Wisconsin Roadside Attraction
Two days ago I took Denice to O'Hare Airport in Chicago (IL) so she could go with her relatives to Oaxaca, Mexico, for a week. So, as a free agent, I decided to do an abundance of things to entertain myself.
Friday, July 19, 2024
Today I was up bright and early to begin my week adventure in Wisconsin’s Door County and then a trip around Lake Michigan to Ludington to deliver some art to an exhibition.
I ate breakfast at one of our “going North” restaurants, Maxfield’s in Mequon. Then it was up Highway 57 to Door County.
I had to be to Green Bay by Noon as I had an appointment to deliver some HO Milwaukee Road engines and rolling stock to The Green Bay Area Model Railroaders Club. The club, ironically, is located in the lower level of the Kress Family Library in DePere, a suburb of Green Bay.
My father and I were engaged in model railroading on and off for my whole life and when he died in 2006 it was up to me to take apart his railroad and disperse the leftovers. While a lot of the stuff went to the Waupaca Model Railroad club in 2006, I decided to keep all the Milwaukee Road engines and rolling stock and “do something” with them. That ended up being storing them in my basement for 18 years. It was time to have that stuff have a life and I decided to donate it to the Green Bay club out of respect for my father’s memory. The exchange went well and I feel like I did the right thing.
Next stop was at the Art Garage Gallery in Green Bay that had a display called The Art of the Automobile. I really enjoyed this interesting exhibition but was truly surprised to find a print of a work of art by Kelly White that hangs on my wall in my computer room. I can’t wait to get to home to check to see if I own the original or if it is a print—I can’t remember. (After getting home, I have print 1/12 and the print in Green Bay was 2/12).
There is a lot of wall art in the Art Garage neighborhood so I took some photos.
With trains on the brains it seemed logical to make my next stop the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay. I even got to go on a train ride!
I found a Super 8 in Sturgeon Bay within Door County to stay the night before my art workshop in Fish Creek. Dinner tonight was at a great little Asian café called Dan’s.
Mileage for the Day: 211
Saturday, July 20, 2024
This morning I had breakfast near my hotel in Sturgeon Bay at a cool little bakery called Scaturo’s Café.
After a short drive I was at the Peninsula School of Art in Fish Creek. I have never been to PSA and I was suitably impressed. The school is located just off one of the major highways in the Door and has a huge paved parking lot. But even cooler, waiting for the students, were multiple wagons to help roll all of the class requirements in the door.
The school is massive with multiple rooms and wings. There is an art gallery, a children’s wing and studios for multiple types of art making disciplines. Because this is busy Door County, the school even arranges for a catered lunch so we don’t have to battle tourists and traffic to get fed.
My one day class today is Narrative Collage Tryptich with Sarah Rehmer. I have worked with Sarah before doing encaustic as well as eco and rust dyeing. But what attracted me to this workshop was the course description: Fold, tear, cut, arrange...This one-day workshop is all about creating a collage from paper, paint, and a little imagination. Composition, color, and surface design are key concepts during the layout process. Come away with a series of three collages that tell a thought-provoking story - real or imagined - to be presented as a traditional triptych or a small series of related works.
Sarah is one good teacher plus one of the most generous people I learn from in terms of sharing her knowledge and…her supplies!!!
Our first project was to create a loose painting, cut it into squares and reassemble looking for the composition that spoke to us.
The second exercise was to build a collage from three pieces selected for us by Sarah (which we could supplement with either our own papers or more of Sarah's papers).
My fellow student Kari's work on the left, mine is on the right
After lunch, we spent the rest of the day working on our main task: a triptych that was not only artistic but one that had a narrative.
Whenever I am confronted with a blank canvas I like to get something down so today I chose these three papers with the intent that they would be the backgrounds.
Here is my triptych
The first panel references the African-Americans who worked as porter's on the railroads
(there is an excellent display about these workers at the National RR Museum which is why it was on my mind)
The middle panel is about the fact that no matter who you are, you are going to end up like this.
It sits on a map that could be one showing the areas where the railroads were built.
The last panel shows the white railroad owners who profited enormously from the work of others
Sarah Rehmer at the final show and tell
Class went from 9-4 and the time flew by. However it did give me time afterwards to rush to Woodwalk Gallery in Egg Harbor where my friend Pam Mehnert has a piece of art I saw on the gallery’s website called European Blackbird Does Shrooms.
(Pam does her drawings with pencil and pen then builds her assemblages with an emphasis on yardsticks. I love the artistry in her work but also the whimsey.)
What was weird was that I failed to notice that unlike during the week when they stay open until 5 on Saturday’s they close at 2. However, the door was open and walked right in not knowing I was in a “closed” gallery. The owner Joslyn Villalpando was gracious to me when I explained where I was from and what I was doing in her building. Weird part 2: Pam has the piece I wanted to purchase at home for some need strengthening so here is what we decided to do: I would make sure Pam keeps the piece in Wauwatosa where she lives so I can pick it up at her house and as soon as that happens I will pay by credit card to the Woodwalk Gallery. Yikes—I must really want this piece! *Yes, I do.
I had hoped to make it all the way to Shawano (WI) tonight (see tomorrow’s adventures) but I only made it to Green Bay where I stayed at a Motel 6 I can recommend. I ate dinner at a Denny’s I cannot recommend. Lying in bed tonight I vowed to up my game for the rest of the trip.
Mileage for the Day: 110
Mileage for the Trip: 321
Sunday, July 21, 2024
I was up early and on the road this morning in order to drive the distance to Shawano (WI). I ate breakfast at a great place called appropriately Shawano’s Café. Then it was off to the Shawano Flea Market where many items were purchased. Perhaps the most unique one was when I was ogling a wood (and rather heavy) cow cradle when the vendor came over. He thought he was talking me into buying not knowing that I was talking myself out of buying when he said, “How about 5 bucks?” I responded, “Well, now you are making me buy it” and I spent some time rearranging things in the van so that it will fit when I finish the trip at O’Hare picking up my wife and relatives from their trip to Mexico (see Wednesday upcoming).
Late last night my sister Barbara contacted me with the information that the headstone for my parent’s joint grave site at The Grand Old Army Home in King (WI) was installed. She and her husband Bob Crocker were going to go today, one day ahead of what would have been my mommy’s 98 birthday, to see the stone, bring some flowers and celebrate my mommy’s birthday.
Photo by BarbaraJo Crocker
We met at 11:30 at the grave site and Barb and Bob installed the flower’s they had brought. After some hugs it was time to move on.
If you have followed any of my auto trip vacation blogs you know I just like to point my van in an appropriate direction and take off letting karma dictate what happens. Today whatever northern highway I picked seemed to drift west. I did manage to visit a few antique places but I think the only thing I purchased after the flea market was a cute little vintage fireplace of chimney broom.
What I did not do a good job of on this trip was keep a log of where I shot these pictures. So let's just say they are in Central Wisconsin.
When I ran out of interest in the day I found myself in Eagle River (WI) where I checked into a Quality Inn (let’s just leave it at after the last two nights it was nice to actually have some quality in my stay). I ate a turkey dinner at the Friendship House Family Restaurant and then bedded down for the night.
Mileage for the Day: 295
Mileage for the Trip: 616
Please see 2024 07 Around Lake Michigan, Part Two: On To Ludington
