Tuesday, July 12, 2022
Peter and I left SRS at 8:30 p.m. on a perfectly wonderful summer day, heading towards Slinger where we would pick up the scenic Kettle Moraine Trail going north.
We overshot the GPS suggestion for a restaurant, thinking there would be one farther down the road. There wasn't, so we turned around and found Lena's Café on the outskirts of Slinger and it was just the kind we liked, where the locals frequent. Peter had eggs; I had oatmeal with plenty of coffee.
Once we got on the trail, the signs guided us very well without having to refer to my printed directions. There was just one intersection that confused us, but was of no consequence. The drive was lovely, with tree lined roads that gently curved. We encountered hardly any traffic in either direction.
I packed a lunch hoping to find a picnic area near the Elkhart Lake boat landing. We passed it so quickly that I doubt there were any facilities and nothing was remotely close to a picnic area. We did not see any rest areas and we had been driving quite a long time since breakfast with nature beckoning. My GPS was responding with repositioning, blank screens and useless information. Fortunately, Peter was familiar with the area so we headed in a logical direction.
We got lucky in Kiel with a City Park that had a convenient restroom, picnic tables under a shelter and next to the road. We took our time eating Bavarian cheese on toasted herbed bread from Glorioso's, pork schnitzel sandwiches, fruit and beer/wine.
Now that we were in a less remote area, The GPS was able to guide us to the Art Preserve, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, which is free and is designed to house the Arts Center's collection of over thirty-five artist-built environments.
https://www.jmkac.org/art-preserve/
The three floors of the building were filled with the most unusual creations using a vast array of media.
Here is one of many sculptures of Paul and Matilda Wegner.
http://www.kohlerfoundation.org/preservation/preserved-sites/wegner-grotto/
Nick Engelbert used concrete, glass, paint, metal and shells to create The Organ Grinder.
Frank Oebser created both of the sculptures below using cloth, leather, paint, plastic, rope, steel, wood and mixed media.
There were hundreds of figures, with the most intricate details, carved with a jackknife. Unfortunately, photographs would not do them justice. Click on the link to see some of them.
Fred Smith used concrete, glass, paint and wood for this untitled sculpture.
One has to look up to see the work of Emery Blagdon who created hundreds of mobiles made primarily of bent bailing wire with added ornamentation. The setting for his work resembles the shed where he worked in. https://www.jmkac.org/artist/blagdon-emery/
This is just a portion of the sculptures of Nek Chand of India.
I regret that I do not have information on the next two pieces.
We look forward to making another visit to spend more time appreciating these works. We were there approximately 1 1/2 hours, which was not nearly enough time. This museum salvaged the day.
Peter wanted to see downtown Sheboygan, and maybe take advantage of a Happy Hour at some bar. We spotted Legend Larry's with outdoor tables and a street blocked to traffic to allow more people to patronize other restaurants on the street. We found a picnic table while a band was setting up that looked like it might have a lot of volume. Peter noticed quite a few people going into an Italian restaurant and suggested we go there. I was reluctant at first, but after sitting at the bar with a gin and tonic, I changed my mind. We shared a Fonduta al Formo appetizer which was a wood-fired terra cotta filled with melted mozzarella, smoked mozzarella, oregano and San Marzano tomatoes, topped with slices of prosciutto - delicious. The bartender practiced his German with Peter.
We had a pleasant drive home, arriving just before 8:00 p.m. - almost a 12-hour day.
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