WAEA Major Meetup Members and Student Juried Exhibition
Join us on Thursday, November 7th at 6pm for the opening reception of the WAEA Major Meetup.
This juried exhibition runs through December 15th.
Artists
Samantha Birkholz
Biography
Samantha is a senior at Watertown High School and is an advanced artist. She is presently working on her Advanced Placement Art Portfolio and is a member of the WHS Visual Arts Classic team.
Artist Statement
I took this image of my sisters foot while doing a study of light and skin. I appreciate the tension in the toes and the sculptural quality of the tone.
Partner: Jana Strobel
Biography
I went to UW-Stevens Point for my Bachelor of Fine art with an Emphasis in Graphic Design. I returned to college to pursue my teaching license at Concordia University in Mequon and graduated with a Master’s degree in Art Education. I now work at my alma mater high school in Watertown, WI. I am also serving as the editor of the Wisconsin Art Education Association.
Artist Statement
This is a darkroom print of my eldest daughter enjoying herself outside with the wind in her hair. This image captures her youthful freckled skin and expression is honest and thoughtful.
Kate Clausius
Biography
My name is Kate Clausius and I am a teacher in the Wisconsin Dells School District. I started teaching in the district during the 2005-2006 school year and have taught art classes for elementary and middle school students, and the last three years have taught at the high school in the technical education program.
Artist Statement
My welded artwork has been a journey for me. I learned welding as an adult after my "formal" schooling when I desired to fulfill a passion I had. As a child I was always fascinated and oddly obsessed with metal objects...to this day I still have a collection of used bolts and nuts I collected as a child in grade school, seeing that they still had a purpose, even though they were discarded. Little did I know this obsession would never fully go away, no matter how many new things I tried from cement casting to glass blowing--so why not embrace it? I went back to a technical college to learn welding and found I very much enjoyed it, so continued my schooling so I would be able to share this passion with students. This sculpture is called Peace of My Own, and represents for me the inner peace that welding has brought me. Inside my helmet the world is blocked out, and the only things allowed in are within my control. This "isolation" gives me 100% freedom to express my creativity. In my sculptures I use pieces that are repurposed and in turn take on a new life in this world. The steel repurposed pieces I salvage myself at a salvage yard, and find that sometimes the hunt for just the right piece can be part of the adventure and lead to new inspiration.
Partner: Nathan Kruschke
Biography
My name is Nathan Kruschke. I live in Wisconsin Dells and go to W.D.H.S. I also am a Junior in Metals 2.
Artist Statement
My inspiration to make this project is that I love to go hunting and one of my buddies was talking about making a deer skull and I had all of the material to make one. So then I just started to look up pictures of them and I found a design I like and went off of that.
Jen Dahl
Biography
Jen Dahl teaches 750 kindergarten through 5th graders each week at Forrest Street and Red Creek Elementary Schools in Black River Falls. Jen lives with her husband and cat outside of Eau Claire. In her spare time she loves to be with her friends and family and go swimming and ride her bike. Jen has a Bachelor of Art Education degree from the University of Wisconsin Stout and a Masters of Professional Development in Education from the University of Wisconsin La Crosse. Jen has had many leadership opportunities with in the art community. Jen has lead the Wisconsin Art Education Association as President, YAM Chair, Regional Vice President and Past President. Jen has also had the honor of serving on the National Art Education Association Board as the Elementary Director.
Artist Statement
Mrs. Dahl and Lexi had a blast creating these tasty treats! Mrs. Dahl calls Lexi her art teacher in training and thinks that Lexi will be an awesome art teacher someday! Mrs. Dahl and Lexi both enjoy art and making crafts. Lexi and Mrs. Dahl are both the oldest in their families and both have two siblings. Both Lexi and Mrs. Dahl love the colors pink and blue!
When Lexi is in art class she loves all mediums and loves trying out new things. Lexi can be a bit of a perfectionist and usually has an eraser at her side and likes to get things just right. In the classroom Lexi is funny, smart and very creative. She is a great leader in and out of the classroom. Lexi is a very funny kid who likes to draw funny pictures and make jokes! Lexi's creative and kind nature makes her such a great kid and fun to have in class.
Partner: Lexi Johnson
Biography
Lexi Johnson is in 4th grade at Red Creek Elementary School she enjoys, art and making crafts. Lexi has two younger brothers and lives in Black River Falls.
Artist Statement
Mrs. Dahl and Lexi had a blast creating these tasty treats! Mrs. Dahl calls Lexi her art teacher in training and thinks that Lexi will be an awesome art teacher someday! Mrs. Dahl and Lexi both enjoy art and making crafts. Lexi and Mrs. Dahl are both the oldest in their families and both have two siblings. Both Lexi and Mrs. Dahl love the colors pink and blue!
When Lexi is in art class she loves all mediums and loves trying out new things. Lexi can be a bit of a perfectionist and usually has an eraser at her side and likes to get things just right. In the classroom Lexi is funny, smart and very creative. She is a great leader in and out of the classroom. Lexi is a very funny kid who likes to draw funny pictures and make jokes! Lexi's creative and kind nature makes her such a great kid and fun to have in class.
Connie Greany
Biography
Connie Greany, artist and educator, brings a wealth of experience, a love of art, a passion for clay and a breadth of knowledge in ceramic firing techniques. Her artwork gives evidence to the spiritual movements in her life and a freedom to work intuitively. Her inspirational clay work demonstrates a variety of approaches to mark making. With a wide range of artistic abilities and layers of meaning applied to her art, her artwork shows energy and joy manifested in each ceramic form. Greany’s art includes stoneware, raku fired pottery, clay tile murals and watercolor paintings. Her clay work demonstrates expertise in functional and decorative ware as she shares her joy of life.
Connie has 48 years teaching and workshop experience. She is a requested speaker and workshop presenter at educational conferences. Her ceramics and watercolors have been exhibited throughout the Midwest, and collected nationally and internationally. Connie teaches clay classes in her studio as well as being an Artist in Residence with clay, Legacy Mural Workshops. She has won a number of awards for her artwork and her teaching abilities. She is recognized in the “American Who’s Who Among American Teachers” and won the MAEA 2003 Secondary Art Teacher of the Year.
As a Midwest based clay artist and teacher, (NE, IA, KS, MO, MI, WI, MI), Connie Greany has worked with a number of nationally known artists including Judy Chicago, painter + sculptor; Stephen Hill, single fire ceramist; Linda Lighton, ceramist; Russell Schmaljohn, ceramist; Mark Shaughnessy, hay sculptor and naturalist; Stan Herd, environmental artist; and alumni, Matt Dehaemers, environmental sculptor.
Partner: Mary Olivia
Biography
Mary met Olivia in one of her summer art classes and that is where their friendship, love of art-making and , art began to come to life. Olivia actually took all of her classes this summer and has continued this fall. Olivia is a first-grader at Elkhart Lake Glenbeulah Elementary school where she loves everything about school and she has a song in her heart every day! She also loves her fish and loves to care for her grandma's Weiner dog! We heard many stories about Olivia's pets during our art classes. Olivia loves to do art and has a wonderful creative flow from the heart to her fingertips!
Artist Statement
Our art was created in a workshop that I taught at the Plymouth Art Center in Plymouth Wisconsin. We did two very large separate artworks and then we made a woven art piece to combine the two different artworks together. The first piece was a black and white design of many line and shapes that included patterns, zentangles, and line designs. The second piece was a painted piece of many design elements. We used a variety of media from pencil, markers, tempera paint, watercolors to create our combined art pieces. We wanted the two artworks to have a bold black/white color theme on one and the sharp edge of designs combined with the flow of beautiful colors.
Stacey Hein
Biography
Stacey Hein graduated from UW-Oshkosh with a degree in Art Education and Ceramics in 2010. She currently teaches Art at Markesan Middle/High School, this is her 9th year teaching and will be receiving the WAEA Secondary Art Teacher of the Year award.
Artist Statement
When creating my personal artwork, I have always been inspired by nature, especially flowers. It is a subject matter that I continually find inspiration from that goes back to my childhood. This particular piece is named Flora after the goddess.
As a secondary teacher, I constantly encourage my students to create works that capture topics that are meaningful to them, these are always their most successful pieces. This is why I have chosen Hannah's piece to accompany mine, as she is a student who has truly pulled from her past and present experiences. She has a true passion for art and at times I have seen myself in her as she will be pursuing a degree in Art Education.
Partner: Hannah Kwiesielewicz
Biography
Hannah is a 2019 graduate from Markesan High School. Hannah is currently at UW-Steven's Point to pursue a degree in Art Education. Hannah has a passion for ceramic art and incorporating animals into her work.
Artist Statement
I have a deep love and obsession for cows was the inspiration for this piece. All of the carving on the slabs to create this mosaic was very time consuming and I had to restart multiple times. I chose all of the bright poppy colors to express the spirit of a cow as they are beautiful and majestic creatures. I had never done a mosaic before, so it was kind of an experimental project for me. I am absolutely thrilled with the outcome and very proud of this piece.
Lexi Johnson
Biography
Lexi Johnson is in 4th grade at Red Creek Elementary School she enjoys, art and making crafts. Lexi has two younger brothers and lives in Black River Falls.
Artist Statement
Mrs. Dahl and Lexi had a blast creating these tasty treats! Mrs. Dahl calls Lexi her art teacher in training and thinks that Lexi will be an awesome art teacher someday! Mrs. Dahl and Lexi both enjoy art and making crafts. Lexi and Mrs. Dahl are both the oldest in their families and both have two siblings. Both Lexi and Mrs. Dahl love the colors pink and blue!
When Lexi is in art class she loves all mediums and loves trying out new things. Lexi can be a bit of a perfectionist and usually has an eraser at her side and likes to get things just right. In the classroom Lexi is funny, smart and very creative. She is a great leader in and out of the classroom. Lexi is a very funny kid who likes to draw funny pictures and make jokes! Lexi's creative and kind nature makes her such a great kid and fun to have in class.
Partner: Jen Dahl
Biography
Jen Dahl teaches 750 kindergarten through 5th graders each week at Forrest Street and Red Creek Elementary Schools in Black River Falls. Jen lives with her husband and cat outside of Eau Claire. In her spare time she loves to be with her friends and family and go swimming and ride her bike. Jen has a Bachelor of Art Education degree from the University of Wisconsin Stout and a Masters of Professional Development in Education from the University of Wisconsin La Crosse. Jen has had many leadership opportunities with in the art community. Jen has lead the Wisconsin Art Education Association as President, YAM Chair, Regional Vice President and Past President. Jen has also had the honor of serving on the National Art Education Association Board as the Elementary Director.
Artist Statement
Mrs. Dahl and Lexi had a blast creating these tasty treats! Mrs. Dahl calls Lexi her art teacher in training and thinks that Lexi will be an awesome art teacher someday! Mrs. Dahl and Lexi both enjoy art and making crafts. Lexi and Mrs. Dahl are both the oldest in their families and both have two siblings. Both Lexi and Mrs. Dahl love the colors pink and blue!
When Lexi is in art class she loves all mediums and loves trying out new things. Lexi can be a bit of a perfectionist and usually has an eraser at her side and likes to get things just right. In the classroom Lexi is funny, smart and very creative. She is a great leader in and out of the classroom. Lexi is a very funny kid who likes to draw funny pictures and make jokes! Lexi's creative and kind nature makes her such a great kid and fun to have in class.
Nathan Kruschke
Biography
My name is Nathan Kruschke. I live in Wisconsin Dells and go to W.D.H.S. I also am a Junior in Metals 2.
Artist Statement
My inspiration to make this project is that I love to go hunting and one of my buddies was talking about making a deer skull and I had all of the material to make one. So then I just started to look up pictures of them and I found a design I like and went off of that.
Partner: Kate Clausius
Biography
My name is Kate Clausius and I am a teacher in the Wisconsin Dells School District. I started teaching in the district during the 2005-2006 school year and have taught art classes for elementary and middle school students, and the last three years have taught at the high school in the technical education program.
Artist Statement
My welded artwork has been a journey for me. I learned welding as an adult after my "formal" schooling when I desired to fulfill a passion I had. As a child I was always fascinated and oddly obsessed with metal objects...to this day I still have a collection of used bolts and nuts I collected as a child in grade school, seeing that they still had a purpose, even though they were discarded. Little did I know this obsession would never fully go away, no matter how many new things I tried from cement casting to glass blowing--so why not embrace it? I went back to a technical college to learn welding and found I very much enjoyed it, so continued my schooling so I would be able to share this passion with students. This sculpture is called Peace of My Own, and represents for me the inner peace that welding has brought me. Inside my helmet the world is blocked out, and the only things allowed in are within my control. This "isolation" gives me 100% freedom to express my creativity. In my sculptures I use pieces that are repurposed and in turn take on a new life in this world. The steel repurposed pieces I salvage myself at a salvage yard, and find that sometimes the hunt for just the right piece can be part of the adventure and lead to new inspiration.
Hannah Kwiesielewicz
Biography
Hannah is a 2019 graduate from Markesan High School. Hannah is currently at UW-Steven's Point to pursue a degree in Art Education. Hannah has a passion for ceramic art and incorporating animals into her work.
Artist Statement
I have a deep love and obsession for cows was the inspiration for this piece. All of the carving on the slabs to create this mosaic was very time consuming and I had to restart multiple times. I chose all of the bright poppy colors to express the spirit of a cow as they are beautiful and majestic creatures. I had never done a mosaic before, so it was kind of an experimental project for me. I am absolutely thrilled with the outcome and very proud of this piece.
Partner: Stacey Hein
Biography
Stacey Hein graduated from UW-Oshkosh with a degree in Art Education and Ceramics in 2010. She currently teaches Art at Markesan Middle/High School, this is her 9th year teaching and will be receiving the WAEA Secondary Art Teacher of the Year award.
Artist Statement
When creating my personal artwork, I have always been inspired by nature, especially flowers. It is a subject matter that I continually find inspiration from that goes back to my childhood. This particular piece is named Flora after the goddess.
As a secondary teacher, I constantly encourage my students to create works that capture topics that are meaningful to them, these are always their most successful pieces. This is why I have chosen Hannah's piece to accompany mine, as she is a student who has truly pulled from her past and present experiences. She has a true passion for art and at times I have seen myself in her as she will be pursuing a degree in Art Education.
Jessica Lensmire
Biography
Jessica Lensmire is a senior at Watertown High School and was elected Vice President of the National Art Honor Society. She is also a State Visual Arts Classic medal winner and recipient of the 2019 Arnold Grummer Grand Prize at State Youth Art Month.
Artist Statement
This piece was inspired by the freedom expressed by birds in flight. The American eagle is an example of this. I wanted to represent how the girl might fly, just as the bird could. Unchained from any boundaries that gravity might give us. She can go anywhere she wants, and she will.
Partner: Dave Pawl
Biography
Dave Pawl is a Art Teacher at Watertown High School who also advises the Anime Club, National Art Honor Society, and Visual Arts Classic Team. He currently serves as Secondary Rep on the WAEA Board.
Artist Statement
This comes from a series of portraits of friends and family. I wanted to capture the personality and strength of character of these individuals that I admire, but with a looseness and direct gaze that connect the viewer and the sitter in the moment.
Mary Olivia
Biography
Mary met Olivia in one of her summer art classes and that is where their friendship, love of art-making and , art began to come to life. Olivia actually took all of her classes this summer and has continued this fall. Olivia is a first-grader at Elkhart Lake Glenbeulah Elementary school where she loves everything about school and she has a song in her heart every day! She also loves her fish and loves to care for her grandma's Weiner dog! We heard many stories about Olivia's pets during our art classes. Olivia loves to do art and has a wonderful creative flow from the heart to her fingertips!
Artist Statement
Our art was created in a workshop that I taught at the Plymouth Art Center in Plymouth Wisconsin. We did two very large separate artworks and then we made a woven art piece to combine the two different artworks together. The first piece was a black and white design of many line and shapes that included patterns, zentangles, and line designs. The second piece was a painted piece of many design elements. We used a variety of media from pencil, markers, tempera paint, watercolors to create our combined art pieces. We wanted the two artworks to have a bold black/white color theme on one and the sharp edge of designs combined with the flow of beautiful colors.
Partner: Mary Starnitcky
Biography
Mary Starnitcky is currently teaching her 32nd year of Art at the Sheboygan Area School District and has taught K- 8th-grade students. She has taught middle school for 28 of those years and currently is teaching at Pigeon River Elementary and Jackson Elementary schools in Sheboygan. Mary taught elementary art in the beginning of her career for 12 years and going between Middle School and Elementary schools- " Traveling Art teacher" After 28 years mainly teaching Middle School students Mary decided to go back to her roots and teach Elementary Art. She loves her "littles" and was asked to join the Plymouth Art Center a year ago to create a bonus Art experience on weekends and summer art camps. Mary has loved art since she was a little girl!
Artist Statement
Our art was created in a workshop that I taught at the Plymouth Art Center in Plymouth Wisconsin. We did two very large separate artworks and then we made a woven art piece to combine the two different artworks together. The first piece was a black and white design of many line and shapes that included patterns, zentangles, and line designs. The second piece was a painted piece of many design elements. We used a variety of media from pencil, markers, tempera paint, watercolors to create our combined art pieces. We wanted the two artworks to have a bold black/white color theme on one and the sharp edge of designs combined with the flow of beautiful colors.
Dave Pawl
Biography
Dave Pawl is a Art Teacher at Watertown High School who also advises the Anime Club, National Art Honor Society, and Visual Arts Classic Team. He currently serves as Secondary Rep on the WAEA Board.
Artist Statement
This comes from a series of portraits of friends and family. I wanted to capture the personality and strength of character of these individuals that I admire, but with a looseness and direct gaze that connect the viewer and the sitter in the moment.
Partner: Jessica Lensmire
Biography
Jessica Lensmire is a senior at Watertown High School and was elected Vice President of the National Art Honor Society. She is also a State Visual Arts Classic medal winner and recipient of the 2019 Arnold Grummer Grand Prize at State Youth Art Month.
Artist Statement
This piece was inspired by the freedom expressed by birds in flight. The American eagle is an example of this. I wanted to represent how the girl might fly, just as the bird could. Unchained from any boundaries that gravity might give us. She can go anywhere she wants, and she will.
Mary Starnitcky
Biography
Mary Starnitcky is currently teaching her 32nd year of Art at the Sheboygan Area School District and has taught K- 8th-grade students. She has taught middle school for 28 of those years and currently is teaching at Pigeon River Elementary and Jackson Elementary schools in Sheboygan. Mary taught elementary art in the beginning of her career for 12 years and going between Middle School and Elementary schools- " Traveling Art teacher" After 28 years mainly teaching Middle School students Mary decided to go back to her roots and teach Elementary Art. She loves her "littles" and was asked to join the Plymouth Art Center a year ago to create a bonus Art experience on weekends and summer art camps. Mary has loved art since she was a little girl!
Artist Statement
Our art was created in a workshop that I taught at the Plymouth Art Center in Plymouth Wisconsin. We did two very large separate artworks and then we made a woven art piece to combine the two different artworks together. The first piece was a black and white design of many line and shapes that included patterns, zentangles, and line designs. The second piece was a painted piece of many design elements. We used a variety of media from pencil, markers, tempera paint, watercolors to create our combined art pieces. We wanted the two artworks to have a bold black/white color theme on one and the sharp edge of designs combined with the flow of beautiful colors.
Partner: Mary Olivia
Biography
Mary met Olivia in one of her summer art classes and that is where their friendship, love of art-making and , art began to come to life. Olivia actually took all of her classes this summer and has continued this fall. Olivia is a first-grader at Elkhart Lake Glenbeulah Elementary school where she loves everything about school and she has a song in her heart every day! She also loves her fish and loves to care for her grandma's Weiner dog! We heard many stories about Olivia's pets during our art classes. Olivia loves to do art and has a wonderful creative flow from the heart to her fingertips!
Artist Statement
Our art was created in a workshop that I taught at the Plymouth Art Center in Plymouth Wisconsin. We did two very large separate artworks and then we made a woven art piece to combine the two different artworks together. The first piece was a black and white design of many line and shapes that included patterns, zentangles, and line designs. The second piece was a painted piece of many design elements. We used a variety of media from pencil, markers, tempera paint, watercolors to create our combined art pieces. We wanted the two artworks to have a bold black/white color theme on one and the sharp edge of designs combined with the flow of beautiful colors.
Jana Strobel
Biography
I went to UW-Stevens Point for my Bachelor of Fine art with an Emphasis in Graphic Design. I returned to college to pursue my teaching license at Concordia University in Mequon and graduated with a Master’s degree in Art Education. I now work at my alma mater high school in Watertown, WI. I am also serving as the editor of the Wisconsin Art Education Association.
Artist Statement
This is a darkroom print of my eldest daughter enjoying herself outside with the wind in her hair. This image captures her youthful freckled skin and expression is honest and thoughtful.
Partner: Samantha Birkholz
Biography
Samantha is a senior at Watertown High School and is an advanced artist. She is presently working on her Advanced Placement Art Portfolio and is a member of the WHS Visual Arts Classic team.
Artist Statement
I took this image of my sisters foot while doing a study of light and skin. I appreciate the tension in the toes and the sculptural quality of the tone.
About the CUW Art Gallery
Over 30 years ago, the CUW Art Gallery was founded with the hope of educating, challenging, and inspiring the students, faculty, staff, and community of CUW as well as the public through exposure to the vast world of art. Our mission is to encourage appreciation and understanding of art and its role in society through direct engagement with original works of art. Combining fresh, object-based scholarship with broad accessibility, the CUW Art Gallery aims to provoke and affirm accepted meanings of art objects and to suggest new ones to its patrons. We aspire to excite the imagination, and present opportunities for our patrons to look into the study of art and culture.
The goals of the CUW Art Gallery are to:
- Bring excellent contemporary and historical art to the CUW campus community
- Reflect the diversity of the university and Southeastern Wisconsin community
- Connect the university and the public through relevant art and cultural programs
- Support student, emerging and established artists by providing opportunities for the creation and exhibition of cutting edge visual art
- Development of self-knowledge inherent in artistic activity for the personal growth and development of the CUW Gallery students, faculty, staff and patrons
Our other galleries:
Learn more about our other two galleries below.
- Student Art Gallery
- Limelight 14 Gallery
Color Creates Light
Opening Reception: 6-8pm Thursday, August 29
Exhibition: August 26 through October 20, 2019
Artists: Jenny Poetzel
The flower paintings are primarily about color and color contrast to create vibrancy and intensity. The color also creates the light. Like many Van Gogh paintings, instead of relying on the lightness or darkness of the color, light is created in the paintings with color hue against a contrasting color hue. My paintings often start as an emotional response to a color.
Walking with Trees
Opening Reception: 6-8pm Thursday, August 29th
Exhibition: August 26 through October 20, 2019
Artists: Todd Mrozinski
Todd Mrozinski acquired his BFA in painting and drawing from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design in 1997 where he was the recipient of a Fredrick Layton Scholarship and attended The New York Studio Program. The natural elements, shadows and his immediate environment are his subject matter. Mrozinski's work is produced in series. Each series relates symbolically to his life experience and grows out of present day observation and inspiration. Mrozinski has exhibited locally and nationally and his work is in private and public collections. He was the 2015-16 Pfister Artist-in-Residence and curator of The Pfister Pop-Up Gallery. He is represented by The Woodman/Shimko Gallery, Provincetown, MA/Palm Springs, CA. Mrozinski is a contributing art writer for Urban Milwaukee and Artdose Magazine. He teaches drawing and painting for MIAD’s Pre-College and Continuing Education Programs and is the founder and operator of The Artistic Encourager, a program that promotes personal artistic development. He is also a MARN Mentor. He and his wife, Renee Bebeau, have a studio in The Nut Factory in Milwaukee, WI.