When I first stepped into Decadent Gifts & Gallery on Water Street earlier this fall, artist Patricia Hawkenson, one of the proprietors, guided me to her small workspace in the back of the shop. My eyes were immediately drawn to the colorful artwork on her easel: a fantastical image of a red trolley, much like the one operated by Volume One’s sister business, the Chippewa River Trolley Co. Not that I would want to get aboard this particular trolley. For one thing, the driver is a goose, and it appears to be drinking on the job. Furthermore, the cable pulling the streetcar has snapped, there’s a monkey aboard, and a rogue wave is poised to overturn the whole thing.

My prior knowledge of Hawkenson’s art had been through a pair of coloring books she published, which featured charming – but more realistic – scenes from the Chippewa Valley. What kind of fantasy did her new art portray? She explained it was inspired by a 1965 novelty tune by Shirley Ellis called “The Clapping Song,” which begins: “Three six nine, the goose drank wine / The monkey chewed tobacco on the streetcar line.” Now the fantastical image made a little more sense.

If, like me, you’re not an artist, visual art may make more sense to you after reading a new occasional column by Hawkenson, “Behind the Easel,” which makes its debut on page 22 of this issue. With the column, Hawkenson hopes not only to spotlight some of the Chippewa Valley’s many talented artists but also to teach a little about their chosen mediums and techniques. It should help us all appreciate the art around us a little better.