04/22/12

Winter, 2009

From The Daily Press

A new exhibition has begun at the Weiss Community Library of Hayward.  Mary J. McHugh of Drummond is displaying a collection of her recent landscape paintings now through the end of April in the computer alcove display area.  McHugh is a landscape pastel artist who paints scenes of local rivers, lakes, and gardens.  McHugh's creative use of light brings out the beauty of our land and water in her paintings. 

"I have been painting a lot the past six months and am very happy to bring my pieces to Hayward for the library patrons and staff to enjoy," said McHugh. 

Thirteen recent paintings of summer and fall on display include the lush summer blues and greens of the Namekagon River, the bold black-eyed susans in a lakeshore garden, a sweeping field of flowers along Bibon Road, sunlit daisies along the Delta Drummond Road, the golden light of an autumn day, and the dancing sunflowers of a Bayfield farm. 

McHugh is a member of Superior Artists Gallery Cooperative Inc., in Washburn, where many of her works can be acquired.  Among her many accomplishments, she won awards in the 2006 Chequamegon Bay Arts Council juried show for her painting "Sunday Afternoon Visit" and in the 2006 Lake Country Pastel Society Show for "Joe Pye and Lemon".  This past summer she attended a workshop in New Brighton, Minn., studying with Anita Louise West, a nationally recognized master in pastels.  Stop by the library to see and enjoy these paintings at the Weiss Community Library, 10788 State Hwy 27/77; hours are Monday-Wednesday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Tuesday-Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Member Laurie Otis has published her first book, 'The Amarantha Stories', which is now available at Superior Artists Gallery.

Click on image to enlarge 

'The Amarantha Stories' chronicles one woman's life-long odyssey, from a young girl born to a poor Swedish immigrant family in Wisconsin, to a high school student struggling to come to grips with that family; then later, a college student learning the ways of the world and wanting to better herself, a middle-aged woman in a new world, struggling with her right to choose, and finally, an elderly woman, more like her mother than she ever imagined she'd be.  Even at the end, Amarantha is still struggling, hoping to reconcile her past with what's left of her future.

Blending a subtle sense of foreboding and dark humor with a seamless writing style, Laurie Otis has created an everlasting story sure to resonate with readers of all generations.

July 2006

Life with NIP and TUCK
Member Royanne Goossen has illustrated the book 'Life with NIP and TUCK' which was written by Emily Davis.  This is a north woods story about twin white deer named Nip and Tuck, the creatures of the woods, and about Robert and Emily Davis who observed them on their property for a decade.  There will be a book signing at The Artisan Shoppe, 410 Lakeshore Drive West, Ashland, WI, on May 24th, from 5:00-7:00PM. 

June 2006

Member artist Birgit Wolff was one of 15 artists selected statewide to exhibit her felted sculptures in the Lieutenant Governor’s office in Madison through June 30. The exhibit can be seen at the DOA Building, Wisconsin Arts Board, first floor. The exhibit is entitled “Nurturing the Earth.” Birgit will be teaching a needle felting course in June through WITC.

May 2006

Washburn Art Gallery Reinvents Itself  by Laurie Otis

Identity Crisis?  Where is Dr. Freud when you need him?  Since The Superior Artists' Gallery (SAG) opened four years ago, its members have struggled with an identity crisis: are they a gift shop or a fine art gallery?  They came to the conclusion that they're both; so they decided, since their building has two rooms, to make a more dramatic physical separation, making the first room a Gallery Gift Shop (including paintings) and the second a New York style Art Gallery, hanging four artists at a time on a monthly rotation basis throughout the year.

This arrangement, without the distractions of shelving and display racks in The Art Gallery, will show the paintings to better advantage and will provide a fresh, ever-changing look for customers, as well as offering them The Gallery Gift Shop for an array of original greeting cards, jewelry, pottery, wood and metal sculptures, fabric items, photography and many other unique gift selections, all created by local artists.  And so, SAG has been completely redecorated and reconfigured and will be opening for the season on May 1, Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Opening the season in The Art Gallery is a guest show, running from May 1-31, featuring a series of drawings by members of the Northland College Life Drawing Class.  The show is called, "Go Figure," and represents the culmination of the winter's work with live models.

 June 1 will mark the first Superior Artists' Gallery show called, "Room for Art." "The Artists of June" include Royanne Goossen, Dora Kling, Mary Methven, Lois Osterberg, and Laurie Otis.  Watch the papers for news of the shows by "The Artists of July, August, September, and October" or stop back at our website.  Visit the Gallery often at 109 W. Bayfield St. in Washburn.

January 2006

Wendy Deerly Reese in a show in Chicago
Wendy currently has two entries in an all mask exhibition at the  Artisan Gallery at the Woman Made Cooperative in Chicago IL.  "Dave's Holiday" and "Jotun".  Go to Wendy's page for more information.

What's on the Great Wall?  by Laurie Otis

    "Be through my lips to unawaken'd earth
     The trumpet of a prophecy!  O Wind,
     If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?"

     From "Ode to the West Wind" by Percy Bysshe Shelley

        Just a darn minute, Percy!  Don't go dismissing our whole winter as a time to sit around and wish for spring!  We hearty northlanders welcome the arrival of the first snowfall and look forward to winter sports and activities.  Oh, we may complain a bit when the white stuff is still coming down in May; but as a whole, I think we've adapted pretty well to our climate. 

     It's an especially productive time for artists.  There are no gardens needing weeding or lawns needing mowing.  It's a time to watch the snow storm from your window and hunker down by the fire.  It's a time to write, or paint, or sculpt, or sing & play.  In the spirit of appreciating winter, The Superior Artists' Gallery  has dedicated their "Great Wall" to a mélange of winter paintings by the members and consignment artists.
 

     Greg Alexander has an oil of winter on Fish Creek.  We have several watercolors of birches in winter and evergreens with cones.  Lois Osterberg contributed a winter scene with one of those incredible gold and pink skies that seem to only happen in winter.  I'm not quite sure how Bonnie Bergman's "Pomegranate" got included, but she envisioned some connection with it being a winter fruit.  Be that as it may, it's a beautiful painting, and who are we to argue with "The Queen of Art?"
 

     So, enjoy Mary's digital of the wall; and, if possible come see it in person.  It will be 'up' through January.
 

November 2005

Duluth art show has Chequamegon flavor, by Laurie Otis.  Lions, and tigers, and bears, Oh, My!  The Lake Superior Zoo and the City of Duluth Public Arts Commission recently sponsored their fourth annual juried show of original artwork at the zoo in Duluth’s West End.  Called Zoo Scapes, the show was developed to promote the Zoo as well as the Duluth Fairmont Park area. 

Superior Artists Gallery member Bonnie Bergman contributed greatly to the interest in the show when she scheduled one of her Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College’s (WITC) Plein Aire Oil Painting classes at the zoo. 

Offered during the summer, members of this class traveled to a different outdoor site each week to paint their impressions of what they saw.  During summer ’05, a WITC van took them to the Duluth Zoo where they concentrated on the sleeping tiger.  "We had the idea to make a collage of tigers,” said teacher Bonnie Bergman, “so the artists painted their own unique interpretations of him on  16 x 20” canvases.”   Participants include Gallery members Bonnie Bergman, Jody Johnson and Birgit Wolff.  Other participants include Thomas Cook, Kay Kennedy, Jean Miller and Junice Sorenson. 

Although not everyone’s tiger was chosen to be in the show, the original concept with the original paintings can be seen at the Superior Artists’ Gallery in Washburn.  “This exhibit has never been shown at any venue and probably won’t be shown again,” Bergman concluded.

The Wall of Tigers, two stained glass pieces by Gallery member Jan Benson (cougar--received the Zoo Keepers' Award, and lion), and additional show paintings by Gallery members Royanne Goossen and Bonnie Bergman will be featured displays for the month of November at The Superior Artists’ Gallery. 
 

October 2005

Undraped.  'Undraped', an exhibit of paintings completed in recent workshops on Painting the Human Figure taught by our member artist Bonnie Bergman, was on display the Good Thyme Restaurant in Washburn in September.  The 'undraped' works of art are no longer on display at Good Thyme but some are being displayed at Superior Artists Gallery.  Stop in and take a look.

The workshops' goals were to help participants develop objective knowledge of human anatomy, as well as skill in the use of composition and color.  The exhibition is supported in part by a grant from the Chequamegon Bay Arts Council and the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin. 

September 2005

A Marriage of the Arts, by Laurie Otis  Having a portrait painted in oils is usually reserved for the wealthy or famous; but recently this distinction was afforded a Washburn woman who considers herself neither wealthy nor famous.

It all began when Jan Lee, owner and artistic director of Stagenorth, selected the theater's summer production, "Social Security," and cast Diane Brander in a major role.  The script called for a world-famous artist, "Maurice Koanig," played by Washburn's Roger Mergendahl, to paint a portrait of "Sophie" (Diane Brander) that would hang in full view on the stage and be admired by the rest of the cast.  Washburn artist [and Superior Artist Gallery member] Dora Kling was enlisted by Lee to produce this most important prop, which turned out to be a remarkable likeness truly worthy of the famous, albeit fictitious, "Maurice Koenig."

On opening night "Social Security" was declared a smash hit and so was the portrait.  But those who are familiar with Kling's work know her success wasn't due to a few lucky swipes of the brush but was a result of skill and training.

Kling has been living and painting in the area since 1988.  Aside from her civic volunteer work, she is a member of the Chequamegon Bay Arts Council, The Brownstone School, a Washburn art group, and The Superior Artists' Gallery.  Washburn residents remember Kling as a past Chamber of Commerce President and Director of the Washburn Cultural Center.  But her working life included working as a designer for Munsingwear Clothing Manufacturers and President & CEO of Anna Marie Designs in Ashland.  Her credentials include:  a Bachelor of Science in Textile Design & Color from the University of Minnesota; and associate degrees in Arts and Graphics from North Hennepin College in Minneapolis.

As to the portrait, Kling says "It was a challenging project.  We all see ourselves differently, so it's one thing to paint a face and quite another to paint a face that is acceptable to its owner."

The portrait is currently hanging in the Superior Artists' Gallery in Washburn, for those who would like to see the genuine article.

Fall 2004

The "Maestra" (aka Bonnie Bergman) is donating her wall on the Superior Artists Gallery in Washburn to students from her various classes for a month long show running from September 15 to October 15.

The theme will be "Apples" and the show will coincide with the release and sale of the Gallery's limited edition Apple Card, which is being offered for the third year.  A reception is planned but a date hasn't been set, so watch the papers for this "not to be missed" event.