Crysta Goes Visiting, Spring 2022

Gail Piepenburg and Her Beautiful Fairy Houses

“I grew up in the metro Detroit area ’burbs surrounded by lots of kids, in a neighborhood of fields, meadows, and streams ripe for adventure,” said ceramic artist Gail Piepenburg. She later moved to Ann Arbor with her husband, who is also an artist. “We both fell in love with a piece of property on a dirt road near the river with trails. It was a place we could build on using our creativity and skill. It had room for an art studio. We both value how creative and diverse people in a community contribute to making a place more interesting and often beautiful. The historic architectural buildings, the quirky places, individual businesses, the varied restaurants, close to nature, all made it a city with visual appeal to live in.”

Piepenburg’s parents taught their children many life skills and hands-on skills such as sewing, baking, painting, gardening, and working with wood and metal. “So, learning to work with clay was an easy fit for me,” she said. “I simply took classes in ceramics after my own children were born.” 

The fairy houses are a marriage between ceramics and her interest in gardening. Piepenburg explained, “I’ve worked in and taught art in the public schools for over 25 years now. But it was my garden and an invitation to be part of the Ann Arbor Garden Walk that started me on the fairy house project. Twice my garden was selected to be included on the garden tour as well as having our ceramic studio open to visitors.”

After brainstorming ceramics that would appeal to gardeners, she decided “whimsical fairy houses would fit perfectly.” She shared, “This side project blossomed into an annual event in which I make fairy houses for the A2 Garden Walk specifically. Each year the houses continue to evolve in design, and I display and sell them in a different garden [every year] at their event.”

The fairy houses, which come in various shapes, are so fun and colorful, they really do make the perfect addition to any yard or garden. What a delightful discovery for people to make while out on a walk in the neighborhood! 

And where do the ideas for her artwork come from? “I have to say I can find inspiration nearly everywhere, it’s how we choose to look at something that shifts our view,” Piepenburg said. “I am drawn to the rich experiences of travel. Architecture and detail. Cultures and history. Imagination. Creativity. Good design. Burning Man artists and my daughter’s ethereal photographs. My husband’s creativity and his inspired suggestions. My youngest daughter, who truly ‘loves what she does.’ They all nourish me, and I am in awe of them.”

During the second week of June, you can find Piepenburg at the Ann Arbor Garden Walk in one of the beautiful gardens. If you’re interested in one of her houses or other works of art, contact her for a tour of the studio.

Find Gail Piepenburg online at instagram.com/fairytalehouses/. You can find her work for sale at Two Fish Gallery in Leland, Michigan. She can be contacted by emailing Gpiepenburg@gmail.com or texting (734) 834-7117.

Using Your Psychic Abilities with Beverly Fish

Beverly Fish has led an interesting life. Mother, teacher, grandmother, astrologer, psychic, demonologist… Fish has seen more than most! 

Her first encounter with the paranormal was when she was a child. One day she found herself wishing that her house was haunted (an exciting prospect for many children), when a ball was thrown at her head. But no one was in the room with her, so where did the ball come from, and who threw it? She went downstairs to tell her mother she thought their house was, in fact, haunted. Her mother told her not to tell anyone, which Fish took as confirmation. As she grew, she and her sister, who also inherited the family’s psychic gift, became acquainted with their ghost, a friendly young man whom they named George. “George became part of the family,” Fish told me. She was sad when the family eventually sold the house and moved away, leaving George behind.

In the 1970s, Fish became interested in astrology, but it wasn’t until 20 years later that this led to something special. While teaching humanities classes at Washtenaw Community College, an interesting email was sent out to staff from the new person in charge of community education. Fish said, “It asked if anybody is into astrology or pure parapsychology or anything paranormal. And I thought, should I answer that or not? I thought that was like coming out of the closet for me as a paranormal person.”

Fish responded to the email in the affirmative, then she met in person with the woman who had sent it. The woman was so impressed by Fish’s abilities that they decided together to create a Develop Your Psychic Ability class that Fish taught. “The biggest thing I think everybody needs to tap into is their spirit guides. Get in touch with that first.” It was her spirit guides that led Fish to develop her own abilities and use them to help people in different ways.

It turns out that a predisposition to psychic ability is actually visible in a person’s astrological birth chart. Pisces and Cancer, both water signs, are particularly sensitive, and Fish worries when she sees one at the center of paranormal activity. They often don’t have the proper tools to withstand the energy. Whenever she is asked to assist on a potential haunting, Fish studies the birth charts of the people involved for potential insight. 

She said that many of the spirits she finds are just loved ones checking in or otherwise benign spirits that are attached to the building or land, like George. But when activity is particularly harmful, especially if a child is involved, Fish offers her expertise to help rectify the situation.

“Everything is connected,” Fish said. Whatever tools you have at your disposal can be honed and utilized. And don’t forget your spirit guides!

Book a reading with Beverly Fish at evenstarschalice.com. She can be contacted via email at beverly.fish@comcast.net.

Printmaking with a.mess.of.photos’ Mary Getz

Local printmaker Mary Getz grew up near Lake Michigan in beautiful Berrien County, Michigan. She has since settled in Clinton with her husband and young son. She told me, “I originally came to Ann Arbor for college at U of M and graduated with a BA in Psychology and Women’s Studies in 2008. I then worked as an advisor at a democratic free school I co-founded and as a direct care worker for people with disabilities. I had to stop working in 2013 due to an increase in illness from my genetic condition, Cystic Fibrosis.”

Getz’s first foray into art was through the camera lens. “I was a very stubborn young adult and got started in photography right before the switch to digital from film. I had just purchased a very nice film camera when film and developing became much harder to come by. I refused to spend more money on a nice digital camera, because I had a perfectly good film camera!” This is where the name a.mess.of.photos comes from. She slowed down when she became more occupied by school, work, and attending to her health.

“I spent a few years not creating much and focusing exclusively on my health,” she said. “By the time I got pregnant with my son, my health had improved a bit, and I was able to spend more time on art/creating. I decided I wanted to try printmaking, so I purchased a starter kit and did my first print, a couple of morel mushrooms, that turned out better than I was expecting!” Getz fell in love. 

Printmaking involves “carving an image onto the block, and seeing the idea come to life on paper.” Getz is “mostly self-taught, with some help from the printmaking community on instagram.” She decided to keep the name a.mess.of.photos because, “I think it truly represents who I am as a person—messy and creative. It also describes my printmaking—most of my ideas start as photos, and the process of creating a print is messy—lots of little scraps of carved lino and ink smears.”

Getz is inspired by “compassion, authenticity, and the raw, real stuff of life,” but when it comes to her art, she uses a different tactic. “My art takes a more conceptual approach: it’s about the process, getting in the zone, and the actual act of creating. A lot of my most popular prints or creations come from my interest in learning more about myself and the things that I enjoy, such as learning about my Potawatomi heritage and language, creating custom home prints, or recreating a vintage pattern I love.” 

She hopes that her creations “spark a bit of joy or connection with other people. I love to hear about where my creations end up, or the reason a customer purchased a particular item.”

Find Mary Getz online at amessofphotosart.com and instagram.com/a.mess.of.photos/. She can be reached by email at amessofphotosart@gmail.com.

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