© Kristen Treuting
I have always been drawn to the natural world for inspiration.
My fascination with gourds has been my most recent passion.
Gourds, with their earthiness and almost infinite variety of shape
and form, communicate to me and I listen…
I use a variety of techniques when making my gourd creations to include wood burning, carving, staining and embellishing them with natural objects and fibers.
© Jonathan & Allison Metzger
Traditional hand-pulled, multilayer serigraph prints. All layers and textures are hand created by the artists using rubylith film, India ink, and grease crayons.
Working in both additive and subtractive techniques within the stencil process, the collaborative couple explore the visual rhythms of nature. They create their limited editions using 140 lbs. archival paper and water-based inks.
Artist influences include the great masters of American Modernism such as Georgia O'Keeffe, Marsden Hartley, and Aaron Douglas.
Jonathan & Allison Metzger are a husband and wife team that create traditional silkscreen images without any use of digital technology or manipulation. Compelled to create work that is inspired by their own experiences with nature, they visually explore the vast and diverse American Landscape. Jonathan creates the initial drawing, Allison and Jonathan perfect the composition and then hand cut each rubylith layer, Allison chooses and mixes all the colors, Allison and Jonathan hand print each color layer.
Artist influences include the great masters of American Modernism such as Georgia O'Keeffe, Marsden Hartley, and Aaron Douglas.
Both Allison and Jonathan received their Master of Fine Art Degrees from University of Kansas in 2013. During the summer of 2015, while participating in an Artist Residency held at the prestigious Red Barn in Lindsborg, Kansas, they decided to pursue something they always dreamed of doing; opening their own studio where they could create their original work and build a platform to interact with the public and art collectors alike. In the last three years, they have slowly built their studio to reflect their passion for nature and local community. In the summer of 2018 alone, they participated in over 20 juried art fairs in the upper Midwest.
© Mary Bacon
Minnesota born and raised, with a life-long study of the local landscape including close study of the local flowers, trees, and parks. Residing in Minneapolis.
Self-taught oil painter. Professional Interior Designer, student of Tai Chi, meditation, and energy work.
In my paintings I am idealizing the universal flower or leaf, seeing the leaf or flower an object of contemplation and meditation.
I spend lots of time in nature. My work starts with drawing on my canvas, and then adding layers of oil paint to produce my images.
My paintings are oil on canvas, generally using 3 layers of paint to create depth, dimension, and texture. My technique has evolved into a color-blocking style with very crisp edges. The larger paintings can take several weeks to complete.
© Naomi Hart
Naomi Hart grew up in the Northern Wilds of Minnesota where the natural world became her education and her refuge. Hart uses symbolism from nature to tell the story of humanity in a manner that bears witness to the connective threads we all share. While dark and introspective, Hart’s work maintains a sense of hopeful wonder and joy. The viewer is quickly pulled in to find their own story within the many layers of each piece. “My work is always an attempt to illustrate the elusive “now”, so ripe with potential; dark, mysterious, and fleeting.
Naomi uses a multitude of drawing and painting materials to render on birch panels, laboring over exquisitely detailed renderings and fantastical creatures. Ultimately each panel finds it way to her encaustic studio for a final application of hot wax. “Encaustic (hot wax) painting lends itself to the manner in which I tell my stories visually. It is a versatile and engaging process which produces a sensual warmth that enriches my story and gives history and grounding to each piece”
St Cloud MN
www.instagram.com/naomihart4art
2023 Booth #77
I am an encaustic artist, working in hot wax medium. I start with a birch panel or a panel of found wood, and sometimes stretched burlap. I often draw or paint directly onto the raw birch, and then build up layers of information through painting on and manipulating the wax. Often each piece also receives objects or hand drawn sketches imported into the wax. I love to have an extensive array of media at my disposal as I work. Oils, colored pencils, graphite, chalk, precious metals in a variety of states, rice papers, hand cut stencils, intaglio prints, and found materials all make there way into my pieces. They are rich with detail and mystery.
© Christiane Porter
I have been creating art as long as I can remember. Beginning with my mother buying me all of the colored pencils and markers a little girl can imagine to my grandmother giving me projects to do while visiting her in Germany. I would spend hours sewing, drawing, coloring, creating and just plain old crafting projects with her. That love of creating grew as I did, and, I really liked like to get my hands dirty and playing with fire…
I graduated from the University of Wisconsin- STOUT. I earned my BS in Art Education as well as a BFA in Studio Art with a concentration in Ceramics and Jewelry. This is where my love of clay and the Raku process began. I have been hooked ever since!
I have been a High school teacher for the last 24 years. As my students’ curiosities have grown for different art methods, so have mine. Learning new art techniques to teach has led to the metal and beadwork that you see on my pottery. I have incorporated my own lamp-work beads, peyote stitched beads and hand-cut copper flowers as adornment to my work. My teaching has allowed me to stay connected to various new and traditional art processes, as well as continuing my journey through Raku.
It is the heat of the fire, creating beautiful things by using fire, that keep me connected to what I do…
A “BIT” about Raku
“Raku” means pleasure or contentment. Raku was created in Japan during the 16th century for the tea ceremony, an essential ritual in the practice of Zen Buddhism.
The Raku clay body is specially formulated with large amounts of “grog” (fine sand-like ground up pottery) which helps make the clay porous. This enables the clay pot to withstand the intense heat and instant temperature changes it must endure during the firing process.
The glazed pots are placed into my small outdoor gas fired kiln, with the firing temperature reaching between 1800-2000 degrees F. When the glaze has melted smooth, I remove the pot from the kiln. The red-hot pot is immediately placed into a bed of sawdust and wood shavings, which ignite. There is a chemical reaction that happens between the flames “licking” around the clay pieces and the copper oxide that is used in the glazes.
The clay pieces are then covered to create an enclosed atmosphere for oxygen reduction. The reduction process brings out the chemical reaction between the lack of air inside the chamber and the glaze … this reaction brings out the brilliant colors and patterns for which Raku is known.
Once the oxygen reduction is complete, I take them out of their “nest” and let them cool completely before handling.
Due to both the porous nature of the clay and the firing process, Raku has a tendency to “craze” (crackle), thus adding to the beauty of the piece, but taking away from the function. Raku pots are primarily non-functional. Foods and liquids may be used, but not stored in this pottery unless a liner is used. The pots will “sweat” out moisture.
The Raku process maintains a close and intimate relationship between the pot and its maker through all stages of the production, particularly during the firing process. Over the years, this intimacy is what has wooed me to love creating with clay, as well as being devoted to the Raku process itself!
Crystal Lake, IL
© Lisa Williams
2023 Booth #133
My work encompasses all aspects of jewelry making. Each piece is a unique hand fabricated design from silver flat sheet and wire with emphasis on comfort of wearability and elegance. To manipulate the metal, I employ an array of techniques, including hammering, hollowware, rollprinting, marriage of metals, etching, and tool fabrication. My designs boast an urban flair characterized by delicate and intricate textures.
I derive my inspiration for textures, shapes, lines and patterns from simple details that surround us everyday and everywhere. My studio is filled with natural elements I have collected over the years.
Among my greatest sources of inspiration is a box of “ metal things,” including scrap, as well as my
own experimental designs, in various stages, which
I save and use to spark imagination and evolution.
I earned a BFA in Design with an emphasis in
metalsmithing from the University of Kansas. I also
studied jewelry design and adornment at Elmhurst
Art Museum. I have been doing various art shows
around Illinois for the past 18 years.
