Author: Kathy Kelsey Foley, director
Hand in Hand
Posted on December 15, 2021
Random acts of kindness have the potential to pay unimaginable dividends . . . new friendships, new perspectives, and more.
What might you do this holiday season to make a connection or brighten someone’s day?
Baby Girl Gets a Name
Posted on November 03, 2021
I’ve been thinking a lot about children’s books recently.
In the coming months, the Woodson Art Museum will renew its biennial commitment to the art of children’s illustrated literature with an exhibition featuring the exuberant work of Christian Robinson, What Might You Do?, on view December 4, 2021 through February 27, 2022. Recently, my husband and I welcomed a granddaughter, and my children’s book quest took on an added dimension.
Bird Power
Posted on September 08, 2021
My thoughts these days focus on positives, despite the pandemic’s continued unknowns. At the top of my list is the power of birds.
Just hours away from the start of previews of the 2021 Birds in Art exhibition, I can’t help but marvel at not only the Woodson Art Museum’s fortitude, but also the exhibition’s endurance . . . forty-six years strong.
Jane’s Journeys
Posted on July 21, 2021
Over a stellar forty-three-year Woodson Art Museum career, Jane Weinke has traveled far and wide, happily returning to Wausau, the community she has always called home. Jane will retire in October, leaving an extraordinary legacy. The growth and quality of the Museum’s collection is a tribute to Jane’s professionalism, diligence, and commitment to our vision to set the standard for art of the avian world.
Curiosity & Discovery
Posted on June 02, 2021
Looking at the world through the eyes of my grandsons has helped me to see things in new ways. At ages 3+ years and eighteen months, they are curious, ready learners.
A Busman’s Holiday Getaway
Posted on May 12, 2021
A recent getaway with my husband, Ernie, took us east to Sheboygan, thanks to an invitation from colleague and friend Sam Gappmayer, director of the John Michael Kohler Arts Center. It’s an understatement to say the past twelve-plus months were challenging and also kept us close to home. Now thankfully vaccinated, we were ready to tentatively dip our toes back into normal — or, more correctly, “new normal” — behaviors. Sam’s invitation to preview the Kohler Arts Center’s Art Preserve was just the incentive we needed.
Three Words to Keep Top of Mind
Posted on March 03, 2021
Absent a reliable roadmap for moving forward in the coronavirus journey, kindness, flexibility, and honesty can be put into action daily.
We're modeling these behaviors at the Woodson Art Museum, warmly and sincerely welcoming visitors back to our galleries, even though masks obscure our delighted smiles.
Small Gestures Lead to Big Impacts
Posted on January 06, 2021
As we turned the calendar page to 2021, “hope” for the year ahead is a shared theme.
Heartfelt evidence came to the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum staff via the U.S. Postal Service in the latter days of December from an Aspirus Wausau Hospital nurse.
For the past seven months, in lieu of hands-on art-making activities, Museum staff have lovingly and creatively designed and produced Art Kits to complement artworks on view and encourage busy hands and artistic pursuits.
It Takes More Than a Village
Posted on November 18, 2020
To receive a Distinguished Career Award is so much more than the tangible gift I will cherish. The recognition caps my deep love for the work I have been privileged to do for almost forty years.
My gratitude to the Woodson Art Museum “village” and to the community of Midwest museums is boundless.
Heard on the Street
Posted on April 07, 2021