Four artists with distinct styles and mediums are the focus of Fine Line Designs Gallery’s Exhibit II, which opens from Friday, June 12 and rins through Tuesday, July 7. Fabric and embroidery artist Martha Fieber, furniture builder Leonard Fieber, pastel artist Alberta Marana, and oil painter Kathie Wheeler are the featured artists for Exhibit II. The artist’s reception for Exhibit II is scheduled for Saturday, June 13 from 4 – 8 pm.
Martha Fieber calls her artwork “landscape in thread,” and focuses on texture, technique, pattern, and detail to express her interest in our human connection to the natural world. “I needed a change,” Fieber say when asked why she left her primary career in engineering for the art world. Her intricate embroideries often take as many as 60 hours to complete, depending on how intense the design is. Fieber is completely self-taught and focuses primarily on the landscapes and beauty that surrounds her Upper Michigan home. “I want to show everyone how beautiful it is,” says Fieber. “Many landscapes tempt me to record them.”
Furniture artist Leonard Fieber has been working with wood for over 40 years. His most recent body of work, Beaver Chew Furniture, is made from sticks left behind after beavers have eaten the leaves and bark. “I’ve built furniture all my life,” says Fieber, “but this body of work is really special to me. I feel like the beaver and I are collaborating together.” A lover of the outdoors, Fieber enjoys that his furniture can provide a connection to nature in someone’s home.
Both Martha and Leonard Fieber will be on hand for an artist’s demonstration on Sunday, June 14 from 11am – 2 pm.
Alberta Marana, a pastel artist, says she finds solace in nature from the chaos of the world – and is attracted to the vibrant colors of the wildflowers and grasses in the summer, the dynamic red and golds of the autumn, and the wonderfully moody blues of the evening. “I love looking at the landscape, but I also enjoy working in the landscape,” Marana says. “I really try to convey the emotional experience I get when I look at nature – I like to call it ‘the wow.’”
Oil painter Kathie Wheeler was drawn to the work of the American Impressionists as a child, who would take to the fields and woods with their sketchbooks and paints to record the beauty of their surroundings. “All of my paintings are scenes from my own experiences,” Wheeler says, going on to say that her farm in Southern Wisconsin is responsible for much of this inspiration. Wheeler has been painting “as long as she could hold something in her hand.” Kathie was the winner of the Quick Paint at the 2008 Door County Plein Air Festival.
Fine Line Designs Gallery is located at the north end of Ephraim at 10376 Highway 42 and features original paintings, sculpture, custom wood furnishings, and fiber art from over 90 renowned artists. The gallery also hosts the annual Town Line Art Fair every year on Columbus Day weekend. Gallery hours are daily 10:00 am – 6:00 pm, Sundays 10:00 am – 5:00 pm. For more information about Fine Line Designs Gallery or its artists and exhibitions, please call (920) 854-4343 or visit www.finelinedesignsgallery.com.
