Source: The Wisconsin State JournalSept.新蒲崗迷你倉 09--When Sally Holl joined in the mid-1960s, Madison Art Guild was an all-women's group that might have been viewed by outsiders as a social club. But for its members, it was an artistic lifeline."It's an amazing group. When I came to Madison, it was the first thing I joined," said Holl, who has worked in oil painting, pastels and printmaking and exhibited in area art galleries."In town they probably thought of (the art guild) as a group of women who enjoyed painting in their backyard," she said -- but its real purpose, then and now, was to provide artists with a way to connect and grow.Now on the cusp of its 100th birthday, the Madison Art Guild includes both women and men and is an active group -- launching exhibitions and outreach programs, funding scholarships, sponsoring workshops and inspiring countless friendships.Though it was geared toward painters when it was founded in 1914, the guild now includes amateur visual artists from across Dane County working in a range of media, from ceramics and drawing to fiber art, jewelry, stained glass and wood. Members frequently critique and learn from one another's art."One of the things you really appreciate is that art plays a much more central role in a lot of people's lives than we think," said photographer Jake Stockinger, an art guild member for close to 20 years."It's not all museums, it's not all hanging on the wall -- it's doing it," he said."People's lives are enriched by it. A lot of these people went to art school or had some training, or just do it as a hobby. There's everybody, from doctors to engineers to teachers and businesspeople, and they have art in common."The group claims to be one of Wisconsin's oldest guilds -- and is celebrating its centennial with a series of exhibits over the next 18 months. First up: "The Madison Art Guild: Celebrating 100 Years of Community Art," a show featuring 100 works by current Madison Art Guild members, opening Sept. 17 in the Promega art gallery.Like many of its exhibitions, the Promega show is juried, meaning that only pieces selected by an expert judge make it into the show. Likewise, artists interested in joining the Madison Art Guild have to go through a jury application process. Membership is capped at 140, and only about a dozen coveted spots for new members open each year."I've been a scenic artist and a mural painter and faux finisher in addition to painting houses -- that's how I make my living," said Alicia Rheal, who made it into the Madison Art Guild as a new member in Maymini storage"But I'm really new to the art world (and the process of) doing a painting, putting it in a frame and hoping someone will buy it," she said. "I wanted more experience with that and the chance to talk with other artists and learn from these folks."Groups like Madison Art Guild provide essential connections and camaraderie, said Leslee Nelson, who often juries the work of applicants to the guild. Before her recent retirement, Nelson was a longtime UW-Madison professor and director of the Wisconsin Regional Art Program for nonprofessional artists.WRAP, other types of art guilds and groups for nonprofessional artists -- and there are many in the Madison area -- help fill a void that many artists face after leaving college or finishing their formal art training, she said."Our culture is not supportive of artists -- so once you go out in the working world, people think you're crazy for spending the time to make art," Nelson said. "If you don't have someone to talk to about how to make (your art) better, it gets dispiriting. People often stop making art if they don't have that kind of support group."So it's really important, I think, for artists to have other artists to talk to, both somebody who can understand the obsession with making art and understand the need and desire to be improving and stretching yourself," she said.Founded in a two-room studio at Pinckney and Main streets -- where rent was $12.50 a month -- the Madison Art Guild held exhibits and member workshops from the start. The group currently meets monthly at the Fitchburg library, said former president Cindy Koshalek.Koshalek, a jeweler, painter and retired art teacher, credits the guild with giving her important professional contacts."When I've been showing with Madison Art Guild, I've actually been contacted by galleries who said they'd be interested in showing my work," she said. "People see your work and they contact you later and purchase it."Today, close to 40 percent of the membership is male, Kolashek said. Artists with similar interests often form sub-groups to concentrate on, say, photography or watercolor painting.But it's the group's overall diversity that has kept photographer Carolyn Gantner involved in the group since 1994, she said."There's painting, sculpture, multimedia...," she said. "There are members who are producing art in all different art forms."Copyright: ___ (c)2013 The Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, Wis.) Visit The Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, Wis.) at .wisconsinstatejournal.com Distributed by MCT Information Servicesself storage
留言列表
