A Collective Gasp

Perhaps you have read this in my blog before, but “I love my job!” Sure, the last three weeks I’ve been overwhelmed with activity: dozens of artists and specials guests for the Birds in Art opening weekend; Jim Coe’s plein air workshop at which I was only an observer, but learned so much; and Thomas Hill’s weeklong residency that transformed a gallery into a leafy environment, complete with a leaf I created. Wire Woodland, on view through November 13, certainly is not to be missed.

Where else could you have so many amazing experiences as part of your job?

Now that the excitement has subsided, I can shift my focus to collections. Immediately following the Birds in Art opening weekend, the Collections Committee met to make a few selections from the exhibition. It’s always exciting to contact the artists and hear their responses to the request to purchase their artwork.

This year presented a rare opportunity to ask an artist and witness the reaction face-to-face. Having concocted a fictitious blog-related reason to interview Jim Bortz we stood alongside his painting. With the video camera recording, I not so calmly asked Jim if the Museum could acquire Shimmer for the collection. As you can see from the attached file, I was nervous and Jim was stunned. It was so much fun.

Along with Shimmer by Jim Bortz, the Museum also acquired Andrew Haslen’s Curlew and Sunbathing Hare; Splash by Wes Hyde; Arc of Time by Steve Kestrel; Blue Grouse by Bart Walter; and Nipalensis #03 by Yasuo Watanabe. A grant from the John and Alice Forester Charitable Trust made these six acquisitions possible.

Additional acquisitions were possible because the second year of Project Postcard proved even more successful than the first. One hundred-thirteen artists donated 4” x 6” artworks that were sold to benefit the Museum’s acquisition fund. As in 2010, thanks to the artists’ generosity, we were able to acquire four artworks.

The works added to the collection in 2011 are: Julie Bender’s Ivy League; S. V. Medaris’ Turkey Promenade; Michael Todoroff’s Emerald Mantle; and Sherrie York’s Ripples.

Included here are images of a few of the recent acquisitions. All these artworks are exhibited in Birds in Art through November 13.

Visiting Birds in Art also gives you an opportunity to see A Collective Journey, an exhibition featuring fabulous selections from the Museum’s collection by John James Audubon, Martin Johnson Heade, Frank W. Benson, and Andrew Wyeth – to mention but a few.

 

I assure you, once in the galleries, whether viewing works from the Museum’s collection or Birds in Art, you will gasp with pleasure at the varied and beautiful works.

Wired for Action

This week, September 20-25, over 700 students and additional visitors will have the opportunity to meet and work with artist Thomas Hill at the Woodson Art Museum. Visitors will be creating wire forms that will become part of Wire Woodland, a forest installation that Hill is creating at the Museum. Each participating school ultimately will take a piece of the Woodland back to their school after November 13, the day that the 2011 Birds in Art exhibition closes.

Thomas Hill is from England and currently resides in San Francisco. At the Woodson Art Museum, Hill is considered part of the Birds in Art family; his artwork has been juried into five Birds in Art exhibitions, including this year. His wire sculptures are whimsical, but their foundations are based on real bird and animal forms.

Everyone can get in on the wire action. Hill even manned a station at the Tuesday, September 20, Toddler Tuesday program. Toddlers made outlines of their hands using chenille stems. Look for these precious wire forms as leaves in the trees of Hill’s Wire Woodland.

It’s not too late to register for an evening or weekend program with Tom. Call 715.845.7010 to learn more and to register. Or, stop in this week to see wire in action under the command of artist Thomas Hill. His Wire Woodland remains on view through November 13.

September 21    Wednesday                         6 – 8 pm

Studio Art: Wire Play

Adults add to the wire forest and fashion their own wired wonder. Fee: $5; call 715.845.7010 to register.

September 22    Thursday                            4:30 – 6 pm

Young Artists: Wild About Wire (ages 8-12) Create wire sculptures. Fee: $5; call 715.845.7010 to register.

September 23    Friday                                 7 – 9 pm

Teens Go Social

Teens bring friends to meet Thomas Hill, learn his techniques for creating wire sculpture, and experience the Wire Woodland installation. A Social Event = Music, Food, & Friends.

September 24    Saturday                             9 am – Noon

Art Educator Workshop for Wisconsin Art Education Association (WAEA) members. For details and to register, call the Museum at 715.845.7010.

Thomas Hill’s residency is supported by a Community Arts Grant from the Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin, with funds from the Wisconsin Arts Board, Community Foundation, and the B.A.& Esther Greenheck Foundation.

A Note of Thanks

By Cindy Brzeski

It‘s customary to send a note of thanks to the hostess after attending an event. In my case, the hostess of the 36th annual Birds in Art opening, Kathy Foley, sits across the hall from me. I’ve thought about how best to convey my appreciation, and settled on this, my open note of thanks for inviting me to step into the magic that is Birds in Art. I’m sure I speak for others who have enjoyed the gracious and thoughtful hospitality that is a hallmark of Museum director Kathy Foley and the Woodson Art Museum.

Thank you, Kathy, for being the effervescent hostess who invites artists, members, volunteers, media, staff, and the entire community at large to participate in a world-class art exhibition. Calling so many people together in a celebration of art brings peace to our corner of the world. Your warm and welcoming style is replicated many times over as your staff tries to emulate the role model you are to us.

Thank you for your fastidious attention to detail that makes everything run so smoothly. As carefully as the Birds in Art catalogue is edited and works are displayed, every element of the opening weekend is attentively planned, communicated, and executed. Schedules, menus, transportation, and staffing are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to planning at the Woodson Art Museum. I wonder if guests know, for example, that the orange parking cones were washed in preparation for this weekend, or that the dew was wiped from the outdoor chairs. It's all in the details, my friends!

Thanks, too, for bringing out our “inner child” and encouraging us to have fun as we spent time together this weekend. We enjoyed seeing artists casually dressed, sharing their sense of humor, sporting candy lips, playfully competing to purchase one another’s donated postcards, having lunch on a bus, and playing croquet. It was great to see friends meeting and catching up and families coming together. Check out the smiles of young and old alike on our Facebook page and you’ll agree that opening weekend at the Woodson Art Museum is a joyful experience!

Thank you, most of all, for your boundless energy and passion in bringing art to the people of Wausau and beyond. Most of us are not gifted artists, but we can all experience and enjoy the wonder and the beauty on display each year at the Woodson Art Museum. I’m a fortunate “newbie” with the opportunity to drink it all in for the first time. It’s been a whirlwind of anticipation and delight, and I am truly grateful to have been invited to the ball! 

 

Editor’s note: Cindy Brzeski, business manager, joined the Woodson Art Museum staff in April and is a welcome addition to the lineup of staff bloggers.

Rolling Out the Red Carpet

Most everyone knows that feeling of looking forward to something special . . . and then, in the blink of an eye, it’s come and gone.

Such is the Birds inArt opening weekend experience!

We’re at t-minus forty-eight hours or so until we welcome more than sixty-five of the 2011 exhibiting artists and hundreds of Museum members and guests to an array of Birds in Art events.

We’re rolling out the red carpet now.

No surprise that Birds in Art preparations are ongoing. Work on the 2011 exhibition began while last year’s exhibition was still on view and continues until the first visitors arrive.

We’d like to think that we leave nothing to chance when it comes to ensuring that every “i” is dotted and every “t” is crossed. If you, gentle reader, know of something overlooked or have a suggestion, we’d sure like to hear about it.

The pace of activity today is at a feverishly high level. Everyone has a lengthy to-do list and assignments that span from early-morning until late into the evening. Our goals are to treat every guest like visiting royalty, to creating vivid and lasting memories, to ensure that everyone has a grand experience, and to exceed expectations.

Lofty? Yes. I’m confident that the multi-talented Woodson Art Museum staff is up to the tasks at hand.

Now, back to the carpet rollout. There are still many things to do before the 2011 Birds in Art exhibition officially opens.

Click here for the opening weekend schedule and also let us know how this year’s exhibition and our efforts measure up.