The art work of four talented female artists will come together in Fine Line Designs Gallery’s second exhibit of the season with a reception on Saturday, June 9, open through Monday, July 9.
Lori Beringer's Castle Dreams
Exhibit II premieres at the gallery on Friday, June 8, and will feature the work of textile artist Martha Fieber, sculptor Jude Ryan Reiling, and the work of oil painters Deb Mortl and Lori Beringer. The artist reception scheduled for Saturday, June 9 from 4—7 pm, will be followed up with an artist demonstration featuring Fieber and Beringer on Sunday, June 10 from 11 am — 2 pm.
Textile artist Martha Fieber uses a variety of threads, fibers, colors, and only four different types of stitch to create her “landscapes in thread.” Inspired by the woods and water near her home in Manistique, Michigan, Fieber hand-dyes and paints on a background of linen before building layer upon layer into her pieces. She uses innumerable stitches and knots from the varied thread mediums of rayon, silk, metallic or cotton. It is this unique use of color and textures that make one do a double take, convinced they are viewing a photograph rather than a work of fiber art. “I use nature scenes to express feelings of peace and natural beauty,” Fieber says. “The subtleness, yet complex nature of my work combines my ability for precision with my love of nature.”
Jude Ryan Reiling began working in clay through her study of drawing, painting, and photography. The variety of clay bodies, finishes and textures present in her sculptures are representative of a diverse body of work. She says this is part of her “commitment to following a creative muse without severely editing the direction.” Although they are often presented in groups, her figures each possess a personality of its own—with a cocked head or folded hands often conveying “an internal world of human emotion.” “In creating my pieces, I think of rituals, and experiences that are both emotional and universal,” Reiling says. “I express them using concrete symbols and precise gestures.”
In her new series of work, oil painter Deb Mortl continues to capture the ever-evolving Wisconsin terrain—with a more distinct division of the canvas representing a shift in the look of her pieces. “The inspiration stemmed from the windows in my studio, and the way the geometry of the mullions formed a relationship with the landscape beyond,” Mortl says. “This geometry creates a canvas caught between a recognizable topographical landscape and a more modernist abstraction.” By eliminating a fixed viewpoint, Mortl’s paintings become more of a personal experience for the viewer, allowing for their own individual interpretation.
Lori Beringer’s light-filled impressionist oil paintings of landscapes, still-lifes, and portraits capture her admiration for the simple beauty around her. Although she primarily paints en plein air in Wisconsin throughout the year, her travels have also taken her to various painting locations in the United States, Mexico, and abroad to France. “I think that painting on site and experiencing the culture creates a kind of timeless sense of place in my work,” she says. Beringer’s newest works convey the same quiet splendor that she is known for, but with a new vehicle—an exploration of buildings and the personalities they can have. She invites her viewer to ask, “Who lives there?” Beringer will be part of the artist demonstration along with Martha Fieber, which is planned for Sunday, June 10 from 11 – 2pm.
Fine Line’s Exhibit II is scheduled to run through Monday, July 10, with the second exhibit of the season beginning on Thursday, July 12.
Fine Line Designs Gallery, located at the north end of Ephraim, Wisconsin, encompasses an eclectic mix of original paintings, glass, jewelry, sculpture, ceramics, custom wood furnishings, and fiber art created by more than 90 nationally known artists. The multi-level gallery displays work indoors as well as throughout a beautifully landscaped two-acre sculpture garden, which showcases are in bronze, stone, metal, ceramic, copper, and stainless steel. For more information, please visit their Website or call 920.854.4343.
