The 2011 Hal Grutzmacher’s Writers’ Expose and Photography Jubilee Judges

Meet Our Non-fiction Judge

Justin Isherwood, whose humorous and thought-provoking non-fiction essays have graced pages of the Pulse for years, will judge this year’s Hal Grutzmachers’ Writers’ Expose non-fiction contest.

Justin Isherwood is an award-winning writer, a Wisconsin farmer, humorist, author and contributor to numerous collections and publications including: Badger CommonTater, Isthmus, and Newsday. He is an essayist for the radio program, BookMarks & Art, airing on a CBS affiliate in central Wisconsin. His books include: Christmas Stones & the Story Chair, Book of Plough, and most recently, Farm Kid.

Meet Our Poetry Judge

Bruce Dethlefsen, Wisconsin’s Poet Laureate, will judge this year’s Hal Grutzmachers’ Writers’ Exposé poetry contest.

Bruce Dethlefsen is Wisconsin’s Poet Laureate. His collection Breather (Fireweed Press), won an Outstanding Achievement award from the Wisconsin Library Association. He also has two chapbooks, A Decent Reed and Something Near the Dance Floor, and his poems were featured twice on The Writer’s Almanac. He plays bass, harmonica, and drums and performs original music with poetry as Obvious Dog.

To learn more about Dethlefsen and read selections of his poetry, visit http://www.brucedethlefsen.com.

Meet Our Photography Judges

Peninsula Pulse Staff Photographer Dan Eggert will be joined by Lucas and Heather Frykman (Frykman Studio Gallery, Sister Bay) and Kim Thiel and Kari Witthuhn-Henning (Kim Thiel Photography, Appleton) to judge the Peninsula Pulse 2011 Photography Jubilee.

Dan Eggert, currently the Photo Editor of the Peninsula Pulse, has also been working with Door County Living from the beginning of its publication history. He is a freelance photographer working with clients ranging from local Door County businesses to artists and musicians. During the off-season, he spends his time up on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe.

To view samples of Eggert’s work visit http://www.daneggert.zenfolio.com.

Lucas and Heather Frykman (former Pulse Photography Jubilee winners) are Door County nature photographers who show their work at their family-owned gallery, the Frykman Studio Gallery of Sister Bay. The husband/wife team co-owns the gallery with Lucas’s parents, David and Carole. The Frykmans photograph mainly Door County landscapes and waterscapes, but they do take photography trips to other parts of the country like the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, the Boundary Waters of Minnesota, and the lakes of Upper Michigan.

The Frykmans have been showing their work in Door County at their gallery since 2005 when they opened the David Frykman Studio Gallery in Ellison Bay. In 2008 the family moved the gallery to Sister Bay. They both grew up taking photographs as a hobby. Heather worked at a portrait studio for a year and took some classes in college, but they consider themselves to be self-taught photographers. They both use Canon digital SLR cameras and lenses and a Mac as their “digital darkroom.”

Their work has been shown at the Miller Art Musuem, the Hardy Gallery in Ephraim, and published in some local and national publications.

To view samples of the Frykmans’ work visit http://www.door-county-photography.com

Kim Thiel

With fond memories of childhood summers at their dad’s coffee and ice cream shop in Fish Creek, sisters Kim Thiel and Kari Witthuhn-Henning (a former Pulse Photography Jubilee winner) try to reconnect with Door County whenever possible. Based out of their cozy studio and office space in the historic Edison Center in Appleton, they love shooting outdoors. The dynamic team, which also includes Thiel’s husband Jason as cinematographer, specializes in artistic weddings, fashion-focused senior portraits, and nature-inspired newborns. For them, photography is more than just the click of a shutter – it’s the ability to capture a story and retell it with artistry.

Kari Witthuhn-Henning

To view samples of Thiel’s and Witthuhn-Henning’s work visit http://www.kimthielphotography.com.

First Place Pottery

Once again, Clay Bay Pottery of Ellison Bay will create first place prizes for each category of the Hal Grutzmachers’ Writers’ Expose and Photography Jubilee!

It may have been fate, or perhaps just good luck, that found Jeanne Svien (Aurelius) and David Aurelius seated side by side in a studio art class at Luther College in 1970. Thirty-plus years later, Jeanne and David, happily married, are the parents of two delightful daughters, Lauren and Martha, and the proud proprietors of a successful business, Clay Bay Pottery in Ellison Bay. And while luck played a role in the initial meeting, talent and creativity are the keys to the success that has originated from Clay Bay Pottery since their college days.

Celebrating 35 years, Clay Bay Pottery features the Aurelius’s handmade, hand painted pottery, along with the work of several other featured artists.

In addition to their individual work as potters, the couple collaborate on large-scale tile murals as artists-in-residence at schools across the state of Wisconsin. Working with children and community members is a labor of love.

To view sample of the Aurelius’s work visit http://www.claybaypottery.net.