FALL 2002

Executive Director's Report

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NWCC 15 YEARS OLD

SEPTEMBER 2002

To celebrate, SPOTLIGHTS has a new look, thanks to Northrop Grumman. Northrop Grumman has been publishing SPOTLIGHTS since the Council began 15 years ago. In June, they invested in state of the art printing equipment. And, I'm happy to say, we are one of the beneficiaries.

Eric Johnson of Northrop and Mike Springer of Zurich North America, have worked together to produce our new look. Mike Springer has done the graphics and layout for SPOTLIGHTS since its inception. Both Eric and Mike are members of the Board of Directors of the Council.

Our thanks to Eric and Northrop, and Mike and Zurich. Both of you and your companies are greatly appreciated by the Council. We hope all of our readers enjoy the new color and brighter photos. Your comments are welcome.

As the Council enters its 15th year, it is time to bid farewell to three original Board Members; Dan Baumann, Tom Rivera and Jan Tucker, who have been with us since NWCC began. We thank them for sharing their expertise and time with us, these many years.

Anne Cavanagh now spends most of the year in Arizona. It was a wonderful experience working with her on the Art Fair at Northwest Community Hospital in 1998. Her creativity and willingness to help will be sorely missed.

Lynne Railsback has completed a very successful two years as Corporate Gallery Co-Chair. We appreciate her professional dedication to the task of managing the Corporate Gallery exhibitions. Welcome to Chris Graham, who joins Joan Brinkworth for the next two years as corporate gallery co-chair. Chris is also a "Kids Meet Art"^TM presenter. We look forward to continued creative leadership in this important program of the Council.

As we go to press we are opening our 12th Corporate Gallery at the new Elmwood Park Library. The library is a prairie style structure; and the interior was completed with the finest woods and materials. Look for photos and a story about NWCC's newest gallery in the next issue.

We all know that Aspen, Colorado is a winter paradise for skiers, but come summer it is transformed into an oasis of classical music, performed by the world's most acclaimed musicians. During an intermission, cellist Lynn Harrel was moved to speak from his heart about his love of music. I want to share, with you, what he said:

I have always thought that, aside from being a doctor who operates on people and saves their lives, being entrusted with the talent to develop to become a really good musician and being able to open up and share of your own experience through your talent through the greatest music ever written, to an audience, is the next best thing because people do go to concerts and feel afterwards that, it wasn't only a nice experience, it wasn't only pleasant and comforting, that it was life changing, and when we're dealing with personalities like Beethoven, or Mozart, these are the Shakespeares of the musical language, so it is possible through the atmosphere and the presentation and the intrinsic value of what's being communicated, to have a life changing experience in store for someone. I've always thought, if I can just get someone to listen and to think, as I do, that this is the greatest thing in the world, music, how it speaks from heart to heart and mind to mind, soul to soul, and that they get that message, than I'm ready to die and go to heaven.

Many thanks to Lynn Minich of WFMT, Chicago's Classical music radio station, for allowing SPOTLIGHTS to publish Lynn Harrel's comments.

Sincerely,

Kathy Umlauf
Executive Director

THANK YOU

The Northwest Cultural Council is deeply grateful to all who donated to the 2002 Annual Contributor's Fund and answered our call for funds to help defray the increased mailing fees for SPOTLIGHTS. Your gifts help support the Council's new and established programs.

The Fine Art of Crafts Exhibitions

        Sponsored by the Ritzenthaler Family Foundation

Upon the recommendation of Board Member Larry Moats, Mrs. Barbara Ritzenthaler made a very generous contribution to the Northwest Cultural Council from the Ritzenthaler Family Foundation.

We used a portion of her gift to underwrite our January 2002 exhibition, Crystal Visions and invited fifteen year old classical guitarist, Garrett Dahm, to perform. Many of you attended the reception and enjoyed both the art and Garrett's performance.

The Council is embarking on a new program, the exhibition of Fine Crafts including demonstrations by craftspeople. The series of exhibitions and receptions will be made possible by the gift from Mrs. Ritzenthaler.

In this age of high technology we are losing the skills of great craftmanship that have been our heritage. While our children, and to some extent our families, have become transfixed by electronic media, the Council is endeavoring to offer an alternative by revivifying the interest in the fine art of crafts which have been honed over centuries. We take this opportunity to celebrate, honor and support these splendid examples of human artistry.

The first craft we chose to exhibit was woodturning, carving and wood finishing. The results of the "Nature's Inspirations" exhibition can be seen on pages 4 and 5. It was a very successful day, giving the public the opportunity to not only view woodturning but to try it themselves.

Laura Wasilowski and Emily Parsons are the curators of a collection of textiles that will be on display from October 1 to January 7. A reception and demonstration will be held November 23 from 1-4 and the Kimball Hill and NWCC galleries. The exhibition will show the many uses of fibers as an artists' medium.

Future exhibitions will feature pottery, beads, baskets and glass. We hope you will join us in celebrating The Fine Art of Crafts at each of these exhibitions. The items are useful, and a pleasure to see, touch and use. Your purchases will support and encourage artists to continue to work in these medium.

Nature's Inspirations                         Sharon Findley Kirmse

The Council recently embarked on an exciting new venture with the opening of Nature's Inspirations, the first in a series of The Fine Art of Craft exhibits. The show features the work of twelve wood turners and two delightfully inventive collaborative projects shown by the Suburban Woodturners club. Artisans' talents in the areas of fabrication, carving, turning and finishing are showcased. The opening reception was enhanced by demonstrations of turning and faux finishing by Dan Anderson and Bill Aitchison.

"Nature's Inspirations" was curated by NWCC artist, Marie Anderson, who also mounted the show with the able assistance of NWCC Corporate Gallery co-chair Joan Brinkworth. The exhibitors included Bill Aitchison, Dan Anderson, Marie Anderson, R.E. Brenwall, Bill Hockmuth, Karl Honold, Garold Howard, Gary Hubbard, Curt Kenyon, Paul Pyrcik, Darrell Rader, Suburban Woodturners, and Dennis Sullivan.

Bill Aitchison's fine finishing skill was learned at the hand of his naturalist father. It is his vocation and his avocation. He continues the family finishing business, specializing in large hotels and luxury homes and training other professionals in the field. For this artisan, the wood is the vehicle for the finish. His elegant faux-finished, urn-shaped piece brought repeated questions from viewers asking why a marble piece was included in a woodcraft show.

Dan Anderson came early to the hobby, which has been an important part of his life since he received a set of tools as a child. His dedication extends to teaching woodturning, both in his own shop and at a professional shop. His artistic development quite literally took a turn when he purchased a garage sale bench and found that a lathe came with it. Captivated by woodturning since then, he specializes in beautifully shaped and finished curio boxes, each one a tiny treasure.

Marie Anderson's fascination with wood blossomed when her husband, Dan, bought a lathe. With a lifelong interest in crafts, she found her artistic niche in woodturning. Now she is devoted to teaching this skill to a growing number of interested women. The curator of this show, she also organized the International Ladies Collaborative Invitational, a project which brought together women from the United States, Denmark, Canada and the Virgin Islands. In addition to her own delightful work, she also exhibits the exotic Banksia Pod Box, the collaborative piece for which she did the original turning and two other international artists completed the embellishments.

The interest generated by the number of visitors to "Nature's Inspirations" bodes well for the success of The Fine Art of Craft series. See additional information about the series on the previous page.

We are grateful to the Ritzenthaler Family Foundation for sponsoring "Nature's Inspirations."

EVENTS OF NOTE of NWCC'S Special Friends

Our congratulations to, NWCC artist and past Corporate Gallery co-chair, Betty Morley, who was juried into the prestigious Midwest Watercolor Society Twenty-Sixth Annual National Art Exhibition. This exhibit presented 78 watercolor paintings, selected from 785 entries. It was hosted by the Kankakee County Historical Society June 22-August 18, 2002.

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Each quarter, through their interlibrary delivery service, the North Suburban Library System delivers an envelope of SPOTLIGHTS to each of its 49 member libraries. The NWCC is very grateful to be able to share in this service.

The Library Community Foundation's yearly fundraiser features outstanding, popular poetry and prose writers, speaking to an audience that has reached almost sold out status. By becoming a subscriber you will benefit in two ways….four interesting evenings and your subscription fees will support activities at your local library. The events take place at Glenbrook South High School in Glenview. For questions please call 847-353-7143 or www.librarycommunityfoundation.org

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We applaud the Palatine Senior Center for recognizing and displaying the artwork of local senior citizens.

The Palatine Township Senior Citizens Council presents its Second Senior Art Show, "Through the Experienced Eye," a juried art exhibition by artists 55 years of age, and older, residing in the Northwest Suburbs. The exhibition will take place at the Palatine Township Senior Center, 505 South Quentin Road, Palatine, IL, on Friday and Saturday, October 25 and 26, 2003 from noon to four o'clock. "Certificates of Distinction" will be presented to all participating artists. For more information, call 847/991-1112.