In Wisconsin, nearly 5.8 million people are involved in the arts, according to Anne Katz, executive director of Arts Wisconsin. If that number sounds large, it is; its the entire population of the state. Everybody is involved in the arts in some way, whether they call themselves artists or not, Anne says.

Printmaking has been around for centuries. Even screen printing dates back to China between 960 and 1279. Mostly used in industry to produce advertising, concert posters, t-shirts, etc., screen printing is known as serigraphy by artists. This term distinguishes the artistic application of screen printing from its industrial uses, though artists do definitely create concert posters, t-shirts, pillows, stationary, and so forth.

Standing in the showroom at Farleys House of Pianos is a stately 1914 Mason & Hamlin grand piano. This 9 concert grand is one of only 17 pianos made with this particular cast-iron frame and scale design, and creates a sound prized by audiences and performers. After a 100-year performance history, it had fallen in disrepair. Fortunately the instrument found its way to Farleys and a new life.

Roxane Gay, author of Bad Feminist, says, Its really easy to get a celebrity to say something stupid by bringing up feminism. This is not a new phenomenon. In fact, much of what celebrities say about feminism today is eerily similar to quotes from the early 20th century.

Whens the last time a farmeran actual farmerdelivered dinner to your restaurant table? At Jordandal Cookhouse in Verona, farmer and owner Carrie Johnson takes her own home-cooked and homegrown food to tables every day, giving new meaning to the term farm-to-fork dining.

As life inspires beer, so too does beer inspire life. Just look at John French Sloans McSorelys Bar and Edouard Manets A Bar at the Folies-Bergere. Like no other ales can, Belgian beer spurns conversations ranging from the tangible to the surreal, and all these conversations carry the potential to grow into something incredible. A state of mind, if not altered, rests in the realm of consistency and expectation. The realm of reliable comfort. When the right people get inspired, for better or worse, all that can be swept away.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream. Of course some of us scream a little louder than others after opening the freezer to discover the kids have once again eaten what we thought was our own private stash of Graham Cracker Calliope Ice Cream. Even though it may be billed as ice cream for adults, this local, small-batch ice cream tastes so good it has a loyal following with parents and children alike.

Imagine having the fate of your marriage depend on the quality of your mothers cheese-making skills. Thats how it used to be in Scandinavia, where, legend has it, mothers of unmarried daughters once offered suitors a cup of coffee with homemade juustoleipa, and if the man complimented the cheese, he got the option to marry the daughter.

Why garden for bugs? Truth be known, we cant live without them. But can they continue to live with us? Loss of habitat and unforeseen consequences from insecticides and herbicides are contributing to increased colony collapse in bees and frightful population declines of butterflies and other beneficial insects. To stem this steep decline, we need to shift our thinking of insects as enemies to insects as allies. It may be up to all of us to provide plants, water, and shelter for the pollinators we depend on.

Invite people into your home and invariably the group ends up in the kitchen. Its the room that seems to nurture relationships as much as it nurtures our bodies, and careful consideration of your kitchens layout and accoutrements will impact large and small details of your daily life.

The first barn in the country to be designated as a National Historic Landmark, in 2005, was built on the west side of the University of WisconsinMadison campus in 1898. The Dairy Barn, 1915 Linden Drive, was designed by architect J.T.W. Jennings of Chicago. Its style was based on barns that could be seen in Normandy, France, at the time. The Dairy Barn was unique because it had a basement and three floors, plus a cylindrical silo with a water tank above it. The round silo, a common sight on todays farms, was an experiment then. A ramp on the outside of the building leading up to the third floor permitted hay to be hauled by horses to the top floor and then dropped down to the cows below. Other sections that were part of the original Dairy Barn included two livestock barns set perpendicular and attached to the rear of the main barn and a classroom/livestock judging arena between the two livestock barns. Much to the publics amazement, the Dairy Barn was lighted with electricity.

Madison is unique in many ways: its isthmus, its Badger fans, and its pride in supporting local businesses, just to name a few. Add to this list the Madison Mounted Horse Patrol. Many might not know Madison has one, but since 2008, five dutiful steeds have been supported through the nonprofit Friends of Madison Mounted Horse Patrol.

Vietnam veteran and current Porchlight resident Wil Ayotte starts the day by prepping fruits and vegetables for chopping. All the ingredients are from Madison-area farmers. After the ingredients are chopped, they will be canned and pickled in 8-, 12-, and 16-ounce jars of sauerkraut, strawberry rhubarb jam, and applesauce. These products, and other items, will then be distributed to local grocery stores and restaurants.

Kyle LaFond credits stinky middle school boys as the inspiration for his company, American Provenance, manufacturer of all-natural personal care products in rural Mount Horeb.

Driving along, we approach the crest of a hill lined with trees. Where our road intersects another is a brown and yellow sign telling us were on a Rustic Road. Spontaneously, we turn right onto the new road, and I check the map to find out where we are heading.

Imagine youre the parent of a teenagerperhaps you areand you open the door to your teenagers room and find him or her leaning out the window smoking pot. Or youre sitting in the living room late on a Saturday when your teenager staggers in the front door, obviously drunk, and seems surprised to find you still awake. Situations where parents suddenly come face-to-face with their teenagers drug or alcohol use happen all the time. What happens next depends on the parent.