MARCH 7 – APRIL 2
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Tom Bartel, Karin Kraemer, Liz Pechacek, Doug Peltzman, Jewelry Spotlight: Tricia Schmidt
Tom Bartel, Karin Kraemer, Liz Pechacek, Doug Peltzman, Jewelry Spotlight: Tricia Schmidt
March’s Featured Artists exhibit composed forms with both unique and recognizable surface treatments. Tom Bartel’s figurative sculpture reflects references ranging from antiquities to pop culture and is characterized as disturbing, humorous, and fragmented. Karin Kraemer loves to camp, be in the woods, work in the garden, and cook. These loves all come together in her work. “It celebrates everything from individual flowers in my garden to landscape, good friends, and making food,” says Kraemer. Liz Pechacek’s work is concerned with the making of meaningful objects. She believes that, if her explorations lead to making something that is noticed by someone else, then her pieces can truly be of use. Doug Peltzman’s goal as a maker is to craft ceramic objects that tell a story and serve as a conduit for conversation, interaction, and celebration. He creates utilitarian objects to bring focus to the intimate intersection between art and life. Tricia Schmidt’s jewelry is delightful, wearable sculpture for all occasions.
About the Artists
Tom Bartel
Tom Bartel holds a BFA from Kent State University (OH) and an MFA from Indiana University–Bloomington. He has lectured extensively and has been an invited faculty member and artist in residence at numerous locations across the country. Bartel has been featured in multiple publications, including Ceramics Monthly, Clay Times, and American Craft. His figurative sculpture reflects references ranging from antiquities to pop culture and is characterized as disturbing, humorous, and fragmented. Currently, he is serving as a professor and ceramics chairperson at Ohio University (Athens, OH).
Karin Kraemer
Karin Kraemer grew up in Minneapolis. She holds a BFA in hot glass from St. Cloud State University (MN) and an MFA in ceramics from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She has lived all over the country, working and exploring, but says she loves Minnesota best. “Coming back to the north woods really has been coming home,” she says. “I moved to Duluth, Minnesota, several years ago. I love to camp, be in the woods, work in the garden, and cook. These things all come together in my work: it celebrates everything from individual flowers in my garden to landscape, good friends, and making food.” Kraemer owns the Duluth Pottery Studio and Gallery in the Lincoln Park Crafts District.
Liz Pechacek
Liz Pechacek holds a BA in art history and a BFA in ceramics from Indiana University Bloomington. She has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts’ Friends of Arrowmont Scholarship, the Robert M. MacNamara Foundation’s Artist Residency, and American Craft Council’s Hip Pop Emerging Artist Award. Pechacek’s work is concerned with the making of meaningful objects, focusing on the burst of energy when finding a new form and the obsession required to winnow that shape into perfection. She believes that if her explorations lead to making something that is noticed by someone else, then her pieces can truly be of use. Pechacek currently lives and maintains a studio in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota.
Doug Peltzman
Doug Peltzman was born in New York City and raised on Long Island. He has been making pots since 2003. Since graduating with his MFA from Penn State (State College, PA) in 2010, he established a pottery studio with his wife, Pam, in Shokan, New York. He is a father of three young children, a dedicated husband, and a full-time studio potter. He has had the honor of being both a juror and curator of national exhibitions and has taught workshops at many art centers and universities throughout the United States. Peltzman is a founding member of Objective Clay and creator/organizer of the Hudson Valley Pottery Tour. His work has been featured in many national publications and can be found in homes and kitchens across the country.
Jewelry Spotlight: Tricia Schmidt
Tricia Schmidt has had a lifelong love of clay and illustration and she marries the two in her functional and sculptural work. As a primarily self-taught artist, she embraces an aesthetic that is informed by the joy of doodling on a fresh sheet of paper and the satisfaction of a voluptuously curving form. Her animals and figures are often self-referential, but universal enough to appeal to a larger audience through the use of her favorite motifs: ambivalent sloths, playful cats, industrious bunnies, malevolent squirrels, and introspective women. She also references folklore in her archetypal red birds, symbolizing those who have passed on but are still watching over us.