RIVER FALLS – Do you know what Braart is? Read this article - there’s a lot to learn.

The Art’s House in River Falls at the corner of Maple and Main had a Meet the Artist opening Feb. 6. The show included 11 local artists and brought in a good crowd on a windy, rainy February night.

Artists included in the show were: Erin Lotze, Katelyn Manske, Erin Ward, Sadie Ward, Lisa Kroutil, Krista Spieler, Cheryl Maplethorpe, Leslie Batt lutz, Petra Gunther Johnson, Hjordi Van Ausdal, Carolina Downs, and Marg Downing. Special appreciation should go to musician Hannah Kilmer, guitarist for the opening event.

Transforming Trash to art is the theme of the Art’s House show. So what is the most transformed item in the show? It would be hard to judge.

The fiber artists seem to hold a slim edge when it comes to transforming and repurposing fibers in their daily stride. Manske repurposes men’s blue shirts, and fabric strips to a gem of an undulating weaving as well as a sewn blue explosion wall hanging, Guenthner-Johnson recycled mesh produce bags to meditative art by weaving life into them. Kroutil recycled old sweater wool into a Hedge Witch hat, not to mention transforming many T-shirts into highly functional crocheted baskets. S. Ward repurposed bras to braart in her large collages the likes of Dolly Parton, Gretta Thunberg, and Lady Gaga. Ward also manages to repurpose mahogany piano wood. You’ve got to see it to believe it.

What next, you may ask. Manske recycled paper, Downs recycled copper wire and glass pebbles not to mention her old supply of paint brushes, while Downing repurposed pallets of her old paint.

Spieler did what many people would expect when transforming trash to treasure. She scavenged the ground stringing bottle caps, lug nuts, washers, buttons, other precious debris into a floral wire sculpture. Lotze craftily repurposed pinecones, shanks and building materials, while Youngman recycled a hunk of variegated cardboard into a joyful collage. Erin Ward transformed busted mirrors and China cups into a beautiful pig called Pearl, worthy of a Bacon Bash icon.

Been to a garage sale lately? It’s a great place to start recycling. Artist Maplethorpe repurposed a deer mount into a North America Tiger Deer, dowels into Virginia Slim cigs, and Barbies into an artistic statement. Batt-Lutz cleverly recycles lost items, keys, not to mention memories and milk weed puffs inside old cigar boxes. Remember all those crayons your kids left behind? Van Ausdal melted them and dripped them on a canvas. She ripped up pieces of an old novel and embellished a cork board with them.

The variety demonstrated in this group of artists was off the charts. Not surprisingly price tags on the art run from $7 to $2500. This show is open through the end of March when wearable art moves in.

Make it a priority to wander into Main and Maple Street’s Art House. Get inspired. Transform your thoughts into art!

Submitted by Margreth Downing