Estimated read time: 6-7 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Jul. 28--The hummingbird just wouldn't give up. Once, twice, three times he darted into the cup of the delphinium, searching unsuccessfully for a long drink of nectar.
"He finally gave up and went to the bird feeder filled with sugar water," Howard Tomashek said with a laugh.
The Winona sculptor is laughing because that delphinium the hummingbird was so determined to drink from was made of stainless steel and then painted with blue porcelain paint that gave it a translucent shine.
The same thing that attracted the hummingbird has attracted art lovers, Tomashek said. That translucent surface allows glimpses of the stainless steel to shine through on his welded pieces. He makes flowers, birds, fish and other creatures and will bring them all to La Crosse this weekend for Art Fair on the Green.
Tomashek was 6 when he first tried out his artistic skills. His father, who was a machine designer and pattern maker by trade, would cut wood shapes for young Howard, and then Howard would carve birds, fish and animals that he had seen in the encyclopedia.
From that day on, Tomashek was an artist. It doesn't matter that he majored in business in college. He took every drawing class St. Mary's University offered. It doesn't matter that he went into the family business, Winona Attrition Mill Co. He used the metal scraps at the business to weld into pieces of art.
From the first wood carvings, Tomashek never stopped carving and welding and drawing and painting. His first inspiration for welded art came while working in the family business.
"I'd see pieces like this," he said, holding up three triangular pieces of steel. "And I'd think sailboats. I was seeing art in the scraps."
But it was three years ago, on a shopping trip to Jo-Ann Fabrics with his daughters, that he discovered porcelain paint.
It is the porcelain paint that turns his sturdy stainless steel pieces into delicate pieces of art. In shades of pink, blue, purple, orange, and colors he mixes and layers, Tomashek brings a sparkle and dazzle to his pieces that his wife, Patte, said were too bright to please art lovers. But they are always the pieces that sell first, Tomashek said, so he continues to dazzle with bright, translucent color.
"I call myself the quality control," Patte said, but concedes her husband was right this time.
Though Tomashek's own garden flourishes with daisies, geraniums, peas and lettuce, he doesn't have to rely on Mother Nature to supply all the beauty. He just adds a couple of his stainless steel calla lilies or delphiniums and he has instant bloom.
And that might be what people like about his welded bouquets, Tomashek said. They never rust and they are always in bloom.
He switched to stainless steel several years ago because one of his pieces purchased by a Florida client had rusted and stained the deck. Stainless steel will never rust, Tomashek said, so his flowers remain eternally beautiful.
Tomashek said he encountered another artist at his 50-year class reunion at St. Mary's this year who
wasn't creating much art anymore. That's a future Tomashek won't even consider. He works on his art every day just for the joy of it.
"This keeps me active."
IF YOU GO
WHAT: American Association of University Women's 48th annual Art Fair on the Green
WHERE: Campus at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in La Crosse
WHEN: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, July 29; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, July 30
ADMISSION: $3, with kids 12 and younger admitted free; proceeds go to local scholarships
PARTICIPATING ARTISTS
Sharon Aalseth and Dan Stokes, ceramics, Onalaska, Wis.
John Albertsen, jewelry, Whitehall, Wis.
Art Anderson, paintings of wildlife and Mississippi River, Holmen, Wis.
Craig Bacon, stained glass, Trempealeau, Wis.
Buzz Blazer, oils, Cashton, Wis.
Al Benedict, ceramics, Whitewater, Wis.
Sarah Braun, jewelry, La Crosse
Kadi's Artistic Boutique, clothing/fiber, Shorewood, Wis.
Andy Chulyk, specialty boxes, La Crosse
Douglas Cole, stoneware, Sumner, Iowa
Paul Corbin, stoneware/porcelain, Mount Vernon, Iowa
Sandra Cress, mixed media paintings, Eau Claire, Wis.
Alison Denio and Sheri Schuk, etchings/charcoal prints, Winona
Mary and Peter Denzer, stoneware/porcelain, Houston, Minn.
Joyce Diveley, ceramics, Onalaska
Eastbank Artists Inc., mixed media, greater La Crosse area
Marion Egan, watercolors, La Crosse
Nate and Hallie Evans, ceramics, New Albin, Iowa
Wilfred Fang, paper art, Stevens Point, Wis.
Wayne Farra, jewelry, Lone Rock, Wis.
Penny Fassler, jewelry, La Crosse
Suzi Feldner and David Mullikin, photography, Hartland, Wis.
Daniel and Deborah Fenn, blown glass, Waterville, Iowa
Jerry Fisher, photography, Oregon, Wis.
Jessie Fritsch, encaustic, oils, printmaking, painting, Stevens Point, Wis.
Annie Gasper, watercolor and silk paintings, Mindoro, Wis.
Connie Glowacki, watercolor, Janesville, Wis.
Ann Goldman, pottery, La Crosse
Rosemary Guttormsson, watercolor, mixed media, Duluth, Minn.
Julie Halverson, jewelry, Marion, Ind.
Joyce Hibbard, acrylic and watercolor, Albert Lea, Minn.
Jack Hill, photography, La Farge, Wis.
J.C. Irvin, photography, Shenadoah, Iowa
Stuart Johnson, stoneware, St. Cloud, Minn.
Lindsay Jordan, stained glass, Holmen
Maggie Joyce, jewelry, Chicago
Georgia Keiss, jewelry, Sun Prairie, Wis.
Michael Knox, ceramics, La Crescent, Minn.
Tim Kobs, watercolor, Trempealeau
Patty Kuhn, wearable art, Wabasha, Minn.
La Crosse Society of Arts & Crafts, mixed media, greater La Crosse area
Jon Lee, ceramics and photography, Coon Valley, Wis.
Pam Lee, watercolor, Onalaska
Eydie Liebelt, collage, Fond du Lac, Wis.
Deborah Lofgren, jewelry, Madison
Mao Lor, Hmong fiber art, Green Bay, Wis.
Sara Lubinski, pastels, Brownsville, Minn.
Toby McCulloch, wooden vessels, Sun Prairie
Mona Majorowkz, oil, pastel, pencil, Rolfe, Iowa
Donald and Blenda Margaurdt, cast pewter, Glasgow, Mo.
Phyllis Martino, watercolor, La Crosse
Linda Mast, jewelry, La Crosse
Rory Mattson, watercolor, Albert Lea, Minn.
Cliff Matyszczyk, metal sculpture, Wales, Wis.
Mara and Vera Mednis, fiber, glass and metal jewelry, Warrens, Wis.
Sarah Mertz and Christine Peterson, printmaking/drawing, Gays Mills, Wis.
Loyd Mieden, weaving, La Crosse
Barbara Minz, jewelry, Campbellsport, Wis.
Michelle Moss, jewelry, Mauston, Wis.
Joan Nee, watercolors, La Crosse
Carol Osborn, handmade paper collages, Urbandale, Iowa
Alyska Bailey Peterson, jewelry, Madison
Barbara Phelps, watercolor, La Crescent
Kristin Smith-Procer, wearable art and handpainted silk, Prescott, Wis.
Jamie Redman, wearable blown glass,
Eau Claire, Wis.
Linda Riddle, enamel, Hokah
Ellen Roles, watercolor, La Crosse
Elizabeth Rose, stained glass, La Crosse
Kristi Rose, wearable art, Hugo, Minn.
Debbie Ross, preserved flowers, Edgar, Wis.
John Schneider, watercolor and oil, Viroqua, Wis.
Tim Senn, pottery, Bloomington, Wis.
Jean Simonsen, pastels, Coralville, Iowa
Dave and Jane Smith, forged metals, Pepin, Wis.
Flynn Sochon, pottery, Chicago Heights, Ill.
Sue Soenen, basketry, New Hampton, Iowa
Leni Sovacool, watercolor and calligraphy, Chetek, Wis.
John Spah, watercolor and acrylic, Holmen
John Steger, pottery, Shakopee, Minn.
Linda Steine, oil, acrylic and watercolor,
La Crosse
Sharon Miller-Thompson, mixed media,
St. Paul
Howard Tomashek, metal sculpture, Winona
Cathleen Waldburger, jewelry, Merrill, Wis.
Roger Wippich, pen and ink, Mauston
Arlene Zei, acrylics, La Crosse
-----
Copyright (c) 2006, La Crosse Tribune, Wis.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
