Friends of NWTC Magazine Friends Fall 2019 | Page 19

Located in the heart of Green Bay’s Arts District on
the city’s east side, the NWTC Artisan and Business
Center serves as a creative hub for artists of all ages
and abilities.
Often referred to as Green Bay’s best kept secret,
the Artisan Center is more than just an art school. It is
a place where artists come together to share ideas
and their love of art.
Sue Simoens, a ceramics artist, has been active at
the center for over two years.
“The Artisan Center provides a vital service to the
northeast Wisconsin community,” she said. “It
enriches the arts and provides a creative space to
artists who otherwise would not have the means to
produce artwork.”
The Artisan Center offers a variety of classes
designed for all artists of all levels in metals and
jewelry, ceramics, fused glass, drawing, painting,
textiles and woodturning.
Ceramics artist Griffin Wendt showing his
work at the De Pere Art Walk in June 2019
While the journey is different for each student,
many carry their newly-discovered craft far beyond
the end date of the classes. Some even end up
becoming instructors.
Pete Schuh, a Woodturning instructor, earned his
Woodturning certificate at NWTC.
“My first classes were kind of stressful,” Schuh said.
“I had no idea what a wood lathe could do. The Artisan
Center provided an experienced instructor, lathe, tools
and the wood necessary to complete the lessons.”
Other artists use the resources at the center and the
skills they learn to pursue entrepreneurial efforts in
the arts.
Karen Kjell stumbled upon the Artisan Center in 2017
and soon discovered her passion for ceramics. She has
taken that passion and turned it into a business called
Karen Kjell Studio. Kjell exhibited her work earlier this
spring at the Fine Art Fair in Sturgeon Bay.
Griffin Wendt, also a ceramics artist, who had not
thrown a pot since middle school, enrolled himself in
the center’s Ceramics Fundamentals course in fall 2018.
Today, he has his own business called Griffin Henry
Pottery, and he recently showed his work at the
De Pere Art Walk.
Jan Scoville, dean of regional learning at NWTC, said
Wisconsin’s creative workforce employment accounts
for more occupations than the nearly 130,000 jobs within
the state’s beer, biotech and papermaking industries.
“Northeast Wisconsin continues to see growth in the
arts sector,” she said. “The Artisan and Business Center
supports artists and the creative economy by offering
skill-building classes for adults and youth, training and
supporting development of arts-based businesses
and collaboration with other arts entities to share
resources and promote art-related events.”
Woodturning instructor Pete Schuh
demonstrating at Artstreet
1417 Cedar Street, Green Bay, WI 54302  •  920-544-5018
nwtc.edu/artisancenter • facebook.com/ArtBizNWTC