Wayne and Ann Sisel stand before one of Wayne's cityscapes.
Lauderdale residents Ann and Wayne Sisel will hang their art at the Northstar Watermedia Society’s 11th annual show, Art on a Line, May 17-19, at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, along with two other Bugle-area artists, Margareta Beyer and Gitte Mohr.
The show will be held in the Fine Arts Building at the corner of Randall Avenue and Cosgrove Street on Friday and Saturday, May 17 and 18, 10 a.m.-7 p.m., and Sunday, May 19, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
The Sisels—who grew up in Nebraska and met when Ann was in high school and Wayne was in college—both shelved their artistic pursuits as they were raising their family and working. They both returned to art as their children got older. Ann enrolled at Macalester College as an “almost 40-year-old” in the 1980s, finished her art degree and worked for a time in HealthPartners graphics department. Wayne began painting again in the 1990s, when he took classes from Malcolm Myers and other faculty at the University of Minnesota (where Wayne retired as an architect in 2003).
Now they both paint in their makeshift home studios. Ann has a spot in the basement and Wayne paints in the sunroom/TV room/catch-all space. Ann said they used to be concerned about competing with each other when they applied to the same shows. Now, “it’s fine. If one of us gets in a show and the other doesn’t, we’re supportive,” she said.
Art on a Line will feature more than 90 artists and host demonstrations every hour. The Sisels say one of the perks of the show is that you can walk away owning an original piece of art that was bought at an affordable price. You can see the Sisels’ work at their websites, www.annsisel.com and www.waynesisel.com.
