Linda Brazill and Mark Golbach welcomed guests to their Madison home and Asian-influenced garden on Thursday, June 14, for a High Tea to benefit the Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection in the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Human Ecology.
Brazill is a well-known Madison journalist who played many roles during her long association with The Capital Times newspaper. She began as a graphic artist and lifestyle columnist, became editor of the opinion pages and finished with her dream job, editor of the features section. Her graduate research about Elizabethan embroidery at UW-Madison sparked a lifelong interest in flowers and gardening.
Mark Golbach, who recently retired from a career with UW Police as a supervisor of security services at UW Hospital and the Chazen Museum of Art, is a visual artist primarily known for his woodcut prints and photographic talents. He is an avid gardener and is building a Japanese-style tea house in the garden.
For the last 25 years, Brazill and Golbach have combined their art backgrounds to create an eclectic home filled with art and fine crafts, from Asian scrolls to blue and white Japanese textiles, Central Asian embroidered hats and African Kuba skirts.
During the High Tea, an annual event that spotlights homes and collections of people who have supported the Allen Textile Collection, the couple shared their motivations in building their collection and constructing the garden.
The Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection has been a cherished resource on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus for more than 40 years. Entirely donor supported, the collection is a resource for research and outreach.