Campus Connection

Talk is set day before memorial to their art teacher and mentor Bill Fiorini

Two UW-La Crosse alumni who are metalsmiths will return to campus to talk about their work and their memories of former art professor Bill Fiornini who died earlier this year. Dale Wedig and James Viste will speak from 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 29, in 116 Center for the Arts, 16th and Vine streets. The presentation is free. Wedig is professor and head of metalsmithing and sculpture at Northern Michigan University. He has exhibited and lectured extensively nationwide. His work can be seen in various permanent installations across the country. Viste is a technician and faculty member in the crafts department at the College for Creative Studies. He is a nationally known blacksmithing demonstrator and exhibitor and has participated in several national Ironwork Restoration Projects with Cranbrook Academy of Art and the Detroit Institute of Arts. He is the manager of Edgewise Forge LLC. Wedig and Viste are UW-L grads who studied metalsmithing under Fiorini. The lecture is a day before a memorial service to Fiorini will be held from 4-6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 30, at the Cleary Alumni & Friends Center. Free parking is available in the Cleary Center lot, C-12. See Fiorini obituary here. The lecture is free and open to the public and made possible by the Bill Fiorini Art Metals Shop Fund, Ruth Ann Knapp and the Art Department. If you go— Who: UW-L alums and metalsmiths Dale Wedig and James Viste What: Lecture When: 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 29 Where: 116 UW-L Center for the Arts, 16th and Vine streets Admission: Free