junior at Hamline University, with a Double Major in Painting and Political Science. The Midway has been her home and workplace for the past three years and she also works at Hamline Elementary School. She previously worked as a Community Arts Intern for the Wausau River District, independently facilitating and creating placemaking opportunities to engage the community through art. Among those placemaking projects were a community painted piano that was placed outside for public use and crosswalk murals that she helped design with the Wausau Boy’s and Girl’s Club. She also volunteered at the Midway Murals opening event in 2015. Sarah hopes to continue her placemaking and community building efforts as she moves forward with her career, and she believes that Midway Murals 2.0 would be an incredible opportunity to make a lasting impact on her current home.