Irma artist Louise Schotz will open the doors of her Outback Studio to the public this Saturday and Sunday. From 9 a.m.-5 p.m. both days, Schotz will be holding an open house and offering her works for sale. Outback Studio, located about a quarter-mile west of Hwy. 51 on Cty. J, is normally only open by appointment.
Since retiring from her career as a chemistry teacher at Merrill High School, Schotz has gotten in touch with her artistic side, first with quilting and later adding jewelry making to her pursuits. During this weekend’s open house she will also be featuring her new textured paintings.
Schotz started quilting in the late 1980s. After making a quilt for every bed in the family, she took her quilting skills in a more artistic direction.
“I decided I wanted to make quilts as art,” she said.
She now primarily makes decorative quilts from a variety of materials – she even found a way to incorporate a hornets nest in one of her latest creations.
Making metal jewelry is a more recently-discovered passion for Louise. Some of her newer lines transform beer bottle caps and bicycle parts into jewelry.
Outback Studio (literally located “out back” of the Schotz’s Irma home) was built 17 years ago, after Louise’s art had overtaken two of the bedrooms in their house.
Now in her 20th year of retirement, Schotz travels all over the country and the world, taking art classes and bringing inspiration back to her Outback Studio.