Have you ever witnessed a moment when someone couldn’t express their grief through words, but could create an artwork in memory of a loved one lost? I’ve had the privilege of witnessing such a moment. Three years ago Amy Kitsembel from Aspirus Comfort Care and Hospice Services contacted me to... Read More

Norman Rockwell, in the form of Indianapolis-based character actor Sam Harper, is in the middle of a week-long Woodson Art Museum residency. Harper’s resemblance to Rockwell is uncanny. As Mr. Rockwell, Sam not only has the demeanor of the great American artist, but also has mastered his idiosyncrasies. Thus far,... Read More

Inspiration comes in various forms – from beauty encountered in everyday topics discussed on the news or a chance meeting with someone who awakens possibilities within you. Wherever it comes from, I LOVE when people get inspired. I have the great pleasure of being inspired daily – by a colleague,... Read More

I fondly remember my first visit on a sunny spring day in 2003. I awoke in the Manhattan Sheraton Towers, the noise of the vibrant city filtering up to the room. While I am by no means a world traveler, I have been fortunate to visit many exotic cities, and... Read More

Where does the time go? How can we already be approaching the final week of the 2009 Birds in Art exhibition? It seems as though we just said goodbye to the artists and guests who joined us in September for the opening weekend. The exhibition’s final week is a bittersweet... Read More

On Tuesday, the Woodson Art Museum presented “Memory Loss, Creative Engagement, and Museum-based Programming” a seminar supported by the Helen Bader Foundation. Open to our community partners, docents, and the public, speakers were Mary Dickman, Outreach Specialist, Alzheimer’s Association of Greater Wisconsin; Anne Basting, Director, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Center... Read More

Monday morning I received a call alerting me that good friend and longtime Wausau-area arts supporter Carol Mularkey had died on Sunday. For more than fifty years, Carol taught art in central Wisconsin. I knew Carol for most of my twenty-nine years at the Woodson Art Museum. During this time,... Read More

I remember it well. The morning of Tuesday, August 25. Approximately 8:15 a.m. I opened my e-mail inbox and saw the subject line “Birds in Art for the Wall Street Journal.” Before jumping for joy and calling across the hall for director Kathy Foley to come into my office to... Read More

Ah, the serenity of working in one’s studio, uninterrupted by the outside world. When I think of artists working in their studios, I imagine a light-soaked room with classical music playing, intelligent thoughts filling the emptiness, and an almost “Zen-like” atmosphere. Artists who visit the Woodson Art Museum as part... Read More