Our Antwerp Chamber of Commerce spotlight for October is KS Works of Art. This business is an in-home business that began as a hobby and has become a direct sales business.
The artist is Kimberly Schneider, wife of Pastor Mike Schneider of the United Methodist Church here in Antwerp. Kimberly has always enjoyed creating art and sharing it with others. She is constantly learning and being inspired by many things. Having her studio in her own home gives her the ability to be flexible with her schedule while being creative and entrepreneurial at the same time. Her goal is to create artwork that brings joy to people.
While her main forms of art are Watercolor painting, acrylic painting, stained glass and photography. She admits that watercolor is her passion. It requires letting go and letting the paint move and blend. Kimberly is most known for her painted rocks, which is her favorite type of acrylic painting. She gathers all her rocks from Lake Erie and then creates art that that she hopes makes people smile. Rock art is a major component of human history. Rock art sites are a record of ancient experiences and spirituality that ancient man recorded in a visual form. One of her favorite forms of rock painting is the Mandala dot art. These rocks are a fun way to own art at an affordable price.
Kimberly and her husband, Mike took stained glass classes together about 10 years ago. They love working together to create pieces that are unique as well as functional.
Her love of photography springs from her love of God’s amazing creation. She enjoys capturing moments of beauty whether it is in nature, in the eyes of a child, or in the smile of a bride.
Above all, flowers remain her favorite subject and they show up regularly in all of her work. Although she has only taken a few basic art classes, most of what she has learned has been trial and error. She has been known to seek help from other artists.
Kimberly has taught both adult and children’s classes and is considering starting classes for adults and children again. She has been teaching art at an art center in Lakeside, Ohio one or two weeks each summer for the past 10 years. She has recently begun doing custom order items. She recently created a piece of art for her son that represented the logo of the college he works for. When the college chancellor saw a copy of the art, he contacted Kimberly and ordered 20 prints to be used as gifts by the college.
Kimberly began her business doing bazaars. Her work has been displayed throughout Antwerp during Day in the Park, Grab your Neighbor and Explore your Downtown events and at the annual Methodist Church bazaar. She serves mostly local and Northwest Ohio and she is also able to ship items. She is currently creating a line of Christmas cards.
Since Kimberly does not have a store front, she can be contacted at ksartforyou@gmail.com. You can contact her and set up an appointment to view her unique, one of a kind artwork. Be on the lookout for a Facebook page in the future.
As a home based business, she is looking forward to seeing everyone on Small Business Saturday on November 28 at the Scavenger Hunt HQ.
The Antwerp Chamber of Commerce is pleased to have KS Works of Art and Kimberly, partnering with us in the Antwerp Community.