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Artists Biography
April Seekins - Artist
April Seekins is a native Montana artist that enjoys painting watercolors and rawhide drums. As a youth she was recognized as a budding artist in grade school, high school and college. She raised three daughters and now enjoys their families and grandchildren. Her husband worked with the Forest Service so she and her family lived in and experienced the mountains of Montana, Idaho, Colorado, South Dakota, Washington and Oregon. April had the unique opportunity to observe abundant wildlife and unique bird populations in their natural settings.
She had a lifetime career in Diagnostic Imaging, where she specialized in Ultrasound. Her art skills were used extensively in teaching anatomy and ultrasound to the medical community and her students. She was called on to graphically illustrate several complex court cases in the field of ultrasound.
Since 2005 she has assisted her sister-in-law, Gloria Harrison, in designing and fabricating drum bags and drum hats. Gloria and April’s brother Loren attended the 2006 Buffalo Roundup and Art Festival in Custer State Park in South Dakota. Gloria discovered that almost everything with a buffalo on it was a popular item. Gloria asked April to paint a buffalo on the buffalo drums that she and Loren had made. April thought it would be fun to try. This was the beginning of an enjoyable new endeavor that combined April’s artistic skills and desires with Loren and Gloria’s handcrafted drums.
April’s choice of paint for the rawhide is permanent leather dye and ink because they become one with the drumhead. Each drum has its own tone, color, texture, natural leather markings, and scraping marks. She learned that each drum has its own distinctive touch, feel and way of accepting the dye. She gently touches and looks at each drum for a long time until she visualizes and feels the image each drum will gradually produce.
April’s unique painting technique and watercolor style create an original work of art like no other.
Gloria Harrison
The Drum Builder
Gloria Brandt Harrison graduated from Florence High School and received her BA in vocal performance from Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, SD. Retired in May, 2003, Gloria taught in Rapid City for 28 years, 1969-1970 at Meadowbrook Elementary School, 1970-1974 at West Junior High School, and 1980-2003 choral music grades 6-8 at Dakota Middle School. She was Artistic Director of the Rapid City Children's Chorus since it’s beginning in the summer of 1986 thru 2004. She now serves on the RCCC board as Director of Education and Development.
Mrs. Harrison's professionalism is evidenced by her dedication to young people. She was the Rapid City Area School District Teacher of the Year and a candidate for South Dakota Teacher of the Year in 1989. Ms. Brandt is recognized for her excellence in teaching by being selected for Who's Who Among America's Teachers in 1989, 1996, 1998, and 2004. She has also been selected for Who’s Who in American Education, 2006 and Who’s Who in American Women for 2006, 2007 and 2008. She developed and directed the South Dakota Ambassador of Excellence choral group who performed for the 8th World Conference for the Talented and Gifted in Sydney, Australia in 1989.
Under Mrs. Harrison's direction, the Rapid City Children's Chorus has had audition tapes selected for SDACDA, SD-MEA, North Central ACDA, North Central MEA and the 1993 National ACDA Convention. The chorus performed and participated in America Sings! Inc. in Washington, DC, in 1989. The choir participated in the Pacific Rim Children's Chorus Festival under the direction of Henry Leck in July, 2002. The Rapid City Children's Chorus performed in Carnegie Hall in 1996, 1999, and November, 2003 and appeared on the Today Show in 1996 and 1999.
Gloria Harrison has served as Junior High/Middle School Repertiore and Standards Chair for SD-ACDA, Hospitality Co-chair for the 1994 North Central ACDA Convention in Rapid City, and was co-chair of the 1995 summer Conference of SD-ACDA in Brookings. She organized the first South Dakota Junior Honor Choir for grades 7-9 in Pierre at the SD-ACDA Mid-Winter convention in January, 1993. She is the recipient of the first SD-ACDA Encore Award for her contribution to Choral Music. She received the Dakota Wesleyan University Alumni Association Outstanding Educator Award in 1997. Mrs. Harrison is a 1998-1999 graduate of the Technology in Teaching and Learning Academy and a DTL (Distance Teaching and Learning) 2000 graduate. She has written several grants for music technology and presented for TIE (Technology in Education). She is a member of OAKE (Organization of American Kodaly Educators) and ACDA (American Choral Director's Association). She received Level I certification for World Music Drumming with Will Schmid in June, 2000, and Level II certification for World Music Drumming in June, 2001. She was presented an Award of Excellence from the South Dakota Association for Middle Level Education on April 6, 2001 for implementing the World Music Drumming Curriculum at Dakota Middle School. She was presented the “Distinguished Service to Music” award from SDMEA (South Dakota Music Educators Association) in November, 2003. On January 21, 2005, South Dakota ACDA presented Mrs. Harrison the Lifetime Achievement Award for her contribution in choral music in
South Dakota.
Gloria and her husband, Loren, live southwest of Rapid City, and enjoy gardening in their greenhouse and working in their woodshop. Gloria enjoys building ashikos, a Nigerian hand drum, and frame drums that are patterned after an ancient Celtic design signifying faith, hope, peace, joy, and love.
Loren Harrison
Loren Harrison – Wood Carver
Loren carves the segmented turned bowls, vases and platters. Special interest is focused on geometric designs and patterns of Native American Nations throughout the United States. Interest began during his doctoral fellowship and thesis studies while at the University of Montana. Segmented turning of exotic and domestic woods allows the individual unlimited choices of designs using the natural colors of the wood. Special enhancements of the piece can be seen through colored tiles, inlace, pyrography, or texturing.
Born in the Black Hills of South Dakota but raised in the Rocky Mountains of Montana, Loren developed a keen interest in wildlife and nature. His family originated in the Black Hills as early as 1875 with the opening of the Dakota Territory. He is a member of the Black Hills Pioneer Society.
Future plans are to develop a turned platter series combining the art of Loren and the art of Terry Redlin, South Dakota Artist and David C. Behrens, Native American Artists from Charlotte, North Carolina. Plus, platters will be carved in three dimensional designs using the colors of the wood. All pieces are originals.
Terry Redlin
With the permission and consent of the Terry Redlin Art Center and Redlin family, Terry Redlin and myself have joined our artistic interests taking his small tiles with his paintings and placing them in my exotic woodturned platters. The concept of placing tiles in woodturnings comes from a fellow woodturner in Yorkshire, England. Each platter will be different which will bear the name of Terry Redlin's paintings.
Few Artists can rival the standards of excellence achieved by Master Artists Terry Redlin over the past 30 years. He is truly one of the country's most widely collected painters of wildlife and Americana. For eight consecutive years, 1991 through 1998, Redlin has been named America's Most Popular Artist in annual gallery surveys conducted by U. S. ART magazine. His induction into U. S. ART's Hall of Fame in 1992 followed the magazine's poll of 900 galleries nationwide which, that year, placed five of Redlin's limited editions in the top 11 in popularity. Over the life of the poll 30 prints have been included in that list. His use of earthy colors, blazing sunrises and sunsets and nostalgic themes are often cited as the reasons for his immense popularity.
Redlin's most compelling project is the construction of the museum to house his original art in Watertown, South Dakota, where he now resides. The Redlin Art Center, which includes a regional tourism office, and amphitheater, opened in the summer of 1997 and has seen more than 2 million visitors from all over the world.
David C. Behrens
With the permission and consent of the David C. Behrans, Native American Artists, David and myself have joined our artistic interests taking his small tiles with his paintings and placing them in my exotic woodturned platters. The concept of placing tiles in woodturnings comes from a fellow woodturner in Yorkshire, England. Each platter will be different which will bear the name of David C. Behrans' paintings.
Upon viewing a painting by David C. Behrens, one is immediately moved by the intense imagery and emotion found in his work. “As humans we are all moved by stories,” David says, “and my greatest hope is that my paintings achieve what a good story does, only not with words but with brushstrokes.”
As an Illustration major at East Carolina University, David made his first connection with Native Americans and their history.
“I remember going to the library to do some research on a painting and
stumbling across some old photographs of Native people. The profound sense of pride mixed with sadness and longing in their faces spoke so sharply to me that I just could not put my paintbrush to canvas without painting one of these remarkable faces.”
With his bloodline being from Sicilian and German descent many wonder how he can so accurately portray a people not his own. “I believe that God has put it in my heart to paint these images and it is my prayer that He would somehow use my art to bring forth a sense of healing.”
At first glance it is difficult to distinguish the method and media that David enjoys to work in. These dream-like montages are the result of an oil glazing technique that dates back to the early Italian Renaissance period. To achieve this David builds up many different layers of translucent oil washes thus creating a very pleasing effect of images fading in and out of their surroundings. To create a sense of organic texture that has become his hallmark, David paints on a surface of gesso mixed with powdered marble.
It is accurate to say that one does not merely view one of David’s paintings but journeys into it. It is easy to lose oneself in the candid realism, the flowing movement, and the heartbeat found in each of his works. “Art is my purest form of communication and it would be dishonoring if I did not acknowledge Jesus Christ, my Creator and Savior who has blessed me with the ability to paint, for truly He is the greatest artist of all.”
David's artwork can be seen at galleries throughout the country. He currently travels coast to coast and exhibits at many prestigious Indian Art Markets. When he is back at his studio David works diligently on new works of art that continue to challenge his audience with stirring concepts that are both thoughtfully rendered and fearlessly honest, giving a voice to a silent past.
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