A member of the Kettle Moraine Fine Arts Guild, you’ll regularly find Karin Corteen painting, carving, collaging and painting with a good friend. She enjoys the collaboration of working with other artists and sharing feedback and is typically involved in a few projects at a time. She explains the process “keeps my work fresh and more enjoyable.”

A self-taught artist, color and design has always captivated Corteen.  While working as a teacher, this interest manifested in the creation of extravagant bulletin boards for her classes.  

In addition to teaching, Karin sold real estate and raised a family. As her boys were growing older, it was her participation in art classes at Cardinal Stritch University that was instrumental in renewing her passion for art.

Corteen’s works are fresh and whimsical, with each piece representing the principles of color and design most tastefully.

Artist Vickie Hall has been working with wood for years to create unique home furnishing pieces and handmade craft items. She is a skilled artist and often combines her artistic abilities with her woodworking skills to create unique items.

She recently began dabbling in wall art and uses wood to create colorful abstract wall hangings which she refers to as “quilting with wood”.

Sisters Sarah Johnson and Rebecca Eicksteadt have always enjoyed creating art using many different mediums. Recently, Johnson began experimenting with a new medium—ink paint.

She started by painting the ink on glass from recycled picture frames and then tried using the medium on other items such as glass ornaments and stone pieces.

Finding painting with ink very freeing, Johnson shared the technique with her sister and they have been working primarily with this new medium ever since.

Both Johnson and Eicksteadt create abstract designs as well as nature-themed pieces.  Paintings are done in reverse by removing the glass from a frame and applying the ink on the back of the glass.

Techniques include dripping, sponging, and dropping ink onto the glass. The white backing behind the glass helps the colors stand out.

There is a special magic in viewing their pieces in person, as the light hitting the glass is truly spectacular.

Born in western Michigan, Abigail Engstrand earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1988 at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), going on to obtain her Art Teaching certificate at SAIC in 1989.

Engstrand has lived and created art all over the world, and has exhibited in Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin. She currently resides in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin and is a member of the Pewaukee Area Arts Council, Milwaukee Artists Resource Network, Wisconsin Designer Crafts Council, and ARC Gallery Education Foundation in Chicago.

Engstrand's art has been purchased by collectors across the United States. In addition to her watercolor, acrylic, and wool felts and mixed media paintings, Engstrand has created numerous murals for private individuals, businesses and schools, as well as stage backdrops for theater groups within her community.

She welcomes commissions and believes that, with art, she can enliven spaces and capture your memories - for you to enjoy and pass forward.

Visit her website www.abigailengstrand.com or find her on Instagram and Facebook at AbigailColors.

Debra is a self-taught artist who recently moved back to her home state of Wisconsin, having spent five years on the Gulf Coast of Florida.  Florida had much to offer, but she missed the seasons and the beautiful rolling hills of the Kettle Moraine area.  She says about her art:

"I have felt a driving force to create my entire life.  In recent years I have returned to painting, at first oil and acrylic, and now mixed media with paper, paint and ink.  I am most drawn to creating through feeling and expression and hope this shows up in what I do."

Local upcyclers Ken and Cheryl Werner find their treasures at flea markets and lovingly restore the pieces into functioning furniture.

Each item is cleaned, upcycled, and ready for your home as a unique conversation piece.

Randy makes some awesome industrial tables, lamps, stools, cabinets, lighting and more.

He brings things in the shop periodically and his pieces tend to go fast!  

Marilyn Horst’s desire to paint is an intrinsic part of who she is, and she comes from a large family of other naturally creative siblings. Self-taught, she dabbles in different mediums, however enjoys watercolor the most. Her unique style begins with an informal whimsical sketch, lending to a loose, unstructured approach.

Marilyn is an active member of the Pewaukee Arts Council, Wisconsin Visual Arts, Online Watercolor Kickstart, and Online Art Friends. Her paintings have been exhibited locally, including West Bend’s Museum Of Wisconsin Art. Her watercolor painting, “Along The Bark,” has a permanent spot in Hartland Library’s collection.

Marilyn lives in North Lake, Wisconsin. In addition to painting, Marilyn has self-published and illustrated children’s picture books.

Many years after his grandfather (Wood Worker Extraordinaire) passed away, Matt Benson inherited a bunch of his grandfather’s 40-year-old stored and sealed logs that he’d never been able to “turn” (in bowls). Initially, Matt kept the logs with the intention of simply preserving them and saving them from becoming firewood. In time, however, Matt found his own passion and great satisfaction in creating his own wood bowls from these aged logs. 

Throughout his creative process Matt also discovered something interesting:  After turning at the lathe for any length of time, he’d notice his left pocket was always full of wood shavings. The usual spots for these scraps - ie on the lathe, the floor, or as a temporarily twirling pocket of sawdust around his project - had competition.  Matt’s discovery/awareness of this yielded no new change in “location”, however, as he found his left pocket continued to hold his artistic efforts.

In sharing this quirk of turning with his mother one day, she surprised Matt with a laugh.  She had seen this before, with memories of her father - Matt’s grandfather - arriving home and emptying the sawdust from his own pockets.  Those days were fresh again in her mind and a full circle moment for her, and for Matt.  In hearing the story from his mother, Matt thought there was “no doubt” these shavings also served as “silent endearments” from his grandfather to his grandmother…

Matt is a local craftsman who lives in Richfield, Wisconsin with his wife and children. Left Pocket Turnings represents a commitment to a time-honored family tradition of wood turning. He seeks to reveal the inherent beauty found in a piece of wood with every piece he crafts.

In supporting Matt’s work, you are a part of this celebration of his story, and of his family.