A Show of Support

If last night was any indication, the slumping economy has done nothing to diminish Madison’s hunger and appreciation for art.

Yesterday evening, the Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission unveiled its 2009 Art Poster at Promega’s beautiful and art-filled building in Fitchburg.

The event was an incredible and energetic round-up of members of Madison’s visual arts scene—including many artists featured on this blog—such as painter Georgene Pomplun, Pat Dillon of Bungalow 1227, and staffers from MMoCA and 77 Square.

But the toast of the night was Lee Weiss, the Madison artist who created the watercolor that’s become the thirty-first art poster. Titled September Flora, the image of purple and white flowers in a verdant meadow was inspired by Hoyt Park, which is close to the artist’s house.

Before the poster was revealed, County Executive Kathleen Falk seemed to sum up the mood of the crowd. She thanked Weiss and other artists for providing a means for the community to get lost in art and forget for just a few minutes about current economic troubles. While arts and culture are always important, in times like these they become crucial, she said.

The art posters are available by free-will donation at the Cultural Affairs Commission Office, room 421 of the City-County Building, 210 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Other distribution sites include the city and village halls of Belleville, Brooklyn, Cambridge, Cross Plains, DeForest, Maple Bluff, Marshall, Mazomanie, McFarland, Middleton, Monona, Mount Horeb, Oregon, Shorewood Hills, Stoughton, Sun Prairie, Verona and Waunakee, plus the town halls of Blooming Grove, Dunn, Middleton, Montrose, Oregon, Springfield, Sun Prairie, Verona and Westport. For more information, visit culturalaffairscommission.com.

Image courtesy of the Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission.

November Artist: Living in the Moment

Paula Swaydan Grebel has considered herself an artist for only a decade. But, really, she’s been one her entire life.

She grew up in California drawing, making art, taking classes in school. “I always did something with the arts,” she says. “It was my way of playing. I would doodle—and I still tend to do that—when I was bored.” Later, she earned a BFA from California State University, Long Beach, where she studied under well-known L.A. artist John Lincoln.

Yet Grebel didn’t work as an artist right out of college. Instead, she took a variety of other jobs, even working as a nurse for eleven years. But still, art was always there. “I never stopped drawing,” she says. “And I had great nursing notes.”

When she noticed herself wanting to draw all her patients, she knew art was calling. And she decided to follow it.

Over the past ten years, Grebel, who lives in Plymouth, Wisconsin, has come to specialize in oil paintings, particularly plein air studies and still-life works. She showcases nearly thirty pieces at an exhibition, In the Moment, running through the end of November at Bungalow 1227.

Her focus on plein air painting was an easy choice. “I love to be outside,” she says. “I love the light and sounds and smells. I love to travel.”

She works outside as long as possible throughout the year—and can even paint al fresco in the winter, as long as the sun is shining, it’s not too windy and the temperature is at least thirty-two degrees, she says.

When conditions aren’t favorable, Grebel moves indoors and switches to still-life work. But she tries to keep the spontaneity of her outdoor art, sometimes throwing random objects on a table to paint or asking one of her kids to choose a subject for her. “I like that chaos,” she says.

Grebel has been complimented on her ability to capture a moment in time in her work. “Part of what helps me is not to pre-plan,” she says. “If you pre-plan on your canvas and grid it out, the moment’s gone.”

She also holds back from using too much detail because she doesn’t like making photo-realistic paintings in which every element is crisply delineated. “That’s telling me too much,” she says. “I want mystery.”

By revealing her impressions of a single moment to viewers, Grebel strives to show the beauty of the world and new ways of looking at it.

“I hope that I create an emotional response of joy or something that’s positive—that it’s a good soulful experience,” she says. “The true job of an artist is to learn to see.”

IN THE MAGAZINE: The November issue of Madison Magazine comes out tomorrow. Here’s some of the arts content you’ll find within the pages:
• A tidbit on the Chicago-based Giving Tree Band, which recorded a green album at the Aldo Leopold Legacy Center this summer. (Read more in this July 2 post.)
• Associate and style editor Shayna Miller’s Window Shopping column on paper goods and artsy gifts at Anthology.
• A profile on Valerie Kazamias, the force behind MMoCA and the Madison Symphony Orchestra’s annual Arts Ball.
• A poem by Andrea Potos (listen her poetry podcast).
• Our monthly Overtones section with picks on the can’t-miss performances, concerts, exhibitions and festivals taking place in November.

Art Everywhere!

Mark your calendars—Gallery Night is a week and a half away.

The twice-annual event, in which galleries, museums and businesses open to the public to showcase art and offer receptions and demonstrations, is October 3 from 5 to 9 p.m.

This year, fifty-four organizations across town are participating. That number has grown steadily over the years, says Katie Kazan, director of public information for the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, the group that’s organized the event for over twenty years. “I think that’s the clearest indication as to how important this event is to the community,” she adds.

In addition to museums galleries, a unique aspect to Gallery Night is the diversity of businesses that showcase art. Some places, such as frame shops and coffee shops, have a natural connection to the arts, Kazan says. And others are just fun additions.

“Now we have upholstery shops and veterinary services and acupuncture centers,” she says. “We’re really happy that they’re participating.”

And the special events that art part of Gallery Night—from artist meetings to watching demonstrations to listening to live music—attract a broader audience than traditional art events typically do, according to Kazan.

Additionally, a few galleries—such as Absolutely Art and Wisconsin Union Galleries—have artists participating in PhotoMidwest, the biennial photography fest sponsored by The Center for Photography at Madison, with exhibits, lectures and workshops around Madison during the month of October.

Read on for the lineup of organizations taking part in Gallery Night—or find a list and more info on the MMoCA website. Remember, it’s not too early to start plotting your course.

East Side

Absolutely Art
2322 Atwood Ave.

ArtSPACE Twenty-Two-Eleven
2211 Atwood Ave.

Atwood Acupuncture Center
2045 Atwood Ave., Suite 105

Body Conscious PilateSpa
2045 Atwood Ave., Suite 107

Bungalow 1227 1227 E. Wilson St.

Bungalow Pros
229 North St.

Cafe Zoma
2326 Atwood Ave.

Common Wealth Gallery
100 S. Baldwin St.

EVP Coffee
1250 E. Washington Ave.

Lucent Room Studio 305 S. Livingston St.

Morris Altman Studio
1149 E. Dayton St. 


Off-Center Studios 2716 Atwood Ave.

Radiant Glass
100 S. Baldwin St., Suite 100

Reneéglass Factory
100 S. Baldwin St., Suite 100

Spiritual Vibes 2733 Atwood Ave.

The Straight Thread—Furniture Upholstery
2033 Atwood Ave.

Studio Paran 2051 Winnebago St.

Theo Streibel Photography 202 S. Dickinson St.

U-Frame-It Gallery
857 E. Johnson St.

Willy Street Co-op 1221 Williamson St.

Winnebago Studios 2046 Winnebago St.

Downtown

16 Hands Studio
104 King St.

Anthology 218 State St.

Architecture Network, Inc.
116 E. Dayton St.

Broden Gallery, Ltd.
218 N. Henry St.

HYART Gallery 133 W. Johnson St.

Little Luxuries, Inc.
230 State St.

Madison Children’s Museum 100 State St.

Madison Museum of Contemporary Art 227 State St.

Madison Public Library 201 W. Mifflin St.

Raw Materials
408 E. Wilson St.

State Street Gallery 109 State St.

Wisconsin Academy’s James Watrous Gallery
201 State St., 3rd floor in the Overture Center for the Arts

Wisconsin Union Galleries
800 Langdon St., Rm. 507

West Side

The Bohemian Bauble 404 W. Lakeside St.

Century House 3029 University Ave.

Chiripa, Artisan Crafts of the Americas
636 S. Park St.

Douglas Art and Frame
3238 University Ave.

Edgewood College—DiRicci Gallery 1000 Edgewood College Dr.

Fine Earth Studio & Gallery 2207 Regent St.

Gardens Gallery at Independent Living Retirement Community
602 N. Segoe Rd.

Grace Chosy Gallery 1825 Monroe St.

Higher Fire Clay Studio 2132 Regent St.

Hilldale Shopping Center
702 N. Midvale Blvd.

Janus Galleries 2701 Monroe St.

Lakeview Veterinary Clinic 3518 Monroe St.

Ma-Cha Teahouse and Gallery 1934 Monroe St.

Meuer Art & Picture Frame Company 8448 Old Sauk Rd.

Milward Farrell Fine Art 2701 Monroe St.

Orange Tree Imports
1721 Monroe St.

Spirals Antiques & Interiors
1843 Monroe St.

Studio Jewelers 1306 Regent St.

TileArt
1719 Monroe St.

unearthed
 2501 University Ave.


Photos top to bottom are works by Robert Barnes at MMoCA, Paula Swaydan Grebel at Bungalow 1227, Lane Hall and Lisa Moline at the James Watrous Gallery of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, Connie Frisch-Cherniak at the Wisconsin Union Galleries and Yueh-mei Cheng at Grace Chosy Gallery.

An Artistic Addition

Madison has a newcomer to its visual arts scene: Bungalow 1227, a laid-back enclave for artists and art lovers at 1227 E. Wilson St.

Set in a cozy brick bungalow, the gallery is the latest undertaking of Pat Dillon, a Madison artist and writer (she’s written about travel for Madison Magazine).

“This is one thing I’ve been wanting to do for a long time,” she says.

Dillon transformed the former home into a rustic gallery, exposing stone walls and keeping the original wood floors intact. Paintings and drawings fill the walls—as well as windows covered with sheets of corrugated metal—and pottery is displayed on shelves and tables.

That the gallery was a concept brewing in Dillon’s mind for years allowed her to keep tabs on artists she’d one day like to represent. She created Bungalow 1227 to be a relaxed space where local and regional artists can display their work. But she’s thrown some international artists into the mix, too.

Dillon also intends for the gallery to be welcoming the public. Art lovers of all stripes can pop in straight from the adjacent bike path or from a stroll along East Wilson Street to look, shop and talk art.

The gallery’s opening is May 2, in conjunction with the city’s spring Gallery Night. Her first show is Women Inspired Art, which runs through June 30.

Proceeds from all her shows will benefit a charity, this time the YWCA’s Third Street Program.

COMING UP: A few events and performances to check out this week.

Design MMoCA takes over the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art Friday through Sunday for a showcase of interior design based on works from the museum’s permanent collection.

Thursday through Saturday, the UW Dance Program offers its Spring Program Concert at Lathrop Hall.

The Madison Symphony Orchestra brings the sounds of Russia to Overture Center with concerts Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Also at Overture is a free Community Hymn Sing Saturday morning in which the public can sing along with the concert organ.

The city will be filled with runners taking part in the 27th Annual Crazylegs Classic on Saturday. The 8K run starts and the Capitol Square and makes its way throughout the downtown.

And hundreds of alpacas and fans of the fuzzy animals will meet up at the Alliant Energy Center Saturday and Sunday for the Great Midwest Alpaca Festival.