2023 Honorary Artist
Larry Piser

"The furniture that emerges from this process continues to excite, surprise, and satisfy both my clientele and myself. This process also results in each piece having its own personality, seasoned with the human touch".
Larry Piser

In 1993 Larry Piser moved into an unfurnished trailer near Taos, NM. With a Swiss Army knife, a hammer, and a little imagination he began transforming scraps from the woodpile into furniture. Without training in either design or woodworking it was the natural shapes and beautiful grain that first attracted him.

Discovering the functionality of wood inspired Larry as he began to select unique pieces that fit the developing images in his head. These natural shapes quickly lead him to fill his home with simple sculpture furniture.

Larry’s humble beginnings, designing and building special pieces for special places to solve specific problems has led him to a full-time working artisan for over twenty years. Although, through a very organic process Larry created many pieces of distinctive “Piser Designs” furniture, to a long list of custom clients in Michiana and beyond.

Today, Larry lives in South Bend with his family.

Click Larry's photo for his debut on Experience Michiana.

Click on their pictures to shop on-line

Damen Mroczek designs and crafts silver jewelry through the age old process of 'lost wax casting', which he learned under the tutelage of his father, who has been designing jewelry for over 35 years. Each design is first hand-carved from wax and then cast into sterling silver. He uses only the best, AAA quality, gem stones and inlays to compliment his designs. Gathering inspiration from trees to leaves and wind to waves, the natural beauty of the World is Damen's source for creative expression. He is proud to carry on a 'family tradition' and hopes you will enjoy his work.
Click on Damen's photo for his debut on Experience Michiana

Don Widmer is a book and paper artist whose work incorporates papermaking, letterpress printing, and artist bookbinding. His papermaking utilizes detailed pulp painting with numerous layers of stenciled pulp. His artist books pair storytelling with the architectural form of the book. Both elements influence each other and enhance the visual narrative. His tunnel book Fanny and the Doll Corpse, inspired by criminal forensics pioneer Frances Glessner Lee, will be part of the Newberry Library's 2023 exhibit "Pop-Up Books Through the Ages." Don has exhibited throughout the Midwest, most recently at David Smith Studio, A+C Architects Studio, the Paper Discovery Center, Tall Grass Art Gallery, and Morgan Conservatory.

Marcy Mitchell is a Southwestern Michigan native who is influenced by Lake Michigan, and the surrounding scenery of the local area. She also draws inspirations from the four years she spent living abroad in Perth, Scotland, and the other places she traveled.

Applying abstraction allows her to explore the range of possibilities through line, and color while pushing the boundaries of how the landscapes are usually perceived. Marcy often imagines there is much more beauty in this world than we are able to see with just our eyes. She believes beauty can be found in the midst of light and shadows. The spaces in between.

Martha Winenger is a self-taught artist who loves nature. She paints nature scenes with oils or acrylics in a realistic style. As a nature lover she paints on smooth rocks that she collects on the beautiful shores of Lake Superior then mounts them on pieces of driftwood.

Martha previously worked as a scrimshaw artist doing scrimshaw on powder horns, knives and antlers. She has also done pen and ink drawings along with calligraphy.

Joey is a full-time utilitarian potter hailing from Dayton, OH. His line of work is inspired by the rich colors that can be achieved by reduction firing ceramics. His forms are forged for the purpose of everyday use and pure functionality, with some work being for the use of fine decor.

After being primarily self-taught, and working under a production production for a number of years; Joey’s work is ever evolving from year to year.

Karen Terhune says her love of sculpture began when she created her first piece, a squirrel with a nut. “From that moment on, she was hooked and knew right then and there what she was going to do. As for what exactly drew Keren to sculpting, she’s not sure. For Keren it was like a bell went off and she found her calling.

Working in the studio at her home, Terhune leans towards abstract shapes and animals as subjects. Her whimsical sculptures are inspired by her cats and can be described as explosions of movement.

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Artists

Larry Piser - Hand crafted wood furniture

Mays Mayhew - Painted figures in pairs realistically with surreal or abstract elements

Dawn Hatzidakis - Hand forged copper jewelry

Deb Potis - Fine photography

Don Widmer- Handmade

paper and book bindings

Rosemary Wilhelm - Classic realism oil paintings

Carol Estes - Surreal expressionism photography

William Nardin- Hardwood band saw jewelry boxes

Brian Newton - Exotic wood turns

Damen Mroczek- Silver jewelry with precious stones

Bill Kolok - Limestone and wood sculptures

Ann Klem - Glass sculptures

Sue Rosengard - Contemporary, hand forged jewelry in silver and gold.

Diane Reader Dorn - Contemporary acrylic paintings & porcelain vessels

Ronald G. Campbell- Wood turned sculptures

Amy Butts - One - of - a kind nostalgic jewelry made from chandelier crystals and vintage finds

Kimberly Lichty - Whimsical paintings of animals, abstract cityscapes & faces

Marcy Mitchell - Bold, vibrant landscape paintings

Lori Kammeraad - Paintings with patina edges & copper leaf resins on copper

Martha Winenger - Detailed nature paintings on rocks

Joy Lait - Flameworked glass and wire sculptures and mobiles

Mark Daniels - Bright, colorful & energetic paintings of regional birds and flowers

Edd Johannmann - Glass sculptures created from stained glass, found objects, wood, and wire.

Karen Terhune - Sculptures made from limestone, alabaster, soapstone, and marble

Clare Hagan - Wire jewelry

Daniel Driggs- Watercolor paintings of birds, wildlife, and people

Jacque Windbigler - Plaster sculptures influenced by ancient worlds

Sandro Akhvlediani - Still life, cityscape, and orchestra inspired abstract paintings

Joey Chessey - High fired hand-thrown ceramics

Ron Rendall - Aquatic life, hand sculpted with sandpaper

Michele Strotman - Whimsical

paintings of chickens with character

Jason Sturgill - Fantasy world sketches

Amy Green - Abstract sculptures made from recycled farm equipment

Alli Farkas -Original oil paintings of water lilies

Melanie Osborne - Equestrian art

Retta Hentschel - Repurposed glass to create stain glass windows and lamps

Carly Norris - Mixed media. Repurposed materials to create one- of the kind sculptures

Julie Johnson - Acrylic paintings of nature

Melvina Stemley - One- of- the - kind hats and purses with flair

Kathie Collinson - Encaustic paintings

Angie Thieszen - Wood stain art

Sally Brandl- Watercolors inspired by the traditional fiber arts of quilting

Channing Wilson - Whimsical, colorful paintings of forest animals

Ruby Ballard Harris - Wearable art influenced by African motif.

Samantha DeCarlo - Magical Realism of nature

Carrie Beth Collins - Acrylic paintings created through freeform

Brenda Schori - Handwoven shawls, jackets and cowls

Cammy Leffert - Mixed Media clay sculptures

Cindy Bella - Hand sewn, patchwork tunics, wraps and vests

Drece L. Guy - Abstract paintings

Jim Kalka - Fine photography

Born and raised in Nebraska, Daniel Driggs developed the love of art as a child. He attended Hastings College where he earned a BS degree in Art and Art Education. Driggs painted, taught, and exhibited his art for 18 years. Through the years he owned and/or managed galleries in Omaha, NE, Laramie, WY and Cheyenne, WY

Today, Driggs’ artwork is different than it was in his earlier art career. Although he still paints still life and landscape scenes, his art work is developing new depths. The "Traditional" series centered around re-enactors and reached into the past to envision where our beliefs and values came from. Out of this, Driggs began working on the "Out of Chaos" pieces that examine the relationship between the chaos of daily life and the visions that we capture in the midst of that chaos.

Ann Klem joins us from Fisherville, Kentucky.

Ann's art glass reveals her love of the design and creation process, the taste for technical challenges and the beauty of a well-finished piece. Strongly influenced by geometry, repeatable patterns, and phenomena such as crop circles, she designs her pieces for beautiful yet functional art.

Beginning with large sheet glass, Ann creates custom pieces, incorporating one into another, assembling and fusing them together. She then slices, grinds, sandblasts, or extensively shapes the resulting glass to enhance the visual impact of the piece.

Kimberley Hawk Lichty was introduced to the arts early in childhood at the local Art League located in Elkhart, IN where her mother was a teacher/instructor. Kimberley continued studies at IUSB, and is self taught through techniques she'd learned throughout studies.

Kimberley uses acrylics, painting abstracts, animals, and her faces series. Her pieces are captivating, charming, and whimsical, celebrating life, creativity, bold color, and big personality. Kimberley's inspirations are Van Gogh, her husband, Bob a musician, music, family, life itself, and the gift of another day to create.

Edd Johannemann is a member of the Louisville Artisans Guild and lives in La Grange, KY where he lives on a lake with the love of his life and muse.

Edd choreographs light to create sculptures of kaleidoscopic color and motion. His work is frequently philosophical, exploring the boundaries of faith, beliefs, values, facts and assumptions. He is largely self-taught; his sculptures combine his love of photography, woodworking, and stained glass.

Alii Farkas comes from a family of artists and has been drawing and painting from childhood through college as an art major, and later as a dual-subject professional specializing in rural landscapes and equine portraits.

“Sky Pads” represents an artistic interpretation of common Michigan lily pads; white water lilies (Nymphea), and Spatterdock (Nuphar).

Their very mundane commonality usually leads to their very common representation in art, so her goal as an artist is to give them the most uncommon presentation that she can imagine.

Unrelated backgrounds are created first, through various oil paint/solvent techniques utilizing pours and spatters. When dry, the lily pads are added either through direct realistic interpretation or through a monochrome process utilizing a color complementary to whatever the dominant background color is. The end result gifts the viewer with a sense of peace, quiet, tranquility, relaxation, and visual engagement.

Joy’s fascination/obsession with glass began in 2000 when she took up flameworking. After
creating handcrafted glass beads and one-of-a-kind jewelry, Joy had the desire to go bigger. At
that point, she began incorporating her glasswork with other materials. She is now working
with pate de verre (paste of glass). Her current work incorporates both lampworking and pate
de verre.
Joy’s work has won First Place awards and a Best in Show from the Oldham Arts Fall Show and
last year won Best in Show at the For the Love of Art Show in South Bend, Indiana, in addition
to other awards. She has been juried into the Kentucky Craft Marketing Program, the Louisville
Artisans Guild, and the Kentucky Guild of Artists & Craftsmen.

Ron Campbell is an award winning woodturner from Cedar Rapids, Michigan. One look at Ron’s pieces and it is evident that he has the intuitive gift for woodturning. I a decade, Ron has achieved a mastery the craft that few others can scarcely Imitate. From burls and various hard woods, to embellishments utilizing polished high-luster remind, Ron’s work is simply stunning.

Ron has won many awards and has participanted in the Grand Rapids Art Prize for the past 12 years. In 2019 Ron was one of 5 to win the AAW Award of Excellence. 2021 Ron won the following awards, Regional Arts 3D, Grand River Award, LaFansee Gallery 3D award and Diana VanKolken Community Arts Award from Holland Area Council of the Arts.

Amy Butts has a BFA in metalsmithing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and an MFA in sculpture from the School of the Art Institute in Chicago.

Amy's work is wearable, whimsical nostalgia. She creates new life out of old items including chandelier crystals; several decades' worth of autograph books, diaries and recipe books; vintage rosaries and other yard sale and flea market finds. In addition to her own scavenging, she works with clients to refashion everything from inherited jewelry, photographs, handwritten notes and obsolete wedding rings into contemporary pieces that have meaning for today.

Working in her Chicago studio overflowing with found objects, crystals and jewelry vending machines, Amy finds inspiration in the ways that jewelry can spark memory and play the role of souvenir. She hand crafts each piece in her collection and can spend hours just arranging various items until they feel irreplaceably right. Amy says it's a good day in her studio when she is able to look at beautiful little objects that have lost their present usefulness and bring out their beauty again.

Carol is a self-taught art photographer, artist and author. From LaPorte, IN, she found the art world late in life. In order to heal and grieve personal trauma, she picked up a digital camera, and started writing. It changed her life, hence the phrase “Welcome to Carol World…life as I see it”

She has exhibited her work in Chicago, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana and Canada. She was published in Birds and Bloom Magazine three times, and self-published her own work of prose and poetry in 2016. Carol has moved into mixed media which includes encaustic beeswax, and resin finishes. As she explains it, she creates her art “outside the box.”

Diane reader Dorn's passion for painting was realized early in life. Influenced by her father, professional visual artist and musician, Cecil C. Reader, Diane realized, as most female artist do, she had to make time to paint after all the chores were completed. She painted what she knew, realism. After her three children were raised, she enrolled and earned a Bachelor of Fine Art, Suma Cum Laude from Texas Women's University. It was there she developed her signature abstract watercolor paintings. This work resembles an enigma, or a puzzling occurrence. They can be perplexing and mysterious, giving the viewer reason to pause. Her acrylics on canvas follow the same convention, moving from chaos and order to a calm and soothing direction. Following university, she accepted a position as the gallery and presentation coordinator and assistant to the director of the visual art department at Interlochen Arts Academy. She returned to her hometown, South Bend, a few years ago and rejoined the art community. Her work is in corporate and private collections in Texas and the Midwest. She currently teaches painting at the South Bend Museum of Art.

Click on Diane's photo for her debut on Experience Michiana.

Sue Rosengard started her own jewelry design in New York City after receiving a B.A. in French from the University of Illinois, following studies in Paris and Italy. Sue began with a jewelry making class at the New School in New York. She continued with classes over the next few years eventually returning to her hometown of Chicago to start making jewelry full-time.

Sue creates affordable, well-crafted and well-designed jewelry. The contemporary geometric shapes are structured to flatter the face or lapel of the wearer while being lightweight, easy to wear, and timeless. Her inspirations partly comes from growing up in Chicago among the skyscrapers and Frank Lloyd Wright influences. The designers of the Modernist era (1940-1960) have also been significant – jewelers Margaret de Patta and Paul Lobel, sculptor Alexander Calder, and designer Russell Wright .

Brian is a self-taught wood turner who has been honing his skills for the past twelve years. He has earned a number of awards at various art shows and exhibitions in both New York and Michigan. In 2014 he became a member of the historic Roycroft Artisans at Large group, based in East Aurora, NY and in 2019 he was elevated to the level of Roycroft Master Artisan. He is also an active member of the Blue Coast Artist Group in southwest Michigan.

As Brian has pushed his turning skills to new levels, he has found that he has a true passion for uncovering the hidden beauty that is locked away inside each piece of wood that he works with. Brian loves the experience of watching each piece evolve with every pass of his chisel - every cut, revealing more of the character and warmth within. He considers it a privilege to transform a cast-off piece of wood, repurposing it into something new and beautiful - whether it's a decorative art piece or a functional household item.

People who view Mays Mayhew’s work often say it creates a story that reflects their own. Quite
often, that story is one of overcoming a struggle or peaceful nostalgia. She likes to draw repeated human figures, for it weaves a narrative, a story. The works are skillfully drawn repeated figures that tell stories in a simply beautiful way. Repetition causes dualities. -Dualities like the drawn image juxtapose with the untold story behind the work. She leaves the background clean to keep the focus on the main subject. Mayhew works mainly with graphite pencils for the hauntingly beautiful silver monochromic environment they create. Graphite is occasionally joined with gesso, watercolor, and gold leaf.

She studied art at University Wisconsin – Madison (BFA), Rhode Island School of Design, and Florence, Italy. For 20 years, she balanced a career in product development and marketing with art part-time. Since 2018, she has created art full-time. She lives in Aurora, IL, with her two children and husband, where she maintains an active studio.

Bill Kolok was born and raised in a middle class family in Connecticut. He grew up with a strong work ethic and a vivid imagination. In college he was drawn to art and eventually sculpture. He enjoys the give and take of carving in wood and stone and found a language that speaks to him.

He prefers materials with distinctive spirit such as aged lumber and stone from old churches. The resulting sculptures speak with simplicity,and boldness to those who choose to reflect on his creative images.

Melanie Osborn is a self-taught artist from Kentucky. As a young child she lived on a farm that had horses and several greenhouses to be drawn into the art world with Sketching horses and flowers.

Melanie’s art career started as a mechanical drafter. However, she still found herself in awe with horses and flowers.

After a career in drafting, Melanie’s art world grew into corporate commissions. You can find here indoor murals in several prestigious Kentucky establishments.

Today Melanie’s focus are her equestrian oil paintings to come full circle, to

the subjects that drew her to paint beautiful, classic settings with rich colors.

Lori Kammeraad is an artist with a vision inspired by the beauty of nature from the Great Lakes of Michigan to the Red Rocks of Sedona Arizona and the architect Frank Lloyd Wright. She has developed a new technique of painting with patinas on copper plate.

Lori creates dynamic contemporary designs using textured metal paints dyes, mica and copper leaf.

Lori’s paintings are exhibited in galleries and art shows throughout the U.S.A. Commission work accepted for Corporate and private collections.

Angie Thieszen hails from Defiance, Ohio, but now lives in Millersburg, Indiana. She has come from a family line of artistic talents in various professional and hobby art careers. She studied art at Bluffton College (now Bluffton University) in Bluffton, Ohio. Most of her past work has been as a hobby artist working with mediums such as watercolor, acrylic, chalk, and Etch-A-Sketch, but her wood stain art has taken her to a professional level. In 2021 she opened her first public studio and shop inside the beautiful Southgate shopping

marketplace ( Elkhart, Indiana).

Click on Angie's photo for her debut on Experience Michiana

Mark paints birds and fluttering flowers in his studio in Goshen, Indiana. Specifically, he aspires to paint joyous dancing birds and expressive flowers that elicit a smile, giggle, or a breath of delight. Mark enjoys observing the way an individual’s countenance visibly changes as they view his work, and most often that change leads to some sort of exclamation or an unprompted utterance of joy and affirmation. When a viewer stops their forward momentum to consider my work and that switch happens, I consider the painting a success.

Mark is always humbled and honored when an art patron wishes to purchase his work be it in the form of a painting, a print, or a greeting card. The action of taking his work home signifies validation, and the shared need for recognizing joy in our lives.

Carly Norris has lived on farms all her life. Time, the simplicity of the weather and elements, life and death and the ever-changing seasons are recurring themes, inspirations that have colored and shaped her views. Her work shows evidence of the search she is on, looking for a home that no longer exists. Taking the shattered bits and holding them up, she wants to show that there is something left worth noticing; something intricate, quiet, wistful, and gorgeous in its truth. There is beauty in the world around us. Certain textures, colors, pieces of broken things represent ideas and efforts, passions of people that went before us. They can be transformed, when treated a certain way or paired with something unexpected, to continue the narrative. They become resurrected with their new purpose. In a sense, she is collaborating with the past, becoming a cog in the wheel of time. Beneath the surface, in the branches of the old trees, in the cellar holes of the fallen barns, in the sound of the red-winged black birds and the smell of the goldenrod she finds her home. That is what she strives to create in her work. To repair a connection that is broken or breaking, to reunite us with the land.