SHERRY SEMELEER
Sherry Semeleer is a newcomer to Country Creek and loves the atmosphere here. She loves riding her bike 10 miles within the community, swimming, tennis, and has joined several community groups including Care Bears. She makes her home on Blacksmith Forge but has lived in many places including Michigan, Aruba, and several places in Florida.
Sherry has recently retired from a career in sales. Most of her career has been in consultative sales, with the last several years working within the Senior Living industry helping seniors and their loved ones with Independent Living, Assisted Living, and Memory Care and continues to do so in a semi-retired capacity.
Sherry’s adventure in art is a relatively new medium called acrylic pour. Acrylic pour (or fluid art) is a fluid painting technique where specially thinned acrylic paints are mixed with a pouring medium and then poured onto a canvas to create mesmerizing, organic patterns and abstract art. The paints flow naturally across the surface guided by gravity and the artists’ manipulation (such as blowing with a hairdryer or straw or using various implements), forming swirls, cells, and other unique designs. This style of painting was discovered by accident in the 1930s by a famous muralist by the name of David Alfaro Siquerios and was used extensively by Jackson Pollack who became the most famous abstract expressionist. Sherry began using acrylic art techniques during the Covid pandemic and finds the medium very relaxing and always spontaneous and unique. Her home is a lovely gallery of her work.
ANN WITTMAN
Ann Wittman and husband Dick make their home on Country Barn Drive. They moved here from Ohio as part-time residents in 2003 and then became full-time residents in 2008. Ann has always been interested in general crafting. She spent many years sewing for her children and then was introduced to beading during a visit with friends in Arizona and an accidental trip to a craft fair. Since then she has taught herself dozens of techniques through the use of YouTube and books.
Originally, she thought she would focus on semi-precious stones but found that smaller beads were more portable, and she could work on her projects in various locations. Her favorite technique is peyote stitch bead weaving. Peyote stitch is a fundamental beading technique for creating fabric-like panels by stitching delica beads one at a time, allowing them to interlock into patterns (see photos 1 and 2). Delica beads are uniform, tubular-shaped glass beads with flat ends and a large hole, ideal for off-loom bead weaving. These precision-cut beads sit flush next to each other, creating a smooth, even surface for intricate designs. The patterns resemble those of counted cross-stitch–various colors in a grid-like pattern.
The rear lanai in Ann’s home is her studio where she keeps an incredible (and highly organized) display of various beads, findings, and the tools required to work with them, and, of course, the many projects that she is always working on. In Ann’s hands various beads and techniques produce highly creative necklaces, earrings, Christmas ornaments (note the spider), and other various ornaments. She finds this form of art very relaxing and enjoyable.
