The artists' way edition: Sculpture gardens, Spiritwalker costumes, cheese sculpting.
There are sculptures of a giant hammer, the head of Abraham Lincoln on a pair of shapely legs and George Washington in the bathtub in the front yard of Molly and Eric Gunderson.
The Gundersons live on Highway 52 about halfway between Wausau and Antigo in the northeastern corner of Marathon County and the three sculptures are just part of dozens that are spread across the property of the two lifelong artists.
Their outdoor statues are just part of the vast array of art they've created through decades of work and thinking and dreaming. There is a trailhead for the Ice Age Trail near their home, and I drive by their property — it's a sculpture garden, really — regularly. Every time I did I would wonder, what is that all about?
I recently got the nerve to contact the Gundersons, and they shared their story. It boils down to this, they enjoy making things, they love thinking creatively and they feel compelled to bring those ideas into the world.
To me, they symbolize a purity of innovation and the drive to create that runs as an undercurrent through Wisconsin. At the same time, I haven't laughed as deeply during an interview as I did with the Gundersons in a long, long time. They take art seriously, make no mistake, but they also know it can be so much fun, and funny too.
I love it and am inspired by it. My thoughts whirled as I left my interview with the Gundersons, feeling the need to consume less (social media, television, etc.) and produce more (something).
Here is the story behind the art house on Highway 52, and a handful of other tales of making and creating from across our region:
► These two Wisconsin Northwoods artists live their best creative lives in the art house on Highway 52
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Where to get the best brats in the 'Bratwurst Capitol of the World'
God help me, I love bratwurst (Adds Sheboygan on the "Must Visit Soon" list).
► Gosse's is among the top places to get a brat in Sheboygan. Here are more popular spots.
And ja, you'll want some mustard to go with 'em:
► Wisconsin mustard is a welcome guest in the home of bratwurst and beer
And beer:
► Made in Wisconsin: What you need to know about New Glarus Brewing's Spotted Cow beer
Getting ready for the Wisconsin State Fair
Here's what you need to know ...
There will be brats there too, of course ...
Didja know? A Wisconsin fact drop.
Didja know that one of America's premier artists ever was from Wisconsin?
Georgia O'Keeffe was born in 1887, the second of seven children. She was raised on a farm in Sun Prairie, where she cultivated her connection with nature. By the time she was 18, she had left her native Wisconsin and she would go on to attend the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
She also studied and lived in New York where she produced some of her best-known work and began her innovative close-ups of flowers. She later moved to New Mexico where she was deeply influenced by the landscape. O'Keeffe died in 1986 at age 98, having made an indelible impact on the art world.
Sources: "The Handy Wisconsin Answer Book" and the womeninwisconsin.org.
Contact Keith Uhlig at 715-845-0651 or kuhlig@gannett.com. Follow him at @UhligK on Twitter and Instagram or on Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin's artistic pulse; Georgia O'Keeffe; Spiritwalker; brats
