Conley Publishing - Special Sections
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6 • E x p l o r i n g t h e A r t s • N e w s G r a p h i c & D a i l y N e w s • A p r i l 2 0 1 5 Arts & Cras Sale Student Artwork Music Photography Garden Seminars Kids Art - Make & Take it Farmers Market Food & Fun Free Admission! Festival of Saturday, April 18 10AM - 4PM UW-WC Fine Arts Series presents DRIFTWOOD Friday, April 24, 7:30pm Tickets: washington.uwc.edu or 262-335-5208 400 University Drive, West Bend ARTS Festival Updates: washington.uwc.edu 243215003 Richfield Art at the Mill Art and Fine Craft Fair & Plein Air Competition Saturday, July 25, 2015, 9am – 4pm ❖ Free Admission & Parking ❖ Over 60 exhibiting artists ❖ 10:00 am - Richfield's Hannah Mrozak, 2015 American Idol Top 48 Noon - Frank DeMiles Trio, sponsored by Monches Farm ❖ Plein air painting in the park throughout the day ❖ Youth art activities – sponsored by and ❖ Silent Auction ❖ Food & Beverages by Bilda's Friess Lake Pub ❖ Tours of the Messer/Mayer Mill House and Mill Media Sponsor Richfield Nature Park 1896 State Road 164, Richfield, WI (1/2 mile north of Hwy 167) www.richfieldhistoricalsociety.org By Colleen Jurkiewicz News Graphic Correspondent CEDARBURG — This summer will mark four years since the grand opening of the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiber Arts' gallery and educational center, housed on the historic 2.2-acre Hoffmann-Boeker farmstead in Cedarburg. The progress made by the WMQFA, which grew out of the Wisconsin Quilt History Project in the late 1980s, is a point of great pride for the organization. "When we're working in the thick of it, we're focused on the day-to-day, and then we step back and look at wow, what we've done in the first four years," said marketing director Susan Wernecke. "We've been instrumental in bringing new tourists to Cedarburg and have helped put Cedarburg on the map for fiber artists worldwide." Last year the museum was a destination for the American Quilt Study Group's annu- al seminar, which studies and publishes research on quilts and fiber arts. Wernecke said the group specifically chose Milwaukee as the 2014 seminar city for its proximity to the WMQFA and brought busloads of tourists up to the museum and surrounding Cedarburg community for the day. "We're really thrilled that we are helping to improve the Cedarburg economy," said Wernecke. "We've had an increase in visitors every year; usually a brand-new museum gets a lot of visitors the first year and then there's a big drop-off. We've even had international tours come." The museum maintains a rigorous event schedule that includes exhibits, classes, seminars and family activities. The current exhibit on display, "Color in Motion," is a 30-year retrospective of the the artwork of Carol Bryer Fallert-Gentry, a well-known fiber artist from the state of Washington. Fallert-Gentry visited the WMQFA herself on March 25 for a gallery talk and seminar. When the WMQFA moved into its new home in August of 2011, the group was entirely volunteer-run. Today, the museum employs a full-time executive director and five part-time employees, and membership exceeds 300 people. The organization also relies on about 120 passionate volunteers who, according to an internal calculation done by the WMQFA volunteer director, con- tributed about $200,000 worth of free labor to support the museum in 2014 alone. One of the new part-time employees is a youth education coordinator who focuses on organizing programs for school groups that are "wildly popular," said Wernecke. "We offer the actual art exhibits in the barn, and young people can interact with it like they would in any art museum," she said. "We also offer a hands-on craft component where we can teach one or more traditional fiber arts — quilt, knitting, any kind of stitching project." Youngsters also learn about the history of the Hoffmann- Boeker farmstead. "We are on what's left of a 68-acre German farmstead founded in 1850, and all of the buildings are original to that farmstead, so we have quite a bit of history that we can talk about — what was German settlement like in our area, what was a working farm like, what kind of chores would a child do in the 1870s?" The museum will also be hosting a Family Fun Day to coincide with the Cedarburg Wine and Harvest Festival in September. Expanding the scope of the museum to appeal to families and children is a crucial part of the WMQFA's mission, said Wernecke. "We're connecting the next generation to this whole plethora of fiber arts, and there's a reason why they have survived in American so long. Not only are they functional, they're artistic and it's a calming, wonderful activity to do. You just go to a different place when you become involved in creating something with your hands. It's a wonderful gift for the next generation." Next up for the museum will be "In Stitches," an exhibit that runs from Apr. 15 through July 12 and centers on embroidery work that includes punchneedle, redwork, needlepoint and counted cross-stitch artwork. On April 11 the WMQFA will be welcom- ing New York Times-bestselling author Marie Bostwick for an "old-fashioned bee" to promote her new novel "The Second Sister," which is set in Door County. Attendees are encouraged to bring their current knitting, quilting or other handi- work projects, and will be treated to coffee and snacks from 9 to 11 a.m. Tickets are $35 and include admission to the barn gallery. Also in April, famous quilter Denyse Schmidt will be hosting a two-day workshop focusing on improvisational patchwork. "She practically founded the modern quilting movement, which is characterized by very minimalist use of color, a lot of use of solid color, a lot of focus on the actual quilting stitches as opposed to the patch- work designs in a typical quilt," said Wernecke. The seminar will run from April 18 to 19. For more infoirmation, visit wiquiltmuseum.com. A patchwork of history Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts has made a name for itself The Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts took up residence in its new home in a refurbished barn in 2011. Photo by Mark Justesen