Language of love
showing at the overture center, 201 state st, madison, wi 53703
march 17 - june 1, 2026
artists' reception, april 30, 5:30 - 8:30pm
This body of work is about my father, Fred Teitgen, who passed away rather unexpectedly on October 17, 2024, the night of the Super Hunter’s Moon. Born in Wisconsin, he lived here the majority of his life, so representing him as a badger made sense. It added his “child at heart personality” to my work. A lover of music, art and architecture, he shared these passions with me and my sisters from childhood to adulthood. A rare parent that was proud to tell anyone who would listened that his daughter is an artist – a “famous” artist as he told the staff at the hospital at the end of his life.
The altered book pieces for the framed hand embellished giclees were all made within the first six weeks after he passed. They were made as a coping mechanism to avoid consciously dealing with the loss (busy hands and busy mind) which allowed me to keep his memory alive as best I could without feeling the deep emotional loss. I used my own books as the pain of going through his collection seemed unbearable.
Language of Love, allowed me to explore the concept of grief and healing through art, inspired by memories, stories and photos. Each piece was created using a book from his collection, each book holding a special significance to him. The pencils I used to sketch out the art, the watercolor pencils used to create the sunset in Perch and even the desk I spent hundreds of hours working on art for this show were his. The music that played in the background while I created was by some of his favorite musicians. His spirit, his essence aided and supported me as the tears dripped on the pages - a new bond was created between us and my heart started to heal.
The altered book pieces for the framed hand embellished giclees were all made within the first six weeks after he passed. They were made as a coping mechanism to avoid consciously dealing with the loss (busy hands and busy mind) which allowed me to keep his memory alive as best I could without feeling the deep emotional loss. I used my own books as the pain of going through his collection seemed unbearable.
Language of Love, allowed me to explore the concept of grief and healing through art, inspired by memories, stories and photos. Each piece was created using a book from his collection, each book holding a special significance to him. The pencils I used to sketch out the art, the watercolor pencils used to create the sunset in Perch and even the desk I spent hundreds of hours working on art for this show were his. The music that played in the background while I created was by some of his favorite musicians. His spirit, his essence aided and supported me as the tears dripped on the pages - a new bond was created between us and my heart started to heal.
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The Soul of a Domesticated Fox: months before we had any idea that my father only had a short time to be with us, I was invited to create a piece for Spoke Art’s Wes Anderson Bad Dads show in NYC. I don’t watch many movies or t.v. but I had seen Fantastic Mr Fox and thoroughly enjoyed it. Based on a story by the incredible Roald Dahl, it was a perfect fit.
Due to other art obligations, I didn’t get to start working on it until a few days after my dad was hospitalized and at that time we thought he had pneumonia and would be out soon. As I kept working on the piece, the news came that it was not pneumonia and the situation became more dire. My father and I have had our issues (as do many children and their parents) but as I got into my thirties, we both opened up to each other and were able to have a loving relationship. I really thought that he was going to get better and make it back home. The night I was finishing up this piece, I realized that it was just as much about him as it was the movie/story - the wild wolf spirit that lived inside the domesticated fox being ready to be released and free. I could feel him rallying and feel him decline with those last cuts and brush strokes. I completely broke down and sobbed for what felt like an hour, not knowing if I could finish the piece. As I calmed myself, I knew I had to finish it, in honor of my father, my biggest art cheerleader. Although he wasn’t able to see it in person before he passed, he was able to see photos of it. Book used: The Roald Dahl Treasury, published 1997 SOLD |
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Night Music From the Spheres: This little book of Shakespeare included The Tempest. Normally, I solely use the stories inside the book to create my visual stories. However, this piece was created shortly after my dad passed away. To help me process the loss, I wanted to tie my stories into the written stories in the books. Toward the end of the play, as Prospero is about to free Ariel, the fairy sings and calls forth the image of a bat as a metaphor of his newly anticipated freedom. The bat as a symbol of freedom – of the soul freeing itself from the physical body played well in my mind. It also reminded me of a story from 2001. Right before 9/11, my dad and stepmom were overseas. My dad had brought an old briefcase with some work in it – just in case he got bored. They were set to fly back to the US a few days after the tragic event. They were told to go through all their luggage before taking off as the new restrictions were in place. As my dad went through his briefcase, he discovered a very flat and very dead bat that had obviously been with them the entire time (before they even had left Wisconsin). This archival giclee print has hand sewn waves as well as a little extra painting. SOLD |
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Formula for Collecting Memories: This piece is also inspired by my dad’s family cabin on Mercer Lake (see Floating on Fisher Lake) . There were several collections of insects, butterflies and moths on the walls there. My dad and his brothers (if my memory serves me correctly) collected them throughout the years and carefully mounted them under glass. I can remember seeing so many different butterflies there, in the wild Northern Wisconsin cabin. So I painted three different species that are native to Wisconsin: Monarch, Orange Sulphur and Eastern Tiger Swallowtail as representations of myself and my two sisters, as well as representing my dad and his two brothers. Normally I don’t use pages from other books when I create work. With this piece, I used a map of Wisconsin from a 1940 world atlas that was falling apart as the background. I made sure that Madison was visible as my dad lived in Madison for his undergraduate degree and then returned again to raise his family in 1974. He stayed close by for the rest of his life. The hand stitching mimics sky, leaves and tree trunk which are then reflected back like an image on water. Being close to water was so important to my dad – his ashes have been spread in four different bodies of water. Book used: Formulas for Stress & Strain by Raymond Roark, published 1965 More information and purchase instructions |
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Fred Sinatra & Herb Presley: My dad was an identical twin. I can remember asking him many years ago “how can you be sure you're not Herb?” His reply was “Because Herbs are nerds” - said with love and goofiness. They took completely different career paths – one a minister and the other a structural engineer but kept close just the same. For my dad’s 70th birthday party, my step mom threw him an epic bash. Herb came out because it was his birthday too. However mainly it was to share time with my dad since they lived in different states. Uncle Herb loved to sing, especially Elvis songs and did so for the birthday bash - he even sported an Elvis wig. My dad preferred the styling of Frank Sinatra and after Herb passed, my dad got even more into signing and even had a few gigs the last year of his life. They are both in the band picture: Uncle Herb bottom row, one left of the drum, Fred (my dad) bottom row far right. Book used: Mercer High School Year Book 1957 More information and purchase instructions |
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Together We Are One: My father passed away on the Hunter’s Super Moon, October 17, 2024. My dad was able to select the day he would be disconnected from oxygen. I still do not know if he picked that day because of the super moon, because on that day a year before his good friend Larry had passed or if it just felt like enough time for him to say all his goodbyes and get everything in order.
Originally my dad didn’t want us to come back and see him after the first trip back when we were optimistic that he could go home. The last weekend he was still with us, he had a change of heart after having a conversation with a long time friend. I flew out to spend his last four days with him. He and my step mom Debbie had decided that the last day would just be them together, so that he could peacefully fall asleep next to her as he transitioned away from the physical world. My younger sister Betsy and I, along with my stepmom’s niece Jess, were going to wait at the hospital so that Debbie didn’t have to be alone after my dad passed. When we got to the hospital, my dad had decided he wanted to be surrounded by family and only when they were ready to remove the oxygen, would it be just my dad and Debbie. I feel like I had received two blessing – being able to spend time with my dad again those last few days as well as the last few hours. About four to five hours after the oxygen had been removed, my dad was still breathing on his own, however Jess had to leave to get her daughter. Betsy and I stayed with each other not knowing how long it would be until Dad was gone. Around 9:30, my stepmom texted us and said that if we wanted to come in his room, she thought he was getting close. A third blessing, Debbie graciously allowed us to be with the two of them. It was easily the most difficult and most rewarding experience in my then fifty two years on this earth. He was not awake however the nurse would come in to check on everything and let us know to keep talking to him as he could still hear us. At 11:43pm, he took his last breathe. This experience created a powerful bond between my sister and I as well as with my stepmom. The owls are Betsy and I, the full moon is my dad and the roses are my stepmom (she loves to garden). This piece was created in the November after my dad passed. The giclée has hand painted gold details as well as hand sewn French knots. SOLD |
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89.9 WORT: my dad loved music – listening to it, playing it, singing, it was a big part of his life. As a teen and young adult, he played the trumpet. Sadly by the time I was born, he no longer played. Growing up I can remember staying with him after my parents divorced and listening to WORT – mainly when they played jazz. He was also a member sponsor. There are photos of him with various years of their t-shirts and once they outlived “public” wearing, he would do yard work in them. I would have to say that jazz was probably his favorite genre of music. This piece is based on jazz – a saxophone, some trumpets and trombones. The last few weeks of his life he compiled a list of his favorite musicians for me. On that list was Chet Baker. After the cutting was done on this one, I felt like the background was missing something so I bought an old music book on jazz and happily, there was a piece that Chet had recorded in the book. I normally don’t include things from different books however, in this case I made an exception and removed that page to use as the background. Book used: Madison at East High School Year Book 1968 - was my grandmother’s year book from when she taught business there. More information and purchase instructions |
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Orbis Terrarum Peregrini (World Travelers) – My dad and Debbie (my stepmom) were married over thirty years and in that time, they traveled the globe. Africa to Japan, South America to Europe, they explored cities old and new as well as many nature preserves. They sampled local foods, arts, music and traditions. Their vacations were just as much about learning as they were about vacationing.
My dad sung Time After Time (the Frank Sinatra version) to my stepmom around the globe as well, sometimes to an audience, sometimes just to her. They had many adventures and once back at home, my dad always put together a slide show with music that many times reflected the culture of the areas they visited. On their trip to Africa, they had to leave very early in the morning. My dad must not have been fully awake when he got dressed because when they got to security at the airport, it turned out he was wearing two different boots and spent the entire trip with his mismatched footwear. On their trip to Lisbon, Portugal, they treated themselves to a stay at a five star hotel. My dad loves saunas so went down to have a steam. Debbie asked him if he had the key and he said yes. When he got out, he discovered someone had taken his robe and his key card wouldn’t work. He had to walk through the lobby in just a towel and told the front desk that his robe was taken and his key card wasn’t working. The person at the front desk took the key card and told him it was for a different hotel (he had not taken the right key). It took my dad awhile to explain what happened, all that time wearing his towel. This piece is a toast to them, their love for each other and their many travels. Book used: Latin for Americans published 1956 More information and purchase instructions |
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Fritz August Oakenshield: The last home my dad lived in (see Fred Lloyd Wright) had these adorable little black squirrels that would frolic in the backyard (lakeside). There were also these incredible oak trees – my dad worked tirelessly in making sure all those trees were kept healthy. I have two sisters and if any of us would have been boys, our name would have been Fritz. I don't know how many greats my grandfather August was but he was the first Teitgen to call Wisconsin his home in the mid 1800's. He, at one time, was also Wisconsin's heaviest man. Made right after my dad passed away, I worked on it while I was out in Wisconsin for his celebration of life. All the sewn in details allowed me to keep my mind busy, protecting my heart from all the memories that could have been stirred up, causing a waterfall of tears that I just wasn’t ready to experience yet. For this giclee, I hand sewed various elements with took many hours - no where near as many as sewing on a book. SOLD |
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Perch at Sunset – My dad loved martinis - neat, shaken not stirred. He was even allowed to have several his last few days in the hospital and I did the shaking for one of the last ones he had. My dad’s home on Lake Wisconsin had a little boat house with a deck overlooking the water. He loved to have his martini sitting on that deck, watching the sunset, listening to music.. That deck became know as “Fred’s Perch”. My younger sister Betsy still lives in the Madison area and spent many evenings with him out on the perch (and of course so did my stepmom and countless other family and friends), chatting and watching the sun go down. The summer of 2024, I also sat with my dad on his perch. The sunset was quite spectacular and I snapped a photo of it. I used that photo as my reference for this piece. Besides martinis at sunset, my dad also had quite a collection of fun short sleeved button up shirts, most of which he got from all the travels he and my stepmom Debbie took. So in this piece, my dad is wearing one of those shirts, sitting with my sister on a martini glass with a Lake Wisconsin sunset in the background. How did my dad like his martinis? Bombay Sapphire gin martini, dry, straight up, with stuffed olives, NOT dirty. Book used: Manual of Structural Design by Jack Singleton, published 1956 SOLD |
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Father, Son & Me: My oldest memory of my dad was him taking my older sister Colleen and me to the theater to see Star Wars: A New Hope. I was five and loved it until the interrogation probe that was going to inject Princess Leia with the "mind-altering hallucinogen that made her very susceptible to suggestion" showed up. I remembered closing my eyes as I thought it was going to inject her in the eye (no idea why). That needle triggered a life long fear of needles but the movie has been a life long favorite. As I was putting the finishing touches on this piece, I realized there were four generations of Teitgens represented (my maiden name) in the creation of this piece. The oak desk I work on was my great grandfather's, the book was his son's senior year book (my dad's dad) who passed away when my dad was just 17, the pencil I used to lay out the piece was my dad's and then mix it all together with me as the chef and you get this piece "Father, Son and Me". Book used: Flambeau Year Book 1933 from my grandfather's senior year SOLD |
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Alfred’s New Year’s Day Outing: My dad loved the outdoors – in every season. Winter time he would go snow shoeing as well as downhill and cross country skiing. In February of 2024, long before we had any idea it would be the last year with him, I made a piece for a show in New York with a little Badger ice skating. I named him Alfred in honor of my dad (his name was just Frederick) and him being a Wisconsin native the badger seemed appropriate (state animal is the Badger). I had another solo show out in New York in June of 2025 and felt that I needed to create another Victorian era badger in honor of my dad. The book I used was A Little Book of Profitable Tales by Eugene Field which he dedicated to his daughter – the father daughter connection made it the perfect choice. It also contained stories of wintertime which fit the theme of cross country skiing. I used three different vintage threads hand sewn on this giclee. SOLD |
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Fred Lloyd Wright: My dad was a structural engineer. So many of his vacation photos included buildings – many of which were under construction. Frank Lloyd Wright was someone my dad admired. My dad admired Wright’s mind, his creative genius, his willingness to experiment if for no other reason than to learn; design based on function and beauty. 10 years before my dad passed away, he and my stepmom designed the Craftsman/ Prairie style home of their dreams. They tore down their little cottage on the Lake Wisconsin to build their home – the last home my dad would have. This was the first book I started for this show and due to all the detailed cutting, I knew I needed a larger book. I used his senior yearbook from Ambassador College as it was the largest book in his collection. Paging through to decide what image I would use for the background, I came across this lake scene that reminded me so much of Wisconsin. The duality (black and white and color) mimicked the duality of function and design of both Frank Lloyd Wright and my father. Book used: Ambassador College Year Book 1968 - my dad's senior year More information and purchase instructions |
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I Want to Believe: I don’t remember if it was the summer of 2023 or 2024 when I was chatting with my dad at his place on Lake Wisconsin when he told me he had downloaded an app for meditation that was supposed to allow the user to have interactions with aliens. The last weeks of his life I asked him if the aliens ever came, he chuckled and so said no, not that he had any proof or memory of. With his background in structural engineering and advanced math, my dad was a fact driven thinker – it’s part of the reason he decided to be removed from oxygen when he did, knowing that his lungs would never heal. I loved that he was open to ideas where there wasn’t any “public” hard evidence but scientifically, the probabilities of extra terrestrial life are most definitely plausible. He enjoyed watching Ancient Aliens and although he didn't take everything on that show as fact, the structural engineer in him also wondered how the Egyptian pyramids and the many monolithic structures across the globe could have really been made. In his collection was a college book on astronomy which was the perfect book to create this piece from. To the left of the badger meditating in his pajamas on a rock there is a tiny UFO flying through the night sky – hoping that aliens will finally come visit him. Book used: Introduction to Astronomy by Mc Laughlin, published 1961 More information and purchase instructions |
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Guardian of the Full Moon: Guardian of the Full Moon: This piece was made within the first six weeks after my dad died. He had the most beautiful white silvery hair – something I hope to inherit from him. After skimming this book of Selections From Walden by Henry David Thoreau, I noticed there was mention of foxes. I decided my fox would be a silver one.
I selected this book because of the Thoreau connection – my sisters and I went to Thoreau elementary school and Thoreau also passed through Wisconsin in the last few years of his life. Both my dad and Thoreau had a deep connection to the outdoors and nature in general. Here the fox stands guard at the gateway to heaven with the full moon peering through (see Together We Are One) for the full moon connection welcoming those whose time it is to transition from this earthly realm. The giclee has been embellished with gold and glue watercolor. SOLD |
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Floating on Fisher Lake: I don’t know when my dad and his family moved from Peewaukee to Mercer, WI. However I do know he spent all four years of high school there. It was in Mercer that his mom, his two brothers and himself – along with the help from friends built a little home (we always called it the cabin) – on Fisher Lake in Mercer after his dad died. As a child, I can remember being there in every season however summer was my favorite. We would spend the days playing in the lake (even with hungry leaches ready to snack), fishing off the dock or out on a boat ride with my day at the wheel. We caught tiny frogs and would float them around the bathtub on sponges. There were also (and hopefully still are) sections of the lake where the lily pads would be in bloom. Their bright yellow petals still a bud were like little suns resting on the pads. Combining this/my memory with a photo of my dad as a child, I came up with this little floating badger in the lily pads. Book used: Mercer High School Year Book 1960 my dad’s senior high school year book More information and purchase instructions |