Artists show off their wares

Off-and-on rain did not stop art enthusiasts from checking out the work of 45 artists in the sixth annual Miles of Art festival on Saturday and Sunday.

Simon Levin, one of the coordinators for Miles of Art, was still compiling results Tuesday afternoon but noted that his studio west of Gresham recorded a considerable increase in sales despite a drop in attendance, which he attributed to the tour having nine sites this year compared with seven in 2015.

“My impression is that we are up about 40 percent (in sales) from last year,” Levin said. “That was a lovely number to see.”

Levin also had wood-fired pizza for visitors to enjoy, along with hot cider and “plenty of conversation,” he said.

“The rain didn’t seem to deter people,” Levin said. “On overcast weekends, people don’t want to go out on the lake. … So sometimes we get a bump when people are tucking in a little bit.”

Probably more grand than the paintings, pots and other artwork on display were the stories that the artists told about their chosen crafts.

Sandra Wescott Gauthier, of Oneida, has been creating a variety of items decorated with beads for more than 20 years through a craft called Iroquois raised beading. She started the craft as a way to relieve stress from her work as the Oneida Nation’s purchasing director.

“A gentleman named Sam Thomas from Canada came to Oneida, and I’d never seen this type of beadwork,” Wescott Gauthier said. “I’m both Oneida and Menominee, and people said that this was our lost art.”

Wescott Gauthier retired three years ago, and her beading went from a simple hobby to a full-time pursuit. She said she works 8 to 10 hours a day on her art when she’s not traveling to art shows across the country, and she teaches the art to others.

“Because it’s a lost art, I put everything into it,” Wescott Gauthier said. “When I do a piece, I feel it has to be my best piece. What I’m trying to do is replicate my ancestors’ work.”

Jacob Meer crafts pottery as an apprentice for Levin. He grew up in Waukesha and became interested in ceramics when he was in middle school 10 years ago.

“Apprenticeships have been really historic in Japan and also the United Kingdom,” Meer said. “With Simon’s apprenticeship, it’s more of a collaboration. We’ll work for 15 hours for him helping out around the gallery and the kiln, and in exchange, he’ll provide us a space to work, materials and some guidance.”

Meer was eager to hear from people walking through Levin’s studio to look at the bowls and other pieces he has molded from lumps of clay.

“My grandparents were big artists, but one thing they never did was ceramic art. They always appreciated manmade pottery,” Meer said. “I enjoy making something, but I also enjoy seeing other people pick something up, look at it and enjoy it.”

The festival attracts art lovers from all over northeast Wisconsin, but occasionally the surprise visitor from another state pops in. Jan Pope, who came from Illinois and was visiting Wittenberg with her family, stopped at the WOWSpace to see the exhibit by Birnamwood photographer Hans Schmitt.

“My dad grew up in Wittenberg, and so we went to the cemetery to put flowers on his parents’ grave, and then we stopped in town and happened to see the sign,” Pope said. “It was just by chance.”

Despite the accidental discovery, Pope enjoyed what she saw. Besides Schmitt’s photography, the WOWSpace featured other artwork from Schmitt’s family dating back to the late 1800s.

“It’s very beautiful. It’s eclectic, a nice variety of things,” Pope said.