Staff photo by Fritz Busch The Grand Artist-in-Resident Showcase artist Caitlin Lang looks at her art at a Friday reception. The showcase continues to Dec. 20.

NEW ULM — The 1st Annual Resident Artist Showcase began Friday at The Grand Center for Arts and Culture.

Resident artists of 2024 stay for two weeks in New Ulm, creating prints in the Cellar Press. Featured artists are Elizabeth MacMillan, Eliza Ploghoft, Willow Gentile, Charlie Putnam, Caitlin Lang and Jared Kaufman.

Ploghoft creates complex designs representing wildlife and the sounds they make. She experiments with a variety of ink and mediums and demonstrated how to make homemade paper at The Grand studio.

Her favorite art exhibit at The Grand is “Sleeping Cicadas.”

“I like the composition of it and the colors I used. I experimented a lot with colorful backgrounds. I like vibrant colors,” said Ploghoft.

Her art on display is a set of different, local wildlife including a dog in her backyard and expressing the sounds they made in a two-dimensional form through art with different colors and marks.

“I always been expressed by the sounds of wildlife,” she said.

She was in residence at The Grand in late August and September.

“It was fun. I liked the experience of being here with a hotel room upstairs and basement cellar press that I could use. It was nice having time to work on things at my own pace. I enjoyed it,” said Ploghoft of Lake Crystal.

She graduated from Brigham Young University in Idaho with a BA Degree in Studio Art with an emphasis in illustration.

“I’d like to do some art as part of my job it would be nice,” she said.

Putnam has recently done printmaking in his home studio. He uses linoleum and wood blocks, mono-printing and mixed media collages.

Lang works on print poster designs featuring local landmarks. She prints on paper, using The Grand’s presses.

She uses a variety of different media including painting, drawing and printmaking. She received a BA in Studio Art at Southern Minnesota State University, Marshall.

After college, she has created a variety of art for gallery shows, festivals and markets.

“I like doing hands-on art including carving, printing and all areas of it including portraits,” said Lang.

She was named the 2024 Mankato Up and Coming Artist. Lang also enjoys playing guitar, especially 60s through 80s rock music and old movies.

Kaufman’s day job is a St. Paul Pioneer Press food and feature writer. He explores our relationship with food using wood type and images. A seven-part print series explores wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates.

He also occasionally tells stories onstage at St. Paul and Minneapolis comedy open mics and has performed in New York City. He calls himself a food reporter, cheese monger and print maker.

Gentile creates large scale linoleum blocks, layering colorful imagery of New Ulm buildings and historic locations. She even uses leftover linoleum block to create a mosaic effect.

MacMillan works with wood type and test exploring concepts around sleep and dreams.

The Grand art showcase concludes at 3 p.m., Friday, Dec. 20.