Counting Collections

Posted on October 25, 2017
Recently, I had a conversation with a longtime volunteer who asked how many objects comprise the Woodson Art Museum collection. His question was prompted by the number of artworks in Birds in Art that are accompanied by additional labels designating them as recent acquisitions. I smiled and replied how difficult that question is to answer.

Like a Kid in A Candy Store

Posted on October 18, 2017
As a child growing up on Wausau’s west side, I remember hot summer days when my friends and I would walk or bike nearly two miles to go swimming at McDonald Pool. On our way to the pool, we would stop at Kemp’s corner store to buy penny candy. Decisions, Decisions. Last winter, I had a similar experience.

A Winning Combination

Posted on October 11, 2017
When Woodson Art Museum staff and its travel logistics partner, Academic Travel Abroad, embark on planning for a members trip, many factors come into play once the destination is determined. Pittsburgh had been on my radar since the Museum’s successful, eye-opening visit to Detroit in spring 2014. Like the Motor City, Pittsburgh’s recent renaissance has been due, in part, to the strength and vitality of its arts and cultural scene.

Convergence: Where Art, Writing, and Conservation Meet

Posted on October 04, 2017
Beginning Thursday, October 5, the Museum will host writer and outdoorsman John Gierach, painter Bob White, photographer Mike Dvorak, forest ecologist Alan Haney, and conservation biologist Eric Anderson for a series of programs titled “Convergence: Where Art, Writing, and Conservation Meet.”

Look What I Found

Posted on September 27, 2017
Visitors' excitement often is palpable after just one Woodson Art Museum visit, prompting visitors to write glowing comments in the digital guestbook, sculpture garden comment wall, or TripAdvisor reviews; consider snippets from recent ones. My husband and I just returned from Canada, visiting trip advisors of our own – a daughter-in-law and son, who's a graduate student at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.

Mary Kluz: An Original

Posted on September 20, 2017
My fairy godmother waved her wand one last time. The toddlers that shared in joy, laughter, stories, snacks, and art making during the September 19 Toddler Tuesday are a unique group . . . the last to reap the rewards of the meticulous, disciplined, dedicated, and loving efforts of our dear Mary Kluz.

Squirrel!

Posted on September 13, 2017
Fresh from the successful opening weekend of the 42nd Birds in Art exhibition, I’m pondering squirrels. I tend to be fairly deliberate in my work. I like lists. Spreadsheets are my friends. I enjoy planning my calendar and filling it with color-coded notations. I schedule “impromptu” messages to my daughter, a first-year college student. So, I can relate to the industrious squirrel scurrying about gathering and storing for the . . .

Are You Ready for Some Birds in Art?

Posted on September 06, 2017
The first few days after Labor Day are hectic. At the Woodson Art Museum, staff keep busy putting the finishing touches on Birds in Art.  Perhaps more pressing, it’s time to draft my fantasy football team.

Wandering with the Woodson

Posted on August 30, 2017
For nine years, Woodson Art Museum staff members have written weekly for our mixed-voice blog, “Woodson Wanderings.” We’ve never missed a week, a fact in which we take great pride. Via wide-ranging and varied posts, we’ve shared institutional and personal joys and sorrows. We’ve laughed and we’ve cried. We’ve celebrated and we’ve mourned.

Bye, Bye, Summer; Hello, Birdie

Posted on August 23, 2017
Taking turns lamenting summer’s inevitable departure seems to be an unofficial, mid-August tradition amongst Woodson Art Museum staff members. “How is it already August?!” “Birds in Art can’t be just two weeks away.” “Where did my summer go?” The good news is Museum staff didn’t waste summer lounging around on the couch or acquiring poolside sunburns.