Adam Turman – Valerie's Voice

The Tunnels in Northfield

There was a major street renovation in our town recently. The intersection by the high school and middle school was transformed into a round-about, and four tunnels were added for pedestrians and bicyclists to use to avoid crossing the busy intersection. In the beginning, I wondered how much sense it made since it was costly. But now that it is completed, and working smoothly, I do like the results.

A future section of the Mill Towns State Trail will run through one of the tunnels.

To top it off, the city included monies for a public art display in the tunnels. There were bids for the job… muralists (artist’s self-identifier) had to submit their work and be chosen. For this public art display, Adam Tuman was the chosen artist.

We have seen his work before. Several years ago, our son hired Adam to paint a beautiful mural on the outside wall of his office building in Uptown, Minneapolis. The mural included scenes of the uptown area (where the office is located) and signs of technology (the business).

Mural of the Uptown area on our son’s office building, in Uptown.

Another section of the cityscape view on the office building.

I also saw an exhibit of Adam Turman’s artwork at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum in Winona, MN.

Now, here he is in Northfield, painting beautiful, illustrated works to highlight our town and its surrounding area.

Bridge over the Cannon River in downtown Northfield.

The other day we went to see how the tunnels were progressing and Adam was working. We introduced ourselves and struck up a conversation with him. Adam was very friendly and engaging and we were so glad to meet him. Of course, he remembered doing the mural for our son. We are thrilled Adam was chosen to do this public art display in Northfield. He has almost completed his work on the four tunnels.

The colors are vibrant.

The themes so apropos to our area.

Hidden Falls in Nerstrand Big Woods State Park.

The painting so artistically appealing.

You get a sense of being a part of something big as you walk through the tunnels.

This woodpecker scene is still a work in progress.

There will be 16 scenes representing four sections when he is through with this project: Cannon River, Nerstrand Big Woods, Prairie, and Oak Savannah.

Adam Turman does amazing work, and it is definitely worth a trip to see these tunnels in Northfield.

Postcards

I have a renewed interest in postcards.

A few years ago a colleague started sending me postcards from her destinations on business trips, now she will occasional send one from a fun trip destination. I soon started reciprocating and sent her postcards from places I’d visited.

A postcard I recently received in the mail from a friend.

Postcards do seem like something from the past…something people do not send anymore. They tend to send their own snapshots from their cell phone in an email or text message…and what can be better than that? Immediate messages and up-to-date photos. But postcards can be fun too.

I found the ZITS comic strip below amusing.

I began looking at postcards again while traveling, and I buy one or two to get a different perspective than I get on my iPhone camera but in some places it’s hard to find postcards.

For instance, last week my friend and I went into a variety store in a tourist town and asked “Do you have any postcards?” No was the reply, and it happened a second time at the next store. As we continued down the street we saw a carousal of postcards and stepped into the shop to take a look. There were winter scenes and fall scenes but it was springtime and we were seeing such vibrant spring colors, but then we found a collage print and that would do.

However, the postcards seemed a bit different…a little smaller than normal and the back was blank…no “postage here” or a line separating the message from the address…so we asked the clerk and he said he made the postcards himself (and he worked for the Post Office so he knew the size was OK.) How fun is that? I bought the postcard and sent it off. The personal connection with the photographer made it so much more fun and interesting.

The postcard maker and postal worker. I got permission to post his picture but I didn’t get his name.

I will continue to buy postcards, and send some occasionally…keeping a few postcard stamps available in my purse.

A 100 year commemorative postcard for Rocky Mountain National Park…opened 1915.

I bought this postcard in Austria featuring a painting entitled Portrait d’Adele Bloch-Bauer I (Woman in Gold),
by Gustav Klimp

Artist: Adam Turman

I’m beginning to notice the interesting artwork of Adam Turman. He is an illustrator, graphic designer, printmaker, and muralist from St Louis Park, MN. I was first introduced to his work when my son hired him to paint a eye-catching mural on his office building, depicting different landmarks of Minnesota and Minneapolis.

Hard to capture the extent of this wonderful mural by Adam Turman, depicting Minnesota and Minneapolis landmarks.

A closer look at part of an Adam Turman mural in Uptown.

The next place I noticed his work was at a St. Paul Classic bike ride, an annual event that we’ve participated in a few times. Turman has designed several t-shirts for the event over the years. A lot of Turman’s artwork includes a bicycle which, he writes, “is one of his favorite outdoor activities.”

And recently, at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum in Winona, MN (which Is located right on the Mississippi River) I noticed artwork by Adam Turman on display. It was fun to discover it there. In 2016 he was commissioned to paint three works.

One is a large mural for the museum. It features the Mississippi River in Winona.

The plaque reads: “He painted a push boat frequently seen moving barges right outside the Museum, with a pod of American Pelicans overhead. The dramatic waves are influenced by Japanese wood block artist Katsushika Hokusai’s style while the sky and bluffs are in Turman’s distinct, simple and bold graphic style.”

Titled: *Sugar Loaf* This is the one of two prints in a series, commissioned by the museum.

The museum also commissioned Adam to create a series of two pictures depicting landmarks distinctive to Winona. The originals are on display at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum, along with some other prints of Adam Turman’s.

Titled: *Mississippi*
“This is the second print the Museum commissioned and we want to celebrate what makes Winona special. The herons and the boat-house are iconic to Winona, so I made sure to highlight those in the piece.” Adam Turman

The Museum store had several postcards of Adam’s work and I was attracted to this simple design (below) with white birch trees, a red cardinal, and the back of a red bicycle and tire leaving a trail in the snow. I brought that one home with me.

This is a postcard featuring a print of Turman’s, that I purchased at the museum store.
Titled: Cardinal (2011)

As with all artists, Adam Turman has his own unique style. As he becomes more well-known it will be fun to find his art in different places.