Donna Lexa Art Centers

Another successful visit from our friends at Pantheon Industries. They toured our facility and learned more about we do at Donna Lexa Art Centers.
Afterwards, they volunteered their time by helping with many studio tasks. We couldn't be more excited to collaborate with such a fun and inspirational group!
Thank you, everyone at the Pantheon CAP program.

Every Thursday at our West Milwaukee studio, we host an all-veteran art group. Some of these individuals have been attending for years, and some are still new to the group.
The participants are offered an open-studio setting to allow them to explore the wide range of art materials in the studio. We currently have painters, drawers, sculptors, comedians, and individuals who love to experiment with just about anything!
We are very fortunate enough that this group, along with our women's veteran group, are fully supported by a grant from Creative Forces . With this grant, we can offer these art groups completely free to the veteran population. All art supplies included!
We still have a few spots open for this group. If you are interested in joining this veteran group or have questions about it, please contact our program manager, Maggie Watson at 262-521-2292 or email her at [email protected].

Trust the process.
Here at Donna Lexa Art Centers, we offer opportunity to explore a wide range of materials and all types of art processes.
Last week, a few of our participants in our elders' program explored with some fun ways of making art.
In the first picture, this participant is using liquid dish soap, paint, and a straw to create fun bubble art.
In the second picture, this participant is using shaving cream, paint, and a squeegee to explore with more abstract imagery.
Both of these processes are welcome for all ages and abilities!
For fun videos on how to make these types of art, watch the videos below:
Painting with Bubbles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRAAeLNhdlg
Shaving Cream Art: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65e5hKRPEnA
Made possible with funding courtesy of Bader Philanthropies, Inc.

It's official. We will be closing both our Waukesha and West Milwaukee studios for Tuesday. We hope to return back in action on Wednesday, if this weather allows it!
Stay warm out there!

Snow is on its way! The team at Donna Lexa Art Centers will be keeping a close eye on the weather and will soon decide if we need to close our studios. We will be posting with an update no later than Tuesday at 7am.
If you're ever questioning on whether or not we are closed due to weather, we will always post on Facebook, TMJ4 News's website, and if you call our Waukesha number (262-521-2292), we'll have an automated message.
Stay tuned!

Your friendly Donna Lexa Art Centers Admin team reminding you that we are now closed for the Holiday's and will be back in the studio ready to make art on Tuesday, January 2nd.

Andi: Representing "A Year without a Santa Claus " with a Heat Miser/Snow Miser Mash-up ensemble
Maggie: Donning a look that screams Vintage Christmas...Bottlebrush trees, plaid and green
Susanna: Sporting a sporty ugly holiday sweater

Team Donna Lexa Art Centers would like to wish everyone a very safe and happy holiday season!!!
My heart is so full, I am so proud of this team!!! Their hard work and dedication is only surpassed by their hearts and spirit. This team combined with our outstanding students and participants makes it fun to come to work everyday; and provides the motivation we need to keep getting better!
Thank you to our students, staff, volunteers, Board of Directors and our vast network of supporters.... we are all in it together... and together we are TEAM DLAC!!!

Friendly reminder that both our Waukesha and West Milwaukee studios will be closed next week and on that following Monday for New Year's Day.
We hope you all enjoy your time away from the studio and can't wait to return refreshed for the new year!
Classes will start back up on Tuesday, January 2nd.
Happy Holidays to all!!

Tis the season of giving and receiving! The Waukesha State Bank visited us today with a generous donation from their Helping Hearts program. These bluetooth speakers and travel cart will immensely help our staff when they're out in the community with our outreach program.
Thank so much, for thinking of us with your donations! ❤️

We are beyond grateful for the generous staff at WaterStone Bank. Through their Giving Tree program, they donated and delivered much needed art supplies to us today.
The students were very excited to see all of the new art items come in! Our student, Laura (lovely lady in blue) can't wait to explore with the air dry clay next time she's in the studio!
Thank you, everyone at WaterStone Bank!

Day 24 Donna Lexa Art Centers November of Gratitude!
We want to celebrate Lovely Liz one of our many dynamite classroom volunteers! We met her when she was dropping off an generous in kind donation of art supplies and she asked if she could apply!
The rest as they say is history... and a very happy studio group :)
Liz always has lovely energy, goes above and beyond and helps our students stretch their skill set. We love having her here!

DLAC: How did you hear about DLAC?
LIZ:Through a very close friend of hers that was a volunteer here.

DLAC: What motivated you to volunteer at DLAC?
LIZ: As a retired person, the need to give back to the community.

DLAC: What keeps you coming to the studio every week?
LIZ: The clients and the staff!!

DLAC: Is there a specific moment in the studio that sticks out to you?
LIZ: What I really have lots of fun with is when students or staff pull something out and question what it is and I’m able to teach them something from my own personal life experiences. It’s the joy of sharing your stories and creative experiences with others.
The clients are all so different, but so sincere. The longer you’re here the more you get to know them. A great saying that she lives by is “Live a lovely life”.

If YOU are interested in volunteering, don't be shy! We are a friendly bunch and we have the perfect spot for you. Please contact Maggie @ [email protected] or head to our website @ www.donnalexa.org and fill out our online form. And you too can "live a lovely life" at DLAC just like Liz 🥰

Today is GIVING TUESDAY!
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=4JJDQUKPVWH4S

Please consider reposting and/or sharing the link with your family and friends! Every little bit helps... whether its $5 dollars or $5000 dollars... everything and everyone counts!

Other ways to donate:
By Mail or Stop by and visit us @ Donna Lexa Art Centers 247 Wisconsin Ave, Waukesha WI 53186

or visit us at www.donnalexa.org
On behalf of our students, students family, staff, volunteers and Board of Directors, THANK YOU!!

Donate to Donna Lexa Art Centers Help support Donna Lexa Art Centers by donating or sharing with your friends.

Count Down to GIVING TUESDAY!
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=4JJDQUKPVWH4S
Please consider reposting and/or sharing the link with your family and friends! Every little bit helps... whether its $5 dollars or $5000 dollars... everything and everyone counts!

Other ways to donate:
By Mail or Stop by and visit us @ Donna Lexa Art Centers 247 Wisconsin Ave, Waukesha WI 53186

or visit us at www.donnalexa.org
On behalf of our students, students family, staff, volunteers and Board of Directors, THANK YOU!!

Day 23 of Donna Lexa Art Centers November of Gratitude.
Today we would like to make a general thank you to all of the volunteers that work hard to help us throughout the year. We could not do what we do with out them! The next several posts will be highlighting the various ways volunteerism impacts Donna Lexa. There is no one way to volunteer at Donna Lexa Art Centers. We have volunteers in the classroom, a volunteer board of directors, volunteers for committee work, event planning, art fairs/ makers markets, graphic design and volunteers that just know when to show up with an extra hand!

Day 22 of Donna Lexa Art Centers goes out to our friends at Pantheon CAP for coming to our volunteer experience. These kind folks came out to tour our Waukesha Studios and Admin offices and while they were there lent us a hand on some tasks in the studio. We are always grateful to make new friends. Thanks for visiting and for all your hardwork! ( As an aside there was a whole lot of laughter coming out of the studios while they were visiting!)

Hope everyone had a peaceful holiday weekend.
As the year winds down and you are planning your year end tax deductible contributions, please consider helping Donna Lexa Art Centers keep our programming accessible and to all.

We have made it easy for you! Either scan the QR code, visit www.donnalexa.org or mail to
Donna Lexa Art Centers 247 Wisconsin Ave, Waukesha, WI 53186.

We thank you for your support, it’s because of people like you that we are able to do what we do❤️

Come on out to the Holiday Market and get your handmade Holiday shopping done! We have our handmade Makers Market ornaments, one of a kind Stundent art, greeting cards, mugs and more!!

Just a reminder to our students and supporters…
We will be closed Thursday. November 23 for Thanksgiving. No classes will be held. We wish everyone a peaceful holiday weekend!

Don’t forget to come and see us at the New Berlin Sportsplex this Saturday Holiday Market from 9-2! Get the holiday season shoppers started with some handmade items and beautiful art by our students💕
We will see everyone on Monday November 27th!

Day 20 Donna Lexa Art Centers November of Gratitude. So grateful to all the folks who came out to support us this past Saturday at our Holiday Makers Market and Open House. We were able to raise some good money to keep our programming affordable. We sold some awesome student art and went through a lot of our handcrafted inventory!.. Never fear- we have more and we will be at the Holiday Market in New Berlin at the New Berlin Sportsplex. Still time to get some DLAC goodies✨ See you this Saturday November 25 from 9-2!

Day 19 of Donna Lexa Art Centers November of Gratitude... we would be remiss not to thank two big DLAC supporters… Stephanie Ohlfs former DLAC board chair and continuous supporterand current DLAC vice chair(shown at last May’s Gotta Have Art Gala. DeAnne came to help out at this past Saturday‘s Makers Market & Open House with her daughter, Mollie and Stephanie stopped in with her two boys to do a bit of shopping. These women, each in there own way, have contributed in ways large and small to keep DLAC on the right track! Thank you wholeheartedly for your time, talent and treasure! And thank you Waukesha State Bank for your continued support and care for our community ❤️
There are a lot of ways to volunteer at DLAC and becoming a board member is one of the many ways you can give back to your community. If you are interested in joining the DLAC Board of Directors, please contact Andrea Thomas our executive director @ [email protected].

Day 18 of Donna Lexa Art Centers November of Gratitude we are grateful to Waukesha State Bank for allowing us to use their community room for our annual Holiday Makers Market & Open House.
We will be here until 2pm today. Come on by!
🎄🎄🎁🎅🎄🎄

Day 15 of Donna Lexa Art CentersNovember of Gratitude. They say "Many hands make light work." I would also like to add that Many hands make light work and brings lots of joy. Reflecting on all the hands that have touched the art and the makers market items that are being lovingly created for this weekends Holiday Makers Market & Open House. Feeling grateful to get to work every day with creative, kind, compassionate students, staff and volunteers. We hope to see you all this Saturday from 10am-2pm at the Downtown Waukesha State Bank community room! There you can see the tangible results of our labors of love! Come make a gnome, have a treat and get in some early holiday shopping at a stress free fun event.

Day 14 of Donna Lexa Art Centers November of Gratitude:
We would like to thank Aging & Disability Resource Center of Waukesha County for inviting us to their Caregiver Appreciation Events.
Today we were at the Muskego Library and the Waukesha Library offering a free art activity, along with free treats, flower arrangements, and other useful resources supplied by ADRC. Aging & Disability Resource Center has been a continuous source of support and such a resourceful organization in the community.
There are two more events happening this Thursday. RSVP to [email protected] if interested in attending!

Day 13 of Donna Lexa Art Centers November of Gratitude... I want to honor four of our amazing student artists for being selected as this year's greeting card features artists. All of them are talented, kind and creative. All students have received a licensing fee for the use of their art on our greeting cards for the 2023/2024 season. All proceeds go back to Donna Lexa Art Centers programming. We are so grateful to our students for letting us highlight their art!
If you are interested in purchasing a box set please come visit us this weekend at our Holiday Makers Market & Open House from 10am-2pm @ Downtown Waukesha State Bank Community Room this Saturday, November 18,2023 If you can't make it they are available for purchase at the studio in Waukesha.

All original pieces are on view Waukesha City Hall and are available for purchase.

Day 12 ofDonna Lexa Art Centers November of Gratitude… it’s already the 12th and we are just barely getting started! A lot of you know about our Waukesha Studio and students, but we have a pretty robust group of students at our West Milwaukee Studio! We are so grateful to our students, they are what make us get up and come to work everyday. The creativity, the humor and the community of West MKE is palpable. Some of our students attend all day or several days. Whether it’s one group, two groups or ten… we are always glad they came 🥰

Day 11 Donna Lexa Art CentersNovember of Gratitude. Today we want to express our moat heartfelt gratitude for the sacrifice our veterans have made for our country.

The DLAC is a proud recipient of the Creative ForcesGrant that provides essential funding for our Veterans Open Studio at our West Milwaukee location. Our veterans open studio was established in 2015 and We hold a Memorandum of Agreement with the US Department of VeteranAffairs.

We are so excited to begin our Women Veteran group next Wed from 3-5pm at our West Milwaukee location.

If you or anyone you know would like to participate in either of our Veterans groups please contact our program manager Maggie @ 262-521-2292 or [email protected].

Day 11 Donna Lexa Art Centers November of Gratitude. Today we want to express our moat heartfelt gratitude for the sacrifice our veterans have made for our country.

The DLAC is a proud recipient of the Creative Forces Grant that provides essential funding for our Veterans Open Studio at our West Milwaukee location. Our veterans open studio was established in 2015 and We hold a Memorandum of Agreement with the US Department of VeteranAffairs.

We are so excited to begin our Women Veteran group next Wed from 3-5pm at our West Milwaukee location.

If you or anyone you know would like to participate in either of our Veterans groups please contact our program manager Maggie @ 262-521-2292 or [email protected].

DLAC would like to extend a BIG THANK YOU!
To Waukesha State Bank for being a Gotta Have Art Event Sponsor and for their continued support! Thank for your commitment to us and the community. We are so grateful! If you are interested in joining Waukesha State Bank as a Sponsor call Donna Lexa Art Centers to learn how you can be part of this annual event. All funds raised are used to support our programming.

Tickets on SALE NOW!

https://one.bidpal.net/ghaluminous23/ticketing

Interested in donating an item for the silent auction, being a sponsor or want to volunteer at the event? Call us at 262-521-2292 or message us at donnalexa.org