Think Spring: Guests received a rare glimpse of spring at Samara Garden and Home’s indoor garden party. Visitors mingled under arbors and trellises, eying and buying exquisite, handmade garden art and antique treasures. They also enjoyed the music of the Petry-Monroe Duo of Dan Petry and Patricia Monroe, playing some of the store’s vintage pianos. Owners Stewart Dempsey and Maribeth Celek hosted. Local artists included photographer Donna Krischan, Dig Design’s Amy Decker, Kristyn Greenfield of Bloom! Landscaping, Kris Reicher, Andrea Bowes and Renee Primeau.
Also enjoying the event were Tony Jansen of Jansen International Wine, Tory Folliard Gallery’s Christine Anderson, John Menzel, Ann Steinbach from Villa Terrace, B.J. Gruling and Rick Clark, Roger Krawiecki and Jeff Gosseck, and Allen Christian from Fair Trade for All.
Bloomin’ Art: Some 800 visitors poured into the opening of the Milwaukee Art Museum’s “Art in Bloom.” For first place, judges honored Alka Bhargava for her intricate Ikebana arrangement. Popular vote gave the nod to Jamie Beauchamp of Jaimer’s Floral in the museum’s inaugural Iron Designer competition, hosted by Kevin Ylvisaker.
A bustling market included plants and accessories by Victoria Vonier and organic jewelry designer Patti Raml. Spotted amid the garden goodies were Maureen Daly; Dennis and Mary Boom; pals Mary Theisen, Lainie Marshall and artist Wally Coffman; filmmaker Chris Jensen and his parents Vicki and Dave Jensen; museum docents Mary Kelly and Tom Whipp; Cathy Miller and Darlene Roberts; and soupmeister Steve Wenhardt and Katie Errek.
|
|
Flower artists there included Deb “The Flower Lady” Karpfinger, her date, Russ Fowler, and coworkers Loreen Hablewitz and Ron Mroczenski; Jane Edwards, dressed as a moving piece of art; and Gabriella Bras.
Laughing All the Way: There were a lot of giggles and guffaws at the opening of the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre’s Jeeves in Bloom. Cavorting continued afterward in the Skylight Bar, with munchies sponsored by Linda Loving. Other sponsors on hand included Dr. David Paris and Donald Cress, there with Vera Kolb and Lisa Marie Barber. Mario and Cathy Costantini were with pals Mark and Julie Steinhafel and Marsha Sehler. They were joined by pianist/arranger Richard Carsey, prepping for the Skylight’s Porgy and Bess. Others were Eastside Milwaukee Community Council president Pam Frautschi and Richard Ippolito, as well as Marilyn Molter, just back from the Ellucian education conference, with husband, Kent.
The WOW Factor: A long line was waiting outside when the doors opened on the public launch day of the breathtaking new Museum of Wisconsin Art (MOWA) in West Bend. The flow of art lovers continued nonstop throughout the weekend. Among the exhibitors on hand were Truman Lowe, Tom Bamberger, Reginald Baylor and Mick Meilahn. Admiring MOWA’s visual delights were MAM’s Marcie Hoffman, West Bend Mayor Kraig Sadownikow, Wisconsin Secretary of Tourism Stephanie Klett, and the museum’s architect, Jim Shields from HGA, the man of the hour. MOWA powers-that-be bustled about. Among them were executive director/CEO Laurie Winters, assistant director Graeme Reid, Faith Rockenstein, curator of education and programming, and exhibition designer August Peter. Dropping by were Peter’s brother, Robert, a jewelry designer, their mother, Helen, and nephew, Andy.
Surprise, Surprise: On his 60th birthday, community activist Leo Ries thought he was going to an intimate dinner at the Iron Horse with his wife, Marie Kingsbury, executive director of the Women’s Center in Waukesha. Arriving at the hotel, he was blown away by a room overflowing with relatives including brothers Jim with his wife, Lynne, and Charles with his wife, Joan Raveling, cousin Dan Gilipsky and his fiancée, Jill Fox, plus pols, judges, friends and co-workers.
More Surprises: Designer Jim Bartelt got a surprise belated birthday call from the one and only Hugh Jackman, who sang a rendition of “Happy Birthday” and chatted for 10 minutes. The Aussie mentioned that he had always wanted to visit Milwaukee and asked Bartelt, whom he referred to as “matey,” to be his guide. The call was set up by Bartelt’s niece, Corinne Engelmann, who bid on and won the item at a NYC benefit. Bartelt’s design of ex-Milwaukeeans Tracy and Lou Ann O'Rourke’s home in Scottsdale, Ariz., was recently featured on HGTV’s “Extreme Homes.”
Still More Surprises: Marcia Sullivan also pulled off a surprise for her boyfriend, chiropractor Tor Furumo, for his big 60. Her home was packed with their pals and family, including Gerda and Bruce Maher, Mary and Dan Jones, Erica and Todd Scherbarth with their baby, Noah, Alyssa Furumo and her boyfriend, Cody Deboer, plus Emmet Light.
Moving Time: After 22 years on Broadway, Katie Gingrass has moved her art gallery around the corner to the Third Ward’s Marshall Building. Art friends celebrated at the beautifully cozy space featuring Pat Hidson’s colorful canvases, Linda Richman’s gorgeous jewelry and more. Al Richman helped pour wine, as did Ted Bobrow and Tim Dorau. Admiring the exhibits were gourmand Elissa Franke; Cecelia Gore of Brewers Community Foundation; Michelle Mason, ASQ’s managing director; Mimi Mullenax and First Weber Realtor Jim Ollrogge. Helping Gingrass were staffers Elaina Grinwald, Maggie Stoeffel and David Schaefer.
If you have any tips for Boris and Doris, contact them at borisanddorisott@aol.com. Their next column will appear in the May 2 issue of the Shepherd.
