About: Barbara Beshoar McIlrath

Barbara McIlrath lives and works in Pepin, Wisconsin. She has exhibited her paintings and drawings regionally, is represented in numerous private collections and is recognized for large scale commissions designed for site-specific architectural application. McIlrath is a co-founder of the Lake Pepin Art and Design Center, a community based non-profit dedicated to presenting arts programming as well as art and design learning opportunities in the Lake Pepin region.

Her love for Lake Pepin began while she lived in Rochester, Minnesota from 1977 until 1991, where she worked as an educational consultant for Mayo Clinic and spent happy summers in Old Frontenac with friends and family.

In 1991, she moved to the Twin Cities to study at the Minneapolis College of Art & Design. She received her BFA degree in 1996, and was honored with the Vanderlip award from the Design Division at graduation.The following year she began teaching at the college. Since 1997, she has provided graphic design and illustration services to a wide range of client organizations and has illustrated six books.

Curriculum Vitae

1996 BFA in Design, Minneapolis College of Art & Design, Minneapolis, Minnesota

1977 M.S. in Ed., Instructional Design, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville Illinois

1974 B.A. Humanities, Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington, Illinois