In the Gallery: January 2010

In the Gallery

INSPIRED FIRE: Glass Creations by Sharon Owens

Sharon is an artist who combines the vivid color of the tropics, depth and translucency of molten glass into artwork that sings with enthusiasm. The details crafted through the gentle techniques of flameworking glass over a torch or a combination of flamework and molten furnace glass, give the resulting pieces an unparalleled beauty of murrini, latticino cane and layers of dichroic glass. It is difficult to say which gave her the most undying inspiration - the childhood trip to the glass furnaces of West Virginia, the extra drawing and painting studies since third grade, the BA in Fine Arts from Indiana University, or the fortunate studies with American and Italian glass masters – and all which have contributed to Sharon's long love affair of dancing with fire.

INPRESSIONS IN PAINT & PASTEL by Karen Patton

Karen Patton is a retired public school teacher from Montgomery County. She has been working as a professional artist for about ten years. She has taken many studio classes at the Lafayette Art Museum and the Morton Center with teachers: Jeff Klinker, Lori Amick, James Werner, and Rena Brower.

Patton has been Artist-in-Residence at the Lew Wallace Study several times and exhibits in Lafayette, Frankfort, Sugar Creek Art Center, Art Museum of Greater Lafayette and Crawfordsville. She has had several solo exhibits in Crawfordsville and Lafayette, and has been in several juried shows including the Grand Wabash, Crawfordsville Fall Exhibit, and Columbian Park Zoo Show.

Karen is a member of Indiana Plein Air Painters, Wabash Artist Alliance, and the Art League of Montgomery County. She is the current co-president of the Art League. She enjoys doing landscapes, still lifes, and portraits. Patton usually works in watercolor and oil and enjoys learning new techniques and experimenting with new media. She and her husband enjoy traveling and taking photos of places around the world which often inspire new paintings.