Meet the Artists
Jacey Fiack
Jacey Fiack loves words. All throughout her middle school and high school years, she turned to books and her own writing as an escape from the world of tests, essays, and outrageous math equations. School had never been one of her favorite places, so she often did something creative to help with the boredom. She doodled during classes, brought a book with her everywhere she went, and found time to write stories once she’d quickly finished her assignments.
Today, Jacey creates her pieces with her mom, Shalece Fiack, in their little studio in Buckeye, Arizona, and is constantly inspired by her Grandfather, John Horejs, who’s been encouraging and insightful. Jacey hopes to share Light through her artwork, and with those who need it the most.
John Horejs
For people with complicated and busy lives, having peaceful interior spaces is crucial. Collectors across the United States, including former Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne, Microsoft’s Paul Allen, and Las Vegas developer Steve Wynn, have found a touch of elegant and peaceful simplicity in John Horejs’ warm, rich oil paintings.
Horejs has been a full-time artist since 1986. His work has been included in exhibitions at the Springville, Utah, Museum of Art, the Boise Art Museum, and the Museum at the College of Southern Idaho. His work is also included in the permanent collections of the University of Montana Museum of Art and Idaho State University, as well as the permanent collection of the State of Idaho in the reception area of the Governor’s Office. He has also been featured in American Art Collector Magazine and in numerous one-man and group exhibitions in galleries across the country.
One of the key elements of Horejs’ work is its peaceful simplicity. “I paint exclusively in oils, using two brushes and seven colors plus white,” he says. “My paintings are done on hand-made custom contemporary box canvases with no frames, which have become a trademark.” Horejs draws the inspiration for his paintings from the breathtaking landscapes of the Western United States. Most of his work is done in-studio using his own photographs of lush landscapes, gardens, clouds, and deserts. Along with his regular studio work, he also loves the challenge of creating commissioned pieces for private and corporate collectors.
When he is not painting, Horejs enjoys hiking and photography. He and his wife Elaine have been married since 1973, and they love spending time with their nine children and spouses, and their 21 grandchildren.
In a world that seems increasingly complex and unsettled, Horejs strives through his paintings “to bring peace, grace, elegance, and beauty into the lives and interiors of my collectors."
Shalece Fiack
Growing up as the daughter of a professional artist, Shalece Fiack was constantly involved in some kind of art project. When she was young, she loved setting up an easel beside her father’s and creating her own oil paintings. She began experimenting with pastels when she was fourteen years old, and her parents encouraged her to enter her first juried show. She entered and was accepted, and the positive reception at the show sparked a lifelong love for creating and sharing art.
As a young adult, Shalece lived in Italy for over a year, learning Italian and completely immersing herself in the culture. She developed a deep love for the people she met and the way art was interwoven into every aspect of their lives. When she returned to the United States, she spent time selling art and wedding dresses. She loved interacting with clients and connecting them with products that fit their needs and desires.
Throughout her life, Shalece has continued to love art and is always involved in something creative. In October 2015, with encouragement from her father, Shalece began a challenge to create 100 paintings in 100 days, sharing her journey over social media. Backed by the support of family and friends, Shalece successfully completed her goal in January 2016, which culminated a short time later with her first one-woman show in Bangor, Maine (where she and her family lived until November of 2017). Her work is now in collections throughout the U.S.
Shalece continues to paint soft, colorful acrylic pieces in her home studio in Arizona where she lives with her husband and three daughters, who bring her daily joy and inspiration.
Exhibits
- The Finer Arts Gallery in Cave Creek
- On the Edge Gallery in Scottsdale
- Sky Harbor Airport (2015 and 2019)
- Gallery at El Pedregal
- Sonoran Arts League Center for the Arts
- Arizona Designers and Craftsmen various exhibits
- Arizona Art Alliance various exhibits
Patricia Isaacson
Pat Isaacson was a programmer and systems analyst for many years, working for IBM in Salt Lake City and Honeywell in Chicago and finally starting her own business. “There was always something new to learn when working with computers. It was a creative and rewarding vocation for me.”
In the early 90's Pat developed a love of glass art and started collecting glass pieces. In 2009 she decided to try her hand at creating glass and purchased a small kiln. Little did she know how it was going to take over her life! She has now added a second kiln and any available funds are spent on classes, glass and tools. (and her electric bill!)
“I enjoy selecting the color schemes and combinations for my glass pieces, and strive to create patterns and shapes that please my eye based on years of experience in making and appreciating art, and influenced by my love of architecture and mathematics.”
Pat is a Juried member of the Sonoran Arts League and Arizona Designers and Craftsmen.
Glass Education
- Pittsburgh Glass Center
- Phoenix Center for the Arts
- Milkweed Arts Studio
Houston Llew — Spiritiles
Every Spiritile represents the story of our indefatigable inner spirit and the enduring bonds we hold with the people we love. From the beginning, Houston Llew sought to epitomize this inspiration through a very specific art form — vitreous enamel. A medium as ancient as Mesopotamia, with glorious historical artworks in royal jewelry, imperial goblets, and emperors’ treasures, enamel is an illustrious medium that Houston cast in a new, radiant form.
With its metallic base as canvas and its myriad glass colors as “paint,” what makes this work unique is the story wrapped around the sides of each piece. Some Spiritiles quote authors and poets, others philosophers and fellow artists, but every piece is designed to connect to a motivation of the self.
Each Spiritile is crafted first by laying powdered glass, or “frit,” onto a perfectly cut copper canvas, using a series of stencils for each layer of color, playing cards, and hand sifters to carve out the design. Once delicately aligned and layered, the glass and metal is carefully placed in the red-hot kiln to keep the glass from shifting, and timing is of utmost importance. Once fired, the enameled piece is removed from the kiln and cooled under a planchet.
The natural “crazing marks” (small cracks in the fired glass) that occur in enamel increase the luminescence of the glass. By rolling a pin over the surface of each piece after cooling, the light refraction in the glass increases and the enamel becomes malleable enough to frame.
Discovering how to wrap enamel in three dimensions around a frame was one of Houston’s most significant design achievements. By using a thin sheet of copper and precisely aligning the glass edges, each Spiritile is molded and affixed to a solid wooden frame, wrapping the story, author, and Houston’s signature around the sides.
Spiritiles may be displayed by hanging on a wall or by placing on a shelf or a table.
Jane Wunder
Jane is a versatile artist who started drawing and painting at an early age and has continued through the years developing her style of art. Jane taught watercolor painting and pastel drawing techniques throughout the Midwest and western states for community colleges and private workshops since 1979.
For the last 20 years Jane has extensively been creating paintings in soft pastels. She likes the instant gratification soft pastels gives her spontaneity to her paintings.
In the last 15 years Jane has enjoyed the challenges of painting outside at Plein Air events and leisure throughout the mountain region. Jane’s favorite subjects are from the Rocky Mountain Region.
Jane is looking forward to capturing in pastels the beauty of the White Mountain region. She presently lives in the Show Low, AZ area for the summer months and Casa Grande, AZ in the winter months.
Jane has published five how-to books on colored pencil drawing and watercolor with pen-n-ink techniques through Susan Scheewe national author and publisher. She has also written articles through the years on color pencil drawing techniques with national magazines, Tole World and Decorative Painter.
Prior Galleries Jane was represented at are Deselms fine Art Gallery in Cheyenne, WY, Mountain Sun Art Gallery,Fairplay, CO, High Country Art Gallery, Lakeside, AZ, Mountain Man Gallery, Como, CO, Arts Alive, Breckenridge, CO, Bob Parks Gallery, Main Street Gallery and Durfee Art Gallery in Scottsdale, AZ. Past shows 2005-2019: Western Spirit Art Show, Cheyenne, WY.
Artist Statement
Painting has always come naturally to Jane whenever the outdoors talks to her and the moment strikes. Nature speaks to Jane in a way that inspires her to share her special places with others so that they may experience that special moment. Jane’s journey begins in nature and flows from her creativity to those she shares her art with.
Marjie Risk — Same Moon Creations
Born and raised in Arizona, Marjie has an appreciation for the environmental diversity of the area in terms of habitat, elevation, plant life, etc. With over twenty-four years in natural resource management, she has found that her art is inspired by the beauty of nature and some of the precious natural resources of Arizona: water, copper, and turquoise.
Her studio name, Same Moon Creations, was derived from the connections we have with each other and the world around us. No matter where we are or where we go, we all look upon the same moon. She strives to create environmental and natural resource based artwork using various types of metal and handcrafted, hand-fired ceramics. Her work varies from ceramic creations with supporting metal structures to stand-alone metal sculptures. Most recently, she has developed a series of whimsical steel creatures that are unique and made largely from salvaged metal. She really enjoys creating different visual effects with steel and copper patinas on her metalwork and exploring the varied possibilities of the unique blend of glazes on her ceramic pieces.
Marjie has exhibited her work at various locations in the Phoenix and Tucson areas as well as in Vail and Breckenridge, Colorado, and various locations in Northern California.
Kim Walker Art
Kim Walker is an internationally recognized artist, mother of four, grandmother of nine, and loving wife.
Kim's son Robby began attending community college in 1992 at age 9. While transporting him to and from college, Kim decided to attend classes herself. She became the first person in her family to receive a degree — a B.F.A. in Painting from Arizona State University — and had the unique experience of taking some classes with her son. Robby completed a PhD in Computer Science. With great pride and joy she refers to this experience as a magical part of her journey.
Since then, Kim has developed a unique style of painting that incorporates pressed flowers and natural elements. During her degree program she absorbed the many offerings of her instructors and is very grateful for that experience. Kim always knew, however, that she wanted to find her own voice in her art. Beginning in December of 1999, in an attempt to assuage her grief over the untimely death of her mother, Kim took almost daily walks. “One day while resting on a mountain trail a breeze wrapped around me and it felt like a hug. I looked up and all around and it became crystal clear that nature reflects not just beauty but also hope and inspiration and healing as well as many metaphoric lessons that can touch all of our lives in profound and limitless ways. We are all warmed by the same sun and held by the same gravity. I knew I wanted to share these feelings as well as the actual botanicals with the world. I stopped many times on my walk home that day and picked up random botanic elements not knowing how, but still knowing these elements would become part of my art.”
Kim continues to evolve her processes of the inclusion of actual botanicals in her art, each day making new discoveries in her studios, one in Arizona and one in Baja. She also writes an original poem for each painting to further express her reverent gratitude for the gifts of nature.
Kim's art is represented in galleries and juried and invitational exhibits nationwide and is included in private, corporate, and municipal collections all over the world.
Sandy Pendleton
There is a magic to light passing through brilliantly colored glass. Add textured surfaces or bubbles and you get more sparkle. Add a reflective surface and you get shimmer and iridescence. Move the glass when it is molten, and you capture the energy of that motion. It is the possibilities of glass as an art medium that stimulates my curiosity and creativity.
Kiln-fired glass is a very different process from blown glass. I begin with large sheets of colored glass that have been specially formulated to withstand the heat of firing in a kiln. I create a design, hand cut the components and begin to build the piece. Once heated in the kiln, the glass is completely transformed. Altering time and temperature over a series of firings allows me to achieve different textures and effects. Over time, my artwork has become more intricate. The details matter to me and I can sit for hours carefully placing small pieces of glass with tweezers until everything is “just right”.
Often, the development of a new piece is a result of experimentation. Discovering a new texture, technique or combination of processes will often suggest the next piece. Resolving the challenges presented by these “adventures in glass” is part of the excitement.
One of my favorite techniques is to manipulate the glass while it is molten hot in the kiln. I have only a few seconds to move the glass. Once the glass is firm again, that moment in time when the glass was flowing is captured forever. The resulting pieces have great motion and depth that speaks to me of the invisible energy flowing all around us.
Themes from the natural world regularly appear. Elements of earth, water, fire, the forest and the desert all make their way into my artwork. Think of the shimmer of moonlight, the soft glow of morning, the brilliant hues of the desert sunset, the mystery of twilight. If I have communicated my love of those moments through my work, I have succeeded.
Natalia
My name is Natalia and I’m a former Architect living in Ukraine 🇺🇦. I’ve always loved working with my hands creating mixed media art and crafts.
When I retired from my formal career, I started my own craft business. I design and make beautiful dolls and ornaments in the Ukrainian tradition.
My daughter and grandson live close by and help with the delivery process. It’s such a delight to create whimsical felt toys 🧸 for all to enjoy.