Creativity, culture and collaboration: Faculty team up to bring global art traditions to life

Two faculty members at M State – Chemistry Faculty Manjusha Saraswathiamma and Ceramics Faculty Lori Charest – collaborated this year on a creative project exploring cross-cultural motifs and artistic expression in clay. Their partnership culminated in a vibrant exhibit at this fall’s Pangea: Cultivate our Cultures festival in Moorhead.

The project was made possible by a $2,460 Lake Region Arts Council Legacy Grant, one of 17 awarded this fall. Saraswathiamma initiated the grant application with plans to fuse traditional designs from diverse cultures into a series of clay plates – a new art medium for the longtime watercolor artist.

“I tried my best to bring in all the traditional motifs,” she says. “Each plate was painted by hand. It was a lot of work, but it was fun.”

Since she was new to working with clay, Saraswathiamma reached out to her ceramics colleague, Charest, for guidance. Charest was happy to help, making the plates and teaching Saraswathiamma how to use underglaze to bring her designs to life. 

“She did the truly creative part, and I fired and glazed the plates,” Charest says. “It was so fun to get to know her and her family, and to work together on such meaningful work. The plates are beautiful!”

Over the summer, Saraswathiamma painted 12 plates, working on two or three at a time and incorporating a rich variety of traditional Indian motifs along with designs inspired by other cultural traditions – oriental patterns on an Aikido martial arts motif, for example, and Norwegian patterns on a Norwegian fiddle design – reflecting the festival’s spirit of global connection. 

At the festival, she offered a live demo and community painting activity, inviting attendees to experience the joy of creative expression.

The Pangea Festival, held at the Hjemkomst Center, has been an annual tradition for over 30 years, celebrating the cultural diversity of the Red River Valley with live performances, artist and vendor booths, food and more. 

Saraswathiamma and Charest’s partnership is a notable example of inter-campus collaboration at M State, where faculty from different disciplines and campuses come together to create something special. Their project demonstrates how the college fosters creativity and teamwork, encouraging faculty to share expertise and support each other in innovative endeavors. 

Looking ahead, Saraswathiamma hopes to make more plates – maybe even to sell. For now, she’s grateful for the chance to learn, create and share her heritage with the community.