A DOSE OF SPRING. Kelly Speros' art featured in the new Artisan Forge Studios exhibit features the warm and vibrant colors of spring. (Submitted photo)

Colored pencil artist Kelly Speros and metalsmith Liz Stingl are the featured artists in Dancing Forward: Bringing Spring to Life, the show in the Art Gallery at Artisan Forge Studios, 1106 Mondovi Road, from March 8 to April 2.

The 20-by-20 foot gallery pops with the colors of spring: orange monarch butterflies, yellow bees, fruit like blueberries and flowers of all colors and sizes. These are Speros’ original framed works which are also available in prints, on mugs, or umbrellas. In a 6-foot-tall by one-foot-square display case are delicate signs of spring in Stingl’s birch bark jewelry formed using a process called lost wax casting. One pendant resembles a bird’s nest with a robin’s egg blue sapphire. Another specially created pendant in honor of the confluence of the Eau Claire and Chippewa rivers wends the two flowing rivers in the processed birch bark with metals along with a yellow and a blue sapphire reflecting the colors of Stingl’s alma mater, UW-Eau Claire.

BLUGOLD BARK. Metalsmith Liz Stingl created this bird’s nest pendant with a robin’s egg blue sapphire. (Submitted photo)

The artworks and jewelry – all for sale – belie the time each artist spends in creating them. Speros layers the colors painstakingly over many hours, and only recently started to use alcohol-based tints, which resulted in a unique cherry blossom piece with a dragon appearing unexpectedly. The year 2021 marks 10 years for Stingl’s metals company, Casual Ore Formal. Going forward, her plans are to create new designs within her niche of birch bark jewelry, which while it involves multiple steps to achieve the final stunning result, is well worth the wait. Beginning next fall, Stingl will teach jewelry-making classes at Artisan Forge Studios.  

The Artisan Forge Studios gallery is open Tuesday - Friday from 10 am-5 pm and Saturday, 10 am-4 pm. Additional information may be found at artisanforgestudios.com, CasualOreFormal.com, and kellysperosart.com.