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Treat yourself to a four-day artful getaway where you’ll get to explore a variety of art forms, media, and aesthetics. Work with paper clay, mosaic, assemblage, oil & cold wax, painting, gel printing, gold leaf, and mixed media.
Connect with other art adventurers and experience the magic of Shake Rag Alley.
All skill levels welcome!
Registration deadline for most workshops is August 12.
Jane Bellante is an expert at helping people let go of negative thought patterns to create the art and personal brand they have always wanted with joy, confidence and ease. She has been a mixed media artist for 30 years, is a published artist and has a Masters Degree in Adult Education. She is founder of the 5 Day Letting Go Workshop, the Creating Confidently 5 week course, IGNITE your business cohort accelerator and is a married mother of 2 kids and 2 pets.
Workshops
Rebecca Hutchinson received her MFA from the University of Georgia (Athens) and her BFA from Berea College. An award-winning sculptor, she was one of 12 recipients of the 2015 ‚”Women to Watch” award from the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC. A dedicated educator of over 20 years, she currently serves as full professor at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth teaching undergraduate and graduate ceramics.
Hutchinson’s sculptural work is informed by observations of the natural world, drawing inspiration from what she sees as its resilience and resourcefulness. Ranging in scale from site-installation museum projects to gallery sculpture, the work is a profusion of color harmonies, floral textures and absorbing detail. Found embedded in her work are locally sourced materials‚Äînative and natural as well as industrial and domestic cast-offs. The work is attentive to the emerging concerns of the Anthropocene: sustainability as an ethos, hybridity as a strategy, and growth as a set of negotiations. Her current work explores the theme of navigating boundaries both conceptually and aesthetically.
Hutchinson’s work has appeared in prominent national and international venues such as the Taiwan Ceramics Biennale, the Everson Museum of Art, the San Francisco Museum of Craft and Design, the National Museum for Women in the Arts, SOFA (now Intersect Chicago, represented by Duane Reed Gallery), the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, the Vendrell Biennale (Spain), the Danforth Museum of Art, the Lowe Museum of Art, the Canton Museum of Art, and the Fuller Craft Museum, among many others.
Hutchinson’s work has been published in over 80 publications nationally and internationally—notably, Sculpture, Surface Design, Orion, Huffington Post, American Craft, Ceramics Monthly, La Ceramica, Ceramics Ireland, Ceramics Art and Perception, New Ceramics, Korean Ceramic Art Monthly, Women in the Arts, and Revista Ceramica Contemporanea.
She has been awarded numerous grants, fellowships, and awards—notably from the Pollock Krasner Foundation, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Virginia Commission for the Arts, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, as Artist of the Year by the Society of Arts and Crafts in Boston and as Distinguished Artist by the James Renwick Alliance in Washington DC. For teaching and research, Hutchinson is highly-awarded by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. She has been nominated three years in a row for the Outstanding Educators Award of the International Sculpture Center (Sculpture Magazine).
Prominent collections which hold Hutchinson’s work include: the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Maldives Waldorf Astoria, the Boston Children’s Hospital, the Yingge Museum (Taiwan), the Perlman Museum, the Georgia Museum of Art, and the Canton Museum of Art.
Workshops
Roann Mathias is an artist and educator who is experienced in a variety of media including abstract painting, photography, watercolor, and lettering. All of these varied interests can be seen in her art. Her work has been published in Somerset Studio Magazine, Letter Arts Review and Cloth Paper Scissors magazine. She taught calligraphy and mixed media workshops for several years throughout the U.S. and Canada. After receiving her MFA in 2015, she became an adjunct professor at Memphis College of Art and Southwest Tennessee Community College. Originally from New Orleans, the colorful architecture and plant life instilled in her a love of color and nature. Travels around the U.S. and Europe inspired her love of nature and the landscape. Influenced by her study of art history, she has drawn on abstract expressionism to create large gestural works.
Workshops
Lorraine Reynolds is a multidisciplinary artist specializing in the transformation of recycled materials. She works primarily in fiber, collage, assemblage and installation. Her creative practice is deeply rooted in an intimate connection with the local environment, utilizing materials gifted by her surroundings. Through her art, she reveres the legacies of the past, seeking to nourish our collective spirits and find meaning within the ceaseless cycles of existence ‚Äì embracing both life’s vitality and its poignant transitions. Believing in the profound potential of art, Lorraine sees it as a catalyst for healing, guiding both creator and observer through the realms of loss and trauma, offering a passage toward solace and understanding.
With over 30 years’ expertise in the apparel industry, Lorraine’s passion for textiles and vintage apparel fuels her artistic expression. Alongside her studio practice and teaching engagements, she works full-time as a Design and Product Development Consultant.
Lorraine earned her MFA in Visual Art from Vermont College of Fine Art and has showcased her work both regionally and nationally. Her commitment to the arts extends to her community involvement, having contributed to the board of Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts as a past president.
She resides in Mineral Point, WI with her husband and her extremely affectionate German Shorthair Pointer, Ziggy.
Workshops
Mending Hearts: Stitching Recycled Fibers Into Sculpture
Sustainable Fashion: Introduction to Altered Apparel and Visible Mending
Carole Spelić grew up with educator parents and no television, so since childhood she’s been making things in 2D and 3D. She graduated from Bates College (ME) with a BA in Fine Art and earned her MA and MFA from the University at Albany (NY).
After graduate school, Carole lived in Manhattan, New York City, for 17 years where she was assistant coordinator for the State University system’s Studio Semester in New York program.
She has retired from her senior lecturer position in the art area at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. She also retired from being program director with Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts, and is now a full-time artist, musician, workshop leader, and gallerist – Carole and her partner, painter Richard Moninski, own and operate Green Lantern Studios, a gallery of fine art and handicrafts in Mineral Point.
Her recent exhibitions include work at the Museum of Wisconsin Art (West Bend), a show at the Pump House (La Crosse, WI), award-winning work at the Center for Visual Arts (Wausau, WI), installations at the Evanston Art Center (Evanston, IL), and a one-person exhibition at the Nohr Gallery (Platteville, WI).
Workshops
Artist Jacqueline Sullivan expresses her creativity through mixed media, acrylic, and calligraphic paintings. Her works are unique expressions of adventure and discovery, each piece experimenting with texture, layers, color, unusual materials, calligraphic marks, and words. In addition to technical precision, personal artistic development is intrinsic to her practice.
Jacqueline is a teaching artist with more than 30 years of experience. She has developed and presented many classes at art centers, colleges, guilds, and online. She is a certified Golden Artist Educator, making her a specialist on acrylic products and techniques. She is known for her multidiscipline workshops given at top art retreats as well as art and calligraphy guilds in the U.S. and Canada. She has also served as faculty for several international calligraphy conferences.
Jacqueline’s work has appeared in many publications, including Astarte’s Mega-Zine, Cloth Paper Scissors, Pages, and Somerset Studio, as well as calligraphic journals. Her work has been published in the book AcrylicWorks 4: Captivating Color the Best of Acrylics and Acrylic Works 6. Her bestselling DVD, Acrylics: Textures, Layers, and Metallics, is published by Creative Catalyst Productions.
Her widely collected work has been shown in galleries and top-juried art fairs nationwide. In addition to garnishing the walls of collectors and inspiring thousands of students through her teaching, Jacqueline has enriched her painting practice by using her degree in graphic design, working for many years as a publication, marketing, and advertising designer. She paints and lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Workshops
Gail is a mixed media artist who works with photography, assemblage, collage, and ceramics. She loves experimenting and combining as many of these mediums as she can in her work — whatever it takes to express an idea! Having been a teacher in adult education for 30 years, she loves teaching all levels of students. Her work can be seen locally and nationally in museum and gallery shows. She happily lives amid nature in southeastern Wisconsin.
Workshops
Thursday
8-9 am Registration & Morning Treats | Art Cafe
9am-4pm Mixed Media Market & Swap Table | Art Cafe | Pop in when you can!
9am-4pm Introduction to Marbling with Roann Mathias | Lind Pavilion North
9am-4pm Build a Better Collage with Jacqueline Sullivan | Smejas’ Studio
9am-4pm Telling Your Story with Jane Bellante | Sardeson Studio
12-1 pm Lunch Hour | Pick up pre-orders in the Art Cafe
Friday
8-9 am Registration & Morning Treats | Art Cafe
9am-4pm Mixed Media Market & Swap Table | Art Cafe | Pop in when you can!
9am-4pm Telling Your Story with Jane Bellante | Sardeson Studio
9am-4pm Gel Printing—Beyond the Basics with Jacqueline Sullivan | Smejas’ Studio
9am-4pm Handbuilding Paper Clay: Developing Personal Form with Rebecca Hutchinson | Lind Pavilion
12-1 pm Lunch Hour | Pick up pre-orders in the Art Cafe
1-4pm Goddess Headdress & Fantasy Crowns with Lorraine Reynolds | Cabinet Shop
4:30-5:30pm After-Class Social Hour | Lind Pavilion
Saturday
8-9 am Registration & Morning Treats | Art Cafe
9am-4pm Mixed Media Market & Swap Table | Art Cafe | Pop in when you can!
9am-4pm Soul Houses with Lorraine Reynolds | Sardeson
9am-4pm From the Heart with Gail Willert | Potter’s House
9am-4pm Abstracts with Oil & Cold Wax with Jacqueline Sullivan | Smejas’ Studio
9am-4pm Handbuilding Paper Clay: Developing Personal Form with Rebecca Hutchinson | Lind Pavilion
12-1 pm Lunch Hour | Pick up pre-orders in the Art Cafe
6-8 pm Art Adventure Showcase | Lind Pavilion | Food + Cash Bar
Sunday
8-9 am Registration & Morning Treats | Art Cafe
9am-4pm Mixed Media Market & Swap Table | Art Cafe | Pop in when you can!
9am-4pm Icon Self-Portrait with Carole Spelic | Potter’s House
9am-4pm Upcycled Mixed-Media Collage Cards with Lorraine Reynolds | Sardeson
9am-4pm Abstracts with Oil & Cold Wax with Jacqueline Sullivan | Smejas’ Studio
9am-4pm Handbuilding Paper Clay: Developing Personal Form with Rebecca Hutchinson | Lind Pavilion
12-1 pm Lunch Hour | Pick up pre-orders in the Art Cafe
There is no event fee. Workshops are individually priced. See below.
Nope. No minimum. You may sign up for just one or as many workshops as you like. Most workshops are one full day. Some are half day classes and there are some two-day classes as well.
Register for each class individually. You may register online (see below) or call the Shake Rag Alley office at 608-987-3292.
See the What to Expect section of our Planning Your Workshop Experience page.
See the Cancellation Policy section of our Planning Your Workshop Experience page.
Materials fees are shown in the class listings and are usually paid with the tuition payment, although in some cases materials fees are paid directly to the instructor at class time. Check the class listing.
Our workshops are designed for ages 14 and up, as described on our Planning Your Workshop Experience page.
We do encourage your spouse to accompany you to enjoy Mineral Point! But sorry, only registered students are allowed in class unless there is a medical need for assistance.
Yes, you will receive an email confirmation. If you do not have an email address, we will send a postal mail confirmation.
Mineral Point is located in Southwest Wisconsin about 45 miles from Madison. See our Planning Your Workshop Experience page for travel info.
Shake Rag rents three guest rooms right on campus and two apartments a few blocks away. Students receive a 10% discount on Shake Rag Alley lodging. See our Lodging page for more information. In addition, Mineral Point has a variety of motels, hotels, inns, and bed and breakfasts with a wide range of prices and amenities, many within walking distance of Shake Rag Alley. See our Local Lodging Directory.
Mineral Point boasts a large number of artist galleries/studios and shops, as well as several historic sites. Other cultural offerings can be found in nearby communities. Parks and outdoor activities are available in Mineral Point and outside of town as well. Please see our Planning Your Workshop Experience page for more information.
YES! During Art Adventure we welcome you to:
Click here to check the Mineral Point community calendar, which may be updated with new events as your workshop date approaches, and review the list of possibilities provided on our Planning Your Workshop Experience page.
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Coach House
18 Shake Rag Street
Art Café
Ellery House
restrooms
4 of 33restrooms
5 of 33restrooms
6 of 33Open Air Parking
7 of 33Lind Pavilion Parking
8 of 33Roadside Parking
allowed on Commerce Street
Smejas’ Studio parking
10 of 33Smejas’ Studio
30 Doty Street
Curbside Parking
as indicated
Accessible Parking
with curb cut
Accessible Parking
with curb cut
Alley Stage
15 of 33Cabinet Shop
French Cabin
1830 Log Cabin
Potter’s House
Blacksmith Barn
Federal Spring
21 of 33Monarch Garden
22 of 33Lind Pavilion
411 Commerce Street
two blocks to
High Street & Commerce Street
Restaurants, Shops & Galleries
To Grocery Store
Point Foods
622 Dodge Street
Street Parking with Additional Parking behind Smejas’ Studio
26 of 33The Green
open air park
Stair Steps
between
Cabinet Shop & Lind Pavilion
Stair Steps
to Alley Stage
Stone Bridge
over
Federal Spring
Weaving & Fiber Arts Studio
Cannery Row Arts Incubator
121 Water St.
Footbridge
33 of 33ADA accessible buildings: Lind Pavilion, Coach House (first floor), Smejas’ Studio
18 Shake Rag St.
Mineral Point, WI 53565
(608) 987-3292
