For Immediate Release						January 15, 1996
 
Lawrence Sculptor Awarded Wisconsin Arts Board Fellowship
 
	
	APPLETON, WIS. - Todd McGrain, assistant professor of art at Lawrence
University, whose large-scale sculptures include the 11' by 19' fiberglass human
heart at the Fox Cities Children's Museum, has been named a recipient of a
Wisconsin Arts Board Fellowship for 1996.  
	McGrain was the only sculptor among the eight Wisconsin artists selected
for the fellowship, which is awarded entirely on the quality of previously
produced work.  Funding for the fellowships is provided to the Wisconsin Arts
Board by the National Endowment for the Arts.
	An artist who works primarily outside of the commercial art market,
McGrain specializes in wood and metal construction.  In applying for his first
Wisconsin Arts Board grant, McGrain submitted slides of his work from the past
three years.  In addition to funding travel to art centers in New York and
Boston, McGrain plans to use the grant for materials for upcoming projects,
including several carvings that will require blocks of wood as large as five-
feet square.
	"It's exciting and certainly an honor to have my work recognized by the
Wisconsin Arts Board," McGrain said of his $,8000 grant.  "But the real
significance of the award is what it will allow me to do in the future.  This
grant provides an opportunity for me to continue creating art without the
constraints of the art market."
	A member of the Lawrence faculty since 1991, McGrain was a resident in
the Kohler Artists in Industry program in 1995.  His work, "Ball," a white,
five-foot-wide sphere made of bent mahogany, was selected "Best in Show" at the
1994 ARC Regional Exhibition in Chicago.  He earned his bachelor's degree at
Potsdam College of Arts and Science and his master's degree in fine arts at the
University of Wisconsin.   
           	  


Contact:  Rick Peterson, Manager of News Services, 414/832-6590