Darlene Wesenberg Rzezotarski: Artist in Residence in the Milwaukee River Greenway

September 17, 2024  |  Topics: featured artist

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The Natural Realm presents Darlene Wesenberg Rzezotarski, who is among 12 artists participating in a year-long residency program called ARTservancy, now in its fifth year. ARTservancy is a collaboration between Gallery 224 in Port Washington and the Ozaukee Washington Land Trust, River Revitalization Foundation, Milwaukee Area Land Conservancy, Tall Pines Conservancy, and Lake Michigan Bird Observatory. The mission of ARTservancy is to promote the visionary work of both the artists and conservationists. Each artist has selected a preserve to spend time in and to engage with.

Reflections from the Artist

By Darlene Wesenberg Rzezotarski

I am honored to have been granted an ARTservancy residency in the Milwaukee River Greenway, where I spend most of my time in Estabrook Park. My profound thanks to all who have worked to create and preserve our park system through the years. To think that this beehive of park activity was once a cement factory! Yes, some things have improved over time!

This expanse of natural wonders is virtually on my doorstep and I have grown to love the quirky, quiet parts as well as the bustling paths and playgrounds that are here. A person can come here to play or fish or party—or to find a quiet place to meditate.

As a ceramist and writer, it is my impulse to notice details and small occurrences, ponder them, retreat with them to my studio, and involve my mind and hands in the solitude of creation. Often there is research involved, as I live as a perpetual student. Layer upon layer waits to be revealed. History has been erased, but the landscape still wears its scars and recollections—clues to our past. Those who take the time can translate these secrets. I find affirmation in the words of art critic Lucy Lippard: “For all the art that is about place, very little is of place—made by artists within their own places or with people who live in the scrutinized place, connecting with the history and the environment.” 

One of the joys of being selected for an ARTservancy residency is the opportunity to continue down this path. In this place. In this time.

When I wrote and illustrated my first book, Trick a Witch, Wed a Hedgehog, Save your Soul: An American Artist Encounters Poland, I delved into Slavic mythology and folklore and intertwined this with a familial story that has been rooted in Polish soil for generations. My second book, Memorable Milwaukee: Legendary Tales Depicted in Clay, found its roots in our past. I realized that my students often didn’t know about our local history and the amazing stories that surrounded them. I began telling stories in the classroom. Over a decade, I created sculptures that are location–specific, relating to people and events. Eventually 20 of them were published as a small book, ready to be shared by all ages. 

This brings me to my emphasis during my year in ARTservancy: I would like to combine my interest in mythology and folklore with the incredible history and the natural wonders of Estabrook Park and our river, sharing sculptures and multi-media mosaics. This might include depicting the folklore of healing herbs in the park’s herb garden; or a myth surrounding an ancient oak tree; or it might include a recollection from a friend whose grandmother swam in the river here. Although I consider myself a disciplined and committed artist, I am leaving the possibilities open, allowing for my residency to grow as wildly and willfully as any weed or plant, whether oak or thistle.

As a narrative sculptor, I enjoy sharing my work, our stories, our history and folklore; and I look forward to participating in the ongoing legacy that is Estabrook Park.

A Warning

(Poem by Darlene Wesenberg Rzezotarski based on a Polish legend, to accompany The Haunted Birch Grove)

Stay out of the birch grove at night

when The Leshy prowls.

Leshy! The Trickster!

Neither human, nor fur, nor fin, nor feathered fowl!

He has no eyebrows;

his eyes stay wide open, unblinking.

He has only one ear and tilts to the right.

He is a shapeshifter

With power to possess the birches.

He wants to befuddle your brain.

Just when you think you know where you are,

the birch trees grow root-feet and walk.

They will surround you,

Their root-toes will reach out to trip you.

You will grow dizzy,

• your stomach will churn,
• your tongue will grow thick,
• your bones will tingle.

But show no signs of distress.

Don’t try to run.

Fight deviltry with creative chicanery.

Gather your wits and

make him laugh.

Put your jacket on backwards

and your gloves on your feet.

Walk away backwards,

• Away, away!

If you offend him, he will cover your skin with green moss

That will never wash off.

• You will sprout dry skin like birch bark.
• You will be an outcast.
• You will lose the gift of speech.
• You will never laugh again.

Do you dare?

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Better stay home and read a book.

Beware!

Gallery

Bio

I am a storyteller—through word and clay. With a master’s degree in Comparative Literature from UWM, I set out upon a teaching career, devoting myself to the students of Milwaukee Public Schools. Although I have “always known” I was a poet, I surprised myself on Ground Hog’s Day, 1982, when I first worked with clay. A coil-pot in the form of a snake emerged. I inscribed the word hiss-story inside. Since then, I have developed my ability to create ceramic sculptures, eventually setting up a home studio and offering hand-building workshops.  My sculptures are described as narrative, anchored in history, nature, and myth, often site-specific. I am the author of three books: Trick a Witch, Wed a Hedgehog, Save your Soul: An American Artist Encounters Poland; Memorable Milwaukee: Legendary Tales Depicted in Clay; anda novel, Annenbaum Arms, set in Milwaukee in the Vietnam Era, which first appeared in monthly installment form in the Riverwest Currents in 2022. It now is widely available in print edition. At present, enjoying my ARTservancy residency in Estabrook Park, I often can be found there observing the wonders of nature firsthand, with my friend, Little Gus the Dachshund.

This residency is sponsored by River Revitalization Foundation. To learn more about the Milwaukee River Greenway go to our Find-a-Park page.

Related stories:

Benjamin Pollock: Artist in Residence in the Milwaukee River Greenway

Brian Hibbard: Artist in Residence in the Milwaukee River Greenway

Meghan Burke McGrath: Artist in Residence in the Milwaukee River Greenway

There are numerous other stories related to the Milwaukee River Greenway in The Natural Realm; a complete list is available on our Find-a-Park page.

This is the latest in our series of featured artists, which is intended to showcase the work of photographers, artists, writers and other creative individuals in our community whose subjects or themes relate in some broad sense to nature, urban nature, people in nature, etc. To see a list of previously featured artists, click here. The work of the 2022-2023 ARTservancy artists in residence is currently being exhibited monthly at Gallery 224. To meet the other ARTservancy artists in residence, click here.

All images courtesy of the artist, except as noted. The featured photo at the top of Darlene Wesenberg Rzezotarski and the birches (both live and sculpted) in Estabrook Park is by Eddee Daniel. River Revitalization Foundation is a project partner of A Wealth of Nature.

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