Biography/Artist Statement

Steve was an engineer with a woodworking/woodturning hobby. Luanne has an art degree and has been a ceramic artist for some time focusing on sculptures and artistic pottery for cactus and succulent displays. After Steve’s retirement, he focused on creating a variety of woodturning objects from eccentric turned wine glasses, to pens, to “eggoscopes”. That started the kaleidoscope adventure. ETSY sales of the eggoscopes were quite successful and Steve found additional kaleidoscope kits that he “kit-bashed” into a variety of wooden scopes. From there, it was suggested that they meet with Mary Wills of Nellie Bly. Mary critiqued the work presented and suggested that they attend the Brewster Convention in Scottsdale. Between the workshop classes at the Convention, the subsequent workshops at Nellie Bly in October, and the willingness of the Brewster member artists to share tips, methods, and supply sources, the development of more sophisticated kaleidoscopes was catapulted forward. The convention also yielded an unexpected result. Luanne’s interest in the creation of the kaleidoscopes was sparked. She has now brought her artistic talents and has developed a number of “themed” object chambers. She creates polymer clay items, as well as lamp-worked glass objects. They are now enjoying the teamwork needed to produce kaleidoscope works of art.