About the Center
Artists in Residence
Cindy McGowan
Cindy has always been intrigued with art and artists. As a child, she and her parents took many driving vacations, frequently visiting art museums along the way. She remembers how much she enjoyed seeing the famous works of Monet, Picasso and her favorite, Elizabeth Murray. She also dreamed about someday going to Paris and visiting The Louvre. (This came true once she met her husband Kevin) Even at a young age she realized that she would one day become an artist!
She began pursuing her passion for art by summiting work and receiving many awards throughout her elementary and high school education. She then started to stimulate her need for art classes by attending The Minneapolis Institute of Art and Design and The College of Associated Arts in St. Paul. She also continued to enrich her artistic knowledge by taking classes at The Colorado Mountain College, Lakewood Community College and Hennepin Community College.
Now Cindy who resides in Maple Grove, Minnesota is a wife, a mother of three and a pastel artist/art teacher. Her work is unique and engaging; telling a story with the use of color, line and texture. The use of sheetrock mud and pastel dust can be seen on many of her pieces, along with cut or torn paper.
Her work has since been showcased in various galleries, restaurants, art fairs and businesses around Minnesota and Colorado. Her artwork has also been featured in the Maple Grove/ Osseo Newspaper, Maple Grove Magazine and Kare 11's very own Showcase Minnesota.
Cindy continues to focus on her own artistic endeavors, but has become extremely passionate about teaching children and adults, about the importance of art.
Christina Hankins
Christina Hankins was born in Connecticut in 1970. Her family lived in various places on the east coast, until finally settling in southern California where she grew up. Hankins went to U.C. Irvine and earned a bachelors degree in studio art. While there, she had the opportunity to study under such nationally known artists as Barbara Krueger, Gifford Meyers, and Ed Bereal. Christina went on to earn a Masters Degree from Claremont University in education and spent many years as an elementary educator in and around Los Angeles. Eventually she decided to take time off from her teaching career to raise her four children and to focus on her own artistic endeavors.
Christina began her career in southern California. In between changing diapers and parent teacher conferences Christina managed to enter her work into various juried shows. She eventually landed a duel show at the Avatar Gallery in Pomona, California, then on to a solo exhibition at the City of Hope Medical Center in Duarte, California. Christina also took part in many group exhibitions at the SOHO gallery in Pomona, The Da Center for the Arts, and The Claremont Forum. Christina later became part of a group of rotating artists chosen to exhibit at the Southern California locations of Borders.
In the summer of 2002, Christina and her husband moved their family from southern California to the Minneapolis area. After the relocation, Christina resumed painting, and began to show her work in the upper mid-west. Christina has participated in many gallery exhibitions, juried shows, and art fairs. She has also exhibited at the Minnesota State Fair, and has begun to create a following away from the California landscape.
The content of Christina's work is derived from self analysis and observation of the world around her. Her images portray women taking stock of their environment. Some are images of the fleeting quiet moments with children, while others are of the calm before the storm. All of her images convey her emotions with color, texture, and a busyness that reflects her full life.
Currently, Christina is represented by the Buffalo Fish Gallery in Minnesota. She has shown her work at various galleries throughout the Twin Cities including Rogue Buddha, The Good Life Gallery, Tamarack Gallery and others. Her work can be seen at the Hot Mama stores in Minnesota and Illinois, and at art fairs throughout the state and across the nation.
Visit her website at www.chankinspaint.com.
About the Director
Lorrie Link
With more than twenty-nine years of marketing and advertising experience, Lorrie Link is a multi-talented artist and marketing communications specialist. With a passion for the arts, history and grassroots community involvement she initiated Interface Cultural Arts (ICA), The Maple Grove Arts Council, and a garden club with which she was instrumental in creating the Maple Grove boulevard plantings.
Lorrie, a 29 year resident of Maple Grove, served on two Maple Grove city commissions: the Arbor Committee and Citizen's Long-range Improvement Committee. She designed and created the newsletter "Communication Link," while serving in the organization Healthy Community Healthy Youth.
While serving as the first president of the Maple Grove Arts Council, she developed programs and wrote grants resulting in the creation of the Maple Grove Days Art Fair, the Liberian Student Art Show and the Student Art Show.
Her current focus is on the development of the new organization, Interface Cultural Arts, which hosts the NW'Burb's Art Crawl, and this past July returned to present the Maple Grove Days Art Fair. Her mission is to create relationships between artists and encouraging them to share in a fun and unique experience in the community in which they live and work. Her vision is to provide artists with useful tools to grow their name, bring awareness of the visual arts, and promote the community's unique and diverse art culture. ICA strives to educate the public and provide them with quality art programming for their education, entertainment and enjoyment.
Lorrie graduated from the University of St. Thomas with a Bachelor's of Art degree with a major in Journalism and Public Relations. Lorrie minored in Art History, and she also has a degree in Commercial Art and attended the College of St. Benedict studying Fine Art. Also passionate about history, Lorrie, a 12th generation descendant, is the Governor of the Minnesota Descendants of the Mayflower Society. She is the Manager of Corporate Communication for Slumberland Furniture. Lorrie lives in Maple Grove with her husband, Gary. They have two sons, a daughter-in-law and a grandson.