By Kim McDarison
The Whitewater Arts Alliance has announced that it will be hosting the Whitewater Wisconsin Regional Art Program (WRAP), including an opening reception and an exhibition.
The reception — which will include judging of works submitted for display within the exhibition by award-winning and local artist Larry Schultz — will be held Friday, beginning at noon and running until 4 p.m.
Works selected as winners will advance to a state-level competition.
The show and reception will be held at the Cultural Arts Center, 402 W. Main St., Whitewater.
Those attending the reception will have an opportunity to meet the artists whose works are featured in the show.
According to Whitewater Arts Alliance Manager Ashe McDarison, the Cultural Art Center’s gallery will open at noon, with the reception beginning at 1 p.m. Schultz will announce winners during the awards ceremony, beginning at 3 p.m. After the awards ceremony, each of the participating artists will be offered an opportunity to have one of their works critiqued by Schultz.
The gallery will close at 4 p.m.
Attending the reception is free and light snacks will be offered, according to information released by the alliance.
The Whitewater WRAP show will remain available for in-gallery viewing through Sunday, May 28.
The show also can be viewed virtually by visiting the Whitewater Arts Alliance’s website: https://www.whitewaterarts.org/wrap-2023.
Artists have multiple pieces on display, McDarison said, noting that the full exhibition contains 33 works of art.
The show features nonprofessional Wisconsin artists who have a passion for a variety of mediums, including sculpture, acrylic, oil, and collage. Artists and art-advocates are invited to view the exhibition free of charge during the gallery’s open hours, Thursdays through Sundays, from noon until 4 p.m., McDarison noted.
Artists whose works are on display include: Mary Bughman, Whitewater; Judith Buzzell, Delavan; Silvia Cavagnero, Madison; Megan Forsythe, Stoughton; Sue Herring, Milton; Sylvia Linton, Whitewater; Jeff Mann, Wales; Suzanne Popke, Whitewater; Rick Santovec, Lake Mills; Roy Schmidt, Waterford; William Schuele, Muskego; Laura Strehlow, Cambridge, and John Yost, Waukesha.
As part of the Whitewater WRAP, Schultz was on-hand Sunday to provide a workshop which was made available to WRAP artists and members of the public.
During the workshop, Schultz said he would share with participants the importance of drawing and learning to “see by drawing.” His presentation focused on the value of “‘seeing,’ and how that affects your creative right brain,” he said.
Schultz said his left brain is his weaker side, which gave him less aptitude for developing such skills as math, learning a language, and linear thinking.
His strength is his brain’s right side, which, he said, is about perception.
Schultz’s work is prominent in the Fort Atkinson Online readership area.
Counted among his projects are a mural painted on the City of Fort Atkinson Water Department Building, which is prominently placed in the city’s downtown and was commissioned by the Fort Atkinson Beautification Council, and a mural painted in the stairway of the Milton House Museum.
An earlier story about Schultz and the Fort Atkinson downtown mural is here: https://fortatkinsononline.com/milton-artist-fort-mural/.
A link to a video showing scenes from the mural painted by Schultz in the Milton House Museum is here: https://youtu.be/esEktl1WkqA.
Schultz was recently named by the Fort Atkinson Beautification Council as the artist with whom it will be working on two upcoming projects, including a second mural on a downtown city-owned building, and a series of nearly life-sized cows that will be distributed throughout the community.
An earlier story about the proposed mural for a second downtown Fort Atkinson building is here: https://fortatkinsononline.com/beautification-council-proposes-second-downtown-fort-mural/.
A story about the Fort Atkinson “cow parade,” featuring nearly life-sized cows to be painted by Schultz is here: https://fortatkinsononline.com/beautification-council-planning-cow-parade/.
Schultz also has recently finished a mural inside the Belleville Public Library and Community Center. The mural features various sites in the community, and farms and businesses owned by people who donated money in support of a new library building which opened in March of 2021. The six-foot-tall by 25-foot-long mural was begun in November of last year and completed in February, Schultz said.
Award-winning artist and Milton resident Larry Schultz shares his expertise during a workshop at the Whitewater Arts Alliance’s Cultural Arts Center gallery. The workshop featured techniques designed to help artists learn to “see” with their creative “right side brain,” Schultz said. The workshop, which was held Sunday, was offered to Whitewater Wisconsin Regional Art Program artists and members of the public.
Local artist Larry Schultz greets workshop participants as they arrive at the Cultural Arts Center, Whitewater, Sunday. This year marks the second that Schultz has participated in the regional art show. He will serve Friday as a judge for the show, with selected winners advancing to a statewide competition. He also will offer each show participant an individualized critique of one piece of work.
Workshop participants, including Suzanne Popke, a Whitewater resident and WRAP artist, from right; Whitewater Arts Alliance Board Vice President Ruth Hansen, second row; Mary Bughman, a Whitewater resident and WRAP artist, and Meagan Forstythe, a Stoughton resident and WRAP artist, listen as Milton resident and award-winning artist Larry Schultz talks about perception and drawing. Also present, but not pictured, were Delilah Hansen, Madison; Whitewater Arts Alliance Manager Ashe McDarison; Judy Buzzell, a Delavan resident and WRAP artist, and Silvia Linton, a Whitewater resident and WRAP artist.
Two photos above: At top, Whitewater Arts Alliance volunteer docent Kylee Mueller, a freshman at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater who is studying social work, presents a painting by WRAP artist Suzanne Popke, Whitewater. The piece is called: “The Sands of Childhood”; above, Mueller presents a piece called “Old Chemistry,” by WRAP artist Silvia Cavagnero, Madison.
Kim McDarison photos.
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