Different Approaches, Same Subject

“Pattern and Light” by Colin Page.

Half assignment, half experiment and a complete artistic challenge, the 5 Objects of Inspiration exhibition at Peninsula School of Art in Fish Creek illustrates that it is not the subject matter, but how an artist paints it that makes a work interesting. On view from May 2 through July 12, the still life exhibition features the works of 22 painters who received five identical items – a paper fan, blue Ball® jar, wooden flute, clear glass bottle with a cork, and a half yard of fabric.

There was a single rule to the challenge: an artist may add, but not subtract from, the original five objects. Because the items were to serve as inspiration, they did not have to be depicted realistically.

Colors, basic shapes, the rhythmic feeling of repeated shapes, and the potential sounds from the flute inspired abstract painter, Karen Calkins Ragus, of Lake Mills, Wis. In her painting, “Number Five,” the sounds of the flute were represented by circles.

Ragus says, “It is a feeling of the five objects of inspiration…not the five objects [themselves].”

“Number 5” by Karen Calkins Ragus.

According to Kay McKinley, Director of Marketing and Exhibitions, the artists’ statements are key to supporting the exhibition’s theme. “Although 22 artists painted the same five objects, each painting is easily recognized as the work of a particular individual,” she says. “The characteristics of the brushstrokes, the placement and/or addition of objects, as well as value and color choices, all tell a story – not of the objects themselves, but of the artist who painted them.”

A still life set-up with the original 5 objects will be in the school’s Guenzel Gallery during the length of the exhibition for visitors to paint.

On June 7, 4 – 6 pm, a free special event will be held featuring a panel of the 5 Objects of Inspiration artists, who will speak about their process. The panel includes: Door County artists Marjorie Mau and Franne Dickinson, Lisa Stauffer (Minnesota) and Mark Zelten (Wisconsin). Also during the event, a number of still life set-ups, with provided art materials, will be in the gallery for visitor use.