Featured Artist Stephanie Failmezger

Featured artist Stephanie Failmegzer presents her portfolio of intricate Bead Mosaics.

I have been working in the sign industry as a graphic designer for 23 years. In 2001 I discovered I was pregnant with my third child and decided to freelance at home. I stayed home for three years and had yet another child. It was during this time that I started painting and drawing again . When I had amassed a collection of art, my husband encouraged me to approach  local galleries, and thus at age 34, I began to take fine art seriously.

Using art materials in an unusual way has always interested me. I began trying out different mediums. Oil paints, acrylics and oil pastels for starters. I especially loved oil pastels because of the expression and texture you can build up on a surface. As I began experimenting with different mediums I discovered beads, but not for making jewelry. I began working with beads in what I have termed “mosaic beadwork” and fell in love with the textures, colors and the patterns they make.

The bead industry has grown tremendously since I first started and now the selections are almost endless, which has made me some what of a “bead-a-holic” I am constantly on the look out for different beads, even perusing antique stores for costume jewelry. I use many different beads or objects in my work. Some of which include, glass beads, lampwork beads, seed beads, metal beads, wood beads,  polymer clay, stained glass, and/or found objects. Each bead (or object) is set into place with glue and a tweezers and is hand  placed in different orientations depending on the texture I want to achieve.

Life in all its’ interconnectedness and intricacies is what inspire me. When I start placing beads in my work I am constantly aware that my work is about life itself. Each choice makes a difference, each bead plays a part, each combination creates a unique pattern. It is this relationship that fascinates me and connects me as an artist to the world around me. How incredible life is that each created element has a purpose. This process is what reveals to me the divine Creator and m y alliance in sharing in the creative experience.

My dream is to make my studio work a full time career. I am working on the marketing side of the career spectrum, which as an artist I must say, is not in my nature. I am looking to expand some teaching avenues, and although I show my work in three local galleries I would like to expand  to surrounding areas.

If you have kept count from the beginning I now have four children ranging in ages 18 to 9 years of age. I work part time as a Graphic Designer at a local sign company and I work every second of the day that I am able on my artwork. I currently have a busy year, with three upcoming shows at local venues and a State Award competition in Madison, WI.