High Schooler Exhibits Paintings in First Gallery Show

by SAM WATSON sam@ppulse.com

Abby Ostermeier, a junior at Kewaunee High School, started painting when she was 15. Now, just two years later, her art is on display at Algoma’s Ladybug Glass Studio & Gallery.

High school art teachers such as Terry Worth helped Ostermeier to re ne her techniques. But she had a more unconventional mentor, too: the late Bob Ross, host of The Joy of Painting, who was famous for his “happy little trees.”

“The rst two or three [paintings] I did, I followed his videos,” Ostermeier said. “But once I got the basics down, like how to do trees and mountains, I branched o .”

Now Ostermeier no longer uses references for her paintings and simply relies on her imagination to ll her acrylic landscapes with snow-covered pines, stormy skies and lush green islands.

Once Ostermeier started painting, her mother, Jackie Kassner, said she improved quickly.

“When I look back at her rst painting, it was good,” Kassner said, “but as she progressed, her details became just phenomenal.”

That talent runs in the family.

Ostermeier’s grandmother on her father’s side was a painter, too, working mostly in oils, Kassner said.

“She passed away before I was born,” Ostermeier said, “but she was a great artist” and a major source of inspiration.

As art teachers started noticing Ostermeier’s talent, they pushed her to explore artistic opportunities, so she and her mom visited a few local galleries to show owners her work.

GALLERY guide

Featured galleries are highlighted. It may be helpful to confirm galleries’ hours before visiting.

ALGOMA

Algoma Atelier of Sculpture and Fine Art E5977 Fremont Road (920) 487-4200

Clay on Steele Pottery Studio 221 Steele St. (920) 487-3501

Ladybug Glass Studio & Gallery 219 Steele St. (920) 591-2883

Robert Ray Gallery 520 Parkway St. (920) 495-6677

The Pottery CO-OP 610 Fourth Street (847) 772.0401

Yardstick Books & Gallery 317 Steele St. (785) 917-9628

BAILEYS HARBOR

Chez Cheryl Art Space 8360 High Plateau Road, o EE (920) 421-1690

EGG HARBOR

Brilliant Stranger 7896 Hwy 42 (920) 366-0301

Chief Oshkosh Native American Arts 7631 Hwy 42 (920) 868-3240

Dale Kumbalek

Tonewood (Handmade Guitars) 7896 Hwy 42 (920) 737-7885

Mike Judy Art (920) 743-2614 mikejudyart.com

Plum Bottom Gallery (Downtown) 7813 Hwy 42 (920) 743-2819

Plum Bottom Gallery (Plum Bottom Road) 4999 Plum Bottom Road (920) 743-2819

Woodwalk Gallery 6746 Cty G,

ELLISON for this free activity.

Ostermeier didn’t ask to be exhibited, but when Ladybug Glass Studio & Gallery owner Kimberly Lyon saw her work, she o ered her a spot on a gallery wall.

“I was really impressed with how well she paints,” Lyon said, especially because she was initially caught o guard by how young Ostermeier was. Lyon had previously hosted a gallery show with Algoma High School students as part of Youth Art Month, but she’d never shown the work of a high schooler as a solo exhibitor.

Lyon is “treating her just like I treat all of my adult guest artists” and pricing Ostermeier’s works as such. In doing so, she hopes to encourage other student artists.

“It’s important for the community to know that we have great young artists in the area,” Lyon said.

Ostermeier’s art will be on display at Ladybug Glass Studio & Gallery, 219 Steele St. in Algoma, until the end of February. The gallery is open Thursday and Friday, 10 am – 5 pm, and Saturday, 10 am – 4 pm.

Learn more about Family Art Days at peninsulaschoolofart.org/family-art-days.

(2) RECLAIMED REOPENS AFTER RENOVATION

Reclaimed & Co. Jewelry is reopening

Feb. 18, 10 am – 4 pm, after artist and owner Melanie Wahlen completed a shop renovation. To match her salvaged and reclaimed jewelry, the renovation includes many reused components. Wahlen’s newest jewelry collection incorporates materials such as Door County beach glass, hammered and torched copper roofing tiles, and found objects.

Gibraltar Art Students Win Poster Contest

Three Gibraltar art students won the Soil and Water Conservation Poster Contest at the county level: Elayna Hatch for grades 2-3, Elizabeth Bautista for grades 7-9 and Bethanie Stackhouse for grades 10-12. Bautista’s poster, which placed first, will be entered in the state competition in March. See the winning posters at co.door. wi.gov/1167/Conservation-AwarenessPoster-Contest.

In addition, ninth-graders Bautista and Abby DeMeuse both earned honorable mentions in the Scholastic Art and Writing Contest. Bautista’s work will also be displayed in the Miller Art Museum’s Salon School of Art later this spring, and DeMeuse’s work is currently hanging at The Ridges Sanctuary, where a new art show features work by Gibraltar middle and high school students. A prominent feature of the show is a 10-foot-tall mural completed by Mrs. Meikle’s Art 1 students.