Fall 2005 Newsletter
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! The Alliance is officially one year old! And what a year it has been! Mural dedication, Three “D” Gallery establish, Fountain to Fountain Arts Festival, Fish Out of Whitewater-Catch the View, and the Edward S. Curtis Exhibit.
CONGRATULATIONS to our membership and our community for this great start in making a difference in Whitewater!
Let’s review what we’ve done and where we are headed.
The Prairie Tiller’s Mural. We
are still working on a plaque that will tell the story of the symbolism used
in the mural and will list major contributions made by businesses,
organizations, and individuals in the community. If all goes well this should
be in place by the end of October. Caryl Yasko has been contacted about doing
this year’s inspection. Dick Jones of STA-LITE CORP will provide the bucket
truck for the inspection. THANKS, Dick!
The Double Dip Gallery continues to be a draw to the community. Since last October sales of art pieces have exceeded $10,000. Right now there is a Mask Show and a call for leaf forms for our Territorial Oak Tree sculpture. Lakeview School art teacher, Mareta Hale, has a mask from every student in the school - 182. Washington School art teacher Kim Tomczak, also had some of her students participate. The show is fantastic be sure and stop in to see it. ALSO, Shelby Scharine Keefe, originally from Whitewater, now an urban landscape artist from Milwaukee, has a collection of her work on display on the west side of the gallery. Thanks to Marilyn Fuerstenberg and Veronica Davis for their efforts in making the gallery a Whitewater destination.
Fountain to Fountain Arts Festival was such a huge success, that plans are already underway for next year. If you would be willing to help make it even bigger and better this year contact Bill Bowen at the Double Dip Deli. It’s a big deal; help make it real!
Fish Out of WhiteWATER-Catch the View, our first public arts project was a big hit in the community and drew people from the surrounding areas to view our awesome collection of fish. Our auction on September 24th continued the tradition of success as we realized $5,745 from the sale of our 48 fish. Of the sales, over 54% sold for over $100. Our most expensive fish was painted by Grace Saalsaa-The Big Cheese- and sold for $400. The Waste Water Treatment Plant Crew surprised us with their own version – Sewer Bass; it too, sold and added to our profits. They have promised to put their talents on display on Main St. next year. Speaking of next year our object is a wooden chair. Presently the theme is “Come and Sit Awhile in Whitewater and Enjoy the View!” It is early yet, so if anyone has a better slogan, we are open to your ideas. There is a sign up sheet at the Double Dip to reserve your chair. Our limit for next year’s project is 75 chairs, so make your reservation soon. We already have reservation for 1/3 of the chairs.
Rick Fassl, Bill Bowen, and Michael Flanagan are to be congratulated for the Edward S. Curtis Exhibit now on display at the Crossman Gallery in the Greenhill Center of the Arts on the UW-Whitewater Campus. The public response has far exceeded what the organizers thought was possible. The fund raising dinner sponsored by the Alliance has helped to defray some of the expenses. Special thank you to Ron Binning, Dawn Hunter, and Mary Jaroz for their part in making this event a success. Also, special artistic praise to Nicole West for designing the invitation and dinner program. It certainly added that special professional touch to the event. We are also please that we had enthusiastic response from our members when we requested help to cover extended gallery hours. These extended hours have proved to be a good decision, as the gallery log shows that many out of town guests visited the gallery during extended hours. Michael Flanagan, gallery curator, is very pleased with the public interest and community participation; and there is already talk about how we can work together to co-sponsor other gallery shows. CONGRATULATIONS!
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 7:00 PM at the Crossman Gallery- Joseph D. Horse Capture presentation. Author, speaker, and a curator at The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, he holds a close personal legacy. Joseph is the Great-great grandson of Horse Capture, photographed by Edward S. Curtis in 1908. Joseph D. Horse Capture will share with us his insights into Native American culture and what meaning the work of Curtis holds for Native Americans and himself personally.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 7:00 PM at the Crossman Gallery-SPECIAL PRESENTATION – Hartmann Lomawaima of the Hopi Nation, currently Director of the Arizona State Museum at Arizona State University in Tucson, will speak about Edward S. Curtis.
What Next?
We have had to postpone our annual meeting until November. We are still seeking a slate of officers for the positions of president and vice-president. Would you be willing to serve or do you know of someone who would? These are both important and rewarding jobs. There are many talented people out there, with more ideas, please step forward and continue to make things happen for Whitewater. You can contact any of the present officers or board members, if you are willing to continue to make things happen.
We are pleased to announce we have filled our university board position on the Alliance Board. Thanks to Mai Vang, president of Lambda Sigma Alpha, fine arts organization at UW-Whitewater, Megan Sluyter, senior and art education major, will join our board. Welcome, Mai and Megan! We look forward to your participation.
Our October 11 meeting at 7 PM at the Cravath Lakefront Center will feature Lauren Smith, essayist, poet, UW-Whitewater professor of Women’s Studies, mom, and assistant soccer coach. She recently received grants from Fulbright and from the Wisconsin Arts Board. We look forward to her presentation and hope many people from the community and campus will be able to join us.
Our December meeting is in the planning stages and we hope to have details for you at the November meeting.
PLAN AHEAD – Due to a lack of participation we were unable to print a 2005 holiday card, so when those lovely snowflakes start to pile up, get out your camera or your sketch pad and be thinking about your winter scene of Whitewater, that would be appropriate for a holiday card. We will be asking for your piece in August or September of 2006
SPECIAL THANK YOUS!
Dale Saalsaa for his CD record of our “Fish Out of WhiteWATER-Caught the View”
Geoff Hale – Home Lumber – tent for the Fish Auction
Ranei Johnson – Fish Auction Auctioneer
Ted Kraus & Steve Spear – Fish Auction bartenders
Sue Hartwig & Karen O’Connor at the Hoard Museum for getting the information out to their museum members about the Edward S. Curtis Exhibit.
Allan Marshall – pumpkins for the Curtis Dinner
Gallery Volunteers – Geoff Hale, Everett & Ellen Long, Roni Telfer, Dawn Hunter, Linda Loomer, Peter Disley, Evelyn Schneider, Pam Williams, Rick & Jeanine Fassl, Dorothy Spurgat, Carol Holford, David Saalsaa, Nikki Knudsen, Shirley Scharine, Virginia Coburn, Anita Schanke, Myra Brien, Kristine Zaballos, Jim Stewart, Mary Jaroz, Bunny & Jerry Schoen, Jo Coulthart, and Kevin & Nancy Brunner
WANTED * NEEDED * WANTED * NEEDED * WANTED * NEEDED * WANTED
The Alliance is looking for ENERGY and IDEAS. There are opportunities for everyone to be involved. Here are some of our present “ART” of participation opportunities.
*People to work on programs/speakers/activities for our monthly gatherings.
*Entry/ committee for the Christmas Parade
*Committee to decorate a tree at Cravath Lakefront
*Volunteers for Fountain Arts Festival in April of 2006
*Committee for 2006 Public Arts Project - CHAIRS
OPPORTUNITIES for area artists:
Deb Williamson, Whitewater Chamber Director, has offered an invitation for artists to display their work at the chamber office. If you are interested contact her at 262-473-4005.
Kim Adams, UW-Whitewater Student Union Gallery Director, has scheduled a show for Alliance artists from March 24-April 14, with a reception from 5-6:30 pm on April 13. More information will be available in our winter newsletter; but mark those dates NOW!
We are looking for artists who are interested in painting a chair(s) for individuals and businesses that would like to sponsor a chair for our 2006 Public Arts Project – CHAIRS – CHAIRS – CHAIRS. Contact Dawn Hunter at hunterd@ticon.net
Now that we are a year old we are looking for membership RENEWALS as well as NEW members. PLEASE fill out the following form and help the Whitewater Arts Alliance continue to move forward.
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MEMBERSHIP LEVELS:
Founder/Cooperate - $500 Individual - $50
Benefactor - $250 Student/Senior - $25
Sponsor - $100
What would you like to see happen to promote the arts in Whitewater?
How would you be willing to support the Whitewater Arts Alliance?
(Examples: serving as a board member or officer of the Alliance, planning events, teach a class or schedule a class, additional financial support for specific events or in a special area.)
Name _________________________________ Mail to: WWAA
Address ________________________________ P.O. Box 311
Phone number ___________________________ Whitewater, WI 53190
e-mail __________________________________