Question 4: What Makes a Good Artist Residency?
Posted on February 12, 2014
On Wednesday nights, curator of education Catie Anderson and I play trivia at a local tavern. Before you judge this as a weekly convention of either nerds or drunkards, there is only a smattering of dweebs and the cohort knows how to handle libations. Paul Rhymer hard at work at... Read More
Memories for a Lifetime
Posted on February 05, 2014
by Kathy Kelsey Foley, director This isn’t the first time that my turn to write a blog post coincides with a family event of great importance. I love the serendipity and randomness that allow me – as well as other weekly Woodson Wanderings contributors – to write not only from... Read More
The Allure of Illusion
Posted on January 29, 2014
Bullet catches, necromancy, water-cell escapes, and exotic realms fill the dramatic posters of Mystery, Magic, and Mayhem now on view at the Woodson Art Museum. The colorful exhibition features thirty-one prints depicting the acts of famous American and European magicians and designed with enticing graphics to sell tickets. Much like... Read More
Making Magic with Snowflakes
Posted on January 22, 2014
Team USA Snow Sculptors return next week to work their winter magic for their 24th year at the Woodson Art Museum. To those of us who’ve bundled up and toiled away to create simple snowballs packed and stacked into rudimentary snowmen, these artists’ jaw-dropping creations are marvels. Although they may... Read More
Five Thousand and Counting
Posted on January 15, 2014
5,450 . . . 5,451 . . . 5,452 . . . slowly, sheet-by-sheet, I am documenting a vast collection of pencil, colored pencil, charcoal, and ink drawings. The artist, Don Richard Eckelberry, considered this resource his “Fort Knox.” * These sketches and composition drawings – many including color and... Read More
Treasuring Memories
Posted on January 08, 2014
Holidays often are difficult for anyone who’s experienced the death of a loved one. Sometimes people find holidays, anniversaries, and birthdays can cause a resurgence of grief or feelings of loss. These are the reasons the Treasuring Memories program was developed in 2008 in collaboration with Aspirus Comfort Care and... Read More
A Year in Review
Posted on December 31, 2013
In my role scheduling upcoming exhibitions at the Woodson Art Museum, I’m always looking ahead. It’s fun to look back, too, because 2013 was such a good year for the Museum. We had a terrific and varied lineup of exhibitions enlivened by dynamic artist residencies. Museum renovations brought improvements to... Read More
Wanted: Two Left Shoes
Posted on December 24, 2013
By Kathy Kelsey Foley, director Like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates, when you combine a holiday potluck lunch, white-elephant gift exchange, and the Woodson Art Museum staff, you don’t know what you’ll get! Our fun-loving and creative team came together over the noon hour on Monday, December 16, to celebrate... Read More
Finding Spaces for Growing Up
Posted on December 18, 2013
Elementary and middle-school years are tough – filled with identity confusion, hormones, and self-doubt. What are our skills? Interests? Priorities? These questions may take a lifetime to answer, but I found myself addressing them, at a young age, at museums. Anyone who works with or knows me is well aware... Read More
The Final Edit
Posted on December 11, 2013
Woodson Art Museum Director Kathy Foley is an outstanding writer. With great command of the English language and years of experience writing just about every document imaginable in the non-profit, corporate, and museum world, she knows how to write effectively for any audience. She’s the only person I know whose... Read More
