A Life in Layers: The Story Behind the Artist.
|
Helen Klebesadel was born in 1953 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. From age two she was raised on a Grade B Dairy Farm with her three younger sisters in Wyoming Valley, Wisconsin (near the village of Spring Green and Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin).
Her parents were supportive of her artistic pursuits.
|
“My parents encouraged an artistic identity.
They thought being an artist would be an economic step up from a grade‑B dairy farm.”
They thought being an artist would be an economic step up from a grade‑B dairy farm.”
Helen was an artist from her early years, as demonstrated by her high school art exhibition of acrylic landscapes in 1971
Education
She briefly attended Layton School of Art in Milwaukee in 1971–1972.
Later, at age 28, she returned to higher education at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she earned a BS in Art (with a certificate in Women’s Studies) and an MFA in Visual Art. Her Academic Career Begins
She has had a long academic career, including ten years teaching studio art and serving as an Associate Professor of Art and Chair of the Art Department at Lawrence University (1990–2000)
|
Professor Klebesadel at Lawrence University Graduation with graduating art student Anne Baruth
|
Helen with University of Wisconsin System Women's and Gender Studies Consortium Board and Staff ~ 2017
Career & Teaching
In 2000, she took on the role of Director of the UW System’s Women’s and Gender Studies Consortium, and remained in that position at the University of Wisconsin System Administration and UW-Madison until 2018.
Helen was also Director of the Wisconsin Regional Art Program for the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 2013–2016. That program was started by artist John Steuart Curry in the 1940s, and has offered exhibition and creative opportunities for Wisconsin artists for 80 years.
She retired from UW–Madison in 2018 to focus full-time on her studio work and teaching via private workshops and creativity coaching.
Helen was also Director of the Wisconsin Regional Art Program for the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 2013–2016. That program was started by artist John Steuart Curry in the 1940s, and has offered exhibition and creative opportunities for Wisconsin artists for 80 years.
She retired from UW–Madison in 2018 to focus full-time on her studio work and teaching via private workshops and creativity coaching.
“Pause, create, reflect, share…repeat. Art is a process.”
Artist, Educator, and Activist.
|
Art Practice & RecognitionHelen is known for her environmental and women-centered watercolor paintings, which explore nature, climate change, and narrative symbolism through layered techniques on surfaces ranging from small works to large-scale canvases.
Her first solo museum exhibition was presented by the Bergstrom‑Mahler Museum in 1994. Her artwork is held in numerous public and private collections, including:
Helen believes that collaboration is a model for world survival, calling it the most challenging and rewarding work she’s done. She was the co-facilitator (with artist Alison Gates) of The Exquisite Uterus Project, focused on reproductive justice.
Since 2014, co-creator (with artist Mary Kay Neumann) of The Flowers Are Burning: An Art and Climate Justice Project, addressing climate change through art and public engagement.
A dedicated educator and mentor, contributing scholarship on critique and pedagogy in the arts:
She is also certified as a creativity coach through the national Creativity Coaching Association |
Professional Impact
Her watercolors and prose have been published in journals such as:
Featured in multiple books and catalogues, including:
Held leadership and advocacy roles:
Created the video “Painting An Artist’s Life” in February 2021, reflecting on her journey as a feminist artist for a women’s and gender studies conference. Her work has been featured in:
|
|
