Spotlight Artist

Brenda Behling-Strack

Brenda Behling-Strack is a self-trained artist-in-residence in her hometown of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.

In 2016 she started pouring all her creative energies into the restoration of a 4-story, 120-year old Victorian house, in which she now resides, runs as a bed and breakfast and houses her studio/workshop.

She has visualized her art on the walls and floors of the house, as well as the ceilings and furnishings throughout her interior design, incorporating architectural salvage in some of her projects, most notably, her mantles in each room of her home. Her primary focus is now on mosaics, which actually happened by accident. She was knee-deep in a tiling project on her basement floor when she opened the boxes, only to find them all broken beyond repair. Instead of wasting a fresh batch of glue, she decided to use them as is and ended up creating a Blue Heron in flight on the floor.

The project lasted 6 weeks from start to finish and by the end of it, she realized that although it was labor-intensive, it never felt like work. There was therapeutic value in the actual handling of the natural stones; and it was rewarding to give the broken tiles a second chance to become something beautiful.

That is how Broken Stone Studio became a reality - since then the studio space has been expanded to include a coral reef in progress inspired by a recent trip to Key West. Her artwork incorporates acrylic painting, glass, tile, and stone in her nautical and natural motifs, specializing in fins and feathers with the connecting link being the element of water.

In 2020, she started a second rehab project on the shores of Lake Huron of a cottage where she’s incorporating stones, shells and driftwood throughout the interior design. Brenda’s journey into the art world over the last 6 years started with the love of giving everything “second chances”, and how to find beauty in the brokenness and turn it into something fabulous.

Her studio/workshop is open by appointment only and located at 724 Cedar Street, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, two blocks from the famous Soo Locks.

For more information on Brenda’s artwork: Email: Contact@brokenstonestudio.com Instagram: @brokenstonestudio

Her artwork incorporates acrylic painting (as seen below on the old piece of carpet Brenda found in her attic and repurposed into a beautiful piece of art),glass,tile,and stone in her nautical and natural motifs, specializing in fins and featherswiththeconnectinglinkbeingtheelementofwater.