“When we pick up a paintbrush or a pencil and begin to make marks, a part of us shows up in our work: it’s personal. When a work of art catches your eye and holds your attention, if it resonates with you in some way, it creates a connection between you and the artist.”

“I am drawn to mosaics because of the tactile, colorful, and diverse possibilities. My mosaics encompass 3 varieties, repurposing, imagining, and the whimsical. Though I may sometimes strive to create a certain type of piece, it never fails to surprise and amuse me what I actually end up with as a finished product, be it a decorated box, a bowl, a lamp, a cabinet, a picture frame, or an abstract representation. The process of creating a mosaic is fun, joyful, cathartic, and messy, to produce a colorful, funky, and exciting work of either art or craft.”

“Since I was a kid, watercolor has always caught my eye in visits to art museums. Mountains and landscapes have been fun to paint.  My ideas come from traveling in Europe and here in the United States.

What I came up to retirement time I could thing of a handful of things. watercolor was one.  I find I was fighting it rather than working it. Th influence of using off colors to get the right color is a challenge but the results are amazing! It’s wonderful when it works out.”

“I’ve been working with clay since 1982. I am self-taught, but clay taught me a lot about the world.”

“Once upon a time I was a dancer. Now I make art.The story of my life is the basis for what I am creating today. It’s my autobiography, plain and simple. I’m inspired by nature, but more than anything else, my background in dance informs my artwork. For me, painting is simply choreography on canvas and if I can get a sense of movement or stillness into my work, I’m happy. A blank canvas represents hope mixed with a little fear—it’s a metaphor for my life!”

Exploring my world, sustainably, through art.

“Alcohol ink takes you where it wants to go. You can guide it, but you can't force it. You have to embrace the element of surpise. Art has always been an important part of my life. I majored in art history with a studio component at Smith College and earned a PhD from the University of London, specializing in the art and architecture of the Middle Ages. I was initially drawn to the vibrant hues of alcohol ink, which reminded me of the stained glass windows in medieval churches.

I work in a complex and unconventional manner. Each canvas is composed of multiple layers of ink and acrylic - sometimes as many as 30. Pigments are both added and removed to create various effects. Copious amounts of rubbing alcohol are poured directly onto the canvas to move the ink. Brushes are used sparingly.”

“I am a Live Fashion Illustrator, Live Wedding Painter and Fine Artist.  It's pretty awesome to create bespoke pieces for my clients.
I grew up in Wisconsin and graduated from The Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia, where I studied Fashion Design.  I now reside in Milwaukee, WI with my husband and two children and am living out my dream as a career artist.  This career has taken me places like New York City, Aspen and Chicago to name a few!  The work I do is inspired by color, pretty things, the human form, fashion and love.”

“My working process is a connection between myself and nature. The finished pieces are a connection between myself and other people. Hiking with my daughter in the Southwest, my son's land in northern Wisconsin, and memories of my grandparent's farm are sources for ideas. Textures of grasses, layers of drying leaves, and piles of stone. Colors of sunlight, shadows, and decay. Patterns of branches, tree bark, and pebbles in the sand. They are all part of the natural world that inspires me. Whether creating abstracts or more realistic renderings of nature, I work with a combination of spontaneity and editing. Multiple layers of ink -both transparent and opaque-are applied, edited and applied again. Eventually the piece will reflect nature with its rich surface quality, texture and energy.”

“My love of textiles, pattern and construction began when I was a young girl. My mother signed me up for Saturday morning sewing lessons with Mrs. Winnekins. We called her “Winnie”. Thank you, Mom! Another influential seamstress in my life was my Aunt Eleanor. I remember making a fully lined, two-piece suit at her house one weekend as a teenager. I can still see that apricot colored fabric in my mind’s eye to this day. I was married in her yard, wearing a vintage dress.

My love of all things vintage and textile related continues today in my work. I mine thrift stores and discover unfinished projects and kitschy items that inspire me. In some way, I feel I am paying homage to women who didn’t see themselves as artists.

In addition to vintage patterns, I am currently exploring ways to incorporate silhouette reverse painting on plexi-glass and patterns derived from Japanese textiles.”

Freelance illustrator. Whimsical and realistic paintings and drawings. Pencil, acrylic, pen & ink.

Jenny Steinman Heyden is a Shorewood native and has been a professional "hyper-local folk" artist since 1995. Her work is available at steinmanstudios.com and on display at various sites around town including the heart in the Library lobby, the Signalling History box at Capitol and Downer, and three paintings on the walls of the Village Hall (through Oct 1, 2025). Steinman first started selling art professionally in Chicago in 1995 via consignment in Chicago stores like ChiaroScUro and expanded to 29 other fine craft stores in the country. She painted one of the original Cows on Parade for the Chicago installation in 1999. Her work has been commissioned across the globe including the Conrad Hilton Bangkok, Thailand. A finalist for a Niche Award in 1999 for the "Lazy Ladies of Susan" (a painted lazy susan), Steinman Heyden now sells original paintings online, and at the rare art fair or gallery event like the Shorewood Artists Guild annual Art at the Atrium.

https://www.instagram.com/jennyheydenartist/

John O'Hara is an award-winning Photographer working out of the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area.
His photographic abilities have been forged from over 30 years of image-making including 10 years as a professional full-time newspaper Photojournalist.

"My current body of work was inspired by 19th century ornithological illustrations. Early pieces incorporated details such as eggs, feathers, and plant life. The work has since evolved to include a series of portraits of individual species devoid of these contextual elements. By placing them in environments that are somewhere between impressionist and abstract, I hope to call attention to the fragility of the environment and the plight of all life forms as climate change alters habitat and food sources.”

“I love painting. Though I could never knuckle down and make a life as a full time artist, I have returned to painting many times over the years. 

A majority of my watercolor paintings are images of trees. The cropped and simplified views of their branches executed in bold color combinations are a joy to create. I have no idea why the beautiful branch shapes are so captivating to me, but I’m sure it’s deeply psychological. 

I am thrilled when a picture I created touches someone else—opening a memory, a feeling or even just an affection for the colors.”

Ken Vonderberg has been a full-time artist since retiring from teaching in 2012 and works from his home studio in Shorewood, Wisconsin as well as a photo studio in Milwaukee. He works in various dry media as well as oils and acrylics and creates fine art woodburning (pyrography) as well. He is particularly interested in portraying the human face and figure.

Mark’s passion for art began early as he sat beside his great-uncle Bill and learned to draw and built model boats and paint. Great-uncle Bill was a self-taught artist. He was also a boatbuilder, who passed on his passion for art and boats to Mark.

By high school Mark was hooked on art and set off to study it in college, first at Layton School of Art and then graduating from the Portland School of Art in Maine. By day, Mark has worked in advertising as a Creative Director.

Still, he never lost his love of drawing and the sea. From this, passion for maritime history emerged and led to Mark becoming Curator at the North Point Lighthouse Museum in Milwaukee. Mark has since designed exhibits for the Grohmann Museum, Milwaukee County Historical Society, Pabst Mansion Museum, Bucyrus Erie Museum, Milwaukee Soldiers Home, The Milwaukee War Memorial Center, The Charles Allis Art Museum and Villa Terrace.

The pencil he picked up with great-uncle Bill is still a big part of Mark’s life, along with watercolor, assemblages and whatever pops into his head.

May Klisch is a Singapore-born, American contemporary artist based in Shorewood, Wisconsin. A national award winner, her work spans realism to abstraction, often blending the two. A colorist at heart, she experiments with watercolor, gouache, acrylic, and oil, drawing inspiration from places, emotions, and personal history.

Her work has been described as possessing “as much breadth as depth, as much whimsy as weight, as much energy as tranquility—reflecting her facets, passions, and life’s journey. Each phase is at once new, old, and forever.”

“I've always considered myself an artist, working as a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel photojournalist for 17 years while rediscovering painting in 2023. Encouraged by my daughters and inspired by a blank basement wall, I picked up my old supplies—and I’m so glad I did!
Painting is my escape from deadlines and screens. I prefer abstract acrylic painting, allowing the paint to take the lead. I see myself as the facilitator, releasing it from its tube onto the canvas, where it naturally finds its path—so why fight it? This mutual understanding between the paint and me creates a wonderful collaboration, resulting in some amazing art that's a joy to create.”

https://linktr.ee/mdesisti

Ruth worked professionally, by education and practice, as a graphic designer using computer applications to create designs for the print medium. On retirement in 2007, she had a desire to bring physical materials into the creative process and so started to paint with various tools, mediums and grounds. Using her past experience, she applied the elements and principles of design she had learned in her practice of graphic art to her exploration of fine art. Her first exhibition was in 2009 and since then she has continued to grow as an artist while continuing her personal pursuit of artistic diversity. Ruth’s abstract paintings are driven by causality. Vivid color creates visual dissonance while simultaneously fostering an interconnectedness and inclusive harmony.

“I am fascinated with how light and shadow work together to describe the world in paintings and drawings. In all of my paintings, my focus is on the quality of light and how it describes the subject matter. Whether I paint in oils, watercolors or gouache, my methodology is to always paint in layers to create a feeling of space in my works. I learned the technique of layered painting by doing study copies of Old Master paintings. While I love the Old Masters’ techniques, I also love the modern color palette. Blending the Old Master techniques with the modern color palette is the constant challenge I like to conquer with each new painting.”

“Paper folding, the basis of my art, isn’t always considered a highly valued art form. There are certain rules and perceptions about what constitutes ‘key’ or ‘priceless’ art,” said SeonJoo. “But my focus has always been on teaching. I wanted to share the benefits of paper folding as a way to relieve stress, develop motor skills, and foster concentration and creativity.”