Cynthia Jelleberg’s roots herald from the prairies of North Dakota, a farm gal who experienced pure seasonal color and vast displays of natural creation.  She received a teaching degree in the arts and moved to Montana, only to return back to the plains a few years later to teach visual art at Magic City Campus in Minot, North Dakota.

Cynthia, along with her husband, later created the Dakotah Rose Bed & Breakfast, a Minot historic home renovation.  It began as an entrepreneurial adventure towards design, hospitality, and restaurant industry.  The home became a canvas of 8,000 square feet for Cynthia to create upon.

Currently, Cynthia is a faculty member at the Turtle Mountain Community College in Belcourt, North Dakota.  She began the Fine Arts program in 1999 with two art courses and today the college offers twelve art classes throughout the school year.  Her students have won numerous awards at the annual American Indian Higher Education Consortium competition, and recently two student’s artworks were selected for the American Indian College Fund 2006 calendar.

Cynthia believes that artistic inspiration can be transferred from teacher to student, and just as often, from student to teacher.  She enjoys working with students, young and old, embracing their struggles and successes, and gaining personal growth from their insight and many times, their enlightenment.