Greetings,
Bentwood artist Jason Ramey demonstrates steam-bending techniques during his opening weekend residency at the Woodson Art Museum, April 13-14. See the press release, attached and below, for details about programs and events - including a Steamroller Printing event in the museum parking lot on Saturday, May 4 ! - that enliven three new exhibitions.
With thanks and best regards,
Amy

Amy Beck
Marketing & Communications Manager
Woodson Art Museum
700 North Twelfth Street
Wausau, WI 54403-5007
715.845.7010 - office
715.845.7103 - fax
www.lywam.org
abeck@lywam.org

See whimsical and wild bentwood and screenprints in Torqued & Twisted: Bentwood Today, Functional & Abstract: New Work by Jason Ramey and Beguiled by the Wild: The Art of Charley Harper on view at the Woodson Art Museum, April 13 through June 16.

                                                      Contact: Amy Beck                                                                                                                                                                  715.845.7010
                                                                                                                          abeck@lywam.org
                                                                                                                          April 9, 2013
Image URLs and caption information are listed at the end of this release.
Explore Bentwood and Screenprints through
Woodson Art Museum Programs

Wausau, Wisconsin: Whimsical and wild bentwood and screenprints come to life at the Woodson Art Museum through artist residencies and hands-on programs featuring wood bending with a steam box, April 13-14, and printmaking with a steamroller, May 4.
      Delightful designs - from the undulating lines of bentwood furniture and sculpture to Charley Harper's playful, stylized images of animals - fill the Woodson Art Museum galleries this spring. "Torqued & Twisted: Bentwood Today" and "Functional & Abstract: New Work by Jason Ramey" comprise bentwood designed to be functional furniture and abstract sculpture; Ramey demonstrates his process during an artist residency April 13-14. Visit www.lywam.org for a complete listing of events and programs. "Beguiled by the Wild: The Art of Charley Harper" features the bold colors and geometric shapes of Harper's animal images, infused with light-hearted humor. All three exhibitions remain on view through June 16.
      Discover how artists harness the power of steam, laminating, and greenwood bending as artist Jason Ramey discusses bentwood artwork on view and demonstrates steam-bending techniques during his residency on opening weekend of the exhibitions. Ramey leads a Sunday afternoon gallery walk and demo for all ages on Sunday, April 14, 1-2:30 p.m. "A Wood-Bending Experience" artist residency funding comes from a Community Arts Grant from the Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin, with funds from the Wisconsin Arts Board, Community Foundation, and the B.A. & Esther Greenheck Foundation.
      Toddlers, 18 months-4 years, gather for Toddler Tuesday programs, Wacky Wildlife, April 16;  Squiggles & Giggles, May 21; and Summer Gardens Galore, June 18; 10:30 a.m.-Noon each month.
      Adults discover how Charley Harper broke down his observations of animals into basic, geometric shapes - a distinctive style he called "minimal realism" - during Art History 101: Charley Harper's Delights, Wednesday, April 17, 12:15-1 p.m. Curator Jane Weinke discusses this multifaceted artist and illustrator; bring a bagged lunch, if you like.
      Sunday-afternoon SPARK! programs for individuals with memory loss facilitate social interactions with an accompanying friend or family member as pairs discuss ideas sparked by Harper's animal images, April 21; "Torqued & Twisted" bentwood, May 19; and "Functional & Abstract" bentwood, June 16; 1-2:30 p.m. on each day. After the gallery experience, participants engage in an art activity. Call 715-845-7010 to register for these free, monthly programs.
      Bring your littlest ones to enjoy activities amid bentwood and screenprints and multi-sensory play in Art Park during Art Babies (birth-1 year) on Fridays, April 26 and May 31, 10:30-11:15 a.m., and during Art Time for Tots (1-4 years), on Thursdays, April 25 and May 30, 9:30-10:30 a.m. Call 715-845-7010 to register for these free programs.
      During Sherrie York's six-day residency, "Let the Good Times Steamroll," April 30-May 5, the Colorado artist leads hands-on programs for all ages, sessions with school children during Museum visits, a steamroller printing extravaganza with high school students, and a gallery walk and demonstration.
      Youngsters, 5-12 years, learn how to make Charley Harper-inspired linocuts from artist Sherrie York during Little Masters/Young Artists: Make the Cut, Tuesday, April 30, 4:30-6 p.m. Call 715-845-7010 to register for this free program.
      York leads May's Night Out @ the Woodson, when the Museum stays open until 7:30 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month. During Art History 101/Hands-on Art: Relief Printing with Sherrie York, Thursday, May 2, 5:30-7 p.m., this Colorado printmaker shares her techniques and process for creating linocuts and leads participants in making prints using their own designs drawn into Styrofoam and Sherrie's examples of linocut and woodcut blocks.
     Artist Sherrie York leads a relief-printing extravaganza on Saturday, May 4, Noon-5 p.m., in the Museum parking lot where a huge press - a steamroller! - will print woodblocks created by area high school students onto oversized fabric. Inspired by Charley Harper's bold animal graphics, students designed their woodblocks around the theme "Wild About Wisconsin." Urban Street Bistro offers food for purchase.
      All ages join Sherrie York for a Gallery Walk & Demo, Sunday, May 5, 1-3 p.m.; tour the Charley Harper exhibition and watch York demonstrate her printmaking process.
      "Let the Good Times Steamroll" funding comes from a Community Arts Grant from the Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin, with funds from the Wisconsin Arts Board, Community Foundation, and the B.A. & Esther Greenheck Foundation.
      During Art Park Open Studio on the first Saturday of each month, 1-3 p.m., all ages drop in to try different art projects with provided materials; May 4, participants print their own designs; June 1, create bentwood-inspired sculptures.
      The Teen Art Council's second Mystery Party, Friday, May 10, 7-9 p.m., features a case that unfolds during a mock art auction. Teens are invited to bring friends for a fun-filled night that includes food, music, and sleuthing. The Museum's Teen Art Council (TAC, for short) gathers on Monday, May 13, 5:30-6:30 p.m., for its last monthly meeting before a summer break and enjoys dinner, compliments of Noodles & Company. To learn more about TAC, call Jayna Hintz at 715.845.7010.
      Individuals with blindness or low vision explore bentwood and screenprints through touch, sounds, movement, and verbal descriptions and create a three-dimensional sculpture during Art Beyond Sight, Saturday, May 11, 10:30 a.m.-Noon. Call 715-845-7010 or email jhintz@lywam.org to register.
      May's noon-hour Art History 101: Beyond the Bentwood Rocker, Wednesday, May 15, 12:15-1 p.m., focuses on how artists achieve stunning results by shaping wood into unusual forms. Catie Anderson, curator of education, discusses woodbending techniques and history; bring a bagged lunch, if you like.
      Inspired by "Torqued & Twisted" artwork, children, 5-7 years, create their own sculptural creations during Little Masters: Bent on Fun, Tuesday, May 28, 4:30-6 p.m.; youngsters, 8-12 years, gather for Young Artists: Twisted Sculptures, Thursday, May 30, 4:30-6 p.m. Call 715-845-7010 to register for these free programs.
      June's Night Out @ the Woodson focuses on sculpture. During Art History 101: A Stroll in the Sculpture Garden, Thursday, June 6, 5:30-6:30 p.m., curator Jane Weinke discusses outdoor sculpture during a walking tour of the grounds, weather permitting, or indoors. During Hands-on Art: Explore Sculpture, Thursday, June 6, 5:30-7 p.m., all ages drop in to create their own three-dimensional form during this free, monthly art-making program.
      Children, teens, and families coping with the death of a loved one gather for Treasuring Memories, Wednesday, June 26, 1-3 p.m., to create memorial art for a garden, walkway, or special space of remembrance. Participants may bring small mementos to incorporate into the project and have an opportunity to share memories and reflections of loved ones during this free program. Call 715.845.7010 to register. Call Amy Kitsembel at the Aspirus Grief Center, 715.847.2703, for more information.
      "Torqued & Twisted" was organized by The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design, Hendersonville, North Carolina. "Functional & Abstract: New Work by Jason Ramey" was organized by the artist and Woodson Art Museum curator of exhibitions Andy McGivern. "Beguiled by the Wild" was organized by the Virginia Living Museum in Newport News, Virginia.
URL Links to images and caption information
April 13 - June 16, 2013
Torqued & Twisted: Bentwood Today
Bentwood artworks - rockers, tables, and sculptures - are formed through steaming, laminating, or greenwood bending and result in elegant, unusual forms. Delicate and graceful lines are created by using steam and hot water to soften and then shape the wood. Artists must work quickly before the wood returns to its naturally hardened state. The nine artists featured in "Torqued & Twisted" are masters of their craft and through their work challenge audiences to reconsider the angular and traditional characteristics of woodwork. "Torqued & Twisted" is co-curated by Tom Loeser, University of Wisconsin-Madison professor and artist and Katie Lee, of the Center for Craft, Creativity & Design, in Hendersonville, North Carolina.
www.lywam.org/media/TorquedMonteithCarltonChair.jpg
Clifton Monteith, Carlton Chair, 2010, willow aspen and gold leaf
www.lywam.org/media/TorquedCooperBigBangTheory.jpg
Michael Cooper, Big Bang Theory, 2007, various hardwoods, steel, aluminum
www.lywam.org/media/TorquedHolmesAtmosphere.jpg
Jeremy Holmes, Atmosphere #45, 2011, white ash with black dye, steel
www.lywam.org/media/TorquedJarviTable.jpg
Mike Jarvi, Jarvi One Piece Table, 2011, white oak
www.lywam.org/media/TorquedKobayashiWill.jpg
Yuri Kobayashi, Will, 2010, ash
www.lywam.org/media/TorquedPleissnigPinch03.jpg
Matthias Pliessnig, Pinch, 2012, steam bent white oak

April 13 - June 16, 2013
Functional & Abstract: New Work by Jason Ramey
Like the wood he shapes into furniture and abstract sculpture, Jason Ramey's career has followed a circuitous path. Sketches made while studying psychology at Purdue University led to a Herron School of Art and Design degree in 2008 and a master's four years later from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he now teaches in the Art Department's wood and furniture design program.
www.lywam.org/media/rameylathchair.jpg
Jason Ramey, Lathchair, 2012, pine and found chair
www.lywam.org/media/rameyhalltable.jpg
Jason Ramey, J4 Ultralight Hall Table, 2009, mahogany and curly maple
www.lywam.org/media/rameymirror.jpg
Jason Ramey, Mirror, 2013, steam-bent white oak
www.lywam.org/media/rameyheadshot.jpg
Jason Ramey
www.lywam.org/media/rameyworking.jpg
Jason Ramey working in studio.

April 13 - June 16, 2013
Beguiled by the Wild: The Art of Charley Harper
In his playful, highly stylized serigraphs and illustrations of animals, Charley Harper (1922-2007) distilled complex elements into a subject's basic ones by using distinct shapes and bold colors. This prolific graphic designer called his unique, geometric style "minimal realism." "Beguiled by the Wild" is organized by the Virginia Living Museum in Newport News.
www.lywam.org/media/HarperBlueJay.jpg
Charley Harper, Blue Jay Bathing, 1971, serigraph
www.lywam.org/media/HarperDevotionToOcean.jpg
Charley Harper, Devotion to the Ocean, 1976, serigraph
www.lywam.org/media/HarperLadybugLovers.jpg
Charley Harper, Ladybug Lovers, 1971, serigraph
www.lywam.org/media/HarperPelican.jpg
Charley Harper, Pelican Pantry, 1982, serigraph
www.lywam.org/media/HarperPiscine.jpg
Charley Harper, Piscine Queues, 1989, serigraph

Woodson Art Museum
Hours:                   Tuesday - Friday                                                                9:00 am - 4:00 pm
                                First Thursday of each month                                          9:00 am - 7:30 pm
                                Saturday - Sunday                                                             Noon - 5:00 pm
Closed Monday and holidays
Admission:           Always Free Admission
Phone:                   715.845.7010
Fax:                       715.845.7103
Email:                   museum@lywam.org
Location:              Franklin and 12th Streets, Wausau, Wisconsin 54403-5007
                                (700 N. 12th Street)
Online:                  www.lywam.org