Events Calendar

Color Play: Making the world a little more rainbow

bernie & zuzu's residence term at Pinney Library Studio: February 2023 - October 2023

bernie & zuzu's in-Studio work time: Thursdays from 12-2 pm

bernie & zuzu's drop-in open Studio time: Thursdays from 2-4 pm at Pinney Library

bernie & zuzu wants you to come make the world a little more rainbow! Bernie invites the Madison community to explore color at weekly open studios and drop-in art making sessions that focus on color, shape, and mark-making in abstraction through the mediums of drawing, collage, block printing, stenciling, screen printing and painting. Throughout the residency, Bernie will invite the community to assist her with making the art studio into an installation and exhibition space that explodes with color: a rainbow room! Come play and be part of the fun!

bernie & zuzu is named for Bernie Witzack (she/her, a human) who is the creative force behind bernie & zuzu, and the extraordinary zuzu (a cat) who takes care of the business side of things. At bernie & zuzu, we create handmade, hand-painted, and screen-printed goods in small batches. We specialize in unique, one-of-a-kind art, home goods, accessories and prints with an emphasis on bright, bold color and playful shapes. bernie & zuzu is run out of a studio in the Madison Enterprise Center and we screen print at Polka Press, Madison’s local printmaking collective. We hope our artwork and goods inspire tiny moments of beauty, wonder and joy. 

Bernie studied Studio Art at Beloit College and has been making and exhibiting her art ever since. She earned an MFA in Fine Art & Design from the University of Michigan in 2013, focusing on improvisational drawing and painting. She then went on to study graphic design at Madison College, falling in love with screen printing along the way. She was working full time as a graphic designer and pursuing her art on the side when the pandemic hit in spring 2020. She left the design field in spring 2021 to focus on her art full time, launching bernie & zuzu in fall of 2021.

You can find bernie & zuzu’s goods at the Dane County Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings from April-October, at Little Luxuries, Hatch Art House, and Communication Madison. They also vend at local art markets such as The Eastside Winter Market, Femmestival, The Crafty Fair and the Madison Maker Markets. bernie & zuzu have an online shop at www.bernieandzuzu.com

Join us every Monday and Thursday at Goodman South Madison Library for teen time. Teens can choose what they'd like to do each time, but we'll have activities available to engage them from 4-6PM. Board games, art + maker projects, crafts, video games, and enrichment opportunities like vision boards and STEM experiments coordinated by Teen Librarian Will G. and featuring various community partners. Meet other teens from your neighborhood and enjoy community after school. 

This event was canceled; open studio will take place on 09/19 from 5:30-7:30 instead

All are welcome to join Maria and create a space for wishing within the Bubbler Room. Each week, Maria will be in the Bubbler Room on Thursday evenings, hosting sessions to create enchanting art together. We will explore the magic that exists in the natural world, our community, and in ourselves. We will focus on combining words and images using printmaking, collage, and sculpture. We’ll delve into questions such as:

What are we wishing for (something we’ve never had or something we’ve lost or…)? 
What does it take for our wishes to come true?
Who or what grants them?
What kind of collective magic can we summon?
What offerings do we leave in return as we make our wish?
What rituals do we create around making wishes? 

All ages and abilities are welcome! Drop in, no registration required. 

When we wish, we wish for something just out of our reach of what seems possible. What would it take to bring it to make them come true?
Read more about her residency here: https://www.madisonbubbler.org/residencies/central

Gathers most Thursday evenings! Middle and high school students can meet other aspiring authors, bounce ideas off one another, share their stories, and feel the creativity flow! Writing club is led by local author Carole Madrzak.