Dear Readers:  Those of us who live in Rusk County know it as a place of great year-round natural beauty, blessed with abundant wildlife, clear, clean rivers, large forested areas and the Blue Hills. If only we had the time and ability to get out there and record it all with a camera! Susanne von […]

Dear Readers:  It’s safe to say that most people, even those of us who can’t carry a tune in a bucket or have never learned to play an instrument, enjoy music.  Whether it’s rock, gospel, blues, jazz, classical, folk or a host of other musical varieties, there’s something out there for nearly everybody’s taste.  And […]

Dear Readers: Dictionaries tell us the term multi-faceted describes something with many facets, or sides, such as a cut gem. So a multi-faceted person is someone with many sides, or interests and abilities. In today’s column we’ll meet Bill Fucik, a Rusk County resident who fits the description of a multi-faceted person to a tee. […]

Dear Readers: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter — the four seasons seem to provide endless inspiration for artists of many kinds, from poets and painters to dancers and musicians.  Here in Rusk County the seasons have helped Erin Fiser find a theme for her work as a budding sculptor. Erin, who grew up in Ladysmith and […]

Dear Readers, most of us are familiar with the old adages “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” and “one person’s junk is another person’s treasure.” In today’s column we’re going to meet Monica Morris, a Ladysmith resident who finds potential beauty in things that others might regard as unusable castoffs and re-creates them […]

Dear Readers: mechanical drawing/graphic art, which the dictionary defines as “drawing, as of machinery, done with the aid of rulers, scales, compasses and so on,” doesn’t appear to have much in common with fine art, which is defined as “a type of art. . .that is concerned with the creation of beautiful things.” But today […]

Dear Readers: Appreciation for the natural beauty that surrounds us in Rusk County is a theme that runs through the work of many area artists, from painters and photographers to sculptors and carvers. Today in this column we’re going to meet Kitty Mitchell, a Rusk County resident who works with natural materials to create jewelry […]

Dear Readers:  Writers, when casting around for ideas, often fall back on the useful advice to “write about what you know.” But how do visual artists find their inspiration? Today we’ll meet local artist and sculptor Janelle Thompson, who finds inspiration for her work in the beauty of nature, animals and in finding common ground […]