Meet Me at RAM

Barbara Sperling and Michael Sakash, Koi Bowl with Lilac Stand, 2006
Barbara Sperling and Michael Sakash, Koi Bowl with Lilac Stand, 2006 polymer, lilac twigs, stain, tung oil 13″ h x 16″w x 12″d

Detail - Barbara Sperling and Michael Sakash, Koi Bowl with Lilac Stand, 2006

 

The Polymer Collection at the Racine Art Museum will make its debut in an exhibition scheduled for the fall of 2011. This recent acquisition of more than 180 pieces of jewelry and sculpture by RAM represents the first comprehensive collection of polymer art to be accessioned by a major national museum.

To make possible a full-color hardback catalog to accompany this show, Bruce Pepich, Exec. Director of RAM, and I made fundraising presentations at the International Polymer Clay Association Synergy2 Conference a week ago in Baltimore. Those speeches elicited donations of more than $17,000 from 111 generous and committed attendees.

The museum in Racine, Wisconsin is home to one of the most significant contemporary craft collections in the United States. The new polymer works augment RAM’s existing collections of artist-made jewelry, ceramics and furniture. RAM’s polymer collection, representing gifts from a consortium of collectors, artists and teachers working in the medium, inaugurates a serious, museum-based documentation of the history and development of polymer art ..

We invite you now to join the community of artists, collectors and enthusiasts who have already demonstrated their support for this event. Please make your own donation today. Your tax deductible contribution, made through the secure PayPal button below, will go directly into an account designated solely for support of the polymer collection at the Racine Art Museum. Or send your check made out to RAM/Polymer Collection to the Racine Art Museum, 441 Main St., Racine, WI 53403.

Then mark your calendar to join us at RAM for the opening weekend.

Thanks to all these donors who have contributed to support the RAM Polymer Collection Exhibition and Catalog.

FANS ($100 – $249)
Bette Abdu – abba dabba Productions, LLC
Frances L. Abrams
Beth Ackley
Martha Aleo
Arden M. Bardol
Leslie Blackford
Laura Blakely
Cynthia Blanton
Michele Bohlmann
Darlene Clark
Jean Cohen
Dan Cormier & Tracy Holmes
Amy Crawley
Robert Dancik
Shirley Devard
Christine L. Dickerson
Julie Eakes
Steve Ford
Carolyn Foster
Mechelle J. Fox
Amy Gebhardt
Deborah Gillespie
Alice Jenks
Doreen Kassel
Donna Kato
Allison Lee
Ronald Lehocky
Sherry Masters
Rebecca Mazur
Page McNall
Penina Meisels
Mile High Polymer Clay Guild
Charlotte Miller
Jeanette Moran Boswell
Mary Ann Nelson
Orlando Polymer Clay Guild
Kathryn Ottman-  Polymer Clay Fests
Janet Pitcher
Seth Savarick
Sarah Shriver
Cindy Silas
Barbara Sperling
Edith Stanger
Laurel Swetnam
Nancy Travers
Dan Vanover
LF Velez
Connie Vickery
Diane Villano
Carol A. Watkins
Bettina Welker
Valerie Wright
Pam Wynn
Lynn Yuhr

ADMIRERS ($250 – $499)
Nancy Banks
Judy Belcher
Mags Bonham
Carole Hirschmann
Ronnie Kirsch
Ann Kruglak
Petra Nemravova
Barbara Peck
Susan Rose (Lomuto)
Katrina Sarlin
Beth R. Schwartz, M. D.
Carolyn Skei
Patricia Sullivan
Cynthia Tinapple
Heather Tinkham
Tina Wujick

ENTHUSIASTS ($500 – $999)
Kathleen Dustin
Arlene Groch – PolyGems
Jeffrey Lloyd Dever & Kay Rosburg

DEVOTEES ($1,000 – 4,999)
International Polymer Clay Association
Maggie Maggio
Elizabeth Mills
Southern Connecticut Polymer Clay Guild

VISIONARIES ($5,000 and above)
Hollie J. Mion
Woody Rudin
Elise Winters
Mark Young & Rachel Carren

FRIENDS (under $100)
Janice V. Abarbanel
Joan Ahern
Betsy Baker
Meisha Barbee
Carol Blackburn
Heather Campbell
Debbie Carlton
Randall Darwall & Brain Murphy
Ann Dillon
Dale Doroshow Neal
Bridget Downey
Jill Erickson
Barbara Forbes-Lyons
Natalia Garcia De Leaniz
Deborah Goodrow
Rachel Gourley
Denise Graham
Lari Greeley
Susan Gross
Lindly Haunani
Jeannie Havel – pcPolyzine.com
Kimberly Hodes
Tamara Honaman
Tory Hughes
Lenora Kandiner
Jeanette Kandray
Loretta Lam
Catherine S. Lee
Renee Lemer
Linda Loew
Nancy Lotzer
Marsha Nedelman
Susan Nicklin
Helen Malchow
Kristine and Nora McGinnis
Barbara McGuire
Sharon Mihalyak
Laurie Mika
Margery Moranz
Tracy Nedelman
Alexis Pier
Margaret Polcawich
Ellen Prophater
Marina Rivon
Jana Roberts Benzon
Pam Sanders
Stacy Schaffer
Kathryn Shield Dummer
Carol Simmons
Kathleen Sommers
Sue Sutherland
Julie Sweeney
Laura Tabakman
Emma Todd
Brenda Urquhart
Judith Wasserman
Katie Way
Linda Wentink
Karen Woods

I cannot remember a time in my life that I wasn't interested in looking at art, talking about art and the making of art. In 1990 I earned a Phd in art history at the University of Maryland. My first experiences with polymer clay were in 1992, but I consider my real work with the medium to date from 1999.