Art inspired by 'natural world'

Ann Singsaas of Stevens Point and Kathy Brown of Marathon are two central Wisconsin artists who blend traditional materials and techniques with their own contemporary approaches to media and style. They will share their artwork with the public through an exhibit at the Alexander House Center for Art and History through July 5.

Singsaas has studied art at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., the University of Illinois and Eastern Michigan University. She has been painting in both oil and watercolor for more than 20 years and teaching workshops and classes for more than 15 years. She is one of the founders of Gallery Q in Stevens Point.

Singsaas will exhibit works in oil and watercolor. The "Birches" series of paintings uses a very traditional medium -- oil paint -- on a less conventional surface -- hand-brushed aluminum. The effect is as if you are seeing these natural objects, rendered in a highly realistic style, pop off the surface on which they are applied. These works invite careful inspection of both subject and technique. Birch trunks, dandelions and budding twigs take on a slightly surreal quality in juxtaposition with the industrial feel of the machined metal plates. The subjects themselves appear to occupy a space just in front of the picture plane.

"The contrast between something so natural, organic looking and papery as birch bark with the stark impersonal and industrial surface of the metal lets these two ideas, the natural and the manmade, mingle," Singsaas said. "I'm not looking for inner deeper secret meaning in these natural elements, they have a magic all their own. I do, however, use this visual style to trick the viewers' eyes and get them to truly look at something simple, whether it be a milkweed pod or a hunk of aluminum, and see it as beautiful and intricate."

The "Wandering" series started while Singsaas was teaching an outdoor painting class at the University of Michigan Biological Station. That week-long class in Michigan was an opportunity to do a lot of on-site demos that actually made good paintings. This idea of doing small quick paintings transferred well to travel. On each trip, Singsaas brought along a small spiral bound notebook of Arches 140-pound cold-press paper, an old Yarka watercolor pan set, three brushes and a plastic cup. These spare elements allowed for a quick response to the landscape and its changing light. Traveling to different locations and sketching on-site or from photos later on in the studio gave a new perspective to both of the series that will be on exhibit.

Brown weaves a variety of baskets using variations of traditional basket patterns and her own contemporary designs. All of her baskets are hand-woven and almost all are one-of-a-kind. She enjoys working with a variety of basket styles. Brown specializes in twill baskets made with reed and her own versions of antler baskets. She also likes reinventing old, functional baskets in reed for modern use.

"I often start with an established basket pattern or technique but then vary it and refashion it into my own original design," Brown said. "For years I have been interested in various weaving techniques that create double-walled baskets. I especially enjoy mastering the double-sided Choctaw basket and have also developed my own technique in weaving double-walled twill baskets."

Natural materials from Wisconsin, especially antlers and barks, appear in her baskets, but primarily Brown weaves with purchased reed and cane. Reed is a product of the Asian rattan plant whose inner core produces long, sinuous material ideal for working into basketry. Her antler baskets are usually made from a combination of reed, seagrass, willow and acorns. She acquires the white-tailed deer antlers from her husband and brothers and their Wisconsin hunting companions.

"I am in the process of developing willow-weaving techniques and a new willow patch with 10 varieties of willow that grow behind my garage," Brown said. "The willow patch will provide an organic source of weaving materials right in my own backyard. It takes a long time to develop new baskets and you will have to review my basket display to see if these actually start to supplant my love of making baskets out of cane and reed.

"Whether weaving with cane and reed or a variety of Wisconsin materials, I am often inspired by the natural world around me."

The Alexander House Center for Art and History is sponsored by the Alexander Charitable Foundation. Gallery hours are 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, or by special appointment.

Contributed by Joe Clark, art director for the Alexander House.