Coulee Region Art

In this week’s Spotlight meet Dolores Marusarz.  Since moving to the Coulee Region in 2000 she has painted much of the area’s local landscapes.  She also paints portraits, on a commission basis, is a juried member of East Bank Artists in La Crosse and The La Crosse Society of Arts and Crafts.  From 2003 to 2007 she was artist-in-residence at grade schools in Holmen and in Onalaska and in 2007 was choosen Artist Of The Year by The Womens Fund of La Crosse.  Her portraits and landcapes hang in museums and private collections throughout the United States.

Artist Statement
Brushes and paints and canvas speak more meaningfully than I do.  They speak in a language I do not have words for.  I make that claim in spite of the years I spent earning a Masters Degree in English and teaching English to college and high school students for sixteen years.  Perhaps the initiative for pursuing my education in English was for the very purpose of acquiring the knowledge of our language that would enable me to finally express myself in words.  It didn’t work.  More than ever before, in all the years I’ve bared my personal truth through my art, expressing myself this way is the only way I can really communicate with you.  How do I know when it’s working?  Partly through the words I hear, although they cannot touch the subtleties and depth of emotion even though we now have over a quarter of a million active words in English.  I have watched people as they look at my work–people who do not know I am the artist.  I have seen their expressions, the look in their eyes.  Can I describe that for you?  No–my words are too poor for describing that, but I know the language I see on their faces.  This lack of the right words has no doubt contributed to some unhappy moments in my life, yet also no doubt contributed to my ability to communicate through the realizations of my visions.  I just have to say it somehow.  Those realizations take their form in paintings:  their color or lack of it, the brush strokes I use, the forms and compositions and perspectives, the edges, the blending, and subject.  I hope that when you look at these things you feel the depth of emotion I put into them. (statement from Dolores’ website biography)

Dolores’ painting “Don’t Worry Dad, Everything Will Be Okay,” which was a nomination for The Alzheimers Association Poster, has been added to the local area  artists slide show. To see her painting and the artwork by 44 other local area artists, click on the Local Area Artists box below.

Michael Riddet says he is best known for his earlier natural history paintings and scientific illustrations but in the late 1990s his focus in art shifted towards Trompe L’Oeil, art that creates such a strong illusion of reality that the viewer may not at first  be sure the object or objects depicted is real or a representation.  Michael said  with this shift “I could use my imagination, it was totally speculative and best of all, it was fun.”

Some of his paintings deal with social, or political or enviornmental commentary, while others invite the viewer into interpreting the painted image.

His recent paintings have been featured in American Artist Magazine, American Collector, and Acrylic Highlights Magazine.  Museums exhibiting his recent work include the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, WI., the American Numismatic Museum in Colorado Springs, CO., and the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson, AZ.  Michael Riddet is also a three-time winner of Wisconsin’s Waterfowl Stamp Competition.  And furthermore, his artwork has been shown in over seventy museums here in the United States and abroad.

His painting “Full House” has been added to the Local Area Artists Slide Show. To view the slide show click on the “Local Area Artists” box below.

Brown Dog Studio members, printmakers Marianne Stanke, Lynne Burgess, and Marcia Thompson along with three friends, painters Chris Johnson, Lynn Hobart, and Jeanne Arenz are the artists. All work will be priced under $100.00. Some will be framed, and some will not. This is a good opportunity to purchase original art at a very resonable price. This sale will be one day only, Sunday, October 25th, 2009 from 2:00pm to 5:00pm.

Brown Dog Studio
4959 Oakview Dr.
West Salem, WI.

From La Crosse Go past the mall on Hwy 16
Continue east on Hwy 16 for about two miles.
After coming down Nathan Hill there is a farm on the left.
Take the next left after the farm, it is Briarcliff.
Take another left on Oakview Dr.

I really haven’t talked too much about me or my art since this blog was started and a lot of people have asked me why. Well, I don’t know why so I’ve decided to start a new category called “In My Studio.” For those of you who do not know, when I’m not working at News Channel 8 I’m usually at my studio making pottery or just making something. This past weekend I got a lot done. Seems like I’m always cleaning but I did do some other things as well.

First of all I finally finished my mini slab roller. Actually, this was a prototype of a bigger one that I want to make but I made this table-top version out of materials I had on hand. I’m not sure how much it would cost to buy all the materials but I’m guessing anybody can build this mini slab roller for under thirty dollars. I used scrap wood that was laying around in the shop, I had scraps of canvas that I had on hand, and I found a used piece of 3-inch PVC pipe for the roller. I did have to buy the PVC end caps. They cost about 4 dollars a cap. Basically it is self explanatory–cut everything to length, staple the canvas to the surface, screw on the rails and fill the PVC pipe with sand. This adds weight to the roller and makes rolling out the clay a bit easier. My next slab roller will be much bigger and incorporate rack and pinion on the rails.

I also had an opened bag of plaster sitting on the studio floor so I decided to make a couple small reclaim slabs. These plaster slabs really help reclaiming wet clay slurry into workable clay in relatively a short amount of time. These slabs will problably make wet sloppy clay workable in about 24 hours. They also serve as nice little wedging tables. Once again, I had all the materials on hand so I didn’t have to buy anything for this project.

I did have to buy something to build this photo shoot table. I really didn’t need to build this table but I just wanted to have a nice table to shoot my pottery on. I had to buy five 2 by 4s from a local lumber company that cost me just over eleven dollars and I’m still going to have to buy some gray latex paint to finish the surface of the table. I’m guessing that will cost me about 12 bucks. Not bad for less than 25 dollars. Oh, I did have the 4 by 8 sheet of masonite on hand and I actually cut about a foot and a half off the total length. If you had to buy the masonite it runs about 10 dollars for an 4 foot by 8 foot sheet, 1/4-inch thick.

And finally, I tried out one of the reclaim slabs and threw some coffee mugs with the reclaimed clay on the wheel. All in all it was a great weekend and that is what I did in my studio this past weekend.

To see photos of my finished projects click here or on the photo above.

Art Exhibition
Watercolors by Ellen Roles
Open House-2009

You are invited to Ellen Roles 4th Annual Open House Art Exhibition.
Watercolors by Ellen Roles
Original Paintings New paintings and early works. Discounts on some paintings prints and cards.

Meet Ellen in her home and visit her studio and class room. Talk about art and the creative process.

Friday November 6 from 5:00pm to 8:00pm and Saturday November 7 from 10:00am to 5:00pm. 777 Losey Blvd. N. La Crosse, WI.  54601.

For more information contact Ellen at 608-782-1188, email ellenroles@charter.net or visit Ellen’s website.