Honoring Mother Earth
K5 and 4th graders from Indian Community School (2019-2020)
March - May 2020
Opening Reception: Thursday, March 12th, 5 - 7 p.m.
At Indian Community School, we recognize our connection to the land, water, our ancestors, and theAt Indian Community School, we recognize our connection to the land, water, our ancestors, and theother caregivers who came before us. 
Rooted in the belief that food is medicine, we take great care ingrowing and tending gardens on our school grounds. Our entire school benefits from the gifts of ourgarden as we harvest each season.Fourth grade students took some time to study the gardens, as well as explore their surroundings withan artistic eye. Using keen photographic and observational skills, they created paintings of their findings.Early artists in K5 worked collaboratively with their “Repairing Together” counterparts at MilwaukeeJewish Day School to create giant collages of the same natural landscape. ICS Kinder artists finishedthem up with paint and pastel rubbing.We honor Mother Earth by taking care of her and celebrating her beauty and gifts.
Indian Community School, 2019-2020
Art Teacher: Christina Ramirez
Invisible and Visible Mending
Nancy Aten
June – August 2020
Opening Reception: June 12th, 5-7 p.m.
Sometimes ecological restoration activities can be “eco-revelatory”, that is, can reveal what are otherwise un-noticed behaviors or functions in the ecosystem. This can help us understand how things work. Like, planting a whole bunch of little bluestem grass in a long weaving drift of a pattern, oriented in such a way that in the late afternoon on a certain trail it simply glows in the sun, and you can’t help but learn what this grass looks like and how the seed fluffs to blow with the wind. Or, leaving a permanent vegetation sampling quadrat in the field, drawing attention to changes in species richness over time: two years ago, it was all switchgrass; today, I see it has five other flowering species I can count.
This exhibit explores fractures and wounds in the landscape, and mending that happens with ecological restoration, both invisibly and visibly.
Artwork: Nancy Aten - For the Wild Ones
I am me because of them — My journey of self discovery through my ancestors
Rozalia Hernandez-Singh
September – November 2020
Opening Reception: September 11th, 5-7 p.m.
For her entire life Rozalia Hernandez-Singh has always struggled with finding her self-identity. Rozalia has always felt that American history books did not include people that look like her. Her ancestral story was discarded and is one that needed to be told. After starting a family of her own it became even more important for her to know who she was. Believing a lot of the traits that we have we inherit from our family even the ones that we’ve never met, lead her on a journey to finding herself and her family. She began taking trips through United States tracing the footsteps of her ancestors seeing the communities and homes that they lived in.
Rozalia has made a thorough investigation of her ancestry, including finding lost ancestors, connecting with other historians, and attempting to piece together her family tree. Rozalia’s background includes Native American, Puerto Rician, African American, and Mexican ancestry. Her family has been separated through migration and difficult circumstances. Rozalia’s husband is from India which becomes part of her children's ancestry. Rozalia encourages everyone to research their family history and write and tell their own American story.
Mississippi Magnolias by Rozalia Hernandez-Singh
Now after many years (as well as countless days and sleepless nights) of research she wants to share the stories of her ancestors with you through this exhibit. Rozalia’s hope for this exhibit is to give a voice to her ancestors that had none and to challenge the never-ending attempt to erase and silence people of color. Rozalia chooses to share her story through vibrant visual paintings of portraiture that explore intense feelings and understandings of her research.
Perspective of Nature
UEC Photo Club, Julee Mitchell, & Jeff Veglahn
December 2020 – February 2021
Opening Reception: Friday December 11th, 2020, 5-7 p.m.
A collection of artwork, through many perspectives, of what we see in nature. Our perspective is expressed through photography, illustrations, and acrylic paintings. Nature isn’t only found in vast spaces across the country, but also locally in our own neighborhoods. We hope that our exhibit will inspire and encourage you to see nature in a new perspective.
Trees 2 by Julee Mitchell
Rattlesnake Master by Jeff Veglahn
Diaphanous Reminder by Terri Hart Ellis, UEC Photo Club
Jolie Collins & Shelly Rosenquist
March – May 2021
Opening Reception: Friday, March 13th, 5-7 p.m.
Shelly Rosenquist says, “My subject matter ranges from what inspires me in the world around me, but I tend to take much of my inspiration from nature and the organic. I believe that in our hectic human existence, we have strayed from what makes this world a beautiful place. I like to use my work as a tool to remind people to look around them, to breathe the air, to take the ordinary and twist it into something even more beautiful.” Artwork on right: Understory by Shelly Rosenquist
Jolie Collins shares that “As someone who grew up in the city, it is the small things of nature that inspire and give me joy: the smell of lilacs in spring, playing in the surf, and taking pictures in the park. I especially love noticing things, like the rough texture of bark, seed pods on branches, blades of grass, or a lone goose standing in the fog. My nature inspired art reflects this interest. I love mixing mediums to reflect the variety of nature: its roughness, its smoothness, its color, it beginnings and its endings. I want to bring to life the many wonders that embody nature.” Artwork on left: Hidden Bud Rough Terrain by Jolie Collins
Brianna Siepel & Hannah Ribbens
September – November 2021
Opening Reception: Friday, September 10th, 5-7 p.m.
Whether we encounter wild beauty, quiet poetry, or raw power, Brianna Joy Seipel believes we draw strength from the natural world and the stories of others. Inspired by multi-day backpacking trips, her vibrant oil paintings explore the beauty of local and national parks, forests, and wilderness areas.
Hannah Ribbens’ work focuses on using collage and color to disrupt reality and challenge the world around us. Nature is often used to bridge the real and fabled worlds and provide a constant that everyone can connect with. The work is colorful and crosses freely between the real and the imaginary.
