Artists to Watch 2026
By Grace Olson
According to Merriam Webster, the essential meaning of art is “something that is created with imagination and skill and that is beautiful or that expresses important ideas or feelings.”
It’s subjective, thought-provoking and somehow surpasses its inanimate state to be wise and moving. We’re lucky to have an abundance of such art in the Fox Cities.
Below, local aficionados reveal their Artists to Watch in 2026:
Karen Crisler
Nominated by Jackie Sanders, owner of Little Known Art House in Appleton
From Crisler: I took my first ceramics class during a gap year after high school, while living in Madrid, Spain. Ever since then clay has been a safe place for me, a refuge of sorts. I went on to study ceramics at Florida State University, and during that time interned with potter Julie Guyot. After graduating I went on to work for Honeycomb Studio, a small batch slip casting studio in Atlanta. Both of these opportunities greatly enriched my knowledge of clay – safe places where I learned more about the process of ceramics, got hands-on experience, and was encouraged to explore my own creativity.
I love to create pottery that is playful, practical, and brings beauty into everyday moments. My work is often hand-carved, creating detailed texture and one-of-a-kind pieces. In a world that is loud and fast, I want my work to embody a quiet simplicity, the kind that slows you down enough to notice the beauty in the mundane moments like drinking your coffee or doing the dishes. I hope each piece I make can communicate an embodied hospitality—the kind that reminds you to gather the people you love around the table, and add an extra chair or two for those who need it.
Pottery is a humble trade—the root word of humility, humus, means earth, which I find very fitting, since that is what forms all of my vessels. I hope each piece I send out helps invite a humble beauty into your everyday life.
From Sanders: I started following Karen’s work well before opening Little Known Art House in March of 2025. When I started thinking about artists who I thought would have a good vibe with what I was creating, Swallowtail Studio was one of the first I thought of. Working with Karen has been a wonderful experience and every time she brings new work over I can’t wait to see what she’s created. Her work is beautifully textured, earthy, and intentional. You can feel the artists’ hand in each piece she creates. She’s just as down to earth as her artwork. Karen and Kate Lenz recently opened a small ceramic supply shop in Appleton catering to clay artists. It fills me with joy to see what she is creating in their space for fellow artists and to work with such a lovely person.
Bonnie Paruch
Nominated by Ana Maria Acosta, Librarian at the Elisha D. Smith Public Library in Menasha
From Paruch: I’ve been a professional artist for many years. Over time, I’ve been honored to receive many awards and national recognition. Yet, each time I pick up a brush, I feel the same excitement and anticipation I felt the first time I applied paint to paper or canvas. My artwork is always in transition. It is essentially rooted in my life experiences here in Northeast Wisconsin. The Great Lakes area with its abundant natural beauty influences the work I create in my studio and on location. My materials and methods often change as I seek inspiration from the natural world.
My training as an artist really began by immersing myself in pleinair painting. The approach I lean into on location and in my studio is one where representational objects are suggested and abstracted. I believe that a good painting is the expression of a feeling, tells a story and creates an invitation to the viewer to participate in the art. This past April we relocated to the Fox Valley area and I have a new studio space in downtown Oshkosh in a wonderful, historic Bank building located at 404 N Main St, suite 607. You are welcome to visit my studio in Oshkosh, which is open by chance and by appointment. My website: www.bonnieparuch.com. My artwork is also represented by Fine Line Designs Gallery in Ephraim.
From Acosta: I recommend exploring the work of artist Bonnie Paruch. For her, art is not merely an outlet; it serves as a dynamic channel for whimsical and evolving interactions. Her artistic expressions capture meaningful settings, places, and sensations, while also conveying an urgent, positive message to the future adults about our environment.
She has received numerous awards locally and internationally for her work in pastels and oil and as an artist moving forward she is a master in collage painting. With this technique, Bonnie is merging her artistic talent with her writing skills as both the author and illustrator of her first children’s book, “The City Ever Green.” Her original book illustrations and a selection of her fine art were proudly showcased at the library. By fostering interaction, she encouraged both adults and children to connect personally with the story, making each experience uplifting. Kids particularly enjoyed describing the various narratives.
Her abstract artwork invites viewers to delve deeper and discover a world filled with endless possibilities. Bonnie’s generosity shines through her numerous activities and workshops, where she shares her experiences. She inspires fellow authors and illustrators to pursue a path where images and words harmoniously complement each other to convey a powerful message.
Dane Schumaker
Nominated by Ashley Acker, Marketing Manager, Trout Museum of Art in Appleton
From Schumaker: Storytelling and the capacity for one thing to represent another is a motivation for my work. First person narratives observed from a distance take the form of meticulously collaged referential scenes – the characters and their motivations are cast before the viewer for interpretation. I paint from a combination of imagination, candid snapshots, found imagery and carefully staged and lit photographs that are collaged through the process of painting.
Using human and other animal characters to give context to the unusual spaces they inhabit, I develop contemporary myths for the viewer to interpret that are born out of my perspective and lived experience that become inoculated by the larger sphere of our shared experience. Non-human animals offer symbolism within the story being created. The inclusion of these types of characters is a newer development in my artmaking; a reference to my interest in the natural world that began early in childhood. Each piece’s impetus is the struggle experienced by the main archetype, and the perceived mindscape being traversed within their observed setting.
From Acker: Dane Schumacher is an Appleton-based painter and the Trout Museum of Art’s first Artist in Residence in its new home. Watching Dane work in the Museum studio, it’s become clear how deeply dedicated he is to his craft and to developing new ideas and processes. Dane creates immersive oil paintings that merge traditional technique with contemporary narrative. In his ongoing series Two Worlds, he uses human figures alongside other species, chosen for their symbolic meaning, to explore personal myths and shared experiences, drawing viewers into spaces that are both familiar and imagined.
A Green Bay native and graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay, he has exhibited widely across Wisconsin, including the Trout Museum of Art and the Museum of Wisconsin Art. It’s inspiring to watch Dane in the studio, dedicating himself to refining his practice and exploring new ideas, and I’m excited to see how his work continues to evolve.
Sarah Vandersee
Nominated by Leslie Walfish, Director of Galleries & Campus Curator and Instructor in the Art Department, UW Oshkosh
From Vandersee: As a kid, I always had a habit of collecting little plants and rocks. I would frequently play around with these found materials, sculpting found clay, squishing berries, braiding grass etc., becoming some of my first art mediums. I would revisit these roots during my time in college through studying ceramics and the fiber arts. My work takes inspiration from the landscapes and wildlife of Wisconsin and combines that with a fascination of traditional and contemporary craft processes. I aim to blur the line between domestic life and our natural surroundings through incorporating foraged materials into common household objects and domestic practices.
In my ceramics, I work with foraged clay that’s been strained of rocks and sticks and is paired with non-ceramic foraged objects. These works will take the form of common utilitarian pottery with the goal of bringing the local environment into everyday life. In my fiber work, I’ve been focusing on overshot weaving to create coverlet style tapestries with images printed with natural dyes. These works use imagery of locations with personal significance to me made with dyes found in that area. This further emphasizes the natural materials to embody the place they come from.
From Walfish: Sarah Vandersee uses a variety of medium including charcoal, ceramics, and weaving to explore ideas of home. She gathers and uses locally foraged materials such as plants and driftwood in her work to connect with the environment around her. Her art includes a wide range of subject matter such as local buildings, Wisconsin fish, and farm chickens and in doing so, Vandersee makes work that blurs the lines between what has traditionally been considered “fine art” and “craft” and between “high art” and “kitsch.”
Her work has recently been included in a number of Wisconsin exhibitions including the 2025 and 2024 Wisconsin Artists Biennials at the Museum of Wisconsin Art, the 2025 Wisconsin Craft Biennial, 67th Annual Beloit & Vicinity, and the 15th Annual Door Prize for Portraiture.
Maggie Williams
Nominated by Cristian Andersson, Curator of the Lawton Gallery in Green Bay
From Williams: Moving quietly between representational and abstract imagery, I am attempting to communicate my experience in this life and understand the variety of perspectives within it. Exploration has become part of who I am as an artist; I follow my curiosity and accept that I am always learning as I go. I often create focused bodies of work that hold deep personal meaning, and when each series feels complete, I allow myself to transition into new forms of image-making. This continual shift is not a lack of direction but a core part of my creative process—an embrace of curiosity, experimentation, and discovery.
Working across a variety of mediums opens space for unexpected connections to emerge. Each medium offers an independent way of communicating, and each approach influences the next. Whether working in the studio or collaborating with artist peers, my visual language continues to evolve as I seek questions surrounding the way we see ourselves and each other. I am grateful for the many influential teachers, friends, family members, and colleagues that have inspired and encouraged me along the way.
From Andersson: We can look to art as a vehicle to tenderly open up, reveal, and amplify emotions within us. It is there when we need to be comforted or challenged. When we want to escape or find community. And while the artist has no control over how others will react to the message and meaning of their work once it leaves the studio, the work can be imbued with all of the intention and skill they can muster to evoke thoughtful introspection. Art is generous in how it can propagate change. It is power.
I will always be grateful to Maggie Williams. For the artwork she creates and for the opportunities she provides for others. Our community is stronger, and better, because of her.