Circles of Life by Lois Beckner
(August 14 - October 14, 2010)

The Dacotah Prairie Museum was pleased to exhibit an art showing by Lois Beckner, multitalented Aberdeen artist. Beckner is the Cultural Arts Program Coordinator for the Aberdeen Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department as well as a prolific artist in her own right. Her exhibit, entitled “Circles of Life”, included acrylic paintings and fiber work resulting from her research into the phenomenon of crop circles.

Lois Beckner was born and educated in West Virginia, graduating with the Masters of Arts Degree from West Virginia University. She has involved with arts education on every level from early childhood through senior citizen as a program director, instructor, author and columnist. She is a sought after musician on the vintage instrument, the hammered dulcimer, and has performed for numerous institutions, meetings, and gatherings. Lois has a keen interest in the Irish/Scotch heritage, especially in the region of Appalachia, and has been instrumental in organizing and coordinating the Northeast South Dakota Celtic Faire and Games in Aberdeen. Beckner and her family have a life-long love of history and have been involved at Fort Sisseton, Fort Abraham Lincoln and others as frontier re-enactors.
She currently belongs to the SD Humanities Council Speakers Bureau and has been a living history interpreter for numerous parks and historical sites in several states.

As an artist, Beckner is almost as varied in her focus. She has painted watercolor, presented basket making, created collage, constructed decorated bags, and miniature Zen Gardens. This exhibit stems from her interest in the legends of crop circles reported throughout the centuries from locations around the world. In her artist’s statement, Lois writes, “One of the earliest (crop circles) was reported in Lyon in 815AD and a late 16th Century woodcut depicts the devil mowing a field into patterns. The pamphlet tells of an English farmer who, refusing to pay the price demanded by a laborer to mow his field, swore that he would rather that the devil mowed it instead…the next morning, the field was found to be perfectly mowed – unnaturally perfect, in fact... As the crop circle phenomenon gained momentum, formations have also been reported in Australia, South Africa, China, Russia, and many more countries…”

Lois’ intricate embroideries and detailed paintings are comprised of earth colors and enumerate exact designs of crop circles or are inspired by them. “The works that evolved from my interest in the formations come from a fascination in their design,” says Beckner. “ The more I look into the subject, the more I am in awe of logic – in nature, in thought, in the universe.”

To view other past exhibits, please click here.