The end of September and beginning of October are full of gallery openings and art shows, and I try to find myself at as many as I can. Even out in seemingly the middle of nowhere (cornfields, dirt roads, and country bars included), I found an amazing artisan gallery in Belleville, WI on historic Paoli Street. On Friday the 15th, I attended The Artisan Gallery’s opening of William Lemke: Photographs of the Grand Canyon, Group Show: 9th Annual Ceramics Invitational, and In the Cooler: Collaborations.

I love this gallery for its large and varied assortment of ceramic and sculpture work. I also appreciate the thought-provoking exhibitions they host, including In the Cooler: Collaborations, a colloborative exhibition that is currently showing (by the way it actually takes place in what used to be an old long, narrow cooler), and features painting, sculpture, and writing. The Artisan Gallery is a breath of fresh air in the Southern Wisconsin art scene and for a moment, made me forget some of my favorite galleries down in Chicago. Worth a visit also for the gallery’s creamery, and down the road, a cheese house and bakery.