Waupaca community builds art project
By Angie Landsverk
As a child, Susan Reniewicki always wanted to make the coolest and most grandiose fort.
“Now, at 52, I’m finally getting to make the coolest fort ever,” she said.
That fort is “Wautopia.”
It is the name of the approximately 30-feet high temporary wooden structure that will be assembled in downtown Waupaca a week before this year’s Arts on the Square.
“As a person who enjoys making large, ephemeral absurdities, I’ve never had an opportunity like this before. I have struggled with the designation of ‘artist,’ and am still not entirely comfortable with it, but this experience has been a validation,” Reniewicki said.
Last Halloween, she recreated “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” in her front yard.
Marci Reynolds, president of the Waupaca Community Arts Board (WCAB), was among those invited to see it.
The arts board organizes Arts on the Square and incorporates a community art project into the event.
This year’s arts festival is on Saturday, Aug. 18.
Reniewicki explained how she came to create the Wautopia model.
“They wanted to do something large scale,” she said. “I said, ‘Let me think about it.’”
Reniewicki sketched how she saw it fitting together.
“I made a preliminary, conceptual model and took it to them. They said, ‘Oh yes. We’ll do it.’”
Teamwork
“Wautopia” will be made up of close to 20 pods, and teams are putting them together.
“There’s a good cross section of those building the pods. We didn’t have to go out and find people. It filled up,” Reynolds said.
Businesses, nonprofits and others signed up to be part of the project and received kits that included the wood, hardware, paint and step-by-step instructions.
Reynolds said Steve Laedtke turned Reniewicki’s image into a reality.
He has a background in architecture and construction and spent hours creating the blueprints and costing out the materials to build it.
Reniewicki enjoyed collaborating with him and they decided on a design that would be structurally sound.
“He is the mastermind behind making it happen,” Reynolds said of Laedtke, who is also a member of the arts board.
The fact the board not only liked the concept, but saw possibilities instead of problems is astounding, Reniewicki said.
“There’s been all these people taking on different jobs and making it happen,” she said.
Reynolds said no one told the board it could not do the project.
“We are all taking a leap of faith putting it together,” she said. “But on every level, people are trusting us.”
Over the course of two days, a crew of carpenters created the kits for the teams.
“It was like a factory in his (Laedtke’s) barn,” Reynolds said.
The groups are to have their pods completed by early July.
There are two sizes of pods, and professionals will inspect them before the structure is put together.
Week of activities
On Saturday, Aug. 11, “Wautopia” will be assembled on Session Street.
The street will be closed from the alley to Main Street, from Aug. 11-19.
Due to the reconstruction of the parking on the city square, Arts on the Square is being held on North Main Street and in Rotary Riverview Park this year.
Reynolds said there will be a “Wautopia” open house on Sunday, Aug. 12.
People will be able to go inside the structure and see the images the teams created, offering glimpses of their ideals of the community.
Activities will take place inside “Wautopia” throughout the week, as well as during Arts on the Square.
There will be yoga, music, chalking, Story Time, a puppet show and more inside the open air structure.
Senior citizens will play bridge in it.
WCAB is hiring security for the evening hours.
Those involved in the project are looking forward to seeing the community’s reaction to it.
Reniewicki said it is neat everyone is building it together and that the design for it is actually working.
“It’s going to be amazing,” she said.
Reynolds said it is about building community, which is the mission of the arts board.
It can have a lasting impact, and more of these types of activities can be done in the community, she said.
The pod created by Waupaca High School art teacher Rachel Akey and some of her students is already done.
Roxanne DeTrude, of Restorative Healing Touch, sponsored that one.
“I think they’re going to be completely amazed when they see it put together. It’s going to be spectacular,” Reynolds said of all involved in the project. “I want people to think about it as we make this giant art project. And then we’re going to be inside of it. We will be part of the art project.”
She said the idea is to envision what the community can be.
“Each group is doing that,” Reynolds said. “Think about if all the groups worked together. We could solve anything.”
Countless volunteers are donating their time and skills to the project, Reniewicki said.
“‘Wautopia’ was designed as a community art project from its onset, and watching all these groups and individuals offer their time, skills, materials and equipment to build this huge temporary sculpture just for the joy of it, is truly heartening. We are surrounded by wonderful people, which is something that’s easy to lose sight of these days,” she said.