Greetings From Wisconsin

I have been having a great time in the North Woods of Wisconsin. I am not sure this is officially the North Woods, but it certainly is woody and beautiful. Charlie and I left Golden in a 16’ truck full of artwork and arrived in Wausau about noon on the November 30th.

             

Andy McGivern, Joe and Dave, staff members at the Woodson Art Museum, pitched in and we had the artwork out of the truck and into the gallery in short order.

 

Andy and I took a few minutes to decide how to turn this space into a fairy tale forest and then we got to work. Soon it was completely transformed.

Installing trees,

Installing trees,

By the end of the week we had the exhibit up and running and were ready to invite the public in to see and touch! I would like to invite you to go to the Woodson’s Facebook page and see all the wonderful images Rick Wunsch has taken for the museum.

The Woodson Art Museum is fantastic! It is a beautiful museum and I get to stay in the little house next door. This makes it easy and relaxing, that is once I get home each day. During the day it is quite another matter. We, the staff and I, are calling it “The 700,” referring to the 700, 3 to 6 year old school children scheduled to participate in art making activities between December 8th and the 17th. On the evening of the 17th, all the families are invited to the museum to view the walls covered with  1,400 works of art that the children have made. This is a photo of three days of work!

A white marble ptarmigan is at the entrance of the workshop room set up for the children. 6″ x 6″ tin tiles line the walls from floor to ceiling.

Hard straight lines express this child’s “grumpy.”

The project is to express emotions, we are focusing on grumpy and happy.

All the children are also invited to explore Forest Folklore. The exhibit has been getting a lot of exposure. Members Night kicked it off to a very good start and since then we have had many special interest groups, including children, teens and adults, as well as the regular museum visitors.

Remember to visit the Woodson Facebook page if you would like to see people interacting with the artwork. When I am taking pictures it is only because no one is around. When someone is at the exhibit I forget about the camera and talk to them!

This museum thrives under the direction of Kathy Foley and I would like to thank the entire staff and all the volunteers for making this exhibit and  residency such a wonderful experience.

A wolf-pack is central to the exhibit. All signs are in large print and Braille.

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