Bios

Meet Our Artists:

TARMO WATIA
Professional Artist
K. Hardy
Fiber Arts
MK Rajala
Fine Art Curator

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Professional Artist

TARMO WATIA

~ A Touch of 'Finland'thropy ~
Tarmo Watia donates a portion of each purchase to a charitable foundation benefitting kids & the arts.

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TARMO WATIA

Artist Bio

ACADEMIC BACKGROUND

Bachelor of Science in Design, University of Michigan, 1960
Master of Fine Art, University of Michigan 1962

PERMANENT COLLECTIONS:

Dennos Museum Center - Traverse City, MI
Boise Art Museum - Boise, ID
Finnish-American Heritage Museum - Hancock, MI

EXHIBITIONS

Detroit Institute of Art - Detroit, MI
Contemporary Finnish-American Series, Touring Finland 2003-04
Sun Valley Arts Center -Ketchum, ID
Gail Severn Gallery - Ketchum, ID
Sange De Cristo Arts Center -Pueblo, CO
American Relief Prints -Pittsburg, PA
FinnFest ’95 Art Exhibit - Portland, OR
Watercolor USA, Springfield Art Museum - Springfield, MO

PUBLICATIONS & HONORS:

National Print - Silver City, NM
National Print - Oklahoma City, OK
Twentieth Century Award for Achievement
Southwest Art Review
‘Illustrated Survey of American Contemporaries’, American Artists
‘Dictionary of International Biography’ - Manchester, ENGLAND
Edition of ‘American Artists of Renown’
‘International Artists’ Biographies’, Flash Art Publications - Milan, ITALY
‘Personalities of the Midwest’, American Biographical Institute
‘Men of Achievement’ - Cambridge, ENGLAND
Marquis ‘Who’s Who in America’*
Marquis ‘Who’s Who in American Art’*
Marquis ‘Who’s Who in the West’*
Strathmore’s ‘Who’s Who’
Twentieth Century Award for Achievement
International Biographical Center - Cambridge, ENGLAND
Idaho Commission on the Arts (Grant)

*Tarmo has been named a “MARQUIS Who’s Who" a total of (20X) twenty times in a variety of artistic categories.

TARMO WATIA

Artist Statement

"As I continue to create, I find myself drawing personal images on the painting surface, as well as re-evaluating hundreds of older images, in order to discover which ideas have become valuable enough to use once again. Ironically, it’s my Upper Michigan childhood experiences that have led me to rediscover many of those images. Just one example is my study of fish, which over many years still finds a way to surface on the canvas and has further expanded by fishing in Alaska and having a chance to witness the cycle of fish found there."