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Hat creators brimming with ideas for spring arts benefit

Photo

Photo by Dan Lassiter

Wendy Aide helps her niece Kylie Shaw, 6, put together a bug hat complete with a live bug cage.

JANESVILLE — Wendy Aide and Kylie Shaw are tipping their hats to the arts.

The Janesville woman and her 6-year-old niece are celebrating the United Arts Alliance spring benefit, Hats Off to the Arts.

The fundraiser includes a juried hat exhibit with prizes, a hat promenade, an exhibit and a presentation from the Rock County Historical Society of vintage hats and hatpins. People can make their own hats, sample a dessert buffet or attend an auction of newly created hats. Those attending are encouraged to wear a hat.

That’s what Kylie, a kindergartener at Milton’s Consolidated School, did to get into the mood Monday afternoon. She and her aunt got together to create the hat the two will enter into the juried exhibit.

“We have plenty of hats and will do anything to help make the arts available and affordable,” Aide said.

The theme of their child-size hat is bugs. It is based on Kylie’s favorite book, “Bugs,” by David Greenberg.

So it was no surprise Kylie covered her straw hat with creepy, crawly creatures accented with a bughouse on its brim. A pearl-strand necklace was used to resemble rocks that her glow-in-the-dark stretchy bugs, plastic bees, Styrofoam cockroaches and colorful fabric butterflies were mounted on.

“Kylie, who makes lots of art projects, picked where to put everything,’’ Aide said.

Kylie said she wanted to make a hat for the spring fundraiser because “I knew it would be very fun and cool to do together.

“We’re going to put real bugs inside the bug house,” she said.

She planned to catch them with her butterfly net.

“I’m also going to put some food—grass and leaves and maybe some flower petals—inside the bug house,’’ she said.

Meanwhile, others are working on hats to enter into the juried hat exhibit, including Paula Holz of Janesville.

The 53-year-old, who also is a member of the United Arts Alliance, has decided to make a crocheted hat from a crazy lady hat pattern and enter it into the wearable category.

She will use a variety of fibers—some natural and some synthetic—in many colors.

But Holz still is debating her hat’s theme—either a flower garden or an artist’s palette.

The garden hat could feature a three-dimensional effect. The artist’s palette might have embroidery over the top to create a dripping paint effect, she said.

Regardless, “I’m going to play with it—a lot,’’ Holz said.

“I’ve got these two images in my head. I’m kind of seeing where they take me and will let the yarn tell me what to do with it literally,’’ she said.

The hats idea was created by Judith Detert-Moriarty, arts alliance vice president.

“It’s fun and very different. It allows people to be creative and think outside the box,’’ Holz said.

Proceeds will be used to help support the arts alliance scholarship program, its annual autumn arts fest and the Arts Hall of Fame.

HOW TO ENTER

Hat creators may enter the juried hat exhibit as many times and in as many of the five categories as they wish.

Hat entry deadline is noon, May 9.

The juried exhibit will include prizes in these categories: wearable, nonwearable, painted, drawn or photographed, edible and other media.

Hats juried into the exhibit will be displayed two weeks before the May 31 benefit at the Gathering Place, 715 Campus St., Milton.

Exhibit viewers will be encouraged to vote for their favorite hat for a special cash People’s Choice Award.

Hats entered into the exhibit, competition and auction may be delivered:

-- 1 to 4 p.m. Monday, May 4, at the Gathering Place.

-- 9:30 a.m. to noon, Saturday, May 9, to the Community Room in the lower level of the Hedberg Public Library, 316 S. Main St., Janesville.

-- By appointment by calling (608) 931-5705 or (608) 752-9248.

Hats entering the edible category will receive special delivery instructions after their entry application has been received.

Entry forms are available at the Gathering Place, Janesville Performing Arts Center, 408 S. Main St., by e-mailing proartist@aol.com or calling (608) 752-9248.