Michaela Gaffke / Winonan
Local artist Julia Crozier is displaying her work in the Ben Miller Lobby at the Page Theatre on the Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota’s campus. Her works are on display every day from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. until April 29.
Nine pieces of artwork are on display: two chalk pastels, two oil pastels and five oil pastels. Crozier’s most represented subject reflects the natural world and how humans relate to it.
“She sometimes works with a realistic style, often this realism is exaggerated and simplified. Recently, she has expanded to working in abstract styles, sometimes mixing abstractions with realism and cubism,” Heidi Bryant from the River Arts Alliance said.
Five out of the nine pieces displayed are landscapes of Utah and the Grand Canyon, and the other four are of human made objects, such as oil tanks and a pumper. In her artwork she encourages people to experience something new about nature and life and how they intertwine together.
She started working with water colors but used pen and ink also, according to Heidi Bryant of the River Arts Alliance, a group that works with artists and art organizations in the Winona area to promote art-related events.
Crozier has been traveling to find inspiration abroad. She has traveled to Scotland, the Grand Canyon, Dakota Badlands and prairies, the bluff lands of the Mississippi River valley and the Southwest desert for her landscapes.
Crozier attended the St. Paul School of Associated Arts. After she started a family with her husband, she started selling her work to galleries and other exhibits. Her work has also been exhibited in the Minnesota Marine Art Museum and other galleries around Wisconsin and Minnesota.
She grew up among a family of artists— her dad was a professional artist. Crozier learned to paint outdoors with watercolors when she was very young.
“People get joy out of it and get some insights into things they hadn’t thought of,” Crozier said on creating her art.
The River Arts Alliance gives grants to enable themselves to collaborate with government and community organizations to feature art to the public to enhance Winona, attracting people to enjoy the town.
