Wichita Artists In Their Studios

I believe in art, storytelling and celebration. And in people with vision and the tenacity to make things happen. Sondra Langel has both. She came to our agency last fall to talk about her dream project: a book that celebrates Wichita’s creative community. You could say she had us at hello.

We jumped onboard. Fast. Sondra got right to work, too. She quickly assembled an advisory group made up of art museum directors, scholars, curators, patrons and collectors. Its task: select 50 artists from our community’s boundless pool.

Look Inside

She chose Larry Schwarm to photograph these artists in their studios. To capture their distinctive personalities whiling providing an inside view to both place and process. The inspiration and the sweat. Larry shot and Sondra interviewed. The artists submitted photography of their favorite pieces.

In a matter of months, Greteman Group had the raw elements to put the book together. Art director Marc Bosworth and I labored over every page. A fine artist himself – who is also featured in the book – Marc kept the focus on their artists and their work. No tricked-up layouts or unnecessary embellishments.

The finished, hardbound books rolled off Donlevy Lithograph’s presses in time for the Wichita Art Museum’s recent art and book fair. Watermark Books features a prominent display as you enter its doors. And you can buy it online.

Telling It True

Virginia Woolf famously wrote about a room of one’s own. The space to think and create. There is something special about looking at these individuals so at home in their workrooms. Where they paint, sculpt and photograph. Collect, construct and deconstruct. Where they invent. Look close. Blood is probably sprinkled along with the paint and chips and dust on those studio floors.

Yet an overwhelmingly joyous spirit animates this book. Pick it up and let it take hold.