February 18, 2026 has been canceled due to weather.
Sharon Nordrum is the guest host for Circles held on February 4, 11, 18 & 25 from 11am to 3pm
Sharon Nordrum, Red Lake Enrollee, has always been drawn to art and creating. After her employer went out of business in 2012, she began to think about the lack or actually the non-existence of the Ojibwe language in our area. She began by incorporation language – “Boozhoo, Aaniin and Biindigen” – into her art. She has since expanded by telling her stories and dreams on canvas.
Currently, she is working more with mixed media art by incorporating bark, parfleche, sweet grass, fibers and paintings into one piece of art. Her definition of art includes exploring, growing and invoking feelings into her creations.
Kristin Majkzak is the guest host for Circles held on March 4, 18, 25 from 11am to 3pm.
(No circle on March 11)
I became entranced with the idea of tapestry weaving in my early fifties and began exploring the artistic possibilities of this medium of expression through workshops and books. I love the texture of yarn, the way it feels in my hands, and I love how light reflects off fibers in its own special way. Tapestry is a weft-faced weave, and the warp threads are a structure for the weaving that is, for the most part, invisible in the finished work. I find the limitations of the weaving grid to be freeing, like form can be in poetry. Working around those limitations is like a spark that fires the imagination. Tapestry weaving is also a very slow process, a meditation if you will. Poetry is also a meditative art. I began writing poetry in my early teens as a way of processing and deeply exploring my inner and outer worlds. In recent years, I have been experimenting with the interplay of the visual and auditory senses through the pairing of tapestry and poetry.
It is interesting how some things in life come full circle. I hadn’t planned on doing fabric weaving, but an opportunity to learn presented itself that could not be resisted. I loved the endless possibilities of the interplay of pattern, yarn, and color. I also bought an inkle loom so I could weave belts and bands. When the building was purchased that has now metamorphosed into the beautiful Watermark Art Center of today, I rented space and set up a weaving studio where I taught classes in tapestry, inkle loom, and floor loom weaving. It was located just inside what is now the main entrance of Watermark and back towards the coat rack, so the energy of weaving is in the bones of the building.
The 2025-26 Intercultural Creative Circles begin November 5, 2025 through March 2026 on MOST Wednesdays from 11am – 3pm. Please check our Events Schedule for updates or specific information regarding guest artists.
Learn how to start a project or bring a project you’ve already started. All ages and skill levels are welcome. Drop in only, no fee or registration required. Participants should provide their own supplies or get started with limited materials.
Watermark galleries are accessible, free and open to the public Tuesday (through March) – Saturday from 10 to 5pm and located at 505 Bemidji Avenue N. in Bemidji, Minnesota, 218-444-7570.
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota, through grant from the Region 2 Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
Each series or workshop will focus on a particular medium or skill, such as birch bark, basketry, loom-weaving, quilting, embroidery or other embellishment techniques. Participants will learn about the craft and its importance or use in this region. In this way, the programming will highlight and invigorate community connections through experimental opportunities.
Says Nokomis Paiz, Watermark staff member, “What we see in providing multi-faceted, multi-cultural creative circles is a significant opportunity to build community with ethnic diversity as the infrastructure of the circle. We want to have an open door that encourages people to come to the circle as they are able, without a sense of obligation or having to sign up and commit to a workshop. People’s lives are busy. COVID changed how we think and act in the world. We want to be accessible and consistent in our availability.”
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota, through a grant from the Region 2 Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.
