Cynthia L. Koshalek

Cynthia L. Koshalek

Cynthia L. Koshalek works creatively with a variety of two and three dimensional media.She began her career in art as a pastel artist. She then worked in pastel and acrylic to create mixed media pieces. She finds that these two media work well together. She also enjoys painting in acrylic and in oil. Recently, she has been working with Plein Air painting in the Door County area. This blend of painting and the outdoor natural elements has spilled over into another of her artistic interests, ceramics. Cynthia likes using the same shapes, textures, and patterns on her ceramics that she employs on her paintings. In recent years, she has been using vintage and crocheted lace items. Her mother has donated some of her crocheted lace art work, making it a two generational effort. Koshalek’s recent ceramic pieces are larger in scale and are handbuilt. These hand carved or textured art works are a new focus. Cynthia also spends more time on the research and creation of new glazes for her pottery. She belongs to a coalition of ceramic artists in Madison that exchange recipes and results.

Cynthia has been working in Jewelry since her college days at UW Madison. Her professor was Fred Fenster, who was well known and respected. His specialty was forging and creating hollow ware. She once told him that she would never use forging in her jewelry, so she saw no reason to learn the technique. Many years later, she had to eat her words, as she often utilizes hammering and forging techniques in her handmade links, findings, and joinings. Cynthia finds all medias to be both challenging and rewarding.