I paint directly from life either in the field with Plein Air practice or as a still-life in the studio. I usually work off a small color study and then transfer that to a large canvas using ink washes and heavy bodied acrylics. I prefer to use a combination of brush work and palette knife concentrating on edge work, chroma and values. Right now my focus has been on Midwest landscapes preferably from the Driftless Area. I went to MCAD and am a member of the Outdoor Painters of Minnesota so I paint frequently on paint outs in the Twin Cities area and the North Shore. Loring Park and the Walker Art area are so nostalgic to me so I am excited to apply.
Hannah Gebhart
My linoleum and wood block prints are designed, drawn, carved, and printed by me. I print each piece by hand using a glass baren typically using black ink on white archival paper. Colored prints are made either by hand-coloring with watercolors or by printing multiple blocks on top of one another.
Lisa Lammey
15 years I have captured rural Midwest, stylize through a trademark editing technique, print myself using archival inks and papers, mount on cradled wood panels and varnish with UV protected varnish. Limited ed. Award winning.
Keri Jo
I was in a horrible car accident where I had a near death experience (NDE) and was in the love and peace of the White Light. I am very grateful to have come back and so I can share the experience with others. The White Light is my daily source of inspiration.
I use vibrant inks to reflect the transparent yet intense colors I experienced in the White Light. When creating a new piece of art, my intention is for my work to inspire centeredness, wholeness, peace, and love – a reflection of the White Light within all of us. I combine high pigment, transparent inks with various blending solutions and resin to create a plethora of colors and unique shapes which form abstract landscapes or whimsical images. On many occasions I embellish the art to create unique interest and emotion.
When people say, “oh, that is so peaceful,” “this piece makes me feel so happy,” or “I get lost in the emotion of your artwork,” I know my art has touched, even if for a moment, the White Light within them.
Sara Letsch
Starting from sheets and balls of glass, I hand cut and shape the glass. I then layer it in different color combinations and styles, which are then fused in a kiln. Once they come out of the kiln, they are ready to either be coldworked and fused again or to be made into jewelry.
Taking copper or sterling silver wire of various gauges, I weave, wrap, and hammer the wire to create the jewelry, forming the wire around the glass cabochons. These pieces are then put in a liver of sulfur solution to add patina. They are then polished to create highlights and low-lights, bringing out the intricacy of the wirework.
Kristin Hill
Each of my works is created on a potters wheel or is hand built. The intricate sculptural work is done directly on the the pot while it is still damp. After drying very slowly, it is bisque fired as one piece. They are then hand brush glazed,to highlight the details and fired to cone 6 in oxidation.
Kelsey Wilson
2023 Booth #21
I use a variety of watercolor techniques to create highly detailed paintings on archival papers. These natural subjects are both realistic and artful in nature. Through these images, I strive to elevate and preserve the beauty of our natural world as well as infuse joy into our daily lives.
Subjects are chosen in the spirit of environmental stewardship.
Gregory Macdonald
Greg Macdonald Studios
Council Bluffs IA
2023 Booth #83
Original hand carved Folk Art figures and designs from Cottonwood Bark using traditional tools and techniques which we continuously demonstrate during our shows.
Pieces are hand finished in oil stains and/or Acrylics.
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.
Ketaki Poyekar
Elkader, IA
2018 booth #
www.k8ki.com
My subject matter is nature, whether it is a traditional landscape or a bird and flower painting. I use acrylic paints, ink and brush on gallery stretched canvas, to capture movement and life in abstraction and let the viewer fill in the blanks to bring the painting to life. I love using bold, vibrant colors and forms. My goal is to inspire those who see my work to look more carefully at the world around them, to discover beauty in unusual places and things.
Todd Hughes
Grand Mound, IA
2018 booth #53
copperhorsewoodworks.com
I only use the finest woods in my works making one piece at a time paying attention to detail and form. After all the cutting milling and sanding of the wood is done, I move on to gluing and clamping. After witch assembly is done and more gluing and clamping if needed. Then more sanding down to 320 grit or better. A host of finishes and custom colors can be applied to make it uniquely yours. I hand rub each with 000 steel wool and wax finely hand signed.
Janet Ahrens
Enclosures
Grinnell, IA
www.janetahrens.com
2018 booth #66
Handmade paper of flax and kozo created in Eastern and Western methods of papermaking incorporated with industrial materials to enhance tactile qualities, no two alike.
John Schafer
2017 booth # 37
I make spontaneous, colorful abstract art using oils on hand-stretched canvas.
Kathrin Schmidt
Jewel Burst
Iowa City, IA
2017 booth # 80A
Pearl mountings are individually crafted in silver or gold using the lost wax technique and fabrication. Each mounting is enhanced with precious or semi-precious stones, is rhodium finished and pegged.
Tahmi DeSchepper
Tahmi - The Art of Woven Metal
Fairfield, IA
2018 booth #122
My inspiration comes from replicating textiles in metal. Using a medieval finger weaving technique, I weave fabric from thin metal wire. I then embed that woven metal fabric behind layers of clear glass I’ve fused in order to play with various optical effects in my jewelry. It’s intriguing to me that by changing the viewing angle slightly, you get a completely different experience of the underlying metal fabric. It’s hard to capture in a still image, but the result is very dynamic as light interacts with both the glass and the underlying metal fabric. Because I love sparkle so much, I also designed a tool so that I can make jump rings from square wire. This adds an additional intriguing element to my designs, because each side of the ring is flat, in essence creating hundreds of mirrored surfaces to further play with light. All necklaces and bracelets also feature my signature, easy to put on clasp that I design and fabricate myself.
Jim & Julie Vermeer
Vermeer Glass Art
Humboldt, IA
2020 Booth
We create kiln-formed decorative glass that is either fully fused or tacked fused to provide texture and depth. We may sandblast the piece to provide a matte finish. Many of our pieces are wall hangings. Magic is the only way to describe what it's like for us to fuse art glass. When a glass piece goes into the kiln for firing, its appearance is how it was assembled. But....after firing and opening the kiln, the kiln gods have given a gift which may or may not bring forth an "Ahhhh!".
We take great pride in our handmade fused art glass and we enjoy the creative process involved.
Kirk Niehouse
Marshalltown, IA
2023 Booth #82
I create wheel thrown and hand built pottery that are functional stoneware or Raku fired ceramics. The functional pottery is made with stoneware clay. My Raku pieces are either traditional American Raku and Horse Hair Raku. The Raku pieces are made from a white Raku clay that after being fired once is then glazed and refired then at 1800 degrees removed from the kiln place in barrels full of leaves. Once the leaves are on fire, lids are placed on the can smothering the fire burning up the air in the can creating coppers and other colors on the surface of the pots.
The horse hair pots are made from a mix of porcelain and Raku clay. After being fired once the pieces are fired again to 1400 degrees, at that point they are removed hot from the kiln. The hair from the horses tail is laid on the pots. The hair burns on the hot pottery creating a black design of lines on the surface of the pot.
Paul Corbin
Decorah, IA
2017 booth # 33
Paul Corbin creates high fire white stoneware.