ArtWalk 2009 Info

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...and with approximately 30 artists participating in 30 Years of Dialogue, the Annual Members Show, this event can't be beat! Would you like to read more?


Riverwest Artists Association’s ArtWalk 2009 marks the 30th Anniversary of Wisconsin's oldest and largest walking art tour. Conceived in 1979 in collaboration with the Milwaukee Art Museum as a way to introduce the public to the way artists live and work, ArtWalk gave birth to the Riverwest Artists Association.

On Saturday & Sunday, October 3rd & 4th from 12 noon to 5 pm, artists open their homes, studios, galleries and businesses, inviting the public to see how artists live and work. There is also an Art Party at the Art*Bar October 3 from 5:30 PM – 9:00 PM.

Riverwest Artists Association’s ArtWalk 2009 features over 65 established and emerging visual artists at 22 sites throughout Riverwest including the RAA Annual Membership Show, 30 Years of Dialogue, at the Jazz Gallery. Sue Pezanoski Browne will be doing a Make and Take Musical Instruments workshop and a Sound Garden Folk Art Installation and Sharon Giesfeldt Van Ruiswyk will be doing Make and Take Origami workshop at the Jazz Gallery. Limited Edition ArtWalk 2009 T-shirts, designed by artist Sharon Giesfeldt Van Ruiswyk to celebrate our 30th anniversary, are available in both men’s and women’s styles for only $10 at the Jazz Gallery and the Art*Bar.

TO PARTICIPATE
For just $3 for adults or $2 for seniors, students and children, patrons get a button and map good for the whole weekend. Buttons and maps will be available at the following sites during ArtWalk weekend: Art*Bar (722 E Burleigh); Riverwest Food Co-op (733 E Clarke); and the Jazz Gallery (926 E Center St).

ABOUT RIVERWEST ARTISTS ASSOCIATION (RAA)
As an all-volunteer organization dedicated to supporting artists and connecting artists with the community, we are proud to produce Wisconsin’s largest and longest-running neighborhood art tour. Thanks to the tireless efforts of volunteers, members and friends in the community, RAA’s signature event, ArtWalk, opens the work spaces and the art work of neighborhood artists to the community.

Get Ready For ArtWalk 2009

ArtWalk is coming, Saturday and Sunday, October 3-4, 2009, 12-5pm!

To get you warmed up, these are photos taken at one of the outdoor sites from last year's ArtWalk.

Organized by the Riverwest Neighborhood Association, the Art in the Alleys Project (2008) garnered much attention from our RAA artists and members, as well as the local government. (The event/issue was later included in a local debate about graffiti, murals and public art in Milwaukee.) Participants shared their spaces, time and artistic talents, all for the sake of safer public alleyways, and a more beautiful environment for all of the people living in our Riverwest neighborhood. It was a grassroots effort with ART as the main force! For more information on the Art in the Alleys Project (2008) please visit the website here. More ArtWalk fun and helpful information is coming...keep your eyes peeled.

Chris Christie and Vanessa Andrews

Artist Tia Richardson

Artist Shana R. Goetsch

Artist Juliet Jaeger, in front of one of her murals

Maureen M. Kane

Juliet Jaeger

Brian McGinnis

Kara Mulrooney and Kristopher Pollard

Shana R. Goetsch

Jessica Laub

Our Pick of Pics+Video - Center Street Daze 2009!

The festival started out with the fun of the annual Cart Race. (Carts must be pushed or pulled by human means)

Aw. The agony of defeat...

Only the best dad ever...

Yes, he's pulling the 'Fart Cart' for the youngest of entrants...

This one was an interesting, bulky, choice...

Later, out in the crowd, the tiniest of kids was riding the tiniest of bikes...

Everyone was having fun with their families...

And people were very busy filling the giant chalk art piano keys, outside The Jazz Gallery!...

This lovely lady said we 'made her day'...

More awesome dads were on the scene...

This joker was our human edition of 'The Exquisite Corpse' chalk activity...

Cool...

So what was the RAA Board up to on Center Street Daze, you might ask?
WELL, we were all over the place.

Darryl and Mark pushed our cart in the race, and Darlene filmed the event...

Sue was on the roof with the neighbors, getting a bird's eye view...

Julie was in the kitchen helping me prepare the food...

After the Cart Race, Sharon was inside The Jazz Gallery, doing a make-and-take book demo with the kids...

Maureen was working hard on the chalk art outside the gallery...

And I was organizing/supervising/participating in the chalk art, giant piano keyboard, with Sue all day long...

I also shot this video of the finished product...

Love it!

Our Pick of Pics- P.S. Exhibit

P.S Exhibit started off kind of slow, I'm not going to lie...

(I took this photo of our neighbor's cat, from inside The Jazz Gallery.)

Even so, we got a lot of foot traffic, and the message wall was a hit!

Rabbi, The Flower Guy set us up real well...

and then 4th Street Elevator arrived, and everything changed...

Several people brought out their own instruments to play along...

Elmo sat still and was quiet. (!) Seriously, these guys were magic...

Spontaneous dancing occurred...

in between the Pillars of Peace...

Finally, a packed gallery...

That's what we like!

This exhibit is up until September 26th, 2009.

A few more photos of this exhibit, and a video are located here.

RAA DIALOGUE SERIES-Heather Eiden

The RAA Dialogue Series continues

Artist Interviews Artist
Highlighting RAA Member Heather Eiden
As Interviewed by Board Member Sue Pezanoski Browne

What artmaking have you been up to this summer?

I am working on a show, called "The Art of Flow", that will be exhibited at Danceworks in April 2010. I have been teaching watercolor privately. My grandma was a master watercolorist and she tried to teach me what she knew. I love seeing my students grow and gain confidence in their style.


What influences do you see in your own art?

I work with color, pattern, and nature for inspiration.


The practice of yoga is an important part of your life. How do your yoga and art practices relate to one another?

I feel the relation between art and yoga is sculptural. Often when I teach yoga, I see the human body as a living sculpture moving through space with grace. I enjoy hands on adjustments and helping people with correct alignment in the poses. I use my training as a visual artist to see forms correctly. The negative space is as important as the positive. There is a Yin and Yang in yoga that works with this duality for the mind, body and spirit connection. Yoga means Union and, at the deepest level, I hope for people to experience this through my art.

You have had opportunities to travel to many interesting places. How have your specific travels influenced your artmaking?

I have been fortunate with travel. In South America, I was inspired by the fabric art. I was inspired by tile work while traveling through Mexico, and in Spain by the mosaics of Antonio Gaudi. While on a scholarship from UWM, I studied the woodcarving and batik in Indonesia. While touring with my students in France, I was inspired by the intense light that made objects seem to dance. Whenever I am traveling, I work daily in my sketchbook.


Where did you study art?

I studied at UWM, and I feel it was a classical training. I have taken many outreach courses at MIAD. I attended Anderson Ranch Art School and had a scholarship for Arrowmont. I am now working on a master’s degree in Art Education at Concordia.


Do you experience any particular obstacles in maintaining the time and space in your life as a practicing artist?

Not in the past, but now that I’m in graduate school, I do find it more challenging. I would say my current studio practice is in transition. I would like to work with other artists in a studio setting. I imagine that we would have common interests, but ideally different styles.


How did you first become involved with The Riverwest Artists Association?

RAA was introduced to me by friends. I lived across the street from RAA when it was located on Fratney St. The center was vibrant, exciting and social. Darlene Hagopian invited me to be a board member, as I remember.


What is your earliest experience in which you saw yourself as an artist?

I felt I was an artist around age ten but rejected it. I told my friend I would never be an artist because I didn’t want to starve to death.


What do you hope people see in your art?

I would like my art to be a balancing agent.

Heather Eiden and Sue Pezanoski Browne
(Heather's ceramic work, pictured far right)

More of Heather's work can be seen at The Jazz Gallery throughout our current show, P.S. Exhibit, and during the upcoming reception on Center Street Daze, starting at 1p.