2026 Wisconsin WEN Conference

Tentative Schedule:

Monday, June 22nd:

AM: 9am-5pm. Arrival, meet and greet, and settle in.

View the WEN 5th Triennial Exhibition, and a companion Wood Engraving Masterworks exhibit.

Introduction to guest artist Nicholas Wilson, sculptor, painter, printmaker.

Get to work.

Lunch

PM: Presentation: Sarah Finn, Special Collections Librarian, Milwaukee Public Library.

Sarah’s Instagram account @romanceofbooks (It is a visual treasure to explore.)

Tuesday, June 23rd:

AM: 9am-5pm. Engrave, this is a get-to-work gathering.

Presentation: Nicholas Wilson

Lunch

PM: Author & naturalist John Bates will take us on a guided hike through a nearby forest trail.

Group photo.

Work on your wood engraving.

Wednesday, June 24th:

AM: 9am-5pm. Work on your wood engraving.

Lunch

PM: Max Yela, WEN Triennial Exhibit gallery walk-through tour, a movie for future WEN Webinar offering. (We quietly will continue to work on our wood engraving during the filming.)

Thursday, June 25th

AM: 9am-6pm. Work, work, work, wood engraving is work.

PM: WEN Annual Business Meeting.

Prepare for 4pm Opening Reception.

4-6 pm WEN Triennial Exhibition Opening Reception, hosted by ArtStart.

Friday, June 26th

AM: 9am-5pm. Last morning of 5-day wood engraving work-week.

PM: Wrap-up and pack-up. Hugs & fond farewells.

Other activities to be worked into the schedule.

• Introduction to wood engraving sessions for beginners.
• Tool sharpening demonstration.
• Ruling Machine demonstration (and some hands-on opportunities).
• Jim Reynolds will be driving from Milwaukee to sell his wares, end-grain maple blocks, as well as well as no seam solid surface blocks.
• Ink modification demonstration (Graham Williams’ method)
• Evening meals/gatherings, worked out during conference.

Registration Cost

$175 Regular registration, $50 for students with ID

About our guest speakers:

Nicholas Wilson

Nicholas Wilson has been a wildlife artist for over 50 years. His paintings, bronzes and original prints (wood engravings and copperplate etchings) have been exhibited nationally and Internationally: The National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson Hole, WY; The Leigh Yawkey Woodson Museum, Wausau, WI; the Natural History Museum in London and Scotland; the Society of Wood Engravers, throughout England; the Mini Prints Exhibit in Berlin and Denmark and the Modesto Museum of Art, Modesto, CA. Mr. Wilson has received an “Outstanding Overseas Artist” award in 2020 and 2022 from the Society of Wood Engravers (SWE) in London, England. In 2021, became a member of the SWE. Wood Engravers.  Nicholas and Debb Wilson live in Green Valley, Arizona. www.nicholaswilsonstudio.com

Sarah Finn

Sarah Finn is a Rare Books & Special Collections Librarian / Print Historian, at the Milwaukee Public Library. Her Instagram account @romanceofbooks is a visual treasure to explore (and highly recommended).

John Bates

John Bates is the author of ten books on the Northwoods and Upper Midwest, and a contributor to eight others. John has been featured on Wisconsin Public Television, PBS news “Brief But Spectacular”, and has been a frequent guest on Wisconsin Public Radio. He has worked as a state forest naturalist for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and owns Trails North, a naturalist guide service. For thirty-four years he has written a biweekly column, “A Northwoods Almanac,” for the Lakeland Times in Minocqua, Wisconsin.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/brief/334503/john-bates
https://manitowishriverpress.com/

Lodging:

Clarion Pointe Rhinelander Downtown Hotel

70 North Stevens Street, Rhinelander, WI 54501

This hotel is closest to ArtStart, two blocks away. Around a 5 minute walk.

https://www.choicehotels.com/en-uk/wisconsin/rhinelander/choice-hotels/wi281

These three hotels are clustered together in the same area, all about a 5 minute drive from ArtStart:

Americinn By Wyndham

648 West Kemp Street, Rhinelander, WI 54501

https://www.wyndhamhotels.com/americinn/rhinelander-wisconsin/americinn-lodge-and-suites-rhinelander/overview

Quality Inn

668 West Kemp Street, Rhinelander, WI 54501

https://www.choicehotels.com/en-uk/wisconsin/rhinelander/quality-inn-hotels/wi192?mc=llgoxxpx

Cobblestone Hotel & Suites

735 W. Kemp Street, Rhinelander, WI 54501

https://staycobblestone.com/wi/rhinelander/

Comfort Inn

1490 Lincoln St. Rhinelander, WI 54501

Listings for the Comfort Inn as well as other lodgings can be found on this website:

https://explorerhinelander.com/articles/cozy-up-in-rhinelander/

There are some wonderful resorts to stay at (on lakes), you most likely would decide to go fishing instead of wood engraving.

Food & Restaurants:

Everyone is responsible for their own meals. On workshop days WEN will have doughnuts, snack bars & coffee available, and a water kettle for making tea. There are coffee shops, restaurants and a grocery store within easy walking distances of ArtStart.

Rhinelander

Rhinelander, Wisconsin, is a Northwoods city known as the “Home of the Hodag,” serving as a year-round outdoor recreation hub and the commercial center of Oneida County. With a population of roughly 8,200, it offers easy access to over 230 lakes within 15 minutes, featuring premier fishing, snowmobiling, boating, and hiking.

The Rhinelander Hodag is a legendary creature from Wisconsin folklore, described as a prehistoric, bull-horned carnivore with a spiked spine back that inhabits the Northwoods. “Discovered” in 1893 by Eugene Shepard, the creature is the official symbol of Rhinelander, WI, featuring heavily in local culture, tourism, and as the award-winning local high school mascot.

Airports & Transportation

Rhinelander – Oneida County Airport (RHI) RHI is served by Delta Connection, operated by SkyWest Airlines and United Express, operated by SkyWest Airlines. Delta offers daily, year-round passenger service to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) with global connections onward. United offers summer seasonal service to Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) allowing access in to or out of the beautiful Northwoods region. RHI is about a 7 minute drive from ArtStart. As there are two daily flight arrivals (as well as two departures) Tony Drehfal can be contacted to provide somewhat friendly taxi services into Rhinelander

There is an airport in Wausau, about an hour’s drive from Rhinelander.