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Wood wizard: Janesville artist brings timber talents to Tallman Arts Festival
Anthony Wahl
Janesville artisan Fred Frommelt works to form a wooden pepper grinder on a lathe at his shop. The 88-year-old will be among those exhibiting their works at the 62nd annual Tallman Arts Festival on Sunday, Aug. 4, at the Lincoln-Tallman House, 440 S. Jackson St., Janesville.
Anthony Wahl
Janesville artisan Fred Frommelt works to form a wooden pepper grinder on a lathe at his shop. The 88-year-old will be among those exhibiting their works at the 62nd annual Tallman Arts Festival on Sunday, Aug. 4, at the Lincoln-Tallman House, 440 S. Jackson St., Janesville.
Anthony Wahl
A wooden bowl created by Janesville artisan Fred Frommelt, who will be exhibiting his work at the 62nd annual Tallman Arts Festival on Sunday, Aug. 4, at the Lincoln-Tallman House, 440 S. Jackson St., Janesville.
Anthony Wahl
A pair of wooden pepper grinders created by Janesville artisan Fred Frommelt. The 88-year-old will be among those exhibiting their works at the 62nd annual Tallman Arts Festival on Sunday, Aug. 4, at the Lincoln-Tallman House, 440 S. Jackson St., Janesville.
A finished wood pepper grinder created by Janesville artisan Fred Frommelt. The 88-year-old will be among those exhibiting their works at the 62nd annual Tallman Arts Festival on Sunday, Aug. 4, at the Lincoln-Tallman House, 440 S. Jackson St., Janesville.
A wooden pepper grinder created by Janesville artisan Fred Frommelt. The 88-year-old will be among those exhibiting their works at the 62nd annual Tallman Arts Festival on Sunday, Aug. 4, at the Lincoln-Tallman House, 440 S. Jackson St., Janesville.
Anthony Wahl
Remnants from cut circles used to create wooden bowls sit in a bin in Fred Frommelts Janesville workshop. The 88-year-old artisan will be among those exhibiting their works at the 62nd annual Tallman Arts Festival on Sunday, Aug. 4, at the Lincoln-Tallman House, 440 S. Jackson St., Janesville.meant for segmented bowls.
JANESVILLE
For 62 years, the Rock County Historical Society has hosted its popular Tallman Arts Festival on the first Sunday in August.
And every year, organizers parse through submissions from some of the regions most gifted artists to amass a collection of creativity that will entice the hundreds who attend.
Among those who have become regular exhibitors is Janesvilles Fred Frommelt, an 88-year-old craftsman with an affinity for hardwoods. Each of his handmade bowls and pepper grinders is unique not only in color but also in style.
But he hesitates to call himself an artist.
People come by, and they always ask, Are you the artist? he said. Well, since thats what they call me, I guess Im an artist. But I mostly consider what I do to be high-end crafts.
Frommelt is being modest, and a visit to his workshop, Accents in Wood, serves as a testament to his talent. A lathe, planer, sanders ... all manner of wood-manipulating machinery is available, and numerous varieties of wood are stored at the ready. Slats that have been glued and clamped with care lean gently against a nearby bench, and several other pieces in progress patiently await their next steps.
It started out as a hobby and ended up as a full-time job, Frommelt jokes. Im out in the garage for five or six hours a day, every day.
Frommelts journey is an interesting one. As a child, he learned how to handle tools from his father, a superintendent at several large apartment buildings on Milwaukees north side. As an adult, he used his knowledge to become a machinist/tool and die maker in both his hometown and Chicago.
But then he changed things up. He worked his way through stops in Mundelein, Illinois, as a volunteer firefighter and dive shop owner, and in Key Largo, Florida, as a scuba instructor before eventually coming back to Wisconsin to work a charter boat service delivering scuba divers to shipwreck sites in Lake Michigan.
Once back home, an artistic opportunity arose.
When I came back, my brother-in-law was making bowls out of wood, Frommelt said. I saw what he was doing and got into it through him. He dropped out of it, and I kept on going.
That was 30 years ago, and Frommelt hasnt slowed down. He estimates he has made thousands of bowls and pepper grinderseach taking an average of 4 to 8 hoursand he continues to focus on those two items simply because they sell the best.
Im mostly asked for custom bowls or pepper grinder sets, but other times its stuff that I dont have the capability or the equipment to do, he said, admitting to dalliances with cutting boards, lazy susans and other items. People ask, but I just cant do large items or cabinetry work.
Frommelts workspace is connected to Another Time Around, a used-book store at 261 E. Memorial Drive. His dedication to operating and maintaining the store, which he ran with his late wife, Mary Ann, gives Frommelt a valid reason to spend extra hours in the shop.
Im always here from 10畝.m. to 2皰.m. because I have the book store right next door, he said. Running the store was my wifes job until she passed away. I keep it open now because, what am I going to do with 10,000 books if I close it?
Inside his shop, Frommelt is surrounded by such popular domestic wood varieties as maple, pecan and cherry, but he also keeps Central and South American products such as purpleheart, yellowheart and zebrawood on hand. The various species often are combined together to create items that boast beautiful striations and color changes.
Cherry burls, recognized to most people as the bumps that resemble warts on trees, are also a valued resource.
I had a fellow walk up to me and ask me if I wanted some burls, and I didnt know what a burl was, Frommelt said. But I bought one and tried to figure out how to make a bowl out of it. They have no discernible grain to them, and they can have fissures, holes or foreign materials in them. They make beautiful bowls and pepper grinders, but they cant be relied on as food-safe for bowls.
Unlike paints or portraits, working in wood poses a few slight dangers. Aside from the occasional sliver, Frommelt said his greatest concern involves items spinning at high velocity.
On a lathe, things can fly apart, he said. If you get a bad glue joint, things can go sailing through the air.
That hasnt been a big problem for Frommelt, and he doesnt want the possibility to deter people from trying their hands at woodworking. In fact, it is a hobby he wholeheartedly encourages others to try.
Dont be afraid to just get into it, he said. I run into people at shows and they tell me, I just bought a lathe, and I say Good for you! Even though Im self-taught, I give them all the tips I know.
Its just like you see in the ads: Just Do It. All youve got to have is the desire.
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"Alice in Wonderland Jr." brings fun, fantasy to JPAC
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Ashley McCallum
Reporter - Janesville city government, health
Anthony Wahl
Leah Sodemann, who plays Alice, performs during a group rehearsal of the opening number for Disneys Alice in Wonderland Jr. at the Janesville Performing Arts Center. The musical will run Aug. 8-11 at JPAC, and more than 60 kids from Janesville and the surrounding areas will take the stage.
Anthony Wahl
The ensemble for Disneys Alice in Wonderland Jr. goes over choreography for a song during rehearsal at the Janesville Performing Arts Center. The musical will run Aug. 8-11 at JPAC, and more than 60 kids from Janesville and the surrounding areas will take the stage.
Anthony Wahl
The ensemble for Disneys Alice in Wonderland Jr. goes over choreography for a song during rehearsal at the Janesville Performing Arts Center. The musical will run Aug. 8-11 at JPAC, and more than 60 kids from Janesville and the surrounding areas will take the stage.
Anthony Wahl
Groups dance in circles during rehearsal for Disney's "Alice in Wonderland Jr." at the Janesville Performing Arts Center. The musical will run Aug. 8-11 at JPAC, and more than 60 kids from Janesville and the surrounding areas will take the stage.
Anthony Wahl
The ensemble for Disneys Alice in Wonderland Jr. goes over choreography for a song during rehearsal at the Janesville Performing Arts Center. The musical will run Aug. 8-11 at JPAC, and more than 60 kids from Janesville and the surrounding areas will take the stage.
Anthony Wahl
The ensemble for Disney's "Alice in Wonderland Jr." goes over choreography for a song during rehearsal at the Janesville Performing Arts Center. The musical will run Aug. 8-11 at JPAC, and more than 60 kids from Janesville and the surrounding areas will take the stage.
JANESVILLE
They say a team is only as strong as its weakest link.
Director Jim McCulloch says the weakest link in the cast for Alice in Wonderland Jr. is still very strong.
Rock County has a strong pool of talent among its youth musical theater performers, which is one reason McCulloch says people should see the show.
Alice in Wonderland Jr. will run Aug. 8-11 at the Janesville Performing Arts Center. More than 60 kids from Janesville and the surrounding areas will take the stage as part of the production.
Though dubbed a junior version of a beloved classic, the show is not far from the original, McCulloch said.
Junior versions of classic shows are shorter than the originals, cleaned up for children and have music performed in a key signature that is easier for kids to sing, McCulloch said.
But the classic story about a girl named Alice, the Queen of Hearts, a Cheshire Cat and scenery designed to stimulate the senses remains.
About a dozen of the shows lead actors stayed behind after their second rehearsal to talk to a 69蹤獲 reporter. None of the leads are new to performing, they said.
Jimmy Hodge, who plays the white rabbit, said the show is not long and is easy to sit through because there is so much going on.
Most of the kids said they enjoy performing because it is fun and gives them opportunities to meet new people.
Katie Kennedy, who plays the dodo bird, said she likes the show because each character has its own, distinct personality.
Leah Sodemann, who plays Alice, said she likes that the show feels like one long dream.
Putting a fantasy show onto the stage has inherent challenges, McCulloch said.
Making costumes takes time because nobody has a caterpillar suit in their closet, he said. McCulloch and volunteers work to find pieces of old costumes to fit to the show, and what they cant find usually gets purchased online.
Amazon is our friend, McCulloch said.
The set is a beast on its own. The show is full of color and moving parts, and to make the story come to life, McCulloch recruited two students he directed at Whitewater High School: Emma Van Daele as stage manager and Weston Lema as set designer.
Lema said making sets for this show was different than others he has been involved with because there are fewer people involved. McCulloch has given the teens creative control over the production.
The show comes together quickly with just about four weeks of rehearsal time, McCulloch said. Rehearsals take place among several different rooms at JPAC.
JPAC staff had hoped the facilitys new education and outreach center would be finished by now to host rehearsals, but construction has been delayed to early August, McCulloch said.
Officials are spending about $300,000 on the center, which will serve as an incubator for youth theater, according to a previous story in The 69蹤獲.
McCulloch thinks performance arts should be a part of core curriculum for students because the stage gives students who might not otherwise fit in a place to call home.
At a time when more students than ever report feeling anxious or depressed, theater offers a space for kids to release those feelings and be productive with their time, McCulloch said. It also teaches kids communication skills, self-confidence and how to talk with other people face to face instead of over a computer screen, something McCulloch argues is more important now than ever before.
Jim McCulloch
Alice in Wonderland main character or girl hero
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Japanese style blue ceramic empty rice bowl. Isolated on white background
Lobster isolated / Steamed lobster seafood shrimp prawn on white background
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