From: "Kirsten Villegas" <kvillegas@wchsm.org> Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2009 13:21:21 -0800 Subject: Growing Seasons Exhibit at Waukesha County Museum Message-ID: <93F272ACC331B84899BAA7C76217A260BFB29B03@EX-BE-015-SFO.shared.themessagecenter.com>
Waukesha County Museum & Historical Society presents new "Growing Seasons"
exhibit
Exhibit, along with museum's permanent collection, promises to deliver whol
esome family fun and a look into farm life in the early 1900s
For additional information, call (262) 521-2859 or visit www.waukeshacounty
museum.org<http://www.waukeshacountymuseum.org/>
WAUKESHA, WI - February 12, 2009 - The Waukesha County Museum t
oday announced the opening of their first traveling exhibit for 2009, Growi
ng Seasons, An American Farm Family at the Beginning of the Twentieth Centu
ry, curated by Carolyn Splear Pratt, which will be presented from February
21 through June 28, 2009. This exciting 4 ½ month long exhibit depicts f
arm experiences and family life during the early years of the 1900s. The t
ext, original milk-based 'casein' paintings, pen & ink vignettes and artifa
cts explore the seasons of the farm year through the experiences of a singl
e mid-west family. The Growing Seasons educational exhibit is a slice of Am
erican history, depicting a distant, but familiar, social experience. The
text, casein paintings, pen & ink vignettes and artifacts relate to the sea
sons of the farm year, through the experiences of a family during the early
years of the new century.Author Elsie Lee Splear (1906-1996) and artist Ke
n Stark (b. 1943) collaborated to relate those events of everyday life, whe
n work well done brought its own reward. The true story chronicles the pas
t, from a child's view, through an adult narrator, who gives a perspective
of time. Stark's use of casein for the paintings echoes how farmers create
d homemade, milk-based paint for their houses and barns.
The exhibit consists of twenty-four casein paintings, pen & ink vignettes,
farm artifacts of the time, and a 40-minute DVD, which enable visitors to e
xperience a genuine place and time in rural America. A teacher's resource
guide will also be provided, to enhance the exhibition for students, and es
tablish applications between the visual arts, history and literacy. The fo
cus of the educational material is to learn about people and places in the
past, as well as connect students with their own history, through critical
thinking and observation.
"We are very excited to bring Growing Seasons in as our first e
ver traveling exhibit at the Waukesha County Museum," said Kirsten Lee Vill
egas, executive director of the museum. "It is the only Wisconsin stop for
this exhibit, which is touring across the country, so it will be a real tr
eat for visitors who may not otherwise get a chance to see it."
To complement the Growing Seasons exhibit, the Waukesha County
Museum will also showcase farm tools, machines and photos from its own perm
anent collection and archives which illustrate what Waukesha County was lik
e during the period. The collection includes an early 20th century John De
ere plow, 1927 Maytag washer, aerial view of Keystone Farms in Waukesha fro
m 1907 and many other carefully preserved artifacts of county history. Tot
al space for the combined exhibits will be 1,500 square feet. Another compo
nent of the Growing Seasons exhibit is that text panels and descriptions ha
ve been translated and will be offered both English and Spanish. "We wanted
to make this accessible to a wide audience," said Villegas.
" This is a wonderful opportunity for parents and grandparents
to share with their children and grandchildren a slice of Waukesha County
life during a time when television didn't exist and living from the land w
as part of our way of life," continued Villegas. "Some of the artifacts on
display are over 100 years old. We have preserved these important stories
so that everyone can appreciate where we've come from and the changes that
have occurred in our communities over time.."
Programming highlights presented during the exhibit's run include:
* Saturday, February 21: Grand Opening 'Family Day', 10AM-4:30PM, vi
sitors can touch and explore 100-year old farm and household tools; take do
cent-guided tours, play historic games or for an additional $1 learn how to
churn butter, plant a vegetable and create a "food chain" craft. A "Galle
ry Talk" will be held at 3PM and presented by Elisabeth Engel, Curator of C
ollections, and Eric Vanden Heuvel, Archivist for the Waukesha County Museu
m. Visitors can also have their photo taken in an indoor "barn" setting dur
ing the run of the exhibit.
* Saturday, February 28, the Museum hosts the Wisconsin Plein Air Pai
nters Association from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Over 15 artists will create paint
ings at various locations throughout the building and outside throughout th
e day. At 1:00 p.m., the public is welcome to sit in on the Association's
self critique session to listen and learn. Come and watch painters in actio
n. Free with Museum admission.
* Thursday, March 26 marks the start of a very special four part cook
ing series titled Seasonal Cooking with Chef Dean Schmitz, sponsored by The
Black Trumpet and The Clarke Hotel. The series will consist of live cookin
g classes and demonstrations. Pricing and details to be announced.
* Special events in April include
Saturday, April 18 11 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. - "Adventures with Ma
and Pa", with interactive hand-on learning presentations of Special To
ols & Tales. Visitors will discover the intriguing answers to many
questions about the tools of the pioneers, such as: What is it for?
What does it do? How does it withstand the test of time? How di
d math and science help early pioneers utilize simple machines to help them
survive? How did these tools and machines help create solid communities, s
table economies, and healthy families? Free with Museum admission.
* In May, the Museum presents
- Saturday, May 2 Special Guest Presentation by Growing Seasons Exhibit
Curator Carolyn Splear Pratt
- Saturday, May 9 Community Day at the Farmer's Market
- Sunday, May 10 - Mother's Day - Moms get in for $1 and receive a free
gift
- Saturday May 16 is 4-H Day at the Museum from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. wi
th special games and activities for 4-H families.
* In June - Fathers get in for $1 on Father's Day, Sunday, June 21 an
d can enjoy a special Father's Day Outdoor Vintage Car and Model-T show
About Growing Seasons:
Life on an early 1900s farm was defined by each turn of the seasons, at a t
ime when rural residents still represented over half of the United States p
opulation and horses provided the power to work the land.
Nearly everything was done by hand, in the fields, around the farmyard and
within the house. Everyday living was without electricity, central heating
, refrigeration, running water or indoor plumbing.
Growing Seasons, the award-winning nonfiction book, upon which this exhibit
is based, was named a Notable Book for Children by Smithsonian magazine an
d selected as a Teacher's Choice by Reading Teacher of the International Re
ading Association. The School Library Journal gave Growing Seasons a starr
ed review. The educational website (http://www.growingseasons.com/) has had
visitors from over one hundred countries.
The text, paintings and vintage objects reveal how the seasons defined a ha
rdworking farm family, whose children still found time for the joy of readi
ng together: while herding cows, during nighttime baths in front of the sto
ve, or by lamplight around the kitchen table.
The showing at the Waukesha County Museum is part of a national tour over
a two and a half year period containing approximately twenty framed casein
paintings, thirty six framed pen and ink images on paper framed in fifteen
frames and nineteen artifacts. The tour was developed and managed by Smith
Kramer Fine Art Services, an exhibition tour development company in Kansas
City, Missouri.
Courtesy of Carolyn Splear Pratt
Tour Development by Smith Kramer Fine Art Services, Kansas City, Missouri
About the Waukesha County Museum
The 1893 castle-like structure at East Avenue and Main Street in Waukesha,
Wisconsin is home to the Waukesha County Museum. Originally constructed as
the county's second courthouse, the building is owned and operated by the W
aukesha County Historical Society & Museum, Inc., a not-for-profit organiza
tion.
Three floors of exhibits cover such topics as the Civil War, early settleme
nt in the county, architecture, toys from many generations, and technology.
The Museum offers educational programs throughout the year including sprin
g and summer camps, Scout programs, and guided tours. The Research Center c
ontains over 28,000 printed documents and over 250,000 photographs for rese
archers to reference.
The Museum's 75,000 square foot building is a complex of three structures.
The oldest portion is the shell of Waukesha County's second jail built in 1
885, which had been converted to office space in the 1980s. With its stunni
ng turrets, the 1893 Richardson Romanesque courthouse captures the attentio
n of all. Connecting the two older buildings is a 1938 WPA structure, stark
by contrast in its Art Moderne/Art Deco style architecture. The building p
resents an opportunity to discover and contrast architectural details refle
cting the culture of the times.
The Waukesha County Museum has been in the same building since its opening
in 1914. The building was placed on the National Register of Historical Pla
ces in 1975. The Historical Society purchased the building from Waukesha Co
unty in 2003.
The Waukesha County Museum is located at 101 W. Main Street at East Avenue
in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Exhibits and the Museum Store are open Tuesday thro
ugh Saturday from 10:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Admission is $5 for Adults, $4 fo
r Seniors (62 & older), $3 for Students (6-17); Children under age 6 are Fr
ee
Museum Members: Free
Note: Free admission to Waukesha County residents with valid ID every Wedn
esday.
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