By Hazel Freeman
Walking into the Hands On Art Studio, near the little town of Fish Creek, in Wisconsin, is like walking into a candy store when you were a kid. In the "Art Barn," at the Hands On Art Studio, instead of jars full of colorful jawbreakers, jellybeans, and licorice, you’ll find jars full of glistening glass beads, and mosaic pieces..
If you’re looking for a great place to let your creativity go wild, Hands On Art Studio is the premier place for do it yourself creative arts.
The worktables, in the huge renovated old barn, are art themselves. Splattered with paint, each is a unique, abstract, colorful creation inviting you to sit, dream, and create.
Located in delightful Door County, Wisconsin, Hands On is a dream come true for owner, operator Cy Turnbladh.
A skilled artist in many mediums, Turnbladh, turned his love of creating into a popular visitor venue in this much-loved Wisconsin, getaway destination. Now in its fifteenth year, Hands On Art Studio has transformed itself from a little back room art studio, to an 8000 square foot haven for those who love to create. And, even more so, for those who believe they don’t have an artistic bone in their body, the folks at the Hands On Art Studio are eager to prove them wrong.In the 4000 square foot renovated “art barn,” you can: sit down to a potter’s wheel and “throw” a vase, turn ceramic bits and pieces into a mosaic master piece, decorate a set of wine glasses with your own artwork, build a beautiful birdhouse or bistro table, or turn a piece of lifeless ceramics into decorator dishware.
If you’ve wandered through the art barn and still haven’t found something to get your creative juices flowing than there’s still the studio “out buildings,” to explore. The Metal Studio Buffet is a place where metal sculptures, garden, and wall art come to life. You can find pre-cut metal shapes or, if you want to try your hand at plasma cutting and mig welding, here’s your chance. The combination of metal art paired with a glass art piece makes for a really dynamic duo of a design.
You won’t want to miss a chance to discover glass fusing in the Hands On Hot Glass Art Studio.
Colored glass pieces, beads, and tubes are glued with a scant drop of glue to a clear glass form. When the design is complete the glass piece is placed in the kiln and fired to 1375 degrees overnight. The colored pieces actually melt or fuse right into the clear form creating a beautiful piece of glass art. Other forms of glass art include glass blowing, and lamping, a process where a torch is used to melt glass tubes.
Hands On is a great place for adults and kids. Two and three day art camps are held for kids June through August. Adult nights are held every Friday night year round. During the winter months Friday night adult nights include free pizza.The cost of creative projects depends on the base pieces you select. Project base pieces start at $3.00 each, so the more complicated your artwork is the more it will cost. Hands On charges a $7.00 studio fee, per person, per day. The cost will still come in far less than if you were to buy a similar piece of art. The great thing is the satisfaction and sense of accomplishment is all yours and you have something to show-off for years to come.
For more information on Hands On Art Studio visit: www.handsonartstudio.com.
For more of my writing and to read my blog visit: www.hazelfreeman.com Freelance Writer
