Marcus Hotels Press > Press Coverage
12.10.15 |
The Pfister Hotel » The Pfister Hotel Press Coverage 2015-12-10 15:41:28
If home is where the heart is, then Todd Mrozinski should sit back in a recliner in the lobby of the Pfister, drop his feet on the coffee table and grab the remote. Because Mrozinski, now Artist-in-Residence at the Pfister Hotel, and the seventh since the program’s inception in 2009, clearly loves his post. The program is considered pioneering, certainly in Milwaukee, not to mention on a national basis among hotels. Applications to be an artist-in-residence are due by December 1st for the next round. After selection, the artist’s year runs from April to the following April. Mrozinski, 41, is in mid-year of his residence. Mrozinski is originally from Fond du Lac and is a graduate of the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and says he had excellent relationships with his instructors. He also paid his dues as a house painter and mural artist. “I learned a lot at MIAD,” Mrozinski says. “I learned that being an artist is a lifestyle. The instructors I had were really passionate.” As for his work, Mrozinski says, “I like to paint non-traditional portraits. A lot of my work is symbolic.” It appears Mrozinski paints what speaks to him emotionally at a given time. “When I met my wife Renee, I started painting symbolically about how I felt about her,” Mrozinski says. “I don’t just paint objects, I paint things that interest me, and I paint about my life. Within his studio at the Pfister, Mrozinski gets a birds-eye view of life in the hotel: people coming to town on business, pro baseball teams arriving for a series with the Brewers, families on vacation. All are potential inspiration or subjects for a painting. “The people in the hotel are a conduit for what I’m feeling in my art,” Mrozinski says. He says the energy in the space keeps the ideas coming. The studio is open to guests who are welcome to stop by and talk or ask questions. Mrozinski says visitors often recall when they used to paint and watching him at work has prompted them to look in the closets for the old brushes and palettes. Mrozinski learned about the program through a friend. The program requires artists to be in studio a minimum of 30 hours a week. In return they receive a place to work, visibility and $1,000 a month stipend. “People around (the hotel) serve as inspiration,” Mrozinski says. “The art is accessible to them. It’s real. It’s great to have that sense of play. If artists aren’t interested in working collaboratively, I’d say this isn’t for them.” He says he’s a quick painter and can do a smaller portrait in a matter of hours. Guests are welcome to — and often do — commission a work from Mrozinski. “It’s nice to be in a position to paint, something I love, and help support my family.” Tracing Doc and Lepa in Imperial Ballroom “In my opinion, the hotel is a living, working, breathing entity,” Mrozinski says. “It’s a creative force.” Mrozinski’s wife is also an artist and has organized a limited term art show in the old Roger Stevens clothing store adjacent to the lobby of the Pfister. Mrozinski says he’d definitely encourage artists to apply for the program, provided they like people and have a gift of gab. It’s not for the moody-blue artist who just wants to be alone, but the perfect post for many artists. “I think there are tons of young painters right now in Milwaukee,” Mrozinski says. “MIAD is bustling with lots of energy.” The Pfister also has a paid Narrator-in-Residence that writes stories about guests and maintains a blog. The hotel has truly become a cultural resource for the city, offering a memorable experience for Mrozinski. “Just a few days ago I met with a couple who’d been coming to the Pfister for years,” Mrozinski says. “They have a special relationship to the Imperial Ballroom. They wanted a painting of them in the ballroom. So, I brought them up there at a time I thought the sun was right and did this outline of their shadows. They loved it, told me they were bringing a part of the Pfister into their home.” |
12.10.15 |
The Resorter
Grand Geneva’s Christmas in the Country Continues It’s more than the lights outside – Grand Geneva’s Christmas in the County is showcasing the magic of the season indoors as well. All new decorations this year include furry polar bears to snowy penguins, a Winter Wonderland photo station and a giant gingerbread house. And don’t miss their 30-foot-tall outdoor Christmas tree which produces 14 million colors. During the season, Santa will visit the Grand Geneva Resort’s Ballroom, where the public and resort guests are welcome to experience live holiday music and meet him while enjoying a delicious breakfast buffet. The staff is featuring fun holiday activities, plus separate kids’ and adults’ buffets to accommodate every taste. The breakfast is held every Saturday and Sunday through Dec. 20 from 8 a.m. to noon. Call (262) 249-4788 to make your reservations. The menu is available online at grandgeneva.com.
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12.08.15 |
SmartMeetings.com
Feel the Beat in Chicago By: Dan Johnson Groups flock to clubs to enjoy Chicago’s legendary blues and jazz “Music emanates from every corner of Chicago, from street corners and subway stations to tiny clubs, beautiful concert halls, massive stadium stages and outdoor amphitheaters,” says Meghan Risch, vice president of corporate communications for Choose Chicago. “With more than 225 incredible venues, Chicago is a prime tour stop and home to incredible talents. “Whether you are looking to catch emerging artists, are following a favorite band or want to try some gospel music with your brunch, the diverse scene is a music lover’s paradise.” The city features tremendous talent in many genres, including hip-hop, indie rock, mainstream pop, punk and classical. But perhaps above all, Chicago is steeped in blues and jazz, which are not to be missed. Chicago’s blues and jazz scenes developed during the first Great Migration (1910–1930) as droves of African-American workers migrated from Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana to find industrial jobs in Chicago. Some of the city’s outstanding blues and jazz clubs are nearly as famous as the legends who played there. The city offers several fascinating old spots, as well as some lesser-known unique venues—and most of them are very affordable and can be bought out. A Gem Up North The resort features many physical activities, including golf, team-building exercises and group fitness classes. Grand Geneva offers 62,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, including a 13,500-square-foot convention center. See more here.
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12.08.15 |
NYTimes.com
Trying Something New on New Year’s Eve By: Shivani Vora New Year’s Eve doesn’t have to mean the usual been-there, done-that celebration. A number of hotels around the country have created packages that include everything from dancing to a fireworks show. Prices below are for two. The Knickerbocker Hotel, located at the edge of Times Square in New York and with views of the crystal ball that drops at midnight, is offering a night’s stay with dinner and dancing and a New Year’s Day brunch. Prices from $2,890. Also in New York City, the Plaza Hotel has a Ring in the New Year package. It includes a night’s stay, cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at the Palm Court followed by a dinner with a menu by the chef Geoffrey Zakarian, entertainment with a live band and a Champagne toast. Prices from $1,190. In Newport, R.I., the Castle Hill Inn has an Effervescent New Year’s Eve package for one night with a welcome amenity of a bottle of Champagne, a Champagne tasting and a screening of the 1954 film classic “Sabrina” on the afternoon of Dec. 31, dinner with live music and dancing that night, and a New Year’s Day brunch. Prices from $720. Guests at Dunton Hot Springs, the 19th-century ghost mining town turned luxury resort in the Colorado Rockies, get a four-night stay, all meals and drinks (nonalcoholic and alcoholic), a multicourse New Year’s Eve dinner, a New Year’s Day brunch, a $370 credit to use for massages or on a guided activity and a $200 credit to the gift shop. Prices from $4,590. The Fearrington House Inn, in Pittsboro, N.C., has a shopping-themed getaway to ring in 2016 with a two-night stay, breakfast, daily afternoon tea, a three course-dinner on Dec. 30 and a tasting dinner on New Year’s Eve at its fine-dining restaurant, a consultation with a stylist at the local boutique Dovecote Style, along with a $250 shopping credit and a $100 credit for the hotel’s spa. Prices from $1,900. Grand Geneva Resort & Spa in Lake Geneva, Wis., 90 minutes northwest of Chicago, has the Grand Style Package. Included are a two-night stay, dinner for two, a Grand Ballroom dance party, two drink tickets per person and a lakeside fireworks show. Prices from $799. Hotels have incentive to offer attractive New Year’s Eve packages because they want to fill their rooms, according to Adam Weissenberg, the head of travel, hospitality and leisure at Deloitte & Touche. “Historically, December 31st isn’t a busy night for hotel stays because people celebrate with friends at home or at local restaurants so properties need to give guests a reason to stay,” he said. See more here.
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12.07.15 |
NewsOK: “Artist Brings Unusual Encaustic Processes to Skirvin Residency”
The Oklahoman gets to know The Skirvin Hilton’s new Artist in Residence, Gayle Curry
 To view the full article, click here
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12.07.15 |
Inspired by Light
View the full article by PfisterHotel_AAA Living WI on the Artist in Residence program in the Pfister Hotel |
12.07.15 |
Mrozinski captures The Pfister’s light
It’s been seven months since Todd Mrozinski became The Pfister Hotel’s artist in residence and he has already created more than 100 paintings. Mrozinski, who currently produces primarily shadow paintings, traces peoples’ profiles and then paints them, creating portraits which look uncannily like the model despite the lack of detail. “The shadows give us just enough, and the viewer’s mind completes the rest,” says Mrozinski. The shadow painting models are usually Pfister guests and staff or friends and colleagues of Mrozinski’s. “It’s a collaboration between myself and whoever is sitting and loaning me their shadow,” he says. View the full article here |
12.07.15 |
The Hotel Is a Creative Force
If home is where the heart is, then Todd Mrozinski should sit back in a recliner in the lobby of the Pfister, drop his feet on the coffee table and grab the remote. Because Mrozinski, now Artist-in-Residence at the Pfister Hotel, and the seventh since the program’s inception in 2009, clearly loves his post. The program is considered pioneering, certainly in Milwaukee, not to mention on a national basis among hotels. Applications to be an artist-in-residence are due by December 1st for the next round. After selection, the artist’s year runs from April to the following April. Mrozinski, 41, is in mid-year of his residence. Mrozinski is originally from Fond du Lac and is a graduate of the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and says he had excellent relationships with his instructors. He also paid his dues as a house painter and mural artist. “I learned a lot at MIAD,” Mrozinski says. “I learned that being an artist is a lifestyle. The instructors I had were really passionate.” View the full article here |
12.07.15 |
InterContinental Hotel tucks art, cuisine and cocktails into overnights
There is an abundance of elegance in the InterContinental Hotel, 139 E. Kilbourn Ave., but perhaps the true beauty is how complete an experience a person – or couple – can have without leaving the building…. View the entire article here |
12.03.15 |
The Resorter
Have Breakfast with Santa at Grand Geneva The public and Grand Geneva Resort guests are welcome to experience live holiday music and meet Santa while enjoying a delicious breakfast buffet. The staff is featuring fun holiday activities, plus separate kids’ and adults’ buffets to accommodate every taste. All attire is welcome, whether you want to dress up for your photo with Santa or show up in your PJ’s. It’s almost as fun as Christmas morning. Every Saturday and Sunday through Dec. 20, from 8 a.m. to noon. Cost for adults $25; kids 6 to 12, $15; and kids 2 to 5, $8. Call (262) 249-2788 to make your reservations. View the menu at grandgeneva.com.
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