LOCAL ARTIST PROVES THERE REALLY ARE “STEEL MAGNOLIAS”

Karman Rheault Finds Inspiration in a Scrap of Metal

ne thing a metal artist can never have is a nice manicure,” Karman Rheault explained with a smile. She is more likely to have cuts and burns on her hands or a blackened face. And her clothes and hair have even been known to catch fire. But she just shrugs it off, because she is totally in love with the art of metal. “It’s like drawing with fire,” she said.

Rheault’s passion for art started young; she always had a sketch book in her hand as a kid. Although her high school art teacher offered inspiration, it was her parents who encouraged her to follow her dreams. So the Bismarck native enrolled at Minnesota State University Moorhead to study art in 1991. She contemplated becoming an art teacher, but her heart said no. “I loved making stuff so much, I realized if I decided to teach art, I wouldn’t have much time to make art,” she said. “And that is what really drives me.” She started her art career creating bold, colorful abstract paintings.

But in 2002, a chance meeting with artist Tara Argall completely changed her focus. Argall challenged Rheault to try metal art and after they took a quick lesson in welding and plasma cutting, she became addicted. The two women started a sculpture and jewelry business. “We sadly just retired our joint business at the end of 2011 due to lack of time because our other individual businesses have been exploding. We remain wonderful friends,” she said.

These days, Rheault has put her paint brushes away, doing metal art exclusively. She draws her inspiration from nature, using copper, steel and stainless steel heating the metal to create different colors, sometimes using lights for effect.

She has recently started taking on commissioned pieces something that scared her at first. “My customers have pushed me to where I wouldn’t have gone on my own,” Rheault said. The artist often receives comments about the high level of detail in her work. “I explain it’s because of the eye-hand coordination I gained from years of being a painter.”

Her wall pieces were described by a friend as a hybrid between painting and sculpture. The bathroom mirror and the fireplace in their home are also her creations. She hopes to make a sculpture garden in their yard some day. Leftover scraps serve as inspiration for smaller items such as jewelry or light switch plates.

Rheault is in her third term as president of Gallery 4, Ltd, an artist’s co-op located in the Black Building, in downtown Fargo. There are 12 members, each of them part-owner, who take turns working at the gallery. Her work is available there and online at snowfirestudio.com.

When Rheault is not in the gallery or her studio, she’s playing chauffeur. She and her husband, Mark, have three daughters Syler, 15, Caiden, 13, and Zenna, 10 that keep them on the go. Both parents work out of their farm house north of Moorhead, complete with two dogs, a cat, two horses, some chickens and ducks.

Despite her ability to juggle both work and family responsibilities, Rheault said she is not a planner when it comes to her art. “When I get an idea of a piece to make, and it comes to fruition, it’s like Christmas it’s a wonderful surprise!” [AWM]