Big Sky, Small Light House by Sue Vineyard

Versatile Door County artist Sue Vineyard will display her latest oil paintings throughout July at the UU Gallery. An artist’s reception is scheduled for Sunday, July 10, from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. The public is invited.

For decades Vineyard has been known for her architectural renderings of homes and Door County landmarks as well as for her own unique “StoryArt” which she created for children. Simultaneously, she pursued a professional career in human services as a trainer and author of twenty-four books.

When she retired four years ago, Vineyard was challenged by artists Diane Rath and Bonnie Paruch to take up oil painting. Painting is now her passion, which has led to being named “Artist in Residence” at the Sister Bay gallery, Domicile, where all three of her art forms are permanently available.

The nearly twenty oil paintings Vineyard will display at the UU Gallery focus on her love of Door County, the sky, the land and the sea-scapes as seen from her cherished home near Sturgeon Bay.  Vineyard asks, “What better place to open the window to the soul?”

Vineyard is a graduate of Western Illinois University in art education, with continuing studies at Indiana’s Ball State University, North Carolina’s Campbell Folk School, and Door County’s The Clearing Folk School and Peninsula Art School. She continues to study with mentor Bonnie Paruch.

The UU Gallery is located at 10341 Hwy. 42, Ephraim. Gallery hours are 1-3 pm Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and 11am-12:30 pm Sunday.

Karon Winzenz

In an exhibition titled CROSS-CULTURAL DIALOGS: AN ARTIST’S JOURNEY, Karon Winzenz will present a retrospective of works created since the early 1980s. Included will be mixed media wall reliefs and free standing sculpture from three series titled, “Altars”, “Shrines”, and “Monoliths”.

Winzenz further describes the works she will exhibit:  “As an artist seeking to express aspects of human spirituality I began in the late1970s to look for models and archetypes outside my own modern, secular culture. Conceptually my work is influenced by the ritual art and architecture of pre-historic and non-Western cultures, especially those of the New World before and after European contact. Mindful of the problems of misappropriation of the spiritual patrimony of others, my work does not seek to imitate specific cultural forms or symbols, but to transform them from my perspective in space and time. I prefer to work in a semi-abstract rather than a literal or narrative style inviting viewers to bring their own experiences and spiritual understandings to the work.”

Karon Winzenz

Karon moved to Door County in 2005 and joined the UUFDC in 2010. Her major career was as a practicing artist and a professor at UWGB where she taught studio art (specializing in painting and textiles as fine art) and art history (modern, Maya, and Mesoamerican art).

Karon is listed in Who’s Who in American Art with biographic entry from 1986 to the present. In 1973 she earned an M.F.A. at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Since retirement she has been writing and teaching about the ancient Maya. She has also returned to painting.

Karon Winzenz

There will be an opportunity for art enthusiasts to deepen their understanding of this exhibit in mid-June. The artist will present a slide-talk at 7:00 pm on Thursday, June 16, to discuss the influences of non-Western cultures and their world-views on her work. A reception will follow. The public is invited to attend.

By Jane Delcarson

During the months of April and May, Andrea Jauquet and Nancy Sargent will exhibit their paintings at the Unitarian Universalist Gallery. There will be a reception open to the public on April 29, from 4:00-6:00 pm. Refreshments will be served.

Natives of Fish Creek, Nancy and Andrea attended Gibraltar High School, and both earned degrees in Art Education at Cardinal Stritch College in Milwaukee, Andrea going on to earn a Masters. Both taught art, Andrea in the Green Bay school system and Nancy in the Gibraltar school system. They have now retired to Fish Creek.

Although their paths are similar, their painting style and subject matter differs. Andrea is presently working in oil and Nancy in acrylic.

Andrea was a grant recipient from the Peninsula Arts Association (2006). Her project was to paint historic buildings of Fish Creek. From childhood knowledge and with research of old photos from the Gibraltar Historical Association, her one-person exhibit was shown at the Fish Creek Town Hall and at The Link Gallery(2008). In the “Two Sisters” exhibit she will be showing new contemporary style paintings in oil. Andrea states, “I like creating atmospheres and ambiguity allowing space for the viewer to imagine.”

Nancy had a one-woman exhibition at Mr.Helsinki’s in Fish Creek (2009), has been juried into Hardy Gallery and Miller Art Museum exhibitions, and was a featured artist at Woodwalk Gallery (2008). She has been on the faculty and a board member of Peninsula Art School since 1995. She presently exhibits at the Sister Bay Trading Company and at her “Bluff House Studio” in Fish Creek with sister, Andrea as guest artist. Flowers are her subject matter. Nancy states, “Freedom of color exploration, and organic contrasted with geometric shape and line is what truly excites me.”

The exhibit opens on April 1. The gallery hours are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 1:00-3:00 and on Sunday from 11:00- 12:30.

Artist Dee Sinnett’s works are inspired by the natural beauty that she sees all around her. Dee paints mainly in oil colors and occasionally in watercolor.

Painting is more than a hobby–it is her life. Her colors show the bold approach that she takes in capturing the beauty of a landscape or still life. She likes to add an element of mystery beyond the subject matter, showing her vision as different than an illustration.

Sinnett’s Sweet Meadow Gallery/Studio, Baileys Harbor, is set in the middle of a meadow that is full of wildflowers. The woodlands that surround her meadow are always a source of inspiration. She navigates the roads of Door County where she finds subject matter year-round. Dee is a full time resident and her gallery is open May through October and in the winter by appointment.

Having moved to Door County in 1984 as a watercolorist Dee became a student of oil painting. She attended many classes at the Peninsula Art School and The Clearing. She refers to herself as a “colorist interested in creating a color scheme”.

The opening of this exhibit is Sunday, February 6 and the show will run through March 27. The UU Gallery is located at 10341 Hwy. 42, Ephraim. Gallery hours are 1-3 pm Mon., Wed., Fri. and 11am-12:30 pm Sunday.

Don Fundingsland will display his work at the UU Gallery, Ephraim, in January. There will be an opening reception January 9 from 11 AM -2 PM.

Don’s interest in art emerged mid-life, with an initial focus on woodcarvings, later turning to canvas. His medium of choice is oil, being fond of the versatility, whether painting in the studio or plein air. His palette consists of a small number of colors.

Don enjoys a wide variety of subject material, with particular interest in flowers and birds. For him, excitement comes if he is able to successfully transfer what he feels about the subject to the canvas, making this available to those who view the finished work. Painting, he feels, is a huge challenge.

Don grew up in northwestern Minnesota. He received degrees from Concordia College and Washington University. Following military service and a career in healthcare management he retired to his Fish Creek home and now finds more time to devote to his interest in art. Other areas of interest include music and ornithology.

Painting has evolved through instruction at the Peninsula School of Art, Concordia University, and the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha. He is particularly indebted to the instruction and friendship of Door County artist Bonnie Paruch. His work is represented by the Almont Gallery, Waukesha.

The UU Gallery is located at 10341 Hwy. 42, Ephraim and is open to the public 1-3 PM Mon., Wed., Fri. and 11AM-12:30 PM Sunday.

Award-winning theatrical and opera costume designer Kärin Kopischke presents historic renderings of Door County women in “Garments of Our Foundation” at our UU Gallery in December.  The exhibit features portraits of ten compelling women from Gibraltar’s history, the result of 9 months of research, writing, sketching, painting and fabric-swatching.

The ten women include members of the Claflin, Thorp, Noble and Duclon families among others, spanning the decades from 1842 to 1918.  Kopischke approached each subject as she would a character in a play, researching the available facts of their lives and the historical context.  The renderings are augmented by historic fabric swatches and notions and accompanied by first-person narratives.

“In what I call ‘Historical Rendering,’ I am taking theatrical costume rendering one step further; from a means to an end to a work of art in itself,” says Kopischke.  “I seek fascinating, real-life characters that have been lost in time, and represent them in a fully-explored rendering, showing their significance in their time, their place and their story.”

Kopischke earned a self-designed degree from Lawrence University in Studio Art and Piano Performance with a theatre emphasis.  Kopischke regularly designs costumes for top regional theatres and operas around the country, including Peninsula Players.

“Garments of Our Foundation:  Pioneering Door County Women and their Clothing” is funded by the Gibraltar Historical Association and by grants from the Wisconsin Arts Board and the Peninsula Arts Association, with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.  The exhibit will move to the Link Gallery in January, where Kopischke will conduct a week-long workshop with high school students as part of Friends of Gibraltar’s Door County History Year.

The Gallery is open to the public Sundays from 11 AM – 12:30 PM, and 1-3 PM, Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays.

An opening reception will be held Sunday, November 7, 11 AM-1 PM, showcasing the works of four very talented artists who will be exhibiting their paintings at the Unitarian Universalist Gallery, Ephraim. These exceptional emerging artists are all students/graduates of the Kewaunee School of Fine Art mentored by the school’s artistic director Craig Blietz.

Pamela Clausen attended the University of Green Bay where she earned a BA, majoring in photography. She has been acclaimed for her ability with the brush. Her passion is in “capturing the beauty and emotion from everyday life”.

Pamela Clausen

Mara Pionek’s focus on painting is “to combine the subtle beauty of classical realism, and the fresh exciting brushstrokes and colors of the Russian Impressionists”. At the Academy, Mara was “instilled with the importance of traditional academic methods, and was encouraged to push her exploration into expressive brushwork and color”.

Mara Pionek

Suzanne Barnes lives in DePere, she is a graduate of City College of NYC with a BS in fine art. She has been very active in recent years, exhibiting her paintings while keeping up with numerous workshops. “I hope to be able to impart emotion, as well as capture the sense of light and form in my paintings.”

Suzanne Barnes

David Kapszukiewicz lives in Tomahawk. At the Academy he has “begun a life-long journey learning to be an oil painter”. He enjoys “painting from nature, especially where nature and mankind’s paths have crossed”.

David Kapszukiewicz

The show will be on display during November. Gallery hours have been expanded to Monday, Wednesday and Friday 1-3 PM and Sundays 11 AM-12:30 PM. The Unitarian Universalist Gallery is located at 10341 Hwy. 42, Ephraim and is free of charge. For more information, call (920) 854-7559.

THE GALLERY OF THE UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST FELLOWSHIP

FEATURES

THE POETRY OF PHOTOGRAPHY -
AN EXHIBIT BY ROLF OLSON

OCTOBER 3-OCTOBER 25

Rolf Olson sees unique situations in nature.  He isolates minimal aspects into photographic impressions. “The awareness and appreciation of form, light and space have always been an integral part of my life”, he explains. “These days my eye often catches intriguing situations as I move through my daily routines. I carry my camera with me as often as is practical and take the time to document what I have noticed.  I try to concentrate on the interesting element in the scene in a way that evokes a novel response in me.  Perhaps I notice some emotional content or odd juxtaposition between elements. Hopefully there will be more content than just the object itself although I don’t always know exactly what the content might be for me until I see it out of context”. He tries to compose and frame the photo without digital manipulation and minimal cropping. He shoots with an older Canon Powershot S3 IS and he “continues to learn the art of photography”.

Rolf graduated from Colorado College with a degree in Philosophy. He has enjoyed many pleasurable hours exploring art museums around the world. He lives in Door County and has been a craftsman in wood and metal for 25 years. He is currently the resident manager at a destination hotel.  He enjoys writing poetry and composing his photography.

The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Door County is located at 10341 Water St. (just south of the shops of Green Gable Shops).  The Gallery is open Mondays 1-3 p.m. and Sundays 11:00 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.