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IsAbel Beaudoin and David Franke next Featured Artists exhibiting at Gallery Ten
Opening reception Saturday, June 9 from 5 – 7 PM
Meet two of Door County most unusual artists at our next reception hosted in their honor on Saturday, June 9 from 5 – 7 PM. The works of the prolific IsAbel Beaudoin and zany David Franke will be on display through July 13. Tomorrow evening we invite you to meet and talk with them in person, enjoy a glass of wine, meet your friends and explore Gallery Ten in Gills Rock. Read on to find out more...
Looking forward to seeing you,
Charlene, Dewey, Cuppa' Joe and Arthur
With more than 70 years spent as an intensely active artist and world traveler, IsAbel Beaudoin prides herself in having worked in every medium except welded steel, and regrets having waited too long to try that technique. She is beyond prolific, amassing a vast and diverse portfolio of 2-D, 3-D and fabric creations. But her path to living the life of a dedicated and passionate artist was not without obstacles.
| IsAbel, as she prefers to be known, was raised on farm in Stephenson, Michigan. |
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She began to display a love of visual expression as a young child, drawing barnyard animals. Despite IsAbel's youthful artistic talent, her conservative parents tried to steer her college studies toward a career in history. But it was not long before she rebelled, transferring into the fine arts program at the University of Wisconsin (Milwaukee) to obtain a B.S. in Art.
Upon graduation, her parents again discouraged her from risking the uncertainty of becoming a full-time artist. It was the early 1940’s when it was considered more acceptable for a woman to teach art rather than try to support herself on talent alone. For more than thirty years IsAbel taught with the same intensity she applies to making art. And she used the benefits of a teacher's life, with its extended summer breaks, to expand her knowledge of art on a global scale.
IsAbel took her summer vacations as learning opportunities, traveling to different countries to immerse herself in their artistic culture: learning screen-printing in Hawaii; studying watercolor at the University of Bangor in Wales; exploring art history in Japan; lacquer and batik in Mexico, to note but a few. Over the years she joined art groups in Ecuador, India and Nepal and studied in Greece, Poland, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Russia, Norway, Ireland and Germany. As a teacher, she returned each fall to connect her students to distant world cultures through art.
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In the late 70s she launched into a full-time pursuit of her dream to live as an independent artist, often forgetting meals or sleep in the process. In 1977 IsAbel earned her first global recognition at the Art of the Americas International held in Denver, CO. Her works have since been acquired by private collectors, academic institutions, corporations and museums including the West Bend Gallery, Neville Public Museum and The Miller Art Center.
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For many years she managed her own working studio and gallery in Fish Creek. Currently she remains active as a resident of Scandia Village in Sister Bay.
IsAbel's featured artist exhibit at Gallery Ten entitled, “Nature as I see it!” will present a collection of her acrylic and watercolor paintings, cast paper, collagraphs and screen prints including some of the actual plates used in the artistic process.
David Franke humbly explains, “I have had no formal art training, save for a few classes at a local school.” Yet his works display an inherent knowledge of how natural materials can be assembled to effectively express his vision as an artist. “I’m not very interested in reality,” he explains. “If I were, I’d probably be a photographer.”
Born in a small town in south-central Minnesota, Franke grew up in the volatile 60’s and moved to Wisconsin in the mid-80’s. He always had a spark of creative talent throughout his life, but used it very little outside of industry, until tragedy caused him to rethink his life's path.
| “The death of a loved one inspired me to act upon whatever artistic talent I still had left in me,” says Franke. “She is my muse in spirit and is with me always.” |
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Despite the motivation, Franke's work often displays a distinctive sense of artistic humor. He explains his upbeat attitude with a favorite line from Jimmy Buffett: “Some of it’s magic and some of it’s tragic, but I’ve had a good life all the way.”
Charlene's Gallery Ten is a founding member of the Gills Rock Artisans, a variety of talented of artists and unique galleries located at the Top of the Door.
GT Coffee, complements the gallery, serving espresso drinks and Door County cherry pie by-the-slice daily from 8 AM to 5 PM. The gallery is open daily from 10 AM to 5 PM at 12625 Hwy. 42 in Gills Rock, Wisconsin. Telephone 920.854.9907 for further information or visit on-line at www.GalleryTen.com.
For more information on upcoming shows and a portfolio sampling of our collection visit ... GalleryTen.com
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