(woman) "Prairie Mosaic" is funded by-- the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on Nov. 4th, 2008; the North Dakota Council on the Arts; and by the members of Prairie Public.

Welcome to "Prairie Mosaic," a patchwork of stories about the art, culture, and history in our region.

Hi, I'm Matt Olien.

And I'm Barb Gravel.

On this episode of "Prairie Mosaic," we'll meet a State Poetry Champion, learn about a Métis settlement in Northwest Minnesota, and meet a hard-working musician who writes songs about relationships!

♪ Said you're leaving you're not coming back ♪ ♪ When we were so young ♪ ♪ We fantasized what it'd be like to fall in love ♪ Deanna Joy Mayer, of Detroit Lakes, Minnesota has loved flowers since she was young.

To capture the intricate beauty of nature, she started to use clay and plaster to create botanical bas relief.

She hopes that her art form will encourage people to appreciate nature.

[acoustic guitar plays softly] (Deanna) Art is an integral part of who we are.

I think that everyone is an artist at some point in some way in their life.

It expresses a part of ourselves that when it is expressed we have a much more full life.

When I was young my mother gave me a flower press for a present, and I started pressing flowers, and I had one of those rock tumblers, and I made agates.

I've always needed to have my hands busy creating something.

I started off in college with a business degree, and that was just a little too boring for me, so I took an interest test, and it said that I should be a florist.

So I'm like oh, that really sounds perfect!

So I went to school, Learning Academy for Floral Design, and I worked in the field, specialized in wedding flowers.

I was playing online looking for something creative to do.

I saw this botanical plaster art, and I went, I've got to figure out how that's done, it took a couple years for me to figure out the best plaster, the best moisture content for the clay, and then I've just been having a lot of fun.

I lost a child 13 years ago, and if I wasn't working I was pretty shut down.

This was the first thing that kept me from shutting down after work.

It was revolutionarily healing for me.

I would consider it the biggest blessing in my life.

Bas relief is anything that is raised from the surface.

So botanical, if you add that to it it means that I use flowers, leaves, branches, anything that is fresh that will leave an impression in the clay.

I will pick my florals, then I roll a slab of clay out to get a uniform thickness in the clay, and then I will place and arrange the flowers on the clay and press them in.

I use just a standard clay, and the really real cool thing is that it's ecological, and I can reuse the clay time and time again.

I pull them out, then I build a border, then I pour in the stone plaster on top of that.

It's a really strong dense plaster that captures all of the intricate details of the flowers beautifully.

Then once that cures, I'm able to pull back the clay, and it reveals your piece.

That's absolutely the most exciting part is to peel back the clay just to see how it turns out.

Because you don't really know, you don't know how it's going to turn out until you peel the clay back, and it's always in the reverse, so it doesn't look like you think it's going to look when you peel back the clay either.

Once you peel back the clay you cannot rearrange the flowers, and as a flower arranger, I'm like, oh my gosh, why did I put that there why didn't I add something there?

So I'd say there's a lot that goes to the landfill.

[laughs] From there it gets sanded and edited, then I'll paint, then I put a hanger on it and hang it on the wall.

I get inspired pretty much last-minute.

On a walk I'll take a leaf and flip it over just to see the veining in the leaf.

Oh my goodness, this would be amazing, this would be captured great.

Last year I had the tall wheat flowers and I'm like, oh my gosh they're just perfect right now.

If I could capture them right now.

I also will do memorial pieces for people.

I'll take the flowers from the arrangements of the celebration of life or wedding flowers, then I'll bring them home and I'll arrange them on the clay and create a piece that way.

I don't have any favorite flowers that I use, and I'm always experimenting to see how they'll work.

I will get in a bunch of flowers, and they don't press well, or they will stick in the clay, and to get them out of the clay, it marks up the clay too much.

I'll find ones, like delphinium are beautiful to have a wonderful relief.

Pine branches are pretty amazing.

You get such detail that you wouldn't know it's not the original pine branch that you're looking at.

Sage leaves have intricate veining them.

It's beautiful.

When people look at my art I would love them to appreciate the beauty of nature and the flowers and the fine parts and pieces that it contains.

I believe that my early exposure to flowers and flower pressing gave me a delight when I look at a flower.

Just their beauty overwhelms me.

When I work on art it's as though time will stop.

I'm in this wonderful world of exploration and joy.

I love it, yeah, I absolutely love it.

In this Artifact Spotlight from the Kittson County History Center and Museum in Lake Bronson, Ed Jerome talks about his Métis ancestors who helped settle the Northwest corner of Minnesota.

Hi this is Ed Jerome at the Kittson County Historical Museum at Lake Bronson, Minnesota, and this is our Artifact Spotlight.

My great grandfather, Andre Jerome was born in the Red River settlement which is where Winnipeg is today.

Sometime in the early 1840s they immigrated to Pembina, they were buffalo hunters, participated in the buffalo hide trade and also making the cart trips to St. Paul.

I built an oxcart as a tribute to the ancestors that participated in the trade from the Red River Valley to St. Paul on the Mississippi.

I tried to build it similar or a replica of the originals.

They're built out of mainly oak and the hubs were built of elm because they're a stringy wood and less chance of them splitting or breaking, and they wore well.

The stakes on the basket are ash.

I figure it takes a couple hundred hours to build one.

That's with mostly modern tools.

1872 he's one of the first settlers in Kittson County.

He raised a large family, he had 10 children.

The Métis are children of the fur traders and indigenous women from the area.

There are several generations like Andre Jerome was.

His great-grandmother would've been an indigenous woman, and his great-grandfather was a French voyager from Montreal.

This is a pipe that belonged to my great grandfather Andre Jerome.

Wood from an ash tree and willow for the pipe stem.

In about 1983 we had a family reunion, and a cousin brought it and donated it to the Kittson County Museum.

This is a sash the Métis wore, it was originally used by the voyagers on their canoe trips from St. Paul.

They wrapped it around their waist to help prevent hernias, given the heavy packs they carried.

We are proud of our ancestors.

They opened up the country to trade.

We are proud of all our ancestors.

This is Ed Jerome, and this is our Artifact Spotlight.

Poetry Out Loud is a high school program that encourages students to learn about poetry while they master public speaking skills and build self-confidence.

Circe Atkinson, from Mandan High School, was the 2024 North Dakota Poetry Out Loud State Champion.

"This is the one song everyone would like to learn: "The song that is irresistible: "The song that forces men to leap overboard in squadrons Even though they see the beached skulls."

I've always loved poetry.

I've always been a writer, and I've also been writing poetry since I was little.

So it always has had an integral part in my life, and it's really nice that now I get to share that with everyone now.

Poetry Out Loud is a competition.

Competitors from all across the United States come together to compete in a poetry competition where you memorize 3 poems and say them in front of the crowd and try to emulate the emotions that are in the poem.

The stages of competition starts off with the school competition, then it's the state competition, then the national competition in Washington DC.

They are looking for memorization primarily, but they are also looking for tone, emotion, understanding of what the poem is trying to say, good posture, not making too much movement on the stage and just trying to focus your energy on the poem itself rather than you as a person.

I have a big fear of public speaking, but what pushed me to do it, because I was like, I know this is something that scares me but it's something that I should do just to push myself.

A lot of that nervousness was alleviated when the competitors started conversing with each other and started congratulating each other and wishing them good luck.

It was like this really beautiful sense of community within the other contestants.

"I Like the sweet apple which "Reddens upon the topmost bough, "Atop on the topmost twig, "Which the pluckers forgot, somehow, "Forget it not, nay; but got it not, For none could get it till now."

I think it is very important to choose more personalized poems because it helps you kind of connect with the poem more and feel that emotion with yourself.

You are being very personal and it helps you connect with everyone in the audience because you are being so completely and utterly honest about everything in your life.

(woman) The winner of this year's North Dakota 2024 Poetry Out Loud State Champion is Circe Atkinson of Mandan High School.

[applause] (Circe) I was kind of shocked because the competition was fierce.

Everyone performed so beautifully well and chose amazing poems that kept the audience engaged.

I'm just grateful for the opportunity to do the competition at all and also the opportunity to represent North Dakota in the national competition.

I think it's definitely helped me in the aspect of public speaking but it's also increased my confidence in like advocating for myself, saying what I need.

There's been a lot of self-growth in this process, and I am in fact proud of myself!

"Lemon balm is for forgiveness.

"Pull up from the root, "Steep in boiling water.

"Add locust wings, salt, "The dried bones of hummingbirds.

"Drink when you feel ready.

Drink even if you do not."

I would recommend other people look more into poetry because it is the essence of human existence.

People pour their hearts and souls into their writing, and poetry is an extension of that.

It's the rawest form of human connection and emotion, and being able to perform it like I did today was such an incredible and inspiring experience that I think everyone should have the ability to do.

"Siren Song" by Margaret Atwood is about the capturing of a sailor.

It's basically the essence of why human beings act the way we do.

Oftentimes when we see someone in trouble, when we see someone in need, we rush to help them, and in this poem we see the Siren saying I don't like doing this, please save me.

And that's what causes the sailor to fall for the trap.

On paper it kind of sounds more like the Siren loves what she does.

When I perform it I choose to make it more regretful and remorseful and just full of sorrow.

"This is the one song everyone would like to learn: "The song that is irresistible: "The song that forces men to leap overboard in squadrons "Even though they see the beached skulls.

"The song nobody knows "Because anyone who has heard it is dead, "And the others can't remember.

"Shall I tell you the secret "And if I do, will you get me out of this bird suit?

"I don't enjoy it here squatting on this island "Looking picturesque and mythical "With these two feathery maniacs, "I don't enjoy singing this trio, "Fatal and valuable.

"I will tell the secret to you, "To you, only to you.

"Come closer.

"This song is a cry for help: "Help me!

"Only you, only you can, "You are unique "At last.

"Alas it is a boring song But it works every time."

Kyle Colby is a singer/songwriter from Detroit Lakes, Minnesota.

Kyle has been writing songs for years about the ups and downs of relationships, and you can usually catch him performing his original music at venues around the region.

[finger-picking in bright rhythm] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ We blew the speakers out in my first car ♪ ♪ With the windows down playing air guitar ♪ ♪ I got a ticket in '55 ♪ ♪ For going way too fast just trying to feel alive ♪ ♪ I kept your photo stuck to my dash ♪ ♪ Until you broke my heart I threw it on the trash ♪ ♪ Mad and sad at the same ol' time ♪ ♪ Death Cab up so loud trying to get you off my mind ♪ ♪ And I'd crawl on glass ♪ ♪ This time you said you're leaving ♪ ♪ You're not coming back ♪ ♪ When we were so young ♪ ♪ We fantasized what it'd be like to fall in love ♪ ♪ Now baby you and I were meant to be ♪ ♪ But that's not how it ends ♪ ♪ Now baby you and I will never be ♪ ♪ The picture in my head ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Call it what you want but this ship has sailed ♪ ♪ ♪ My feet taking me in circles is where I failed ♪ ♪ ♪ We would sing till our voices were gone ♪ ♪ Now I just can't help but think where we went wrong ♪ ♪ Where we went wrong ♪ ♪ ♪ And I'd crawl on glass ♪ ♪ This time you said you're leaving and not coming back ♪ ♪ When we were so young ♪ ♪ We fantasized what it'd be like to fall in love ♪ ♪ Now baby you and I were meant to be ♪ ♪ But that's not how it ends ♪ ♪ Now baby you and I will never be ♪ ♪ The picture in my head ♪ ♪ I'm I'm trying to replace ♪ ♪ The memories of your face ♪ ♪ I wish I could forget the way your lips taste ♪ ♪ And I wish I could rewind ♪ ♪ The movie in my mind ♪ ♪ But I'm not one to cope with all the good-byes ♪ ♪ But I'm stuck with these visions of stupid decisions ♪ ♪ Of love ♪ ♪ I gave away ♪ ♪ I gave away ♪ ♪ I gave away ♪ ♪ Ay ay ♪ ♪ ♪ And I'd crawl on glass ♪ ♪ If it meant I could take every "I love you" back ♪ ♪ Here's to the past ♪ ♪ If we only knew it would never last ♪ ♪ Now baby you and I were meant to be ♪ ♪ But that's not how it ends ♪ ♪ Now baby you and I will never be ♪ ♪ The picture in my head ♪ [recording the percussion track] [playing in rock rhythm & recording the guitar track] [recorded rhythm & guitar play] ♪ ♪ [recording a 2nd guitar track] ♪ ♪ [Kyle plays along with recorded tracks and records new guitar track] ♪ ♪ [recording thumping percussion of hand on guitar] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ I'm not the one you want to follow ♪ ♪ I'm not quite sure how to get home ♪ ♪ We might be going in circles or standing on the X ♪ ♪ ♪ Face down in dirt blood on my shirt ♪ ♪ Head buried in sand ♪ ♪ Intentions as pure as gold in the palm of my hand ♪ ♪ I've been searching I've been looking ♪ ♪ But I can't find anything ♪ ♪ Here's to digging my own grave ♪ ♪ This could be my moment but I don't think ♪ ♪ I can make it on my own ♪ ♪ I've got a skeleton of glass bones ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ I'm not one to ask for directions ♪ ♪ Life is short as an adventure ♪ ♪ Take a chance have a dream ♪ ♪ And live out on the edge ♪ ♪ ♪ I could break out get high pass out ♪ ♪ Waste it like the rest ♪ ♪ Or give this world an anthem ♪ ♪ That weighs heavy on their chest ♪ ♪ I've been searching I've been looking ♪ ♪ But I can't find anything ♪ ♪ Here's to digging my own grave ♪ ♪ This could be my moment ♪ ♪ But I don't think ♪ ♪ I can make it on my own oh-oh oh ♪ ♪ I've got a skeleton of glass ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ Oh what a fragile echo oh ♪ ♪ ♪ Of bones shattering under skin ♪ ♪ ♪ Oh what a fragile echo oh oh oh-oh ♪ ♪ Oh oh oh of bones shattering under skin ♪ ♪ ♪ I've been searching I've been looking ♪ ♪ But I can't find anything ♪ ♪ Here's to dig in my own grave ♪ ♪ This could be my moment ♪ ♪ But I don't think I can ♪ ♪ Make it on my own ♪ ♪ Own ♪ ♪ If you know of an artist, a topic, or an organization in our region that you think would make for an interesting segment, please contact us at... (Matt) You can watch this and other episodes of "Prairie Mosaic" on Prairie Public's YouTube channel, and follow Prairie Public on social media as well.

I'm Matt Olien.

And I'm Barb Gravel.

Thank you for joining us for another edition of "Prairie Mosaic."

[guitar, bass, and drums play in bright country rhythm] (Barb) "Prairie Mosaic" is funded by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage fund with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4th, 2008, the North Dakota Council on the Arts and by the members of Prairie Public.