In the fall of 2008, the Chipstone Foundation and the Milwaukee Art Museum did a complete overhaul of their American Collections Galleries.All the murals from 2001 are now gone, all the walls rearranged, and the galleries are transformed. The new galleries were designed by Michael Mikulay. I was asked to do a number of really interesting things for the big reinstallation. One was a "Cabinet of Curiosities", the painting of which was inspired by the Renaissance display tradition of the same name. All the new cabinetry was fabricated by the amazing Riverworks Design Studio, and they brought the pieces and... Continue reading

This was an easy and fun lead-in wall to paint, from the exhibit "The Artistic Furniture of Charles Rohlfs"...The scroll design was taken from one of his pieces, and I always enjoy doing large lettering. A couple of in process shots: Continue reading

For the 2008 Decorative Arts show, J. Palin Thorley: Modern and Traditional Design in Twentieth-Century Ceramics , I was asked to paint a lead-in wall re-creating a Thorley "cartoon" design whaich was featured in the show. Here is the finished wall: Here is my wall in progress: And here is the original painting I worked from: Continue reading

The Degas Sculptures show at MAM was also full of really fun projects for me. In addition to the lead-in wall, I was asked to paint his "Little Dancer" on the wall behind the piece, very large scale, and to marbleize columns and do stencil work for the interactive ballet studio room that was made for the exhibit. And what was quite fun was that I painted the marble and stencil pieces at the warehouse studio of the Milwaukee Ballet. Being a former ballet teacher myself, this show was especially meaningful. Continue reading

This show is a favorite of mine...probably because I enjoyed the painting so much. Tea Table Coffee Table was a show from 2005 at MAM. This one was again curated by Glenn Adamson. I was asked to create wall murals behind 3 interior vignettes, as well as paint a faux-marble tiled floor underneath an 18th century tea table. Oh and I also did a very fun lead-in wall mural: The three interiors: The floor painting: Continue reading

Byrdcliffe: An American Arts and Crafts Colony was a show at the Milwaukee art Museum from 2004, a temporary exhibit in the Decorative Arts galleries. I was asked to do two wall murals, one to be created from the carved design on a trunk designed by Zulma Steele in 1904, and one from her Dragonfly Wallpaper from the period. Here is the trunk: And here was my wall: And the Dragonfly wallpaper as wall mural: Continue reading

The blockbuster show from 2004 at the Milwaukee Art Museum, American Fancy: Exuberance in the Arts,1790-1840, was another Chipstone curated/Lou Storey designed collaboration. I think there were more projects for me in this show than any other. Lou asked if I had ever heard of "vinegar painting"...a technique developed in the 18th century to mimic wood grain. I had not, so I did a little research and taught myself. I ended up doing several pedestals for the show, and it became one of my favorite creative techniques. There were also several large scale sculptures fabricated by artist Demetra Copoulos for... Continue reading

In 2003, I was asked to do a large number of murals and other things for the Milwaukee Art Museum's major show called Industrial Strength Design: How Brooks Stevens Shaped Your World. Again, this show was designed by Lou Storey, and was curated by Glenn Adamson , an amazing guy who was then part of the Chipstone Foundation. It was a fabulous show, and so much fun to work with Glenn and Lou again. Here are a few of the many wall paintings I did for that show: A detail from the front wall, with hand lettering and the Brooks... Continue reading