An art and quilt show will be part of the Spirit of Dakota event beginning at 4 p.m. at the Huron Event Center.

A social is planned at 5:30 p.m., with the award celebration and banquet beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Artists who will showcase their work include Kayleen Wharton and Marian Cramer, with quilts on display created by the Huron Area Quilt Guild.

Kayleen Wharton and her husband Alex are lifelong Huronites and have three children, Timothy, Richard and Ellen. Kayleen has loved drawing since she was a young girl, often spending hours working on her pieces. While she tried to imitate her dad and grandma by drawing landscapes and wildlife, she quickly realized it didn’t inspire her.

Instead, she found inspiration in portraits, enjoying the challenge of capturing a person’s likeness.

After graduating from Huron High School, she pursued a degree in graphic communications at Southeast Tech, which helped her use her artistic skills in new ways, such as web design, photography, and illustrating children’s books.

At the age of 19, she graduated tech school, got married, and started working as a real estate assistant, all while helping her husband with his computer repair business and a little later, on renovating and managing their rental properties.

For eight years, she put her portrait drawing on hold and nearly forgot her love for it. After the birth of her first son, her passion was reignited. She bought oil paints and gave it a try.

She was instantly hooked, spending every second she could working on the newest painting, many of which were commission jobs.

Soon, she had to put the oil paints away as the busyness of motherhood kicked in. To accommodate working around her homeschooled and preschool-aged children, she switched mediums from oil painting to watercolor and then back to her roots in pencil. She enjoys drawing with her kids and plans to teach them extensive art lessons.

Marian Cramer recently completed a workshop with a new style called  “abstract expression” which she is excited to share at the art show. Her unique talent and ability to continue her artwork are a testament to God’s presence in her life.

At 55 years of age, her life changed when she had a brain aneurysm which caused a stroke on her left side.

“The neurosurgeon told my family that I most likely would not paint or be creative again since  the the aneurysm was on my right side,” she says. “Only by the Grace and Mercy of God  I  survived after surgery and many weeks in physical therapy. I repeated Philippians 4:13 constantly during my therapy sessions: ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me’ and I was able to overcome.    

“God gave me new life, an inner and physical strength to walk, talk, and paint again,” Cramer said. “It is my desire to  utilize the process of painting to express God’s gifts in nature with images of design and color to inspire you and bring you joy through my eyes for the glory of God. That is why I want to share  my artwork.”

Cramer likes to capture the images and designs of a diversity of subjects from her rural environment  to  everyday scenes and florals. It is her desire to utilize the creative process of watercolor to express God’s gift of nature with images of design and color.  

“As an artist in progress, I am always refining my artistic techniques by attending workshops and classes with a variety of nationally recognized watercolorists and prominent artists,” Cramer added. “Watercolor painting is my passion.” 

Prior to the Spirit of Dakota Banquet, the Huron Area Quilt Guild will be provide a glimpse into the world of textile art. The quilted items have been completed by quild members.

The Huron Area Quilt Guild meets at Mount Calvary Lutheran Church in Huron  on the first and third Saturdays of the month, beginning at 10 a.m.  Enter the southeast corner of the church glass doors. All quilters are welcome.  

Among quilts the guild has created that will be on display are:
• Quilts of Valor that are given to people who have served in the U.S. military.

• Baby quilts that are given to the first baby born each month at the Huron Regional Medical Center.
• Sleep in Heavenly Peace Quilt created by the guild and donated to this community project helping supply bedding for children.,
• Quilt using a panel — a pre-created panel used to create a quilt top.
• Hand applique on a quilt in which the quilt design has been created using hand stitching. The item  may also have been hand-quilted.
• Machine pieced and quilted with a design that has been created using a sewing machine and quilted either on a sewing machine or a long-arm quilting machine.
• Thread painting on a quilt in which the design has been enhanced with thread painting using a sewing machine and using a motion of “painting the thread” on the quilt deisign.
• Quilt using heirloom hankies, doilies, etc.
• Quilts using South Dakota themes such as Laura Ingalls Wilder, the pheasant, buffalo, Mount Rushmore, etc.
• Smaller quilted items such as pillows and table runners.
• There will also be a baby quilt, “A Menagerie of SEW Many Animals,” on display. This quilt  would make a wonderful gift.