Sporting her paint-splattered apron, Fischer Ackerson recalled when she drew a realistic picture of an eagle in the first grade. That’s when she said she knew art would always be a part of her life.
Ackerson, alongside her high school sweetheart, Nate Beha, moved to the Capital City from Sherwood, N.D. Ackerson and her significant other both graduated from Mohall Lansford Sherwood High School in 2020 – a small school that had little to offer in the art department.
“We didn’t have any art programs really at Mohall. It was really nice getting exposed to higher levels of just what you could do. Because there was nothing in that town really arts-wise, so it was really eye-opening,” Ackerson said with a smile.
Fischer took on drawing and ceramics in her first semester at BSC, but her talents expanded to the theater department in the spring of 2022. She took on an acting role in the Spongebob musical, another thing she said she wasn’t really exposed to in a small town.
In the fall of 2022, Ackerson found a way to meld her two art loves into one by becoming the Assistant Scenic Designer for the BSC Theatre department.
She painted the set to “Peter and Wendy,” “Frankenstein” and most recently “A Year With Frog and Toad.”
“My professor and adviser, Dean Bellin, designs most of the set, like the architectural stuff and how it will all move together,” Ackerson said. “Then I would go in and choose the color schemes and any wood grain if it needed a pattern on the wall, or something needed to look like fancy wood when it really was just plywood.”
She puts in over 200 hours working on sets. However, as the famous quote goes; “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.” Her hobby is now an everyday passion for Ackerson, and she says she plans to continue her love of arts after she graduates.
“The combination of all sorts of art forms from singing and dancing and acting – then the set design and the lighting and sound design,” Ackerson said. “There’s so many aspects to it, and it keeps me on my toes. I usually bounce around from thing to thing, but in theater, you can do that and still be doing one thing.”
Most of Ackerson’s inspirations are molded by nature and her life experiences. She also draws self-portraits, which she said helps with her self-reflection both physically and spiritually. When she creates her work, Ackerson uses color with purpose.
“I also love colors and the emotion they bring when used correctly, and the chaos when used harmoniously,” Ackerson said.
Whether it’s drawing, painting, ceramics, singing or acting – Ackerson does it all. She said she especially enjoys scenic painting and plans to make it a future career.
From a town with one K-12 music teacher, little to no art classes, and a very small theater community, Ackerson said she is happy she finally wound up in Bismarck.
“Moving to Bismarck has been one of the best decisions I’ve made,” Ackerson said. “Simply because there are more things to do, be a part of and see. Meeting people from around the state and country with like minds makes the world feel small and huge at the same time.”