by Michael Skubal - Daily News Staff - mskubal@rhinelanderdailynews.com

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It wasn't too long ago that residents of the Northwoods traveled to Wausau to shop and get a bit of culture. Today you can shop in Rhinelander for most anything.

But the closest world class museum is still in Wausau, the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum. And you've got just one more weekend to catch the current exhibition, “Birds In Art 2007.”

The museum website tells about the exhibition, now in its 32nd year, “All birds bright and beautiful. All birds great and small. All birds wise and wonderful. Birds In Art has them all. The Woodson's autumn exhibition is all about art too, boasting a variety of styles ranging from exacting realism to painterly impressionism and fanciful expressionism. An incomparable artistic and birding adventure awaits visitors to the most unconventional birding hot spot on the Great Wisconsin Birding and Nature Trail.”

The internationally acclaimed Birds In Art is an annual juried exhibition that showcases a variety of artistic styles, from impressionism to satirical caricature, created by artists the world over and documented in a full color catalogue. “Birds In Art” comprises 122 original contemporary works by 113 artists from Canada, the United States and twelve other nations. Water in its many forms and temperaments has inspired artists for centuries. More than thirty works present birds in watery environments. The “Birds in Art” show drew more than 15,000 people this year. Over 50,000 people visit the Woodson Art Museum each year.

The Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum is located in a beautiful residential area on the east side of Wausau. It offers artwork from every corner of the world to north central Wisconsin residents and visitors alike. The museum is housed in an updated 1931 English Tudor period Cotswold-style residence. A new main entrance and expansive two-story gallery spaces have been added.

The four-acre grounds are highlighted by the Margaret Woodson Fisher Sculpture Gallery, a formal English garden, attractive brick walkways, a shaded arbor and seating area and on-site parking. All public spaces are handicapped accessible.

Marcia Theel is Associate Director and Public Relations Coordinator for the museum. “Our original concept was to bring visual arts to the community that normally you would have to go to the Twin Cities or Chicago to experience,” said Theel. It was certainly an addition to the cultural landscape in 1976. We brought quite a new dimension to the community.

We attract visitors from a 14 county area in all directions.”

“ We have a wonderful sculpture garden that we keep plowed all winter,” said Theel.

“We're continually adding to the landscape. We have five major exhibition periods each year, running from 9-11 weeks. There are two exhibitions on at any one time, so there is always a reason to come back.”

“The Woodson Endowment provides over 50 percent of our $1.6 million budget,” said Theel. “ That allows us to continue our free admission policy. The other 50% comes from our membership, corporate and business help, grants and our cash contribution box. We also rent exhibitions to other museums and beat on doors like everyone else.”

Regular programs such as Toddler Tuesday, Art Buddies, Art Explorers, Art Ventures, Family Festivals, Coffee and Creativity and Activity Guides are supplemented with storytelling, lectures, videos, demonstrations and bus trips.

The Woodson Art Museum offers an active program of eight to ten changing exhibitions each year. Sunday, Nov. 11, is the last day of the Birds In Art show. It's worth the trip to see work by artists Adele Earnshaw, Annette Isfort, Walter Matia, Paula Waterman and Todd Wohlt.

Saturday, Nov. 17, marks the opening of a new exhibition, “Rivers, Sea and Shore: Reflections on Water.” According to the program guide, “Fifty dramatic paintings explore more than a century of American life on the water, including 19th century ship portraits and seascapes, New England seaside towns, riverboats and barges plying major waterways, and industrial and leisure images of life on the water.”

“Sailing Wisconsin's Blue Jewel: Photographs by Bruce Thompson” will also be opening Nov. 17. Lake Geneva “Blue Jewel,” is the setting for Thompson's large images of boats that underscore the beauty of a natural Wisconsin wonder. A dozen photographs “depict handsome classic boats with their fine brass and stainless steel detailing and rich, exotic woods, large-sailed racing scows and three-bladed iceboats gracefully skimming the frozen surface.”

Before the stress of the holidays catch up with you, take a ride to the Woodson. Take the back way, down Highway 17. When you get to Merrill, just cross Highway 64 and take County Highway W to Wausau. Wend your way through some of the great old neighborhoods to the Museum, located at 700 North Twelfth Street, the corner of Franklin and Twelfth Streets. They are open Tuesdays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday the Woodson is open from noon to 5 p.m. They are closed Mondays and holidays. There is always free admission.

For more information, call 715-845-7010 or go online at museum@lywam.org.

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