Both iterations of Stored Potential attracted like themes of submissions. The first round was flush with corn, the second round was all about trains. At one point in the jury process there were several dozen train submissions lying on the table side by side. Omaha is undoubtedly a train town.

Tim Guthrie’s train went through many iterations ranging from abstract and conceptual models to representational illustrations. Ultimately, he settled on something more illustrative, but as stripped down and stylized as possible without leaving the image unrecognizable by abandoning the original form. Even though train tracks are generally unbending through most of the midwest, the illustration mimics the curves of some roads and rivers as well as agricultural patterns seen in fields in the Midwest.

The title ‘Trainscape’ refers to how the railroad connecting East and West Coasts vastly changed commerce, and revolutionizing the Midwest in profound ways. Rather than focus on a single subject, however, such as early passenger travel, or the current emphasis on agricultural shipping, the train cars are intentionally ambiguous so the viewer can interpret what is being transported. The same is true for the agriculture represented. Although it would have been natural to render fields of corn or soybeans, the crops are stylized so they are equally ambiguous, since Nebraska is connected, via rail, to a region with a diversity of crops.

Tim Guthrie is a visual artist and experimental filmmaker whose work is in collections throughout the country and has had solo exhibitions at numerous museums and galleries. Tim graduated with a BFA from Creighton in 1989 with an emphasis in painting and drawing and an MFA from the University of Idaho in 1997 with an emphasis in digital work, painting and sculpture. Tim has been awarded numerous artist residencies (Ørslev Kloster [Denmark], The Tyrone Guthrie Center [Ireland], New Pacific Studio [New Zealand], Blue Mountain Center [NY]), artist fellowships and grants (Nevada Arts Council, Sierra Arts Foundation, Nebraska Arts Council), and other awards, including purchase awards at the Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art and at “Conflicts:  The Cult of War and the Culture of Peace – AniMOweb,”  Modena, Italy, for the short film “Recalling Trinity,” which was also included in the Hiroshima Animation Festival and the 5th Annual Athens International Animation Festival.  He was also awarded Best New Media Artist by the Omaha Arts and Entertainment Awards in 2008 as well as Individual Artist Fellowships (Nebraska Arts Council) in 2011, 2008, 2007 and 2006.