Well, welcome everybody to Midday magazine for this Monday, January 27th, 2025.
Have your host, James here, and we're joined by our great friend, Stephanie Hartman,
Executive Director of the Central Wisconsin Cultural Center.
Staff good to see you.
Good to see you.
Thanks for having me.
Thanks for being here.
Always great to hang out with you.
Hope things have been over there in the new year.
Very good.
Very busy, but very good.
Yeah.
Yeah.
We relate to that to each other.
Yes.
We do.
It's quite well.
And I imagine it's busy over there because you guys got a really cool new exhibit start
now.
We do.
It just opened on Thursday.
So this is the full first full week that it's open.
It was an artist invitation.
We invited seven artists to be a part of it.
It's called Exploring Nature, Whimsical, Wild and Zen.
And these artists blew it out of the water.
It's awesome.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So we have Emily Graf, Connie Hanky, who is a retired art instructor from town here.
And the president at the Alexander House, Christine Herman, Jim Lyons, Kate Marotes,
Amy Wei and Greg Yar.
Greg Yar, a lot of people know from the town of Rome, great photographer.
So I really encourage people to stop in and check it out.
They really did a beautiful job of interpreting nature to us and all different mediums, which
is really cool to see.
So.
Stephanie, you and I have gotten a chance to do this
for a long time, whether it is with the Cultural Center or other times we've been, you know,
I've interviewed together and everything.
So I hope you know how much I respect you and appreciate you.
Well, thank you.
I don't want to put you on the spot here, but I did have something I didn't bring up
in a pregame that I wanted to bring up because we do a show director's playhouse around
here where we like to feature artists and creatives in the community.
And I would really love to build a bridge with that show and our artists that are showing
up over here and getting them on our show and extra, you know, kind of an extra promotion
of them and these artists will also kind of get a chance to get to know them a little
bit more and promote some of our local artists in this area.
It's what the whole show's design is for, but we need a connection with those artists,
so I'm going to lean on you for that.
You can do that.
My mother is in the back of my head, yelling at me for putting you on the spot.
That's okay.
But I also kind of thought that this, I had a pretty good feeling that you'd be on my
way.
Absolutely.
In all seriousness, this is such a cool idea.
You know, in the Cultural Center does this kind of thing a lot where you bring in not
just artists, but artists that have multiple perspectives and multiple mediums and kind
of, while the theme is there, they're approaching it differently and giving you so much more
to be entertainment with it.
Exactly.
And it's so cool because we have woodworking, we have mosaics, we have felting, wet felting,
which I had never even heard of quite honestly.
And the work that they do is just absolutely incredible.
So yeah, I encourage you to stop in.
Our business hours are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
We have classes at night.
We are open on the weekends for special events.
If you would like to come see the exhibit and it doesn't work in our business hours, please
just give us a call and we'll arrange a time for you to come see it.
It's something also to keep in mind, too, with an exhibit like this.
The energy is so good.
It's such a positive energy and I think that that's something that we could always use
a little bit more of in our society these days and stuff.
But it's also something that I think is organic.
You don't go there necessarily thinking or feeling this way.
I think you leave feeling that way and leave from it that way.
That's one of the beauties of art, one of the great things that art can do and great artists
are able to do and you've got just four great artists over there being a part of this
exhibit.
We had a tour group on Friday, had about 20 people in from a place in Stevens Point and
they just went on and on, they just loved it.
Some of the folks wanted to stay longer and their shaperones were like, nope, we have to
go now.
It's time for us to go and go for lunch, but it was so fun to watch them come in and then
just look around and be amazed by all the different pieces.
So it was fun.
And Stephanie, if I got this right, you're able to purchase art from the exhibit possibly?
Absolutely.
There's tons of pieces for sale.
There is one piece that is not for sale because the artist sold it right before the show
was open.
Oh, that happens.
Which at least the buyer was like, yes, you can display it, but I want it when it's
over.
Yeah, right, right.
And we sold some pieces at opening night, but yes, I would say 99% of the work is for
sale.
Well, and most of us are going to have something up on our walls.
Right.
How cool to be able to not only have something in your walls you like to look at every day
and everything, but you also every day when you look at it, you know, I supported an artist
with that.
Absolutely.
I supported my area.
I supported our local creative community just by having something in my house that I
loved to look at.
Right.
And we have the whole exhibit as well as the gift shop.
We have some great items in the gift shop right now.
After the holiday show, you know, we kind of did like a reboot.
Yeah.
So we have new items in the gift shop as well.
And it is a great opportunity to buy something that you know has made local.
Your supporting local artists, what a great opportunity.
Well, and you know, we talk a lot about this, especially since the pandemic, a bi-local
support local.
And boy, do we mean that it's one of our favorite mantras here at WFHR and something
we believe very strongly.
And I hope people, you know, under that umbrella also include the idea of artists and artists
and promoting that and supporting that local work and helping them continue to do that
great work.
Again, most of us are going to have knickknacks or paintings up in our houses.
Why not have stuff from local creatives, local art that you can point to and say that didn't
just come from a department store that came from so and so.
And you can maybe even promote that artist to where other people will buy their work.
Exactly.
And that happens a lot.
We'll have, you know, someone come in and say, well, my friend got, you know, this really
cool pin.
Do you still have those?
Jewelry is a big one that people kind of like the style.
We have woodworking.
We have all sorts of things.
So it is really great to have a place that you can go.
You know it's handmade.
And it kind of makes a special gift for someone else as well.
You know, one of the more popular websites, more popular things right now is Etsy.
And that's great.
This is that without the middleman.
Exactly.
You know, straight up just right there to the source, you know, even if you could, you,
you have that right there in front of you to be able to look at the items and all that.
And it's such a better version of that to me.
Yes.
Being able to be a part of this.
Yep.
Completely agree.
And our next exhibit is supporting local as well.
It's called Unraveling.
It's the creative fiber art exhibit.
And we are partnering with Southwood County rug hookers.
And they will have, I think about 60 pieces on display, maybe more than that.
And then we do a call for art for 3D fiber arts.
So we're going to kind of combine the show.
We'll have a lot of wall hangings.
But then with the call for art, we'll have 3D pieces as well.
So that will be coming up in April.
That will open Thursday, April 17th from 530 to 730.
And for that exhibit, if people would like to be a part of it, if they would like to have
something in the exhibit or anything, are they able to do that?
Absolutely.
So very shortly here, we'll have the forms on our website that you can just go ahead and
print the form.
You can also stop in the cultural center and we'll have that available as well.
Or you can email us at cwccatculturalcenterarts.org.
So many fun great things happening over there.
We only have so much time and we never were able to cover everything going on over there.
So I would like to stay on these certain topics for a long time.
But we have to keep moving up because there's so many great things going on over there.
And one of the things that you guys do so well is certainly supporting artists, helping
artists promote their work and everything.
Everything is helping make more artists, which is above and beyond to me and offering classes
like they do over at the cultural center, Stephanie.
Can we touch on those a little bit?
Yes, we actually have a huge lineup of classes coming up more than we've ever had, I think.
Yeah, that's no worthy.
In a time frame, yeah, it's crazy.
But we are doing a lot of mosaic classes.
Our instructor Cindy Orzel is wonderful and has been doing more of a small scale, I would
say mosaic.
We also are in the midst of a mosaic window class that Bonnie Dine teaches that's a little
more involved.
So the classes with senior a great way to get started and then you can move on.
Cindy's doing a number of classes coming up mosaic photo frame.
We are offering.
It's a three part class.
We're offering a day session and a night session.
We've been hearing that, you know, folks say, oh, I wish you would do stuff at night.
I work.
So coming up, these classes are all being offered for a day session and a night session.
Again, above and beyond by those instructors.
Yes, absolutely.
The people doing that.
That's awesome.
That's really nice of them.
Jeannie Weimuth is teaching a class coming up called Have a Heart.
It's a stencil collage on Saturday, February 8th from one to four.
So that will be a really great class.
It's a great idea.
That's a really good idea.
Well-named class.
Yes, that's Jeannie.
And Jeannie's also teaching on Saturday, February 15th from one to four.
It's called Just Stitch It and it's learning a bunch of embroidery stitches and they're
going to finish with a bookmark.
If you've seen the corner bookmarks that people are using, that will be the finished project
after she teaches you some stitches.
And all skill levels are welcome at all of these classes.
And then we're doing another stained class mosaic window.
It's a smaller scale, so don't be scared away.
And that'll be a three-part class again offering a day time session and a night time session
in February.
You can find all of these classes on our website.
You can register from our website or if you prefer to not do that, which I understand
some people don't want to do that.
Just give us a call.
Which, on the list, you can stop in and pay before or pay the day of.
And then one last class to mention, we're doing birds on a wire, which is a watercolor
class.
The example is so cute.
It is great.
It is so great.
It just makes me smile.
Yes.
And that will be Tuesday, February 25th.
Again, we're doing a day and a night session and it's only $25 per person.
It's a good kind of an introductory watercolor class.
Yeah.
Which is really cool to see.
That's an art form that has been come more and more popular and it's really neat to
see the adults having fun with that and everything.
Jeannie, the instructor for the other classes there.
Jeannie is the two stitching classes and then Denise Larson is doing the watercolor.
With both of them, could easily run a class of how to name classes as well.
Yeah, exactly.
They're very good at this.
They create a great name.
It's great names for these classes, but I say that just, but also a little bit, maybe
they could put in some work because we have so many people out there that have so many
different skill sets.
And one of the things that I think is fun when you learn something is teaching it to others.
It's not just, okay, I learned this cool new thing and what I can do with it, but it's
teaching it to somebody else and so many people in this area would like to be able to do that.
Say you're our wood carver.
Say you're somebody who has a skill or do something as a hobby that maybe don't know
that many people that do or maybe you're worried about more people not doing as younger
people come up and everything and you want to keep this skill alive.
If I brought this to you, Stephanie, I said, I'd like to be able to do this.
Can you maybe find some room?
Is there ways to maybe break?
They are the next person we're talking about when we get together in a new class.
Exactly.
So if people have interest in teaching, we just have them stop in the center or make an
appointment if it needs to be at night or on a weekend.
And we really, we just work together.
We determine what the class would look like.
You know, what are the costs?
We pay our instructors.
We pay $25 an hour for instruction, $15 an hour for prep.
So yes, if you have a talent that you would like to share, please contact us.
We would love it.
We understand, especially, one of the things that I think we is so unique about rapids
here in Central Wisconsin in general, but it's specifically in rapids.
We have a good senior population.
We also have a lot of younger people in this area as well.
And though those seniors out there, you have skills, you have hobbies, you have things
that you were doing that maybe aren't being done anymore, but you would like to see them
kept alive.
Well, this is a great opportunity for that because young people love taking these classes.
Yes.
And so here you go.
There's a win-win kind of situation where you get to continue this and have some fun
and sharing your hobby and skill while also knowing that maybe this is going to have
you future generations doing it.
Yes.
And Cindy is a great example of that.
She's recently retired and she's like, I am having way more fun teaching than I did
at my job.
That's so cool.
And it is great because she has folks who, I mean, we don't even get it out on the website
and they're calling to register because they love her style of teaching.
She's very creative, yet very laid back and really lets you explore like what you want
to do so people are really enjoying her classes.
There are so few opportunities for artists to make a living doing what they love to do.
And I understand that they're making a buck for this or what have you, nobody's doing
it for the money.
No, that's for sure.
That's really noteworthy.
I think that's just as noteworthy and then taking the time out of there.
You mentioned that they've had offing a night class.
Just doing things like that, nobody, that's above and beyond kind of stuff.
That's for the community.
That's for the betterment of all of our community.
Right.
And while I love the idea of these continuing, we just never know who this might start
a spark in either.
And all of a sudden, here's another young person keeping this skill set alive or just
having fun with it or maybe making a living off of it.
Yes, absolutely.
And another thing that we offer that I don't talk about enough is open pottery.
We have one artist who started probably two years ago.
I think she was 14 at the time, is 16 now.
And to watch her skills develop has just been incredible.
And she's selling a couple of things in our gift shop now.
And she just thoroughly enjoys what she's doing.
So that's been really fun to watch.
It's really cool to hear.
We are speaking with our friend Stephanie Hartman, executive director of the Central Wisconsin
Cultural Center.
A couple more things to talk about.
Step, definitely want to get into artist coffee.
It's a great event.
Yes, that's coming up this week, Thursday at 9 a.m., and you don't have to be afraid.
I've heard people say, I've always thought about coming, but I don't know anyone.
That's the whole idea.
If you're an artist, come and talk with the other artists.
It's really neat to watch them all share what they're doing, ask advice, get advice.
It's just a really nice time for people to get together and talk about what their skills
are and learn from each other.
There's a relatability that you get when you talk to people that are from a similar industry
or the same industry.
That you can talk to a hundred people that have all the empathy in the world and they're
just not going to understand it the way that another artist will or another person will
in the industry.
You see this all the time, I talk about this actually with Sheriff Becker a lot.
Oh, sure.
And him talking with other people in that industry.
And that there's a relatability that only they can get and there's nothing wrong with
that.
I think something to embrace.
I think it's something that's a positive while also giving an opportunity for people
and outside of that industry to maybe have a little empathy and understanding of these
things.
Whether it's the arts or anything else.
There's the other part of this too that I really enjoy.
One of my oldest friends will, he's a stand-up comedian and will is incredibly funny.
He's a great writer.
He does not need me.
But we get together all the time and write sketches and work on his stuff because I just
have a different angle than he has.
And I just see, you know, I can't tell you how many times or the last 20 years where he'll
say something or I say something and I'm like, oh, I didn't even think of that.
Sure.
Because we just have a different angle the way we look at stuff.
That's arts.
Absolutely.
And when you sit there and you're having your coffee, you're just having a good time.
But maybe something happens or something is said that you didn't think of that takes
your story or your painting or your photo, whatever you're working on to a whole different
angle.
A whole different work.
Absolutely.
And I think just like writers, artists are very humble and don't give themselves enough
credit.
Yes.
So, you know, they'll be in and say, one in particular was, you know, I'm working on
this sketch, but I can't get the eyes right.
And they were trying to talk about, you know, proportion and all these different things
that quite honestly, I don't even understand.
Sometimes I just sit and go, wow, that's cool.
It just really neat how people can give input or they say, oh gosh, I wouldn't mess with
it.
It looks great.
Or I wouldn't add that color because then that'll take away from this.
It's just, it's great to watch everyone kind of collaborate and help each other out.
When is the, this event again?
That is this Thursday, January 30th from 9 to we say 10 30.
It's usually 11 because there's so much conversation and stuff.
Yeah.
Exactly.
So we don't keep much of a time schedule, but we do try.
And is this something that every month is available?
Yes.
So it's the last Thursday of every month from 9 to 10 30.
Excellent.
Excellent.
I do want to mention before we wrap up on our final topic, writer's share, that's another
great one.
A program that you guys offer that I know a lot of people have enjoyed.
Yes.
And that's another fun group to listen to and kind of go back and forth and talk about,
you know, what would you do with this?
How would you change this?
How can I develop this?
We have a person who wants to learn how to publish a book and two folks in our group have
already published a book.
So she's coming to February, writer's share.
So again, just great resources.
Writer's share happens a second Wednesday of the month from 1 to 3, again, all of this
taking place at the Central Wisconsin Cultural Center where you can also check out one of
the greatest music acts you're going to see in all of the area for on the floor.
That's right.
And they're coming up February 6th from 2 to 4.
They are the first and the third Thursday of every month from 2 to 4, and it's worth
the price of admission, which is free, but they are a who to listen to, they're great.
You know, something, Stephanie, we're talking a little bit about in our pregame before we
got going here and everything is, you know, certainly supporting young artists, new artists
and giving them a platform, giving them an opportunity to have their work out there
and do something that is the ultimate American dream and making a living doing what you
love to do what you're good at.
And there's also the supporting of artists that have been doing this a long time.
Right.
Sometimes you sell their items in the gift shop or some of these things or are they offer
classes like we were talking about.
And there's somebody like Pete Revelle and Foreign the Floor where to me, all of those
things while also keeping this, this is living breathing history.
This is something you get to take in and see one of the better MC is one of the better musicians
we've ever had in this area.
And it's twice a month you get to check this out.
Right.
Right there.
Right.
You stroll in, you take a listen and guarantee you'll be back.
Yes.
Guarantee you'll be coming back and checking this out.
There are no reruns with these shows.
Never.
They're not.
They are a really fun group to listen to.
You'll be amazed how they play off each other and play well together.
Yes.
Yes.
And, you know, as long as they've been doing this, you would think it's their first show.
Yes.
It's swear to you.
You would think it's like there's no exaggerating here or anything out of your body.
I've seen Pete multiple times.
I've had him in studio, been out of one of the Robinson Park, all kinds of different venues.
Every time this guy is out there and he's so happy to be out there.
Yes, he is.
So happy to be performing.
That's contagious.
Yes.
You can't help but enjoy that.
Along with the fact I should mention as well, incredible musicians by the way.
Wow.
I was very, very good at what they do.
Yes.
I like it.
Incredibly good musicians, great music, great chance to take it all in.
And again, it's free.
Yes.
Well, it is free.
We do encourage you, though, to buy local, support local in the, at the Cultural Center,
they have the gift shop.
They have other opportunities to be able to invest.
And it is an investment in our arts, investment in this community, investment in these great
individuals.
I will mention one more time until it changes.
Last year was constant finished dead last and funding the arts.
Right.
So this falls on us as communities.
This falls on us as people to keep these things alive.
This is a part of our culture, this part of our history.
Let's help these artists not only do this, but also it helps us.
It's a win-win situation for everybody.
Absolutely.
And you know, we're always very honored that we have the opportunity to help the artists.
Our holiday show is a great example.
We had over 11,000 in sales this year.
And that goes back to the artists.
I mean, we keep some, to keep the lights on and that kind of thing, but it's a great
way to support local artists.
We're really glad you're keeping those lights on, definitely.
Yes, we do.
We love hanging out with you.
We're looking forward to talking again real soon.
If people want to know more about some of the things we talked about today, how can they
get in touch with you?
Sure.
The phone number is 715-421-4598.
As I mentioned, everything is on our website.
It's really hard to keep a flyer up to date because we're always adding things or
a class ends and suddenly it's out of date.
So we do keep our website really up to date and that's culturalcenterarts.com.
And again, you can always email as well, which is CWCC at culturalcenterarts.org.
And you can find that email, the phone number, everything again at the website, culturalcenterarts.com.
Stephanie, thank you so much for the time and everything you do in the community.
Thank you.
And thanks for having me.
Stay Magazine coming up for you right here at WFHR.
