There are those little events in our lives that seemingly have the greatest significance.
“There was an art competition in sixth grade that I took part in. Surprisingly, I won first place,” said Molly Johnson, the executive director of The Academy of Fine Art in Denmark, Wis. Since that fateful competition, art became something she seriously started to pursue. It eventually became her life’s work.
Ever since Johnson became interested in art, her interest was, and has always been figurative pieces. Her subject matter is delved from what is close at hand in Denmark: Children in pumpkin patches, boys fishing, and the various scenes of rural life make up most of her milieu of paintings.
Though having majored in watercolor, Johnson is also a skilled oil painter and appreciates the merits and challenges in both mediums. Owing to her background in architectural rendering and that she finds comfort in structure and procedure, learning the classical techniques in art seemed a natural fit.
Johnson studied both architectural rendering and classical art techniques at the American Academy of Art in Chicago. Also, doing administrative work for her father’s business and being an elementary school teacher had given her a broad range of skills she would pull from later on as an artist and the director of her own academy.
After having been taught classical art and wanting to expand on her career, an opportunity presented itself. “The flour mill adjacent to our house in Denmark closed down so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to use that building as an academy,” Johnson said.
Flour Mill to Academy
The flour mill itself is another story. Transforming a flour mill that had been in operation for over 100 years into Johnson’s academy was no easy feat.
Johnson had taken photographs of what the building looked like before her task of renovating it began in 2008. Her five children and husband helped in the process. “It was a really great learning experience for the kids,” she said. “It taught them to work for what you want in life.”
She unfolded albums of photos and commented on the pictures as they showed the progression. Outside, semitrailers had sunk deep in the mud; Inside, debris, dust, gears, and gadgets that littered the dark rooms had to be dismantled, cleaned up, and hauled away. Johnson and her family kept much of the décor of the original mill and added their own touch with cheery red doors and fresh coats of white paint.
The mill now looks and feels like the perfect enclave for an artist. Little white Greek columns decorate the interior of the mill, adorning plants that catch the sunlight through wide-open windows, sending in a fresh breeze. The hardwood floors and giant basswood pillars and high ceiling give plenty of rustic character.
Relics of the old mill can be spotted here and there. Johnson said her favorite was a sign reading “caution, grain dust highly explosive.” They had to sweep most of the mounds of dust out with shovels and brooms as a precaution before turning on a vacuum.
The grain citadel that loomed in the corner on the second floor had slowly been pieced apart and made way for more studio spaces for the students to expand their capacity. “We’ve had a waiting list for students to take classes, so we are excited to have more opportunities for them,” Johnson said.
Curriculum
Energetically showing me around the academy, Johnson pointed to the spaces set up for students. Flipping on the light in one of the students’ own little work areas, the contrasts and forms from the cast mold matched the oil painting next to it.
“The students go from charcoal drawing of spheres, to cast molds, then on to cast painting and portraits,” she said.
Johnson opened a drawer and pulled out one of her student’s charcoal drawings. “What they end up with is a real prize, something they can be proud of.” The drawing was a cast of a statue, life-like and nearly perfect in its rendering of the cast and form shadows.
The Academy of Fine Art offers students a three-year curriculum down to individual classes where patience is a must. “The lessons really teach the students to slow down,” Johnson said. Many of the cast drawings and paintings may take up to four months to complete.
If you want to learn how to paint like the old masters whose techniques have been perfected over the centuries in Western art, the curriculum at the Academy of Fine Art is the same. Intimidating at first? Yes.
“Most students come with no background in art,” Johnson said. Students are instructed one-on-one with eight instructors who teach at the academy in different techniques and mediums, including sculpture and instruction in human anatomy.
For more information, please visit theacademyoffineart.com
Tim Gebhart is an artist residing in Menasha, Wis.
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