Cynthia St Charles shows with daughters Elizabeth and Michelle Shumaker

Joe Trakimas Oil Paintings July 2008

Mana Lesman Art Showing May - July 2008

Mana Lesman began drawing and painting in the mountains of Montana where she grew up. She spent the early sixties studying art and architecture at Denver University, Kansas State University and Kansas City Art Institute. In 1964, she lived in Chicago where she worked as a product designer. In 1978, she served as Fine Arts Director for Elixir Gallery in Chicago. While residing in Chicago, she received numerous awards and recognition for her poster designs, murals and paintings. She also taught visual art workshops and dance in the public schools. In 1985, she returned to Billings where she continues to paint and maintain an active schedule of teaching art workshops and dance in the public schools. Since she began exhibiting her work, Ms. Lesman has had some 70 one woman shows in the US and Canada. Her work is currently in galleries in Billings, Red Lodge, and Helena.

Ms. Lesman is dedicated to seeing art reach out to the community. Her direction has been to raise people’s consciousness, to enhance their understanding of their roots, their beliefs, their labor and ultimately themselves through art.

“I paint what I feel strongly about. I have sought to make visible my feelings because I think it is important to continuously awaken consciousness, my own and my audience. Feelings lead to action and we must examine always what action we choose to take. Only with a sense of others and the worlds around us, past, present, and future, can we make rational and relevant move in our lives. My art is dedicated to that awakening”.