Visual Art

Crawling for the Confluence

Banbury Art Crawl artists have option to donate

Eric Christenson, photos by Andrea Paulseth |

FOSTERING A COMMUNITY. Art Crawl organizers hope having artists rally around a common goal – the Confluence Project – it will nourish a stronger scene.
FOSTERING A COMMUNITY. Art Crawl organizers hope having artists rally around a common goal – the Confluence Project – will nourish a stronger scene.

The Banbury Art Crawl is a huge event during which members of the Chippewa Valley art community take over the spacy halls of Banbury Place to showcase and sell their work, but this year, they might feel an additional sense of purpose. The crawl is offering its artists the chance to donate a percentage of their individual sales to the Confluence Project.

The Art Crawl, on its own, is a non-profit event started by the late Laurie Biese almost a decade ago, but with the contentious Confluence – which would ostensibly grant artists a wide breadth of opportunity – on the table, it gives the art community something to rally behind if they choose.

“A rising tide lifts all ships. If you raise the bar and bring more and
better creativity and art to a community, it’ll multiply. A lot of artists in their heart believe in not just their own art, but in the culture of creativity.” – Banbury Art Crawl Chair Jo Ellen Burke on the advantages of donating

“There’s an advantage in recognizing that you’re a part of a bigger community here,” said Jo Ellen Burke, the Banbury Art Crawl chairperson. “It’s thriving, and you can be bigger than something other than your own art.”

Burke found that the goals of the Art Crawl matched up with the goals of the Confluence quite well: To establish and nourish a bustling art scene in the Chippewa Valley. Burke said there’s a lot to be said for the state of the scene currently, but with big opportunities and big chances at something more, the scene could truly flourish with an all-encompassing boost.

“A rising tide lifts all ships,” she said. “If you raise the bar and bring more and better creativity and art to a community it’ll multiply. A lot of artists in their heart believe in not just their own art, but in the culture of creativity and I think that’s to be gained by supporting something that’s been so long coming.”

DONATING ARTISTS

Deb Zanoni, Fiber Artist
Molly Linton, Fabric Artist
Tim Brudnicki, Woodworks
Bruce Warren, Photography
Lara Cornell, Mixed Media
Ruth Lundblad, Watercolor
Tom Gardner, Photography
Ann Wrzosek-Manor, Ceramics
Dick Milheiser, Potter
Justin DancingHawk, Painter
Evan Hestekin, Potter
Cindy S. King, Jeweler
Eric Holey, Stoneware Potter
Megan Brown, Bath & Body
Lori Chilefone, Mixed Media
Sandra Churness, Batik
Barbara Geurink, Weaver
Raymond Kaselau, Sculptor
Barbara Shafer, Painter
Sandy Wagener, Sandy’s Studio
Mark L. Bauer, CrafTime Buttons
Barry Grill, Woodworks

The Banbury Art Crawl is Feb. 6 and 7 at Banbury Place. For more information, visit banburyartcrawl.org. Make a donation of your own to the Confluence Project can at communityfortheconfluence.org/donate.