By Kim McDarison
Whitewater residents were treated to a full day of art events Saturday as both the Whitewater Unified School District (WUSD) Art Walk and Exhibition, held at the Whitewater Cultural Arts Center and throughout the downtown area, and the city’s annual Iron Pour, held at the Wisconsin Makers building, displayed and produced art.
The student art exhibition, facilitated by the Whitewater Arts Alliance and the school district, featured the works of children from throughout the district. Saturday marked the event’s kickoff with a reception. The exhibition in the Cultural Arts Center gallery, 402 W. Main St., Whitewater, will run through April 24. The exhibition is free and viewable by the public Thursdays through Sundays, 1-5 p.m. Artwork also will remain viewable at participating downtown businesses through April 24.
Saturday’s reception offered a variety of activities and entertainment, including a drum team performance given by Lincoln Elementary School students and led by Christine Hayes, music teacher; various forms of line dancing performed by kindergarten and first-grade students from Washington Elementary School; performances from Lakeview Elementary School students; choral performances given by Whitewater High School students, and a finale performed by the WUSD Intermediate String Students.
Outside, as the sun warmed the day, children engaged in sidewalk chalk art and rock decorating.
While the student art show at the Cultural Arts Center is an annual event, student art displayed at several downtown establishments is new this year. Businesses displaying art include: The Hamilton House, First Citizens State Bank, The Book Teller, Dales Bootery, State Farm with Jennifer Visser, ARANDA-Be Unique, the Whitewater Area Chamber of Commerce offices, Rosa’s Pizza and Jessica’s Family Restaurant.
During Saturday’s reception, visitors to the Cultural Arts Center were invited to participate in an “art hunt,” the purpose of which was to encourage exhibition visitors to explore the other venues featuring children’s art.
According to Molly Fuller, WUSD communication and outreach specialist and a facilitator of the art walk and hunt, some 300 guests visited the reception Saturday and many participated in the hunt.
After participating in the self-guided downtown art walk, those who found all the businesses with art on display were invited to return to the Cultural Arts Center where they could win a door prize. Prizes were provided by Jersey Mike’s and Rocky Rococo, Fuller said.
The WUSD in-gallery art show also is available for viewing online on the Whitewater Arts Alliance website: https://www.whitewaterarts.org.
Whitewater Arts Alliance Manager Ashe McDarison, who was on hand Saturday to help with the event, said she continues to photograph student art for inclusion online. She encouraged art enthusiasts to visit the Cultural Arts Center, and take a stroll downtown, to get the full in-person effect of seeing collectively the expressive and colorful works produced by the community’s children.
Iron pour
Additionally, students from University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Teresa “Tree” Lind’s metal studio class, along with some alumni, arrived Saturday at the Wisconsin Makers building, 200 E. Clay St., Whitewater, to participate in the annual spring iron pour.
During the event, students melted cast iron in a specialized furnace, and poured the material into waiting molds, many of which were “scratch molds,” a sand and silicone block into which designs can be “scratched” with various tools. A workshop to make scratch mold designs was held Wednesday in advance of Saturday’s pour.
During the pour, some artists continued to make their molds.
Event organizer and Wisconsin Maker member Ron Binning noted in an earlier news release that typically some 100 people come to the annual spring event to make molds and watch the pouring process.
This year, the pour was dedicated in memory of the late Pete Spangler, the owner, with his wife, Christine, of the Wisconsin Maker building, and president, until the time of his death, of the nonprofit makers organization that operates there.
Pete Spangler died unexpectedly in his Fort Atkinson home Tuesday, March 22. He was 66.
Christine Spangler, and several members of the Spangler family, were on hand Saturday to enjoy the pour.
Photos from both events follow.