I saw many familiar faces while manning the WPR booth at Waukesha Art Fest yesterday. I greeted them at the booth or spotted them from a distance. The clouds parted, the sun came out, had as much fun as last year.
Katie Madsen, Mimi Notestein and Chuck Quirmbach from WHAD were in town for Art Fest.
I wondered how many friends a visually impared person would miss at a large event like this, not being able to spot them from a distance. How would a blind person experience Art Fest, I wondered. They obviously would have a different concept of visual art than I. If Art Fest wasn't just a big gathering of friends what do you think Gregg Wandsneider would get out of it? There would be music and friendly conversation, but what would he see in the beautifully smooth and shiny wooden bowls with rough bark edges at the Greenwood Turnings tent? Would he appreciate the textured raku pattern fired into the vases of Ryan Peters? Would he even notice the crazy "motorcycle" assembled by Alan, the metal sculptor who uses a concoction of found objects such as antique farm tractor parts, skulls, rollerskates, sheet metal, etc.?
I'm glad to have found and joined Gregg for a time at yesterday's Art Fest. We began by going to the Kohl's-sponsored Milwaukee Art Museum tent where helpful girls were assisting kids with block printing.
Why wouldn't Gregg enjoy this opportunity? Though he couldn't see his creation, he certainly could experience it. We first did a multi-colored crayon rubbing over a textured plate for the picture's background. A giraffe, elephant, monkey or panda-patterned block of wood was available to ink up and print from. Gregg chose the monkey. It turned out OK, but after hanging it up to dry we forgot to later pick it up.
Gregg and Katie
Fortunately I talked Gregg into a short walk west to Waukesha Tattoo Company @ Galleria Edge. Fortunate because the opening was Saturday for their latest exhibit, an artistic collaboration between Jeremy with Flux Design, and Jennifer from Soma Gallery. Jeremy was there to talk to us and explain his process but, best of all, allowed us to touch and feel the art. It truly was eye-opening.
