Spring City artists honored as
Governor’s Mansion Artists
12-26-2019
Two Spring City artists have recognized by the Governor’s Mansion Artist Series for their valuable contributions to Utah’s artistic community.
In a private ceremony in the Governor’s Mansion Dec. 11, Snow College’s own vocalist Brian Stucki was given the Utah Governor’s Mansion Artists Award for the performing arts and one of Spring City’s favorite landscape impressionists Michael Workman was given the award for visual arts.
Both artists were personally chosen by Gov. Gary Herbert and first lady Jeanette Herbert for the quality of their work and their efforts to give back to their community.
The two men were honored at a special dinner with Gov. Herbert and the first lady, along with several sponsors and other patrons of the arts.
Several beautiful impressionistic paintings by Workman were on display at the dinner and Brian Stucki performed an inspiring musical composition, said David Ericson, board member of the Governor’s Mansion Foundation.
Proceeds from the event help maintain and restore the furnishings in the Governor’s Mansion, Ericson said. The Artists Series Committee was started by former Gov. Mike Leavitt to help restore the Man
sion after the fire in 1993.
Brian Stucki is the director of Vocal Studies at Snow College’s Commercial Music program. He has elevated the music program there. He and his family have purchased an 1887 stone house in Spring City and Stucki is co-president of Friends of Historic Spring City.
He has been hailed by the Boston Globe as a “superb” tenor. He has distinguished himself as an interpreter of opera, oratorio and song.
Stucki was raised in a family where his mother taught piano and singing to everyone. He began playing the cello in the fifth grade and sang all the way through high school. He attended BYU and won singer of the year as a cellist. He went on to graduate school at Indiana University and performed all over the world with renowned opera companies. Realizing life on the road would become increasingly difficult for his family, he has settled down and embraced life in Spring City.
Michael Workman, a native of Utah, loves to paint the rural landscapes surrounding his home in Spring City, which happens to be his favorite place on earth, he said.
“I look for things that are beautiful without being overly syrupy or sweet,” he said. “I’m trying to do things that are not just copies of nature. I am trying to say things; create an emotional response.”
Workman said he is inspired by sunsets, gray days, late evenings, sprawling fields and the simple elegance of animals.
His art has won wide acceptance by collectors, artists, academics and critics. He received a Bachelors and Masters of Fine Arts at BYU. To put himself through school and provide for his growing family, Workman spend almost seven years as an architectural illustrator.
While in graduate school, he started showing in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he became an “overnight sensation.” His work has been shown in galleries throughout the nation and he taught classes and workshops all over the world.
