Prairie landscapes, Arctic expanses, African savannahs, flowing rivers and night skies all articulate for Lois Peterson spaces of quiet mystery. It is here that she searches for clues of the elusive. Through drawing, Lois Peterson attempts to make visible an awareness that there is a place beyond what can be seen. Through envisioning the non-physical, Lois Peterson attempts to bring into one’s vision what can only be sensed, that which we strive to understand, that which language cannot explain and what science and mathematics seek to discover, a knowing that exists beyond one’s limits.

Peterson received her MFA degree in Ceramics with minors in Drawing, Art History, and Museum Studies from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. Her undergraduate degree is in Art Education, from the University of Wisconsin- LaCrosse.  Upon completion of her MFA in 1987, Peterson served as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington.  In 1989 she joined the faculty of the Department of Art/Art History at Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, MN.  Prior to retiring from her teaching career in 2016, Peterson served as a Professor of Art/Art History for over 30 years.

For 40 years Peterson has exhibited her work nationally and regionally in solo and group exhibitions. She has received numerous grants to support her work, including the Blandin Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, Gustavus Adolphus College, and the Minnesota State Arts Board. While at Gustavus she established the Arts Administration Program to guide students seeking careers in Arts Management. She has served as an invited guest artist in South Africa, taught in Italy and has sat on numerous artist panels in addition to serving as an invited juror for a wide range of exhibitions. Peterson currently lives in Dakota, MN along the banks of the Mississippi River where she works in her studio surrounded by the natural beauty of the Driftless area.