A project I proposed to the Minnesota State Arts Board was awarded a Creative Individuals Grant for the 2025 Fiscal Year. This page is to track the progress of my work on this Grant.
Grant Proposal
For this project grant, I will explore landscapes and historic interior spaces across three cities in Minnesota: Duluth, Red Wing, and Banning State Park near Sandstone. Each city bears traces of its industrial heritage. Banning State Park, once a bustling quarry, now echoes its industrial past as a ghost town. Red Wing, once a major wheat producer, shifted its industry to Minneapolis but has adapted to maintain its relevance. Duluth, the second-largest city on Lake Superior's shores, thrives as a vibrant port city with a rich maritime and industrial history. I selected these cities for their diverse industrial landscapes, offering ample inspiration for artistic interpretation while highlighting the complex relationship between human activity and the natural environment.
As a painter and printmaker, I explore concepts of change by working with motifs of interior spaces, urban landscapes, and still lifes buildings and villages created out of paper. My compositions are layered, vibrant, and angular. In my work I experiment with light, shape, and repetition. This treatment reflects the layered nature of memory, with each piece evolving through experimentation and exploration.
During the grant timeframe I will travel to each city to fully immerse myself in each location. I'll sketch, photograph, and paint en plein air, drawing inspiration from historic architecture, industrial backdrops, or ruins. This exploration will inform a series of paintings, prints, and sculptures, carefully planned from gathered references.
Ultimately, this endeavor will culminate in an exhibition of this body of work in a to be determined location. Alongside the artworks, I'll conduct an artist talk, sharing reference
materials, work-in-progress snapshots, and social media interactions. The exhibition will be designed to spark conversation about environmental stewardship and the intersection of industry and nature.
materials, work-in-progress snapshots, and social media interactions. The exhibition will be designed to spark conversation about environmental stewardship and the intersection of industry and nature.
Visits Completed and Planned
Red Wing, MN - February 16 - 18 2025
Banning, Willow River, Sandstone - April 28 - 30, 2025
Duluth - June 28 - 30, 2025 (Planned)
Red Wing - Summer TBD
Banning - Fall TBD
Duluth - Winter TBD
Exhibition Timeline
Works in Progress on view in August 2025 at the Robbin Gallery in Robbinsdale, MN in the two person show "Stillness in Place"
Full Body of Work on View in Spring 2026 location TBD
Artist Talk Spring 2026 location TBD
Red Wing, February 16 - 18, 2025
View of Red Wing Neighborhood
View of Red Wing Neighborhood
View of Red Wing Boat Houses
In -20 degree weather on the Bliff at Memorial Park
Steam on the Mississipi at Sunset seen from the St. James Hotel
Colored Pencil Sketch of Red Wing Neighborhood
Colored Pencil Sketch of Red Wing Boat Houses
Colored Pencil Sketch of Red Wing Boat Houses
Painting in Progress on my studio wall
Linocut plates in Progress
Banning, April 28 - 30, 2025
Ruins at Banning State Park
Water fall at Willow Creek at Banning State Park
Ruins at Banning State Park
Ruins at Banning State Park
Birch Trees in Early Spring Willow River
Abandoned Quarry Wall at Robinson Quarry Park
Abandoned Quarry Wall at Robinson Quarry Park
Colored Pencil Sketch of Ruins
Colored Pencil Sketch of Ruins
Colored Pencil Sketch of Birch Trees
Colored Pencil Sketch of River
Plein Air Painting of Birch Trees
Amanda Hanlon is a fiscal year 2025 recipient of a Creative Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.