BASS AROUND THE BAY: CELEBRATING 23 YEARS OF PUBLIC ART IN STURGEON BAY
We’re celebrating 23 years of public art in Sturgeon Bay with a brand new project: a Bass! This unique collaboration of art and community has been created to beautify the streets of Sturgeon Bay all summer long until Harvest Fest.
All 27 projects were on display for thousands of visitors and locals to enjoy all summer long leading up to the 23rd Annual Street Art Auction on Saturday, September 16, 2023.
Thank you to our Presenting Sponsor, Nicolet National Bank, for their incredible support of Sturgeon Bay Public Art! We couldn’t do what we do without the support of our community partners and we are beyond grateful.
2023 BASS AROUND THE BASS
POND BASS
SOLD FOR $1,100
CLAIRE QUADERER
QUANTUM TECHNOLOGIES
619 N. 8TH AVENUE
Pond Bass was created to look as if it was the pond itself. The surface of the water was meant to look like an entirely different art piece. I wanted the surface of the water to come to life in the sun and display motion. The circular shapes of the tiles inside the lily pads were inspired by the Pollisum Period of the mid 1880s. Creating Pond bass was the largest and most unique project I have ever taken upon myself, and the experience itself was incredible.
BASSICAL BASS
SOLD FOR $1,300
TAMMY EASTON
MONTICELLO ON JEFFERSON
715 JEFFERSON STREET
For the past 20 years my day job is creating mosaics for home and garden as Garden of Easton. I am a big fan of public art projects and ‘BASSIC-al BASS’ was inspired by one of my garden fish pieces.
GOLDEN HOUR
SOLD FOR $700
SHARI BRZINSKI
NICOLET NATIONAL BANK
236 N 4TH AVENUE
My design is of a soft sunset over a quiet Lake Michigan. I will have golden outlines of opalescent and semitransparent leaves that flow like elegant scales from the tail up the belly toward the mouth of the fish. I was inspired by the golden ginkgo biloba leaves during an autumn walk in the park. I am an art therapist and I have the joy of helping others benefit, connect, and grow through engagement with art making. To communicate as an artist offers connections that words cannot. The creative process can inspire us to encourage and support one another through a global desire to find meaning and beauty in life.
TRILLIUM BASS
SOLD FOR $500
PAULA WENDLAND
ON DECK CLOTHING CO.
165 N 3RD AVENUE
This design celebrates our beloved forest flower, the trillium, harbinger of spring. Like many of my fellow Door County residents, I look forward to the day I find that first bit of white peeking out among the tree roots. It lifts my heart. The medium used is outdoor compatible acrylic paints sealed with polyurethane spar varnish. The painting style is impressionistic and layered, using a palette of cool colors to echo the forest floor. The trillium flowers are surrounded by a background of leaves in soft springtime greens. I enjoy using a variety of tools to paint, like sponges and bubble wrap and other found objects to create a depth of textures and color interplays. Of course I use artist’s brushes too!
COPPER GARDEN
SOLD FOR $4,300
RENATE GREGORY
CLOCK TOWER
164 N 3RD AVENUE
Copper Garden is a combination of the beauty of a garden accompanied by the magical wings of dragonflies. This piece was created by using acrylic paint, copper powder pigment, and acrylic gel paint. This gives the bass the illusion of an embossed copper design. As for the base, the flowers are made out of recycled cans that were cut, sanded, painted, and then sealed in a thin layer of epoxy and attached to a brass tube. The dragonfly wings are made out of recycled plastic containers that were dusted with purple and silver paint pigments giving that iridescent translucent look. I hope you enjoy my creations, the “Copper Garden”.
HOOKED ON AMERICA
SOLD FOR $700
DAVE HACKETT
DOOR COUNTY EYE ASSOCIATES
165 N 3RD AVENUE
I have been primarily a watercolor and pen and ink artist for many years here in Door County. Throughout my career, I was an art director, designer, and illustrator with ad agencies and had my own studio in Milwaukee, WI. I retired and moved to Sister Bay in 1999 with my wife Carol, a realtor, and operated a gallery for 7 years. Now I am living and working out of my studio in Sturgeon Bay and loving it.
GILL-TY AS CHARGED
SOLD FOR $2,200
JOHN WATRY
DOOR COUNTY TRADERS
147 N 3RD AVEUNE
Oh my cod, I was looking for something really catchy to name this fish. It took a while because in school, Gill never made it above sea level. This metal bass sculpture is made from hay hooks, John Deere tractor and red flyer wagon parts, wrenches, clamps, steel license plates a couple of horse shoes with some brass and copper accents just for the halibut.
DOOR COUNTY LOCALS
SOLD FOR $1,300
OLIVIA DONATO
CORNUCOPIA KITCHEN SHOP
139 N 3RD AVEUNE
The “Door County Locals” bass was designed to show off some of the local residents of Door County Wisconsin, from the frequently spotted white tailed deer to the sought-after morel mushroom. I wanted to paint animals and plants so full of life that they’d pop off the surface of the bass and help viewers to see and appreciate more of the inhabitants of this beautiful piece of Wisconsin. Can you spot some of your favorite backyard squatters?
FOUR STRING BASS
SOLD FOR $2,200
PAT WEBSTER
DANCING BEAR
13 N 3RD AVEUNE
Is it a bass? Or is it a bass? In this case, it’s both. I have enjoyed building stringed instruments for some years; a bass that’s a bass was hard to resist. This fish really plays. It has a 21″ scale length, nylon ukelele bass strings and an undersaddle piezo pickup. The tackle box is a battery operated amplifier, complete with built-in preamp. The form is embellished with epoxy putty, latex porch paint, acrylic paint and a satin finish clear coat. This is one bad bass.
BEAUTIFUL BLOOMING BASS
SOLD FOR $1,000
KELLY WITTE
DOOR COUNTY CANDY
12 N 3RD AVEUNE
Racine, Wisconsin based artist Kelly Witte is a 2010 graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Studio Art with concentrations in painting and printmaking. Taking a maximalist approach to her art she creates whimsical and vividly colored pieces inspired by tropical plants. Since earning her degree she has been very active in the local visual art community. In March 2022 she was named as the winner of the Racine Art Museum’s Emerging Artist Fellowship Award and is creating a brand new body of work for a solo exhibition at the museum in August 2023. Witte regularly exhibits her work regionally and lends her talents to public art exhibitions and mural projects in the Racine and Kenosha communities. In addition to exhibiting extensively in Southeastern Wisconsin she exhibits her work at the national and international levels. Nationally, her work has been featured in galleries in Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles, Tampa, Indianapolis, Dallas and Washington D.C. Internationally she has exhibited in The United Arab Emirates, The Netherlands, Sweden, Poland and Australia. Witte’s artwork is held in several private collections throughout the United States and she has had her artwork featured in publications such as Teen Vogue, Huffington Post and The Columbia Chronicle. Witte’s contribution to the Bass Around the Bay Project is entitled Beautiful Blooming Bass. Beautiful Blooming Bass was created using a palette of boldly colored acrylic paints, glitter and glow in the dark pigment. A variety of carefully rendered tropical flowers and foliage cover the surface of the fish. At night the eyes of the fish will glow a beautiful blue hue!
BRICK
SOLD FOR $900
BRAD MARTELL
MBE CPAs
354 MICHIGAN STREET
Being a life long lakeshore resident at 43 years of age, I’ve been doing art seriously for 75 percent of it. Everything from clay work, wooden sculptures, and carving; but also In sketch art, watercolor, oil and spray. But, what comes even before art, is bass fishing! And I could not resist the urge to enter this art event to rep the best fish around!
LEGENDARY BASS
SOLD FOR $1,600
ERIN K. NOLAN
ERA STARR REALTY
14 S. 3RD AVENUE
Erin K. Nolan grew up in a small farming towns throughout Northern Illinois. She spent much of her time exploring the surrounding forests and prairies learning about the regional flora and fauna. Nolan’s fondness of nature led her to visually interpreting patterns, textures, and intricate details through the meditative, process-oriented mediums of printmaking and painting en plein air. Her art provides a respite from an increasingly digital world. Nolan earned a BFA from Northern Illinois University. After a lifetime of dreaming about living in beautiful Door County, Wisconsin; she is now living the dream at her studio in Sturgeon Bay.
BATTLE THE PLUME: PROTECT THE BASS
SOLD FOR $1,400
REBECCA STRUCK
MARGARET LOCKWOOD GALLERY
7 S. 2ND AVENUE
Pollution effects many things in our ecosystem, and this project was designed to draw attention to this fact. This is a never-ending battle, and I want to protect the bass in our waterways. Because of this, I hope that my art will inspire you to do the same. Pollution is an emerging threat to freshwater biodiversity and can also influence ecologically important behaviors of fish. Bright urban lights can also mask the moon’s phases, throwing their biological clocks out of sync. The nest-guarding activity of lake-dwelling bass was elevated when exposed to both continuous low (1.8–3.4 lux) and intermittent high (10.2–58.2 lux) intensity of light, generated to simulate shoreline and automobile lighting, respectively. Many behavioral and physiological activities underlay either daily or seasonal rhythms. Cyanobacteria blooms (blue-green algae) are a frequent occurrence in the Great Lakes, particularly in Lake Erie, Green Bay, and Saginaw Bay. These blooms cause fish die-offs, as well as discolored or foul-smelling water, affecting both human and ecosystem health. Light pollution around lakes prevents zooplankton, such as Daphnia, from eating surface algae, causing algal blooms that can kill off the lakes, plants and lower water quality. Daphnia normally dwell deep below the water during the day and ascend to the surface at night to feast on algae. Darkness triggers the migration to the surface. Nighttime lighting can prevent the zooplankton from floating up to their meals, which could lead to algae blooms that overwhelm the other life in the lake. I made this by using spray paint, and also all of the rocks and fossils which I used, were all found locally here in Door County. Also, protecting nature and ecosystems, is something which I am very passionate about, and I am excited to raise awareness to this cause. I appreciate the opportunity to do so, through this piece of art.
THE SMALL MOUTH BASS
SOLD FOR $900
JENNIFER POLSTER
STEEL BRIDGE CREATIVE FOUNDATION
TAMBOURINE LOUNGE
59 N. 2ND AVENUE
The three elements emphasized in this project are nature, music, and imagination. Being an upright bass musician, artist, and nature lover, a musical theme quickly surrounded the small mouth bass concept. With a little faith and spare parts, it evolved into a playable upright bass instrument. The irresistible pun hidden in the pronunciation of the long ‘A’ sound in the title “The Small Mouth Bass” evokes audience participation to find more double-meanings, allusions, and loose connections throughout the piece. It invites the viewer to reanimate the imagination of their inner child. I am a local Door County artist and hold a BA in Art with an emphasis in painting from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. I have been creating art since I was very young. Most of my work is inspired by nature and aims to engage the viewer in multiple ways. While this project highlights my tactile playfulness, it also spawned an unexpected auditory element to my creation. Before it was weatherized for street art, The Small Mouth Bass was tunable and playable; it still is to some degree. It’s functionality in design is showcased by the four parallel lines made of used bass strings. They are stretched from the painted tailpiece wrapped with wire around the tail of the fish. They span a painted bridge that designates this fish to our community. They continue to reach over a freshwater inspired fretboard to four baitfish tuners. Each part was designed to reflect natural shapes that are mimicked throughout the piece. I loved the meandering strokes and lines within the woodgrain textures that contrast the layered, more symmetrical, fish scale pattern. The base of the fish creates a nostalgic space for the audience to explore. A few titles of popular songs on some sheet music with loose associations are just one of the clues to an intimate story. It leaves the beginning and ending a mystery for the imagination and invites the viewer to suppose what other songs could be included in this stack of music. This design will appeal to nature enthusiasts, lovers of music, and also anyone who lusts for fishing in our beautiful Sturgeon Bay waters. It has been a joy to create this design and morph a small mouth bass fish into one of my favorite instruments.
STEAMED BASS
SOLD FOR $3,600
DENA ROTHMAN
HOLIDAY MUSIC MOTEL
30 N. 1ST AVENUE
I’m grateful to have been chosen to participate in this new fun and challenging project! It became something of a cross between a scavenger hunt and building a puzzle with what I found. I built my fish using a variety of hardware, fishing gear, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, car, lamp and even doorknob parts found at sales, barns, antique and local shops and gracious friends who donated to my project. I combined metal, clay and paint to “steampunk” my bass as well as using remote control truck and boat pieces which brought the fun to it. As an artist I’m primarily a painter, for decades I’ve done wildlife, ppl and pet portraits, murals and bar tops all over MN and WI but I also sculpt, enjoy photography, and work in a wide variety of mediums. I’m semi- new to the area and look forward to bringing and sharing more of my art with the great folks here in Door County and beyond. I’m proud to be a part of this street beautification project and would like to thank all who work so hard to make this a success year after year. I hope you all enjoy my “Steamed Bass” as much as I did creating it. Happy summer to all!
GOLDEN CATCH
SOLD FOR $800
MITCHEL HEINRICHS
STONE HARBOR RESORT & CONFERENCE CENTER
107 N. 1ST AVENUE
I graduated from Milwaukee Institute of Technology with a degree in Commercial Art and Advertising. After graduation I took a position with Sax Boston Store in the advertising department. After returning from military service I spent a short time at W T Grant as advertising director and then Country Beautiful as art director doing design and book layout. After retiring I returned to painting the last 20 years. I prefer oil painting, but do pastels and watercolors of local scenes, water and boats, buildings and portraits. I also enjoy dabbling with some wood sculpture and design projects. The last few years, I have been working on this new process combining the three dimensions depth with background color and over coating combined with gold and silver leaf in up to six to ten layers.
LARGE MOUTH BASS
SOLD FOR $700
SUSAN KING
DOOR COUNTY MARITIME MUSEUM
120 N. MADISON AVENUE
COLORFUL CATCH
SOLD FOR $1,300
KEN KLOPACK
SONNY’S PIZZERIA
129 N. MADISON AVENUE
“Colorful Catch” was a fun project for me. I wanted to emphasize motion on this slippery fish. The way the fish is twisting and turning inspired me to do the same with my images. I chose colors related to the world of water and the fish itself. I’ve been doing outdoor art projects/displays a number of years all around Door County. I like the challenges they have presented to me whether they are benches, cherries, etc.
FINS ALL A FLUTTER
SOLD FOR $900
KRIS MORSE
NICOLET NATIONAL BANK
34 W. MAPLE STREET
I have grown up with nature all around me, living near the Northern Kettle Moraine Forest in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin for my entire life. My acrylic paintings have evolved over the years, but the subject matter stays close to its roots…nature based and most often bird life. Upon seeing this year’s new Bass form, l immediately pictured the Bass jumping or flying out of the water. My next thoughts led me to ‘flight’, which then to my design idea soon after…butterflies. In reality, a Bass very rarely jumps from the water. If a Bass does choose to jump, it will be on a sunny day when the fish is drawn closer to the water’s surface for warmth or because something bright or metallic is shining and catching it’s attention. In combining my thoughts l picture a Bass playfully jumping at metallic butterflies or moths on a warm summer day….and there is no better place to enjoy summer, and maybe catch a Bass jump, than Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.
THE PARTY BASS
SOLD FOR $800
MONICA RAMIREZ
GREYSTONE CASTLE
8 N. MADISON AVENUE
As an abstract artist, my heavily textured bass is created with vibrant energy through a bold and dynamic interplay of colors. This abstract expressionism captures the rhythm and pulse of the bay.
ALWAYS A SUNNY DAY
SOLD FOR $1,900
PAULA HARE
MADISON AVENUE MARKET
25 S. MADISON AVENUE
Whatever the season, whatever the weather, it’s always a sunny and wonderful day in Door County. Whether you are on the beach, on the water, shopping, heading out on a hike or just turning your face up to the sun, Door County has something for everyone in all kinds of weather. That’s why it’s ALWAYS A SUNNY DAY in Door County! This year, my bass features a field of cloisonne enamel-style sunflowers mingled with blue forget-me-nots. I am a professional, exhibiting artist and painter. Over the span of three years, my work has raised a total of $10,400 for Sturgeon Bay’s street beautification projects. I hope this year’s painted bass will raise even more for the beautiful city of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE BASS NAMED BETTY
SOLD FOR $1,600
KIM “KIMSKI” HEIER
ARTICIPATION STUDIO & GALLERY
10 E. OAK STREET
VIVID COLORS? Yes MOVEMENT? Yes TEXTURE? Yes Mission accomplished. When I paint my abstract paintings, like this piece for the Bass Around the Bay street art exhibit, my goal is for every square inch of the surface to look vibrant, to feel lively, and to have lots of texture. To achieve this I use vivid acrylic paint colors. I create movement in the composition through the use of various elements of random shapes and sizes. I use acrylic mediums to build up texture, then I create more texture by painting layer upon layer of paint, and scraping and scratching into the wet paint. There’s nothing serious about my abstract style. It’s spontaneous and unplanned, and lets me be mindlessly creative.Now that this 3-dimensional fish painting project is finished I feel inspired to paint other 3-D objects. We’ll see where that takes me.Oh, and I often remind myself… “If you don’t like something, just paint over it!”— Kim “Kimski” Heier
BEER BATTERED BASS
SOLD FOR $1,600
BRYCE REMY
KITTY O’REILLYS
59 E. OAK STREET
The “Beer Battered Bass” takes three of Wisconsin’s favorite items and combines them; fishing, beer and fish fry! While this specific one may not be as tasty as the real thing, it used over 750 bottle caps from 13 different breweries around the United States. The bottle caps were strategically cut to incorporate to mimic the large mouth bass we all love. The mouth and fins were given some extra detail with some glass mosaic sections. My art background includes 7 public art projects (3 of which have been in Sturgeon Bay), 3 murals and a passion for “recycled” art. I love mosaics (glass & metal) as well as creative ways to combine art and marketing.
ESCAPE VELOCITY: BASS*KING IN NATURE
SOLD FOR $2,500
LAURIE KAY HANSON
NIGHTINGGALE SUPPER CLUB
GRAHAM PARK
10 PENNSYLVANIA STREET
Hello, I named my project Escape Velocity (escape velocity is the minimum speed needed for a free, non-propelled object to escape from the gravitational influence of a primary body) because I have had a block progressing forward with my quest to establish a nature based / Art Sanctuary. My intention is to use my artist proceeds to move forward in this project. Bass*King in Nature was created with a nature based theme. Diamond Willow inspired branches and knots, Birch bark fins. The scales on the Bass are pine cone scales brought to me by friends and loved ones from all over the U.S. Coast to coast (Thanks everyone ❤️) What a learning experience this project has been! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did creating it. I would also like to thank all the friends that gave a hand in creating this with me I couldn’t have done it without you.❤️
FISHING NIRVANA
SOLD FOR $1,100
MISTY WITT
OPEN DOOR PRIDE
MARTIN PARK
207 S. 3RD AVENUE
The definition of nirvana is a state of perfect happiness and fishing here is a prime example of it. Scenes like this inspired me to try my hand at landscapes where in the past I tend toward florals. It depicts both sunset and sunrise and whether you are on the water or shore you can’t help but be awed by the view. This is my fifth year I’ve been inspired by my surroundings to participate in the street art. So I hope you enjoy all the street art this year.
RORSCHACH BASS
SOLD FOR $800
MARIE KIMBALL
SOMI GALLERY
45 S. 3RD AVENUE
Made by creative (Re) designer Marie Kimball of Sturgeon Bay, the Rorschach Bass invites the viewer to engage their curiosity through investigating the menagerie of ink-blot like shapes that cover the bass. As in life, every person can interpret the same thing or experience in many different ways, based on each viewer’s uniquely different background of experiences. What do you see? Whether it is painting, 3-D work, graphic or mural design, Kimball provides the viewer with a fun and joyful experience through the whimsy weird artwork that she creates. She holds a BFA from the University of Loyola at New Orleans with a focus in graphic design, is a certified Ontological Coach through Alan Sieler of the Newfield Institute, and currently works as the Education and Outreach Coordinator at the Miller Art Museum.
DANCING ON BASS
SOLD FOR $1,600
NATALIE TOWNSEND
WESTWOOD SHORES RESORT
DESTINATION STURGEON BAY
36 S. 3RD AVENUE
My inspiration for this year’s bass comes from my love for family. I think of “Dancing on Bass” as a metaphor for celebrating something you love or inspires you. I came from a large family; eight girls, one boy. It’s no coincidence that there are nine figures on each side of the bass. Each one designed with hand-cut pieces of glass and embellished with beads to create a unique dancing figure. My hope is you have something in your life that lures you to go “Dancing on Bass”.