2022-2023 PDGR Abstracts
Wayne E. Potratz, Professor Emerita, Art Department, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota.
Texture: Form, Process, and the Aesthetics of Surface and Attendance at the 9th International Conference on Contemporary Cast Iron Art, Berlin, September 15-20, 2022. This project involves making a series of cast iron tiles that demonstrate the rich potential of surface textures possible in sand casting, photographing both the sand mold of the tile, its surface, and the resulting iron casting. Of course, each tile will also have an aesthetic dimension and a PowerPoint presentation will also address how gesture, form, and process combine with aesthetic intent to convey content that is visual, emotional, and intellectual. I am seeking support for materials, supplies, and assistance in mixing sand, making molds, and photographing the process and the resulting works. The Department of Art will allow me access, as Professor Emeritus, to the U of MN Foundry to make molds and pour the iron. I plan to use unspent funding from the 2019 grant as well as this new grant to attend the regional Western Iron Art Conference at the University of South Dakota in October, 2022 and to present the results of my project: “Texture: Form, Process, and the Aesthetics of Surface” at the 9th International Conference on Contemporary Cast Iron Art in Berlin, Germany in September, 2022.
News
For the 2026 grant year, the UMRA PDGR Committee received eight new applications. The PDGR Committee selected six for funding. See the awardees and grant abstracts on the 2026 PDGR Abstracts page.
UMRA’s 2026 grants for retirees will help to support scholarly and creative projects focused on art, architecture, creativity in children, public humanities, understanding human aggression, and volunteerism.
The University Regents’ meeting on February 13 began with heartfelt remarks from Regent Joel Bergstrom regarding the damage inflicted on Minnesota by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement violence.
The University Retirees Volunteer Center offers a variety of opportunities to be of help. “We all want to help stressed communities during this difficult time in Minnesota,” says Michelle Trudeau-Spanjers, URVC’s liaison to Neighborhood House, which is providing emergency groceries and other necessities to St. Paul families worried about their safety.
Meet UMRA member and stalwart treasurer Kristy Frost-Griep, a Renaissance woman who learned the value of hard work and the importance of customer service as a young teen, working in the family business.
Planning is already well underway for UMRA to host this year’s annual meeting of the Big Ten Retirees Association in late July on the U of M Twin Cities campus in Minneapolis.