Mother and Child

Since childhood, I have had a deep appreciation for nature and this has served as a constant theme in my art. I find daily inspiration for my art as my home is on a wooded lot. While I have enjoyed working in many mediums, the current focus of my work is in the area of textile arts using natural materials.

EDUCATION
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE – GRAPHIC DESIGN
University Of WI-Madison — 1994-1998

MASTERS OF ART – VISUAL STUDIES
Cardinal Stritch University — 2002-2004

EXPERIENCE
ART STUDIO DIRECTOR – FRIENDSHIP ART STUDIO – BAYSIDE, WI 2019 – 2020
Friendship Studio is designed to serve as a sanctuary for budding artists with all abilities. We guide participants through a number of different mediums and cater to people of all art backgrounds and abilities. We offer monthly art projects, provide workshops/classes, and art themed birthday parties.

ARTIST (FREELANCE) – ADRIA WILLENSON FINE ARTS – BAYSIDE, WI 2004 – PRESENT
Design murals, develop, and deliver art pieces, personal accessories to galleries/clients based on exhibition criteria and client specifications.

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE (PROJECT VITAL) RUACH ARTS ORGANIZATION – MILWAUKEE, WI 2014 – PRESENT
Through this non-profit arts organization, I have worked as an Artist in Residence (combining art and social values) for the following schools:
• Hillel Academy – Milwaukee Wi
• Milwaukee Jewish Day School
• ALBA (Academia de Lenguaje y Bellas Artes)

ARTS INSTRUCTOR/MARKETING/BOUTIQUE MANAGER – NSAA/THE ARTS MILL – GRAFTON, WI 2003 – 2011
I served this non-profit arts organization as a fine art instructor, marketing director and boutique manager. Here is a list of classes I have taught and additional roles/responsibilities:
• As an Arts Instructor, I taught Summer Art Camps, Beginning Drawing/ Watercolor Classes/Silk Scarf Painting Workshop
• As the Marketing Director I designed course catalogs, maintained website and social media, created weekly e-mail marketing campaigns, and press releases.
• As the Boutique Manager, I selected artists, developed consignment agreements, tracked inventory, and performed monthly sales reporting.

AWARDS/GRANTS
Adria Willenson
“Design for Diversity” – UW Madison – School of Human Ecology
“DESIGN FOR DIVERSITY” – SCHOOL OF HUMAN ECOLOGY; 
 UNIVERSITY OF WI-MADISON – 1998

While attending the university, I won a competitive, campus-wide art fellowship, entitled “Design for Diversity,” to paint a mural for the School of Human Ecology. That mural, which included representations of textile and fashion design, consumer science, and child and family studies, has been on permanent display at the School of Human Ecology ever since.

“HOLIDAYS AND LIFE CYCLES” – CENTER FOR LIFELONG LEARNING; CONGREGATION SHALOM – 2007
I created three large-scale murals for Congregation Shalom’s Center for Lifelong Learning. Each mural features a tree in different seasons of the year depicting different life cycle events and holidays. The grant for the design and development of these murals were provided by a fund through the Congregation by the Kennedy/Barnett Family.

ARTIST IN RESIDENCY
CEDARBURG CULTURAL CENTER — SILK PAINTING, MARCH 2012

SOLO & GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2018 – Nostalgia Home Decor, Milwaukee, WI
June 2016 – Artist in the Gardens, Boerner Botanical Gardens, Hales Corners, WI
(League of Milwaukee Artists and Milwaukee County Parks)
January 2016 – Sarah Chudnow Center Art Show
February 7 – March 22, 2015 – Cedarburg Cultural Center – "The Little Show"
November 7 – December 31, 2014 – ART*BAR – "Mini Art Show"
April 27, 2012: The Arts Mill – Grafton, WI 
 “The Arts Mill – 1st Anniversary Show”
September 23 – October 16, 2011: The Schauer Art Center – Hartford, WI
 “The Artists of the Arts Mill”
March 11, 2011: The Arts Mill – Grafton, WI; “The Arts Mill – Grand Opening Show”
July 16, 2009: Bayshore Town Center Project – Concert Series, Milwaukee, WI; “Live Painting to MYSO Jazz Concert”
April 2004: Northwestern Mutual Gallery – Milwaukee, WI “2004 Cardinal Stritch University Graduate Student Thesis Exhibition”
November 7-30, 2003: Gallery 218 – Milwaukee, WI
“Cardinal Stritch University Graduate Student and Faculty Show”
October – December 2003: Cosi Café – Fox Point, Wisconsin.
2003: The Walker’s Point Center for the Arts – Milwaukee, WI
 “Annual Members' Show”
2003: The Annual Meeting of Wisconsin Bar Association
October 29, 2004: Athenaeum Theater, Chicago IL – Fluxcore’s “PROMISE LAND – Multicultural Perspectives on the Concept of the Journey”
April – June 2002: Jewish Community Center’s Art Gallery – Milwaukee, WI; “Art Through the Generations”