Mosaics at Madhaus

The past few weeks I've had several students and groups come in to work on mosaics. Mosaics can be created with a variety of materials including glass, tile, shells, beads, etc..  In our studio, I use primarily scrap stained glass, old boards, mirrors, glue, and grout to create wall hangings and stepping stones. In the picture, a student creates a mirror during a recent class.

Summer Fun

Over the summer I've had several of my regular students continue with weekly art lessons.  As FYI, we're also offering some group summer classes for young adults coming up on Mondays 10a-12p...for a list, you can check FaceBook or our web site at www.madhausgallery.com. The student below - JoAnn - is working with Fused Glass to create a possible candidate for her 4H county fair entry.   It is amazing how only a few weeks of training have improved her confidence with glass cutting.

Countryside Village

Another wonderful and warm show at Countryside Village this past weekend; great crowd and nice area.  My husband and I were both showing our work; I had both glass and paintings and he had photography. The picture is of my new tent and propanels...the set up for both mediums in one tent was a challenge but I was pleased with the ways it looked so I thought I'd show it off. This weekend I'll be showing a variety of paintings at the Omaha Summer Art Festival including much larger pieces.

Solvy Scarf

I saw a cool summer scarf project at a local fiber store a few weeks ago and thought it would be the perfect reason to haul out my dusty sewing machine.  You can see in the picture below, I've gone a bit nuts for them because they are so fun to make. These lace like scarves are made of bits of fabric, string, yarn, roving - really pretty much anything goes - and a disolvable fabric. You sandwich the materials for your scarf between the disolvable fabric and stich until you've covered the entire length of your scarf. Then, rinse the item in water. The disolvable fabric disappears and you're left with a loose woven scarf.   Very cool!

A Lost Art

Stained Glass has a rich history which dates back to ancient Rome. The process of glass cutting and assembly with lead came has changed very little over hundreds of years but its use was confined mainly to religious themes. At the turn of the century, Tiffany introduced the copper foil method which caused an explosion of interest in stained glass and made it accessible to the masses. Over the past two months, I’ve worked with several students to explore these two very different techniques.  There are several hours devoted to the small projects in the photographs below but the students can take pride in their new skills and the long glazier tradition they now share.

John demonstrates grinding techniques.  Linda shows us her completed piece.

Food As Art

A wedding is a great reason to make pretty food. The photograph above shows a twist on a fruit salad made for a wedding last weekend...fruit kabobs with tropical fruits chosen for their colors and heartiness after slicing...star fruit, pineapple, strawberries, grapes, kiwi, and blue berries. Beautiful colors and a nice centerpiece.

Art Show Season!

Show season is nearly upon us…albeit a little delayed this year since my husband and I didn’t venture out to the spring shows we normally attend in IL and IN.  This promises to be an interesting show season for me. I usually display glass; this will be the first outdoor show season traveling with paintings as well.  In preparation for a blur of a summer, I have spent most of the winter creating pieces and our gallery has never been more lavishly stocked with fine art than just before this show season. This is a great time to shop but in a mere two weeks, it will nearly all be packed up and ready to go on the road. Our season starts with a short one day show in Valley Junction (Spring Art Market in West Des Moines 5/22). For those of you who have taken our Art and Craft show class, this is a great opportunity to observe how a show artist works from “load in” to the end of the show “load out”. The piece in the photo below is one of 30 currently in the gallery.  You’ll find it nested among 30 paintings and a variety of other art pieces. Or, maybe you’ll see it on the road at an upcoming show.