Folk Rock - Minneapolis, MN

Singer-songwriter Jake Manders plays folk music ranging from foot stomping jams to mournful ballads.  His songs are often storyteller songs accompanied by harmonica.  He also performs with the alt - bluegrass band "the Pistol Whippin' Party Penguins".  Beyond his songwriting and performing Jake is also a Practicing multi-media artist and art-teacher.  


Artist Statement
 
I grew up in Brooklyn Park, MN and I am in my seventeenth year of teaching art at the high school I graduated from.  Park Center High School is a special place that has students from all over the world.  The diversity of the student body is inspiring and to see what their creative minds come up with is very rewarding. Other than teaching art I am also a practicing artist and musician.  I have always loved recycled art.  It makes life so interesting to always be collecting material that would otherwise end up in the landfill.  I started creating this type of art when I was teaching a sculpture project.  I started collecting material for students and overtime that hobby turned into a lifestyle.  Today my style is based on photographs that are meaningful to me.  Once I decide on the image, I enlarge it onto the surface using a grid then I collage the picture using a paintbrush and Mod Podge. I describe my process as collecting all the visual images from my life then organizing them into piles. The pieces will inevitably fit into the artwork like a puzzle. My hope is that viewers will recognize the images that I chose to recreate as well as the images from the products we buy and use every day. I hope that my art will also inspire you to create recycled art for yourself!