WINTER 2001

Executive Director's Report - Kathy Umlauf

With the assistance of our founding President, Bill Bolinder, NWCC has added an international dimension to its Corporate Gallery Program. Two NWCC artists, Bert Coons, sculptor and Ingrid Neuhofer Dohm, watercolorist exhibited their work at a special exhibition at Zurich Financial Services in Zurich, Switzerland, headquarters of Zurich US. The exhibit took place during the month of October. We especially appreciate the efforts of Matthias Landolt, who so ably coordinated the entire show.

The Council has had a Corporate Gallery since 1991 at Zurich US in Schaumburg, IL.

Here at home the Corporate Gallery Program welcomes a new co-chair, Lynne Railsback and gratefully acknowledges the dedicated efforts of retiring co-chair, Eileen Jorgensen. Lynne will be working with Laura Wasilowski, who begins her second year in this position. The program has gained stability and continuity since we began sequential two year terms for Corporate Gallery co-chairs.

Eileen Jorgensen has been a pleasure to work with. We look forward to her leadership in a new effort of the Council. This year she will be organizing seminars, and meetings that benefit NWCC's artists and bring them together as a cohesive group.

In October Robert Loerzel interviewed students at a "Kids Meet Art"™ event at the gallery. It resulted in an outstanding article with photos of our current exhibit "Mayan Procession" published in the Pioneer Press newspaper.

Robert has been a Board Member and editor of SPOTLIGHTS for five years. He is leaving our Board since his promotion to Arts and Entertainment Editor in addition to Associate Editor at the Pioneer Press. We all wish Robert the best of success in his new endeavor and look forward to exciting coverage of the Council's events.

As we go to print there is a flurry of activity at the gallery as we prepare for two receptions for artist Winifred Godfrey, a poetry reading by award winning poet Louis Jenkins and a Business/Art After Hours at the Rosewood Restaurant for the Rosewood Chamber of Commerce. We'll be telling you all about it in the next issue of SPOTLIGHTS.

Sincerely,

Kathy Umlauf

"Kids Meet Art"™ - Sharon Findley Kirmse

An extraordinary exercise in cross-curriculum education took place at the Council gallery in October. Students from Plum Grove Junior High in Rolling Meadows were given the opportunity to expand their language, mathematics and computer skills using Winifred Godfrey's dramatic "Mayan Procession" exhibit as the focal point of the exercise.

The program dovetailed perfectly with the goals the Plum Grove faculty had set for this school year: To fulfill the state mandate by promoting writing skills and mathematics across the curriculum.

In addition, art teachers Connie Heavey and Karen Larson had planned art projects for the current quarter which were based on the tradition of the Day of the Dead. They were joined by Spanish teachers, Minerva Milford and Maria Junius, who have been incorporating lessons on Latino cultural characteristics into their language instruction.

With all the travel logistics worked out and permission slips signed, 200 Plum Grove students and teachers came to the gallery in three shifts to view "Mayan Procession" and study it under the direction of "Kids Meet Art"™ presenters Deborah Rosen and Paula Fisher.

First, each group of students began the session by viewing the exhibit and learning about the paintings and how they reflect the cultural and historical background of the Mayan people. Then each group began work on both verbal and mathematical exercises based on the artwork.

Rosen, editor of the highly regarded poetry journal "Rhino" and chairman of our Second Saturday Poetry Workshop series, led the students in a poetry exercise. Each student was assigned to use one of the life-sized panels as their focus. This would give them the ideas that they would then put into language. The assignment was to examine "their picture" and let it speak to them, to see the colors and designs, the people and the action and write down whatever thoughts came to them. Then they selected their most vivid images to be formed into a poem.

"My objective," says Rosen, "was to give the students a new way to translate their thoughts into words." And our hope is that they will carry this tool back to school to be used in many other lessons.

Godfrey had provided the Council with several teaching tools which could be used in conjunction with her exhibit. Fisher chose one in which the students learned the Mayan number system which was the first to use the concept of zero. The system employs a series of dots and horizontal bars.

NWCC artist and Board Member, Paula Fisher guided the youngsters through the math component of the exercise. Each student was told to select numbers which were significant to them personally. They usually chose such things as their birthday, phone number and social security number. One young man chose his favorite lottery numbers. Then, using colored pencils, they translated these into the Mayan system, each creating their own personal design.

Fisher was delighted by the creativity they showed in expanding their designs into a border pattern which was appealing to the eye, even to one who was not aware of the personal nature of the design. In this way they were much like the colorful and detailed Mayan textiles which accompanied the exhibit.

The students were to complete their assignment after they returned to school. There each student would use their computer skills to create a finished piece with their border design framing their poem. The Council will receive the finished creations. These will be available for viewing January through February, 2001 in NWCC's gallery space.

Teachers and Council staff breathed a collective sigh of relief when the big undertaking reached successful completion. All agreed that the feedback from the students made the intensive project worthwhile.

This "Kids Meet Art"™ project was underwritten by Square D Schneider for Plum Grove Junior High students. Our thanks to Square D Schneider, who has underwritten "KMA"™ at Plum Grove Junior High since the 1996-1997 school year.

Northwest Cultural Council and Kimball Hill Homes Open New Galleries

Sharon Findley Kirmse

Council artists, staff, board members and guests from the community gathered in July to celebrate the joint grand opening of the Northwest Cultural Council's new gallery space and the corporate gallery of Kimball Hill, Inc.

Long time benefactor David Hill provides the Council with gallery space adjacent to the Kimball Hill gallery. His company hosted the event with an abundant selection of delectable foods and wines to add to the festive atmosphere.

Works by both new and veteran artists filled the galleries and our 1999 corporate gallery purchase awards were featured.

Corporate Purchases 1999

In Memoriam

It is with sadness that we note here the passing of Laura Barov, a fine, young, ceramic sculptor and a good friend to the Council and its Art programs. She left this world too soon and will be much missed.

March 7, 1962-August 29, 2000

The Council remembers Michael O'Malley, Mayor of Hoffman Estates, whose presence in the northwest suburbs and his relationship with the NWCC, was so very important. Our sympathy to his family, friends and those with whom he worked. He was irreplaceable.

January 18, 1942-September 17, 2000