Museum of Wisconsin Art - West Bend

When my aunt and uncle suggested I come with them to meet the director of the West Bend art museum and a tour of their new building, I agreed, but admittedly wasn't expecting much. 

I was pleasantly surprised by a great museum, with a rich collection of Wisconsin art and a gorgeous new building by Jim Shields, who also designed the Discovery Center in downtown Milwaukee, along the lake. 

I was also able to sneak some pictures! 

These are blown glass sculptures made by Doug and Renee Sigwarth from Sigwarth Glass. They're a husband and wife team and they work out of River Falls, Wisconsin. It took them about a year to complete these sculptures. If you're interested in the making of these massive sculptures, there's an album of pictures on the MWA facebook. Here's one of the pictures, if you're so inclined:

I love seeing behind the scenes shots like these! It's always fun to see how they put these giant sculptures together. It looks like it took a pretty long time. It kind of makes my arms hurt just looking at it.

Below is a shot of a few paintings that are being prepared to hang. 

They're still moving everything in, so I got a once in a lifetime chance to witness a museum moving. As you can see, the artworks are all wrapped individually and then safely stacked. Luckily, the new Museum of Wisconsin Art is only about 3 miles from the old one, so they didn't have to travel far.

The picture below is a bunch of Richard Lorenz paintings. He was a fairly prominent wisconsin artist. I haven't had too much of a chance to research him, but from what I got to see; he does beautiful landscapes and some portraits too. 

Hope you enjoyed these quick snapshots! The new museum officially opens in April!