The works of a Clear Lake, Iowa, artist are featured in a mixed media format during the month of October at the Albert Lea Art Center.

&uot;Betty Winga: A Personal Journey&uot; runs through Oct. 26 at the Art Center. An open house will be held from 2-4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 13. The artist will be present to meet visitors and answer questions.

Themes in Winga’s art parallel her life’s journey. This exhibit serves as a patchwork quilt, tying various ideas in her work over the last 20 years together to tell a visual story.

In recent years, she has explored a variety of philosophical issues via visual metaphors.

In earlier years, family members, especially her two children, served as subjects.

This autobiographical approach heeds back to advice she received in early years, “Draw what you know and feel.”

Her exhibit includes verbal statements that help illuminate the personal content.

Mixed media collage is used most frequently in Winga’s art.

The directness of the drawing process has been appealing to her throughout her artistic career. She also likes the concept of incorporating a variety of papers in her collages that are destined to be thrown away, she said.

Winga has served as the director of the Clear Lake Arts Center since June. She previously was the coordinator of education for the Charles H. MacNider Museum in

Mason City, from 1986-92, as well as the coordinator of docent programs there from 1981-86.

She has served as an adjunct professor at Drake University in Des Moines, Morningside College in Sioux City and North Iowa Area Community College in Mason City.

Winga has been a youth art teacher for Ventura Community Schools, the Charles H. MacNider Museum, Mason City Community Schools, and the Lompoc Unified School District in Lompoc, Calif.

She has also done extensive consulting work for the MacNider Museum, Iowa Partners and Iowa Arts Council, Northern Trails Area Education Agency and Clear Lake Arts Council. Winga has been an artist in residence, contest judge, lecturer and conference presenter.

Winga has a master of arts degree in art (education) from the University of Iowa. She has a professional teacher’s certificate in Iowa for art, and a bachelor of arts in art from the University of Iowa.

Her awards and honors include being a finalist for the Iowa Arts Council’s Outstanding Achievement Award in the Arts in 1992 and 1989; a nominee for Outstanding Art Museum Educator, Western region, by the National Art Education Association; and Outstanding Art Museum Educator by the Art Educators of Iowa,

1988-89.

Winga has exhibited at North Iowa Area Community College, the Charles H. MacNider Museum and the Iowa Arts Council 1984 traveling exhibit. She has had solo exhibitions at the Central Iowa Art Association, St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Mason City and the Mason City Public Library.