Judy Martin - August Guest


Trudy Martin - Jewelry Artist
                                        
In August, VIVA Gallery in Viroqua welcomes Trudy Martin as guest artist. Trudy, who lives in Soldiers Grove, has been fascinated by beads for more than a decade. She designs and creates necklaces, bracelets and earrings with everything from Swarovski crystals to Kazuri beads from Kenya.

Trudy’s beads come from all over the world—Africa, India, Afghanistan, China, and Nepal, to name but a few places. She procures much of her stock at the acclaimed Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, which sets the standard for gem and mineral shows around the world. There, she says, she “feels like a kid in a candy store.” Beads in hand, she has many paths she can follow, including bead weaving, bead embroidering, Kumihomo weaving, crocheting with beads, and more. Trudy enjoys them all.

Meet Trudy at VIVA’s First Thursday reception on August 4 from 5:00pm to 7:00pm. The gallery is located at 217 South Main Street in Viroqua. For more information about this and future First Thursday events, contact the gallery at 608-637-6918 or info@vivagallery.net. You may see Trudy’s jewelry at the gallery throughout the month of August, as well as the work of 16 member artists.


July Guest Artist - Tricia Schmidt



A delicate balance between control and chaos is how Tricia describes her work on the wheel.  She has come to appreciate that the end result is rarely perfect, a trait that makes every hand-worked piece of art distinctive.  Tricia’s work toes the line between functional and non-functional, she admits functional usually wins out.   Connecting with a piece and making it a part of daily ritual is inspiration enough to create art.

Tricia graduated from Westby High School in 1994 and now works as an Art Teacher in the St. Paul schools.  She still calls this area home, her parents still reside in the family home between Westby and Viroqua.

VIVA Gallery welcomes Tricia as our July guest artist and as a new member.  She brings a fresh energy and innovative quality to her work.  You have to come to the gallery to see it!

1st Thursday   •   July 7   •   5 pm to 7 pm