The Gifts of December

I think about December as an opportunity for nonstop gift giving. My interpretation of gift giving might be non-traditional and even unorthodox. For me, a simple act of kindness – whether a gesture or a pretty package tied with a bow – is a gift.

You can treat yourself to an array of gifts at the Woodson Art Museum throughout the month, beginning tomorrow evening, December 1, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., at Celebrate Woodturning.

It’s an opportunity to view the new exhibitions, Boxes and Their Makers and Think Inside the Box and to meet members of the Wisconsin Valley Woodturners. The terrifically creative and inventive works of these local woodworkers make up Think Inside the Box.

In addition, the Wausau West Master Singers perform at 6:00 and 6:30 tomorrow evening. There will be opportunities for hands-on art, too. You can decorate a provided box that will prove just the thing for holiday gift giving.

And so the month begins. I’m certain that I’ll be both a gift giver and a recipient each day throughout December. Whether it’s a smile and a nod to Museum visitors or a handcrafted or purchased gift, there are unlimited ways to embrace and share the spirit of the holidays.

Boxes on the Brain and in the Hand

 Having just completed my first docent training at the Woodson Art Museum, I can say one thing – I’m exhausted and ready for the holiday. Monday was a busy morning for docents and staff who were introduced to new materials and two new wooden-box-related exhibitions in our galleries. Roger Zimmermann, founder of the Wisconsin Valley Woodturners, who worked closely with curator Andy McGivern to organize the Think Inside the Box exhibition, also participated in training docents and staff. Roger came prepared to teach and passed around woodturning tools and wood samples as well as his own turned-wood artwork as teaching aids. Sharing his knowledge of woodturning techniques, he explained the process of turning a piece of raw wood into a finished product. Docents responded enthusiastically to this expert craftsman whose works are included in Think Inside the Box.

The staff and docents won’t be the only ones who benefit from local woodturners. Museum visitors can observe woodturnersworking on lathes, Friday through Sunday, November 25-27, 1-3pm.

Two exhibitions, Boxes and Their Makers and Think Inside the Box, feature the creative designs of contemporary woodworkers and remain on view through January 22. The works featured challenge traditional notions about the form and functionality of the box and offer exciting reinventions. See these boxes to appreciate the aesthetics of the works as well as the time and effort invested in creating such meticulously crafted pieces. Optical illusions even make their way into Think Inside the Box with mentions of anti-gravity powder and holographic mirrors.

Take time to check out the Museum’s two new exhibitions and meet area woodturners this weekend or during Celebrate Woodturning, 5-7pm, Thursday, December 1, a special Night Out @ The Woodson.

 
- Catie  Anderson

Happy Thanksgiving from the Woodson Art Museum!

Best Chill Chaser: Find Creative Spark at Museum

While the Wausau area is being marketed as the Best Place to Play in the Snow by the Central Wisconsin Convention and Visitors Bureau this winter, the Woodson Art Museum – as always – is the best place to escape the cold and enjoy the view.

Last week, representatives from the Wisconsin Department of Tourism visited the Museum among other area attractions in preparation for the January 2012 Winter Press Tour. Media representatives from various national and regional magazines and media outlets will visit travel destinations for two days each in Marathon and Vilas counties, January 23-27. The hope, of course, is that the stories these journalists write will prompt tourists to plan trips to our area – to ski, sled, skate, curl, shop, eat in restaurants, stay at hotels, and visit the Woodson Art Museum! 

Last winter, one such family came from Madison to ski at Granite Peak. While the mother and one child hit the slopes, the father and son visited the Museum and enjoyed Art Park, the Museum’s interactive family gallery. The dad created a video, “Nicholas at the Woodson Art Museum,” and posted it on YouTube and said the family plans to repeat their Wausau getaway again this winter.

Keep the Art Museum in mind as you host friends and family throughout this holiday season and beyond. Inventive and imaginative wooden boxes are the focus of two new exhibitions that open Saturday – Boxes and Their Makers: Contemporary Woodworkers and Think Inside the Box. An array of programs for all ages – woodworking and lathe demonstrations, hands-on activities to make treasure boxes and family keepsake boxes, and Art History 101 programs – will bring these boxes to life throughout the nine-week exhibition.

In addition, stunningly impressive artworks by John James Audubon, three generations of Wyeth painters, and Andy Warhol among others are featured in A Collective Journey, along with Small by Design, two exhibitions drawn from the Museum’s collection and which remain on view through February 2012.

In early February, Team USA snow sculptors return to work their winter magic and coax a dinosaur to emerge from a block of snow, in a nod to Dinotopia: The Fantastical Art of James Gurney, on view in February and March.

As winter commences, remember . . . the Woodson Art Museum is the best place to come in out of the cold, spark creativity, and stoke the embers of your imagination.

Moving on Down the Road

To use a well-worn but apt phrase, time does fly! Just five days remain to see the nine-week Birds in Art exhibition at the Woodson Art Museum. Sixty of the 128 artworks travel to five other U.S. Museums where they will be on view throughout 2012. Follow this link for the tour venues. http://www.lywam.org/birdsinart/index.cfm?room=venues

While visitors have been enjoying the artworks in the galleries, the Woodson staff has been busy behind the scenes tending to myriad details.

Several important steps are required to prepare an exhibition for a multi-venue tour.  The first, and foremost, is proper packing to ensure the paintings and sculptures arrive safely at each site. To facilitate this we provide lists (lots of lists) and instructions (detailed instructions).

·      Inventory List – a detailed checklist of all sixty traveling artworks

·      Crate List – inventory of packed works

·      Packing and unpacking instructions – step-by-step directions

·      Installation Instructions – special handling requirements

A Condition Report Book travels with the exhibition. Each borrower is asked to keep an accurate record of each object’s condition at each stop throughout the tour. The book includes a photo of each artwork, an initial description of its condition, and designated areas for each borrower to complete.

To ensure that we know how artwork is faring along its travels, we request that each venue send us a Condition Report Summary or a Damage/Loss form.

We also provide more supporting information for each venue to use once the artworks are unpacked, arranged, and installed there.

·      Gallery labels – specific information about each artwork and artist

·      Education materials – for training docents

·      Title panel

·      Didactic information – a history of Birds in Art

·      Digital images and press release – for local media

·      Artist/lender contact information

·      A list of Woodson Art Museum staff contacts

As I look at the breakdown, the tasks seem simple. The reality is quite different.

Instead of sending sixty individual crates, many of the paintings are grouped in larger crates that are fitted with specially designed compartments.

This involves several staff members and many hours.

Requiring several sets of eyes, and thus more time, are those lists and detailed instructions. Straightforward and concise written materials are critical to a safe and thoughtful installation.

Museums like to plan and promote upcoming exhibitions. To make that easier, the Woodson Art Museum strives to have a DVD with all the materials described above to the tour venues eight to ten weeks before each opening.

Bright and early Monday morning, Birds in Art will be removed from the galleries. The sixty works slated for the tour will be wrapped and placed in the proper traveling crates. Each will be sealed, labeled, and ordered on the loading dock.

The twenty-six crates will be transported to Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure, Salina, Kansas. This is just the first of five stops along the 2011 Birds in Art road trip.

Then, time – as always – will continue to fly until the 2011 Birds in Art works arrive back here before migrating homeward.

Curator Tours Art Supply Warehouse Like Kid in Candy Store

On October 24, four Woodson Art Museum staffers met in the parking lot at 7 am to take a road trip to Kimberly, Wisconsin, near Appleton. The four of us headed out to visit the Jack Richeson and Company art materials warehouse and studio.

It was a perfect day to spend with Woodson Art Museum co-workers. We arrived at Jack Richeson at 9 am and were greeted by Steve Fusfeld, senior account executive. After a welcome and a cup of coffee, we headed into the warehouse.

What’s so great about a warehouse?

Think about something you love and then imagine a whole warehouse filled with it. I love art supplies, so trying new art supplies is exciting for me. I felt a bit like a child entering a toy store. These are my kind of toys: easels, paint, sketchbooks, stretcher bars, and so much more. Did I drool? Ask my colleagues.

We observed stretcher bars and easels being made. The workmanship of the Jack Richeson employees is amazing. My favorite stop in the warehouse was our visit with the two women in the paint-making department. Based on certain formulas, they mix paint for over four hours, age it for months, insert it into tubes, and apply labels. The labels are all hand painted, too. Kudos to these women; I now appreciate my oil paints even more.

After the warehouse tour, we explored a variety of mediums in the studio. Our new favorite is . . . (drumroll, please) Shiva Artist’s Paintstik oil colors. We tried them on fabric for rubbings and used stencils with a brushing method. Of course we discussed the many ways we could use these paint sticks in programs offered at the Museum. 

We left confident we’d forged a partnership with Jack Richeson and Company and look forward to many collaborative ventures.