Art with Luci Shirek
Artist and art instructor Luci Shirek was a returning student who graduated from the UW Madison with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. She exhibits her artwork, is a free-lance commissioned artist, and teaches watercolor and flower arranging for MATC and UW in Madison.
Classes start with structured lectures, demonstrations, and creative ideas, and then explode in all directions. Textures in watercolor can be incorporated into leaf patterns or petunias by using masa paper and barn siding and gourds by using salt and spattering. Value lessons mixing the three primary colors can be incorporated into a single flower or a snow scene in shades of gray. Color theory can be incorporated into a faceted geometric abstract design by placing complementary hues of red and green, orange and blue, and yellow and purple together in a still life composition. Atmospheric perspective can be incorporated into a flowerpot on a window ledge painting by inserting a distant landscape.
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Many students paint original watercolors; however, there are valuable lessons learned by replicating published artwork which then inspire new ideas. That's the wonder of watercolor.
Sixty-five watercolor paintings by Luci and her MATC students were on exhibit at the Black Earth Library in an art show titled "The Wonder of Watercolor" in April 2007. The classes were held at Wisconsin Heights High School, and the participating artists ranged from first-time beginners to accomplished watercolorists.
Below are photos of an assortment of artwork from the Black Earth Library art show.
With brush in hand and paint on paper, Luci's student Joan Konyn is enjoying a hobby that, barely a year ago, she never thought she was good enough to pursue. Today, the rural Black Earth artist could fill a small gallery with the brilliant watercolors she has created.
It all started with a six-week MATC adult continuing education class. “It’s something I’d always wanted to do but never followed through with,” Joan says. Then, a career change left her with enough free time that she decided to go for it.
For years, Joan would read the MATC class schedules mailed to her home and slow down at the watercolor course listings. Her busy work schedule didn’t leave room for an art class but when that changed, the fact that MATC offered enrichment classes at a high school near her home made a big difference. “I don’t have to drive all the way to Madison,” Joan says.
Also making a big difference was her instructor, Luci Shirek. She knows a lot but encourages everybody to find their own style and work at their own pace. The summer days will find Joan at a table on her deck, surrounded by flowers, valleys and her dog, Copper, working on another watercolor. The beautiful scenery provides her inspiration. MATC provided the means to learn techniques she never thought she would master. I hope eventually I'll be good enough that someone would like to buy a painting, she says, modestly. I absolutely love it! It has enriched my life. It's given me a whole new group of friends and gives me an outlet for my need to create.
Last Modified:
July 2, 2008
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