Mid Wisconsin Visual Artist Connection
Now Accepting New Exhibiting Members
$25 Annual Membership Fee
Email info@mwvac.org for more information.
Bev Christ
EXHIBITING MEMBER
Photography
I dabble. Over the years I’ve played with many art forms, from glass lamp work, painting, and print-making to producing video documentaries. Later I turned to textiles, creating one-of-a-kind bags with re-purposed materials. Photography has been a consistent interest throughout my life. I enjoy nature and am attracted to the textures and patterns in my environment, both indoors and outdoors. When working with textiles I am drawn to rich, vibrant colors. I feel energized when I’m with creative people and inspired by art that they create. In the future I’d like to experiment with mixed media.
Pat Hadley Dobrinska
EXHIBITING MEMBER
Oil, Pastel, Watercolors
I paint because it expresses “me.” Painting shows various sides of who I am, which is why I use different media and styles. Being a member of this group will allow me to have an extra avenue to express my life. In oils and watercolors, depending on my intent, I paint with a realistic style: landscapes, portraits, and houses. I also have my funky farm animals – quirky individuals one and all – which is more impressionistic, as are the watercolor paintings from the Birds-in-Flight series. Pastels suit my needs beautifully, with the creamy colors which are particularly effective at expressing outdoor settings, also known as Plein Aire painting. I can look at something and see it as an oil, watercolor, or pastel. Painting in different media and different styles keeps my creative juices alive.
Dick Folse
EXHIBITING MEMBER
Oils, Watercolors
@myimperialviolet (Instagram)
dickfolse.com
I work from my imagination, and often in a studio without visual references. My inspiration comes from specific places, but the work does not represent any one place or view; rather, it is a sense of the places I have seen and know well, fictitiously portrayed. I am currently working on images of the Greater Fond du lac area, where I reside. Over the past 35 years, I have principally painted landscapes which have been developed along an artistic continuum from representational and illusionistic to abstraction depending on the place I am painting at the time.
Dave Iserman
EXHIBITING MEMBER
Watercolors
daveisermanwatercolors.com
Dave Iserman has been practicing the art of watercolor painting for over 30 years. Dave’s family ancestry includes a number of professional artists. His work has been exhibited in galleries, commissioned by the City of Georgetown, TX Main Street Commission and has been included in private collections throughout various states and countries. He has studied under well known artists, including seminars with Tony Couch, and continues studying and practicing new techniques on a daily basis. He has recently begun including paintings of loveable dogs in his portfolio. He considers his style to be more impressionistic and also very whimsical.
Cheryl Iverson
Acrylic, Fabric, Photography
Cheryl Iverson has been painting in acrylics for the past eight years. She also enjoys sewing and photography. She uses photographs as a starting point to make small canvases in the impressionistic style. Cheryl has exhibited at the NAMI Healing Art Show, Fond du lac County Fair, and Caestecker Library.
Sarah McGowan
EXHIBITING MEMBER
Oils
I paint because it is fun. My mother and paternal grandmother were both painters so my love of painting is perhaps inherited. I prefer painting scenes from nature, but also enjoy putting people and buildings in my paintings. Rather than trying to search for meaning or presenting the perfect portrayal, l hope my paintings have an emotive essence that provide the viewer a moment for reflection.
Jodie A. Miller
Photography
Jodie Miller is a nature and wildlife photographer working in Green Lake, Wisconsin.
Kris Morse
Acrylic ( gold leaf and pen and ink additionally)
www.instagram.com/krismorseart
I was raised just west of Plymouth, Wisconsin. Living directly outside the Kettle Moraine State Forest, l grew up surrounded with endless natural beauty which then led to countless ideas for the paintings of my today.
My paintings are created in acrylic. Most are contemporary in style with bird life as the main subject. I love to hike the local trails, and bird sightings are just a wonderful bonus, one that l look forward to with each step,
I am a self taught artist , starting in 2007. l have produced countless paintings and murals. Selling at juried art shows and festivals, coffee houses, breweries, wineries and galleries. My murals are all in Wisconsin, and include both indoor and outdoor examples at businesses and private residences.
Carolyn Myers
EXHIBITING MEMBER
Oil, watercolor, acrylic
My work is largely influenced by my nostalgic memories and my faith. I aspire to be an artist that uses art as a way to process, heal, reflect, and worship. Art can be used as a catalyst to reveal and direct us to discover what defines us individually and as a whole. When you look at my art I hope to draw out a connection, a relationship, a touchpoint to process moments in one’s life. Professionally, I have taught in art education for 5 years and create commissioned paintings.
Travis Nygard
EXHIBITING MEMBER
Versatile
My interest in artmaking is broad-based, and I take an intuitive approach when I work. I enjoy many materials and techniques, from paper to ceramics to glass to assemblage to stereoscopic photography, to book art. I am also an art and cultural historian, and I thus love to think about the creative expression from other times and places. Such traditions are endlessly inspiring.
Mollie Oblinger
Sculptures, Ceramics, Photography
@oblingmol
mollieoblinger.com
Mollie Oblinger’s artwork explores the undermining of our environment. By continually researching unique locations, each series of works reflects a new set of discoveries and speaks specifically to place. Oblinger’s recent exhibitions include solo shows at Mount Mary University, Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts, and Miami University. She has been awarded residencies at Playa, the Alpena Wildlife Sanctuary, and the Roswell Artist in Residence. She has public artworks in Wisconsin and New Mexico.
Oblinger received an MFA from the University of California, Davis and a BFA from Syracuse University. She is a Professor at Ripon College in Wisconsin.
Laura Pahlas
EXHIBITING MEMBER
Oils and gouache
@laura.pahlas (Instagram)
@artforallhearts (Facebook)
I am a painter and art educator. I am among the fourth generation of artists in my family so art has always been central to my life since the start. Children (often my own) in wild, natural settings are my favorite subject matter as it allows me to zero in on themes that I believe to be quite universal. These include the concept of an inner child, the feeling of nostalgia, the experience of existing and surviving in a world that often feels far bigger than us, the journey back to our true/wild selves, and ultimately the connection we feel to each other simply because we share these universal human experiences. Additionally, most of the moments depicted in my paintings are moments that could not have been captured without slowing down and being present. My work is meant to be a quiet yet meaningful invitation to slow down and notice.
Marcia Pockat
Gourd Carving, Acrylics, Watercolors
@llamamoonshine
Facebook: Marcia Pockat - Shooting Star Studio and Organized Hoarder
Solace, joy and frustration in the creating of art, in whatever form I have experienced, are some of my earliest memories. It is part of my soul whether anyone else appreciates or sees value in what I create or not. My heart yearns for create time! Joy in my life besides my family and friends is from art, no matter the medium. Oh and my critters. Some might call it addictions, I call it nourishment for my soul.
Lydia Respalje
Applied arts mostly, such as jewelry, interior design, and home decor.
My name is Lydia and I’m passionate about all things creative. I love to champion everyone to create using their gift. Whether thats someone who does landscape or someone who does pottery. Mine happens to be applied arts, such as jewelry, interior design, and home decor! I am Native American from the Oneida Tribe and some of my work is inspired by Native culture.
Howard Rigden
Photography
Howardrigdenphotography.com
Fine art photographer with 20+ years experience in the field, from portraits to street photography. I prefer to work in B&W I feel it shows the subjects inner beauty. The artist that influenced me the most are Alfred Stieglitz, Dorothea Lange, Edward Steichen.
David Sakrison
EXHIBITING MEMBER
Digital Photography, Paper Art
Sakrisonpapercuts.blogspot.com
After working as a newspaper reporter/photographer, I spent 30+ years as a freelance aviation journalist and photographer. In recent years, my photography has mostly been travel-related or architectural. I like shooting old barns, old industrial buildings, and architectural ruins. Most of my finished images are color, but lately I have been experimenting with converting images to black & white. I shoot with digital cameras and use Photoshop Elements®.
I build award-winning photo-realistic finescale models made of paper and card, and I’m experimenting with three-dimensional images built up from photographs of storefronts, industrial facades, antique architectural drawings, and antique toy theatres.
Kate Salas
EXHIBITING MEMBER
Ceramics
@kkraynek (Instagram)
katesalas.com
Kate Salas was born and raised in Wisconsin and studied ceramics with Eugene Kain at Ripon College. Her work is primarily functional ceramics with a focus on vessels made for serving food. The work is created using the wheel and with hand building techniques such as coils and slabs. She uses a warm brown stoneware and a restrained palette of food safe glazes, allowing the focus to be on form and function. She likes to see her pieces in use, holding fruit, serving bread, as a favorite snack bowl. Her work can be found in the shop at the Museum of Wisconsin Art.
Caron Sisko
EXHIBITING MEMBER
Author and Illustrator
caronsisko.com
Caron Sisko is an author and illustrator of children's books. She has published three books: The Last Flower, Slim, and Morris Peerie. She is currently working on her fourth book. The illustrations are done with a combination of pen and ink, Prismacolor pencil, tinted graphite, and Copic markers. The color palette is muted with strategic emphasis on vibrant color used sparingly. Illustrations are meant to evoke a lightly ominous other worldly atmosphere that is both dark and friendly.
Kathleen Sletten
EXHIBITING MEMBER
Photography, Digital Art, Colored Pencil, Watercolor
ksletten@chorus.net
Kathleen Sletten is an award-winning photographer specializing in fine art photography and digital art as well as traditional media. Her work has been published in photo journals and exhibited in several venues. She is active in multiple camera clubs, teaches photography classes, and is currently President of the Rural Rembrandts Art Club. Kathleen lives in Montello, Wisconsin.
Carissa Sorensen
EXHIBITING MEMBER
Mixed media including watercolor, gouache, pen, colored pencil, embroidery and collage
I simply have to make art! It’s vital to my well-being; whether it’s art I share publicly or a little something in a sketchbook. I’m deeply inspired by nature and love including elements of folklore, spirituality and legend into my work. My motivation is the pure joy of creative expression; the journey is the destination! Professionally, I create commissioned paintings; including a recent animal wisdom art project of over 60 unique pieces. I have illustrated 2 (soon to be 3) published children’s books, covers for several novels, and created the diagrams for a handbook on equine physiology and biomechanics.
Mary Unger
EXHIBITING MEMBER
Fiber art (weaving, quilting, sewing, needlework)
midwestweaver@gmail.com
@midwestweaving (Instagram)
midwestweaving.com
I am fascinated by fiber and cloth, as well as by the processes of turning one into the other. I am primarily a weaver and quilter, though I also enjoy various forms of needlework, including appliqué and embroidery. I work with natural materials--primarily cotton, wool, and alpaca--and weave on both rigid heddle and multi-shaft looms. Most of my looms are inherited from folks associated with Ripon and I take pleasure in imagining the people, projects, and stories these looms have inspired. As for myself, I enjoy making textiles for everyday use, both for the home and for the body.
Daniel Volkmann
Charcoal, pastel, pencil and anything that makes a mark; acrylic & oil
I make bold, confident figure drawings and fully saturated, highly textured, experimental paintings. My artistic focus is solely on executing those few novel ideas that I need to get out of my head and into this world. I currently don't try to promote or sell my work-- primarily because they take me so long to make! I like to work directly with my hands, in life and art. Though admittedly, I only spend as much time working as necessary to allow me to ride my bikes. More art tomorrow, today I need to ride.
