“November Squall’ by Linda Schroeder Golding

ESCANABA — The piece of art that won the Daily Press Media Award in the recent Northern Exposure exhibit at the William Bonifas Fine Arts Center is a painting with collage elements that depicts a scene that may seem familiar to many residents of the Upper Peninsula. It was created by Linda Schroeder Golding, a Menominee-area artist.

In “November Squall,” a wave sprays over a foreground of rocks. Beyond, a shoreline covered in a mix of conifers and yellow-leafed hardwoods that might be aspens rises to the right of the frame. In the top left quarter of the image, an expanse of lake marks a decidedly deep blue horizon line before an approaching cloud bank in the background.

A viewer may notice, upon close inspection of the scene, that some of the lighter-colored rock surfaces bear a pattern other than natural striations or strokes of a paintbrush. The lines are that of a bathymetric chart, a type of map used by mariners and anglers which plots underwater depths and features like shoals.

Transferred from a real chart, the effect was created by Schroeder Golding using a technique in which she captured the ink from a printed chart by coating it with an acrylic polymer medium and dissolving the paper behind it with warm water. She then cut pieces from the remaining transparent material and placed them over her painting to form a pattern on top of a few rocks, collage-style.

The print is so clear that the measurements and labels, though tiny, are still legible. Words like “Spider Island” and “Newport Bay” tell a shrewd observer that the map used was of the waters surrounding Door County, Wis.

“So in essence, I have the image or the ink from the map without the paper, because then you can see the colors that come through from the painting that’s underneath,” said Schroeder Golding. “It integrates it more into the painting, rather than just being slapped on top.”

Most of the 22-by-30-inch artwork — the setting of beach, lake, trees, and sky — is painted; the polymer-transferred print covers only a small fraction of the canvas’s surface area, and Schroeder Golding continued painting over it to blend the work together. The painting is “mixed aqua media,” meaning the elements are water-based — acrylic and watercolor.

While the bathymetric may be of Lake Michigan, the setting that inspired the artistic work, entitled “November Squall,” was another awe-inspiring Great Lake.

“I have spent much time on or around Lake Superior since I was a teenager,” said Schroeder Golding. “It has a very powerful and magical quality that I cannot accurately put into words, therefore it is often expressed in my art. I visited some friends who live on Lake Superior with a goal of experiencing the lake as they see it. I created this piece from that experience, and the title says it all. … The title always comes after the work is completed.”

Originally from Woodruff in Oneida County, Wis., Schroeder Golding lived in San Diego, Calif. and northern Idaho before returning to the Midwest in 2019, bringing two dogs and knowing no one before finding a local artistic community.

She now resides in a home north of Menominee, where she participates in the artists’ cooperative at First Street Art Gallery. She is also active at Artistree Gallery in Land O’Lakes, Wis.

Schroeder Golding says she has always made art and recalls getting into watercolors at age 16 before training with private instructors into early adulthood. The mixed aqua media collage technique used in “November Squall” is one she’s been exploring more recently; she’s done it a number of times now, often using historical archive photographs for the transfer.

She said that she draws almost all of her inspiration from nature and the outdoors, but that she enjoys “the interplay between manmade structures and organic forms as well.”

For many years, Schroeder Golding was a clinical social worker. She worked for 25 years in crisis mental health services in addition to private practice, using art therapy techniques with many of her clients. Though she’d intended to continue her career after moving to Menominee, Covid derailed that plan, and a poor internet connection ruled out online work.

“At that point, I thought, well, I’m just gonna ride this out and see what happens,” Schroeder Golding said. “And the more time I spent just doing my art, the less I felt I could go back to doing mental health work. It is very, very stressful.”

Now, she says she creates art wherever she is, whether it be a studio, home, either of the two galleries at which she is a member, or in her converted short school bus — named “La BUScadora,” which means “the wanderer.”

Of the bus, a project in itself, “It is my pride and joy as I can live in it, travel and create in it,” Schroeder Golding said.

In addition to winning the award from the Daily Press, “November Squall” also earned the Featured Artist Award from The Gallery Marquette. The honor includes a solo show for Schroeder Golding in their Judy Sarosik Gallery from Sept. 15 to Oct. 20, 2025, with a reception on Oct. 18 during the city-wide Art Walk.

Schroeder Golding’s work may be seen presently at First Street Art Gallery in Menominee, where she teaches classes; interested parties may keep abreast of when those are scheduled — it’ll likely be in the spring — by finding the gallery on Facebook, visiting 601 First Street in person or firststreetartgallery.com, or calling 906-424-4562.

Her art at Artistree in Land O’Lakes will be visible after May 15 when the seasonal gallery opens.

“November Squall” was sold at Northern Exposure.