About
  Darlene Wesenberg Rzezotarski

Darlene “Lolly” Wesenberg Rzezotarski is a storyteller—through word and clay. With a  master’s degree in Comparative Literature from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, she set out upon a teaching career, devoting herself to the students of Milwaukee Public
Schools.
Although she has “always known” she was a poet, she surprised herself on Ground Hog’s Day, 1982, when she first worked with clay. A coil-pot in the form of a snake
emerged. She inscribed the word hiss-story inside. Since then, she has developed her ability to create ceramic sculptures, eventually setting up a home studio and offering hand-building workshops. Her sculptures are described as narrative in nature, anchored in history or myth, often site-specific. Her sculptures have been included in local and national shows.
She is the author of three books: Trick a Witch, Wed a Hedgehog, Save your Soul: An American Artist Encounters Poland; Memorable Milwaukee: Legendary Tales Depicted in Clay; and Tannenbaum Arms, a novel set in Milwaukee in the Vietnam Era, first appearing in monthly installment form in the Riverwest Currents in 2022. She contributes a monthly column of history and fine arts, “Ripples in Time,” to this newspaper.

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