Tri-County News

Mother, daughters’ artwork is ‘picture-perfect’: Arnolds exhibit at The Snooty Fox


Photographic artwork of Kimball artists Brenda Arnold and daughters Laura, 17, and Rachel, 12, are on exhibit now through July 28 at The Snooty Fox Gallery & Gifts in Annandale. Nine different photographers have their artwork on display there at the present time. Brenda Arnold says she has had a passion for photography since taking her first photography class in college, and has “enjoyed capturing moments in life that reflect the truth of what is being felt and preserving that moment on paper.” She also enjoys composing outdoor scenes that present the viewer with that same kind of presence. The titles of the photographs she chose to be displayed are “A Day in Venice” and “The Italian Countryside” – photographs taken while on a trip to Italy with a group of friends. Arnold said she enjoys these particular photographs because they represent two different aspects of Italy and the beauty that “we experienced while traveling there.” Her goal with her photographs is to “instill a sense of emotion in those who view them and inspire others to create photographs that preserve the moments in life that bring it meaning, as well as to use their own creative ability to represent it.” Last year, Brenda took her two daughters into the dark room and showed them how to process pictures on their own. The Paramount Theatre’s Visual Arts Center in St. Cloud offers youth summer camps, and last summer Brenda Arnold asked Paramount representatives if she could bring a group of 4-Hers in and use their dark room. The kids developed the black and white pictures they took and exhibited them at the county fair. Brenda said the 4-Hers showed “amazing talent, and it was exciting to see others getting as excited (as she was) and sharing a love of taking pictures.” Brenda said the Paramount is such a “treasure” and does a tremendous service to the community, as a whole (she has served on their arts board). “This is a great place for kids to build up their self-esteems,” Brenda Arnold said. “This is an area for them to come and really be creative.” Laura Arnold attends Kimball Area High School and has enjoyed taking pictures as a hobby “because I like the aspect of creating something wonderful by seeing it a certain way.” She started taking pictures about three years ago as a 4-H project. She enjoys taking pictures of outdoor scenes and sports, and the title of her picture on display is “Sailing Away” – a picture she took when she was on vacation in Washington. She chose the picture because it “gives a sense of freedom, relaxation and summer fun.” She said she also thought the rays of light shining through the clouds added a majestic feel to the picture. Her goal is that people will get the same pleasure from looking at her pictures that she does in taking them. Rachel Arnold also attends Kimball Area High School. Rachel started taking pictures four years ago for a 4-H project and “really enjoys creating unusual and simple abstract pictures.” The title of her picture on display is “Simply Apple,” which she chose because it is “simple and has a lot of contrast within the picture, which I like.” Rachel likes the creative part of photography and taking “unusual photographs.” She recently started developing her own black and white pictures and tinting them this past year with her mother. Her goal is to take pictures that are creative and that people will see “something simple in a more unique way.” A blind jury decides what artwork goes on exhibit at The Snooty Fox Gallery & Gifts, said Laura Hood-Beckman, who along with Peggie Murphy, owns the gallery and gift shop. All items on display for sale at The Snooty Fox are done by Minnesota artists. The gallery/gift shop features original art, distinctive gifts, area artists and framing. The name for The Snooty Fox came while Hood-Beckman and three other women, one of whom is Brenda Arnold, who take vacations together and call their excursions “four women and a rental car,” were in Tetbury, England, a few years ago. The four were in a stereotypical English pub that was called The Snooty Fox, Hood-Beckman said. She said she loved the name and filed it away in the back of her mind, thinking that if she some day owned a business, that’s what she would call it. The difference between the two “Snooty Foxes” is that the symbol for the one in the English pub was a male fox, complete with plaid jacket with patches on the elbow, and the symbol for Annandale’s Snooty Fox is a female. The photographic artwork of Brenda, Laura and Rachel Arnold is on exhibit now through July 28 at The Snooty Fox Gallery & Gifts. The gallery is located at 20 East Cedar St. in Annandale (next to Annandale City Hall and Hot Water). For more information, call The Snooty Fox Gallery & Gifts at (320) 274-2700.

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