Too Many Galleries: B&D rushed around on Gallery Night, first hitting the Grand Avenue Club gallery for Colleen Kassner's “The Portrait Project: Faces of Resilience.” The yearlong project, funded by a grant from the Mary L. Nohl Fund, resulted in 20 marvelous portraits of club members.
Among those showcased were Michael Bivens, who inspired Kassner to create the exhibit, prolific limerick poet Dano, and Ann Krachtt. Greeting guests were the Club's executive director, Rachel Forman, board President Fred Geilfuss and VP Ann Tisdale. Dale Hester was recruited as event photographer.
Admiring the artworks were Maureen Kwiecinski, BloodCenter of Wisconsin's general counsel; Carl Lockrem, the club's development director; Philo, Kassner's proud husband; Foley & Lardner's Mary Braza and Brandon Young, with his wife, Barbara Teske-Young; John Housiaux, Associated Bank vice president, and his wife, Kathy, from University School admissions.
We made a quick stop at Thief Wine to say hi to new Milwaukeean Clark Evans, met the previous evening at Allium with his wife, Kristin. Next was Tory Folliard's eclectic “Summer in Wisconsin” exhibition. Attending artists included Mark Mulhern, there with his wife, Jill; Terry Coffman, back from Ireland's rocky Burren; landscapers Kathy Hofmann and Tom Uttech; Jan Serr, preparing for her September show in the Inova/Zelazo Center; Fred Stonehouse; Joe Hameister; and Bill Reid, there with his wife, Nicole.
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At the gallery were Stanley Ryan Jones, sporting a red plastic Cyrano de Bergerac schnoz and handing out fliers for his “*uck Art, Let's Dance!” party/show at Cafe LuLu later that night; and Stewart Dempsey, owner of Samara Garden and Home. Circulating was Christine Anderson, Folliard's new director.
Also in the Ward, Lela's beach party was summertime living at its easiest. The Revomatics performed outside, with dancing by Kelly (The Rev Girl) Flessas. Peripatetic window performers were young lovelies Kelsey Barnowsky and Bishara Dorre, while Jenna Wolfsohn and Sunil Misra danced a groovy salsa.
Hanging out with boutique owners Stephanie Sherman and Carrie Arrouet and manager Tracey Golden were “fashionista” Michael Haessly, his partner, Steve Engstrom, and Theri DeJoode, owner of Groom for Men.
After witnessing the moving commitment ceremony of Elizabeth Larson and Rebecca Brown in a nearby Broadway band shell, B&D stopped into the Artasia building to check out Rodney Cole's new Upscale Resale (UR), Wisconsin's only consignment haberdashery for men. Painter Evelyn Terry held court upstairs in Cuvée, at her “One Hundred Dollar Special Sale.”
There's a Doctor in the Bowling Alley: Alverno College assistant music professor and guitarist extraordinaire Peter Roller has added the title of “doctor” to his career accomplishments. His 15-years-in-the-making, 250-page “Basement Bands and Garage Rock” dissertation was proudly displayed at Bay View Bowl. In their matching bowling shirts, Roller as “Pete” and wife Terri as “Spanky” hosted the celebration with bowling and pizza.
Paul Cebar, there with Cynthia Zarazua, was among the panoply of fellow musicians including Robin Pluer with Dirk Urban, Steve Cohen and his wife, Karen, Freddie Bliffert, Bob Mueller and his wife, Wendy, and Kurt Koenig. Among fellow academics were Paul Smith and Molly Pufall from Alverno and UWM's Alice Gillam. Also making appearances were Rae DiMilo and her husband, Michael, who created the Babs and Knuckles puppet podcast, and hairstylist Elvera Juraska and her husband, Jack. For the fourth time in a week, B&D ran into the ubiquitous camera-carrying Art Elkon from Culver Brand Design.
Balls on the Green: The Historic Water Tower Neighborhood held its first lawn bowling party in verdant Lake Park. Self-described bowling virgins teamed up for rounds. Among the bowlers and onlookers were Water Tower Neighborhood board President Dawn McCarthy; President-elect Lloyd Dickinson, spiffy in his Panama straw hat; board members Sandra McSweeney, whose husband, Marc, amazed onlookers with his bowling prowess; Adrienne Houck, with her husband, Ted III, and son Theo IV; Diane Bacha and Thea Kovac. Other revelers included former U.S. national champion Carl Landgren, UW-Milwaukee librarian Ellen Engseth, Lise Sadagopan and baby Sid, Dennis Boom and his wife, Mary, and Jeff Bentoff. Even dedicated croquet player Elizabeth Elser checked out the lawn bowling scene.
Milwaukee's Loss: Lighting whiz Chris Poehlmann and his wife, Kate Kramer, of UWM's Center for 21st Century Studies are moving to Philadelphia, where she will teach at the University of Pennsylvania and he will continue making art. Their going-away party was a veritable who's-who in the culture scene: Ten Chimneys' Sean Malone and his wife, Erika Kent, arrived after dropping Olympia Dukakis at the airport after her immersion experience for the Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program; artists Jason Rohlf, Pat Hidson and Jim Brozek; fellow Nut Factory creatives Michael Davidson and Greg Klassen; jewelry designer Sarah Mann; Will Pergl from MIAD; Marcelino Stuhmer and his wife, Lisa Hecht, also moving to Philadelphia; writer Paul Kosidowski; art historian Jeffrey Hayes; UWM's John Blum; and Museum of Wisconsin Art's Graeme Reid with Leanne Freeman.
If you have any tips for Boris and Doris, contact them at borisanddorisott@aol.com. Their next column will appear in the Aug. 25 issue of the Shepherd.
