Over two thousand Oconomowoc Area School District elementary school artists, kindergarten through fourth grade, are working alongside professional artists, Abby Engstrand, Terri Field, and Anne Raskopf, to create a mural to adorn the tunnel linking West Second Street and West South Street in Oconomowoc.
The mural will illustrate the long history of train travel to Oconomowoc and the present train traffic throughout the city. Specifically, the train designed by renowned Wisconsin artist Brooks Stevens, Twin Cities Hiawatha, that traveled from Chicago to the Twin Cities stopping in Oconomowoc. Along with trains, the mural imagery will include passengers, train signs, tracks, sky, the Oconomowoc Depot, and city landscape.
This first-of-it's-kind project is being funded by the generous support of the Imagine a Day Courtney Bella Foundation along with the ORBIS Corporation. Sherwin-Williams is also supporting to project by donating the paint our artists are using. Thank you to the City of Oconomowoc for partnering with our young artists to make this project possible.
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow the OASD on social media to see photos of the progress our students, teachers, and guest artists are making!
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SNEAK PEEK OF THE MURAL CONCEPTS
Enjoy a sneak peek of some of the conceptual drawings for the mural.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS WORKING WITH OUR OASD STUDENTS
Abigail Engstrand
Born in western Michigan, Abigail Engstrand earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1988 at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), going on to obtain her Art Teaching certificate at SAIC in 1989. She has lived, worked and exhibited in Chicago, Los Angeles and Atlanta, and has traveled all over the world. Engstrand moved to Oconomowoc, Wisconsin in 1999 with her husband and three children.
Engstrand's art has been purchased by collectors across the United States, in Canada, and in Thailand. In addition to her watercolor, acrylic, and felt paintings, Engstrand has created numerous murals for private individuals, businesses, and schools, as well as stage backdrops for theater groups within her community.
As an independent art instructor, Engstrand has taught wet-on-wet watercolor painting, "painting" with wool felt, and figure drawing classes. As an "Artist in Residence" at Prairie Hill Waldorf School and "Resident Scenic Artist" for the Oconomowoc High School Drama Program, Engstrand has helped foster both artistic skill and art appreciation among countless students, while at the same time, creating unique works of art within these school communities.
Engstrand's artistic process is heavily influenced by music, scent, and her own quirky sense of humor. A breast cancer survivor, she enjoys yoga and tap dance, as well as dancing and singing along to music while painting or felting in her studio.
Terri Field
Terri attended Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design where she worked at the Fredrick Layton Gallery, Brook Stevens Gallery, and managed the Student Gallery. She was a recipient of a Fredrick Layton scholarship, and graduated with a double major in Illustration and Drawing.
She then worked professionally as a graphic designer and illustrator for five years, creating board games, book covers, and various print media, and five more years as a full-time illustrator for magazine and book publisher Kalmbach Publishing in Waukesha Wisconsin. Her work was featured regularly in magazines and on several covers including Astronomy, Earth, Birder's World, Bead & Button, Model Railroader, Classic Toy Trains, The Writer, and more. She then persued her career as a freelance illustrator and fine artist while taking time at home with her two young children.
Next, she was artist in residence at Summit Elementary designing graphics and working with each art class to help develop a large pictorial map of Oconomowoc that every student had a chance to help paint on the playground.
While showing her work in local galleries, she also painted sets for Silver Lake, Theater On Main, Oconomowoc High School, MainStage Dance, and Lake Country Playhouse.
She volunteered her time and talent for The Race For The Cure, The Rare Chair Affair, Silver Lake, The Oconomowoc Festival of the Arts, and OHS Band Aids to name a few. Feeling a passion to connect to and support the elderly, she created craft projects that families make together and include in care packages for homebound seniors in Waukesha County and created a hand-made valentine project for seniors in local nursing homes.
Her work has been sold in several silent auctions such as the Chatfield Project, The Make Believe Ball, and the OAC Gala. She's painted several private murals. In 2018 she designed and implemented a sculpture, funded by the Oconomowoc Festival of the Arts, titled "Where The Waters Meet". This 15' sculpture is located on the GPS point of the city of Oconomowoc and is located near City Beach.
Terri has worked in a wide variety of styles, but most enjoys working with lots of color, natural elements, and a quiet, playful, whimsical humor. She enjoys exploring new styles to communicate visually. Her work is influenced by nature, stained and colored glass, and the musical passions of her husband and two children. She loves dance, is passionate about the importance of all the arts, and is thrilled to be a part of a community that values them.
Anne Raskopf
Anne Slatinsky-Raskopf resides in Wisconsin. After receiving two, art merit scholarships, she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Anne moved to New York City after graduation to pursue a Graphic Design career, where she worked in the publishing industry. After many years in the graphics field, Anne returned to painting. Currently focusing on modern landscapes, painting the landscape she hikes and rides her horse in. Collectors of Anne's work enjoy pastoral settings, steeped in personal significance and colorful expression. Exhibits are added regularly throughout Wisconsin, listed under Gallery Events.
Anne paints both residential and commercial murals, having adorned homes and establishments throughout Wisconsin.