Spring 2025 residency
Welcome to VPL’s very first Artist-in-Residence program! Dawn Wians is a well-respected local artist who works in mixed media to express abstract landscapes and nature-inspired art.
During her residency, Dawn will be leading workshops, teaching classes, and helping patrons pursue their own artistic aims. Patron projects will include sustainably incorporated found items from the prairie, and various elements of design will be introduced to guide participants as they create. You will see Dawn working in her residency studio in the main area of the library during Studio Time. Her artwork will be on display throughout the library during the residency.
For more information and to register for upcoming Artist-in-Residence programs, please view the library's event calendar.
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About the artist
Trained as a designer, I am drawn to the elements of line, shape, color, value, texture and scale, as well as the forms they become and the way we experience them. These are compositional skill sets that I teach throughout my workshops. -Dawn Wians
Dawn works in mixed media to express abstract landscapes and nature-inspired art. She uses nature to make sense of and give meaning to her work. As an instructor, she enjoys guiding and encouraging other artists as they explore experimental approaches to mixed media. In 2019, after creating a ‘land art’ exhibit for Earth Day, she removed plastics, toxins, and unhealthy solvents from her studio practice. Dawn now uses only materials that are healthy for the artist and the environment. All of her workshops and classes follow these standards.
Dawn has taught art at Iowa State University, Shake Rag Alley School of Art in Mineral Point, Adamah Art Studios in Dodgeville, and more. She has exhibited her art widely, including at the Farley Center in Verona and, most recently, at the Overture Center in Madison.
For more information and artwork, please visit Dawn on her website, dawnwiansart.com and on Instagram @dawnwiansart.
Events
Opening Reception
Friday, May 2
1:30-2:30 pm
Come meet our wonderful new Artist-in-Residence, Dawn Wians, and listen as she discuses her nature-inspired art. Dawn will tell us how she found her creative voice and how she transformed her art studio to exclusively use materials and practices that are healthier for the artist and the environment. There will be a question-and-answer session, after which attendees are welcome to take an artist-led tour of her library exhibit.
Dawn is not just extraordinarily talented -- she is also a very warm and friendly person! Enjoy her stories and find out more about this exciting new program.
The Prairie Life Cycle
Saturday, May 10
10:00 am-12:00 pm
Registration required.
Join us for a fun and educational opportunity to learn about the prairie and create art that reflects it! Artist-in-Residence Dawn Wians will lead participants through a study of dormant prairie plants and then help them to create plant-material collages of how these look beneath the ground and will look when they are in full bloom. These will be hung in the windows of the Children's Area for all to admire and enjoy. For ages 5-10.
Artist's Workshop: Line & Shape
Thursday, May 15
3:30-5:30 pm
Registration required.
In the first of a three-part workshop series (attend any one or all of them), our Artist-in-Residence, Dawn Wians, will take participants out to the prairie to forage for plant material and field sketch the dormant prairie using willow charcoal, oil pastel, and colored pencil. Following this, they will stencil and stamp nature-inspired note cards using spray inks. The finished project will be a beautifully collaged sketchbook.
Artist's Workshop: Texture & Form
Thursday, May 22
3:30-5:30 pm
Registration required.
Prepare beautiful groupings of natural materials, then seal them in beeswax. Use them along our Prairie Tales path to decorate the way and tell their own story. These are decomposable.
Artist's Workshop: Color & Value
Thursday, May 29
3:30-5:30 pm
Registration required.
In the third of this workshop series (attend them all or any one of them), our Artist-in-Residence, Dawn Wians, will guide participants in the creation of hand-bound journals, curated from colorful images drawn onto a gelatin plate. Come and experience this unique approach to creating beautiful art.
Ongoing events
Studio Time
Thursday, May 1: 3:00-8:00 pm
Friday, May 2: 3:00-4:30 pm
Saturday, May 3: 9:00 am-4:00 pm
Sunday, May 4: 1:00-3:00 pm
Saturday, May 10: 12:00-4:00 pm
Friday, May 30: 12:30-4:30 pm
Throughout her residency, Dawn Wians will spend time in her studio space in the library's Main Area and work on her own projects. Don't miss these special opportunities to see an artist in action and to ask questions about her art or art in general.
Open A.I.R. Studio
Thursday, May 15: 5:30-7:30 pm
Thursday, May 22: 5:30-7:30 pm
Thursday, May 29: 5:30-7:30 pm
Bring your own art project to work on or create one with available supplies with the Artist-in-Residence nearby to offer guidance or just companionship!
