The heart of Batavia's Water Street Studios

"Sixteen thousand square feet occupied by 26 humans of infinite creative possibilities."

That's how Water Street Studios of Batavia describes itself on its website.

The community arts center offers classes and events for the public. But the heart of Water Street Studios is the group of talented and dedicated artists who bring their visions to life and share them with visitors.

The Daily Herald talked to a few of the resident artists to learn more about their work and what inspires them.

Penny Boedigheimer, mixed mediaMixed media artist Penny Boedigheimer of North Aurora says has been creating art since she was born. Her day job for the past 10 years has been as a law enforcement officer in Geneva. Five years ago she was able to bring art into her police career by becoming a forensic artist, sketching composites of offenders in various cases. Boedigheimer has taken her career experiences and intertwined them into the art she creates today. She jokingly calls herself "The Peacemaker" because she integrates and, at times, forces her police career and experiences into her artwork; that is where her inspiration comes from. "Dealing with my day job as everyone does and finding time to be creative, I decided to push my day job into my work," she said.For example, spent bullet casings from gun training are often incorporated into her work."(My work) creates a duality because there's a negative aspect (and) a positive aspect, depending on how the viewer sees it, and I force the viewer to view something negative and create it into something positive," she said. "So it gives them a little bit of a twist to what society teaches us or expects from something that's so negative. "So that's kind of why I like to play with the reality of 'Is it positive? Is it negative?' and make something negative into something positive - which is pretty much I do for a living."Patricia Davoust, ceramic sculptureCeramic sculpture artist Patricia Davoust of Warrenville's earliest memory as a child is digging out clay from underneath her sandbox.Her mother enrolled Patricia in many different art classes, exposing her to several different mediums. She painted, drew, was in music and even ballet for a time, but clay was what she always gravitated back to. "I gravitate toward clay, I think, primarily because it is such a sensual, tactile material and my work is very considerate of the raw material," Davoust said. "I try not to introduce any artifice into my work. I don't use molds, I don't cast. Everything is completely manipulated by my hands." "When I'm working in the clay, I will completely lose myself. It's almost a Zen experience for me." She describes a feeling of being almost one with the piece and says she works on it until she feels it's reached a place where she can stop. Davoust describes her work as an expression of the human condition and human experiences in which she uses ceramic materials to interpret those ideas and situations. She has lived, worked and studied in South Africa, Canada, and France as well as the U.S., and adds that her art reflects an international awareness that mirrors world issues with her personal interpretation in original handmade clay pieces.She also draws from her personal painful experiences over the past 10 years, such as the death of her mother and recovering from a shattered spine, to guide her work and help her focus.For some of her work, Davoust says she uses very raw materials, including earthenware or stoneware. She uses different types of clay to suit each piece which she will push to its boundaries, to "points it just can't go any more" before letting the clay rest. At that point she may incorporate pieces of rag, pieces of foam rubber, sand bags, tools or other objects that are in her studio. Davoust says sometimes an idea will come out exactly how she intended but also there's the times when it, "turns a completely different direction and if it works, it's great, it's wonderful but sometimes it's just process and the clay just disintegrates and I've pushed it too far." "But I really believe as a person that you can't find out what your limits are until you push beyond them because that's what really tells you, 'Ah, that's the point in which I have to stop.'"Rhonda Kyrias, trompe l'oeilTrompe l'oeil, or 'trickery of the eye' in French, is Rhonda Kyrias' chosen art form for the present time. An accomplished artist from Mendocino County, California, Kyrias has taken up residency in Batavia for a year to work at Water Street Studios and focus on her trompe l'oeil painting. Her paintings, often still lifes of fruit, can have up to 40 layers of oil paints. She uses linseed, poppy seed and walnut oils as well as different waxes to give a soft varnish to the top of her pieces. It takes several months to complete one painting and she lets the piece tell her when it's ready and finished. After being a self-described workaholic in a stressful business environment for many years with her own consulting firm, she took a break and rediscovered her painting. "At some point the world became so busy, I decided to stop, and get quiet," Kyrias said. She says she really focuses on being in a state of peace while she paints. "It's a way for me to stop and pay attention to the world and the small world.""I'm hoping that these little fruits that I'm painting - I know that they're such simple subjects - but I really wish and hope that when people see the fruit they get quiet or feel some sense of peace."Kyrias describes how painting has helped her sense of well-being."I love the world of art and being really truthful with it. It's my way, I think, of staying sane, in sometimes what feels like sometimes what feels like a crazy world. "Kyrias is a graduate of the University of California, Irvine. Her works have been shown in many galleries. Her illustrations have appeared in children's books and magazines and have been distributed around the world. A piece titled "Pear with Lace" will be on display in the Water Street Studios 2010 Anniversary Show.Jim Jenkins, sculptureSculptor Jim Jenkins of Geneva started creating art as child and has done it all his life. Jenkins' body of work contains both fine art pieces as well as functional art as they may come in the form be a table, a gate, or even a stairway. He says his sculptures, "provide a theme for both intellectual and visual curiosity." Jenkins' original ideas are worked over a period of months, using writing, drawing and research. He incorporates a variety of techniques and materials in his work including glass, metal, stainless steel, wood, or any found objects. "I put them together in unusual ways and they all tell a story. The story is the most important thing," he says. "Everything that's used in the pieces has a meaning and has a connection with each and every other material."What does he enjoy the most about creating art? "(The) initial spark of inspiration. I'm always looking for that. That's the thing that I'm always after and when I get it, I understand what it is that I am supposed to do and how I'm supposed to proceed and the rest of it is just nuts and bolts."Jenkins' work can be found on display at the St. Charles Public Library, the RiverPark of Geneva, and in Warrenville and New Lenox as well. Jenkins has a BFA in sculpture from the University of Iowa and has been in several one-man, two-man and group shows in the Tri-Cities and other areas including Iowa.Kari Kraus, fiber installation art and teachingKari Kraus of Batavia is passionate not only about creating art, but also teaching it to her young students at Water Street Studios.Kraus is a fiber installation artist as well as the director of education at Water Street. During her studies at Northern Illinois University, she discovered a fiber class which resulted in her getting a degree in art with a fiber emphasis. "It's just one of the coolest medias," Kraus says of fiber. "And you can actually wear it, too." She says it can be sculptural but two-dimensional as well. "You get to get a lot of pattern and texture on something that you would think would be so plain," she said. Kraus says people often initially assume and ask if she does tie-dye with her fiber art. "Well, not quite," she said. "I found a way to sort of turn the fiber and make it into this sculptural piece, make it into an installation." Her work can comprise 100 or more separate pieces that are all hand-installed. That gives her the ability to install her work in any space and each time it will look completely different. Kraus and shares her love of art with her young students at the studio in the form of exciting and sometimes themed classes such as the hugely popular "Star Wars" class. She even has a Harry Potter-themed class."I always loved being able to teach somebody something. And kids are ... just like little sponges at that age. They are ready to learn, they are excited about anything you teach."While enthusiastic and energetic about her teaching, Kraus takes the impact art can have on developing children very seriously. "People don't realize that (art) improves (children's) vocabulary, hand-eye coordination," Kraus said. "Most importantly their critical thinking skills. Looking at something, breaking it down, and evaluating it and then reconstructing it in a way that they understand it. " "I think people don't really understand that (art) is more than just sitting and painting," she said. "It's going to give you skills that apply to every single field that you would ever go into. It teaches you to be creative - creative solutions. Who doesn't want somebody for their company that's going to have creative solutions?" "I get goose bumps every time I talk about it because I just love art and I love making sure that children incorporate and learn the skills that art can bring even if it's not going to be their job."If you goWhat: Water Street Studios 2010 Anniversary ShowWhen: 6 to 10 p.m.Where: Water Street Studios, 160 S. Water St., BataviaCost: Admission is freeInfo: waterstreetstudios.com; (630) 761-9977Resident artistsCarolyn Ambramofsky, mixed mediaAlison Balcanoff, mixed mediaBarbara Barrows, abstract acrylicsCaroline Baty-Barr, functional potteryGreta Bell, modern oil paintingElizabeth Bender, fashion designJennifer Beslow, sketch, painting, carving, jewelry designPenny Boedigheimer, mixed mediaPatricia Davoust, ceramic sculptureRobyn Dempsey, watercolor and acrylicsLisa Dienst-Thomas, precious metal jewelryRebecca Ersfeld, mixed media and altered artGina Floro, paintingJohn Granata, photographyRita Grendze, metal sculptureChris Hodge, pen and inkDarius Hurley, abstract paintingJames Jenkins, sculptureEddie Johnson, clay, functional to sculpturalDan Kazmer, painting and visual communicationsKatherine Kratzer, metals and silverRhonda Kyrias, trompe l'oeilSteven Lockwood, metal, plastic, light and fabricationsJames Manos, printmakingCarol Lynn McNally, oil, oil pastel, mixed media, acrylicLeah Mitchell, contemporary realismRoosevelt Nunn Jr., drawing and paintingLisa Smith-Youngdahl, graphic designSharon P. Sychta, mixed media sculptureTrue20001333"Virulent" by Kari Kraus, fiber artist and director of education at Water Street StudiosBrian Hill | Staff PhotographerTrue <div class="infoBox"><h1>More Coverage</h1><div class="infoBoxContent"><div class="infoArea"><h2>Stories</h2><ul class="links"><li><a href="/story/?id=407442">Studio traces roots back to mural project <span class="date">[09/15/10]</span></a></li></ul><h2>Photo Galleries</h2><ul class="gallery"><li><a href="/story/?id=408176">Images from Wate Street Studios </a></li></ul><h2>Video</h2><ul class="video"><!-- Start of Brightcove Player --><div style="display:none"></div><!--By use of this code snippet, I agree to the Brightcove Publisher T and Cfound at https://accounts.brightcove.com/en/terms-and-conditions/.--><script type="text/javascript" src="http://admin.brightcove.com/js/BrightcoveExperiences.js"></script><object id="myExperience609451959001" class="BrightcoveExperience"><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="width" value="300" /><param name="height" value="255" /><param name="playerID" value="18011347001" /><param name="playerKey" value="AQ%2E%2E,AAAAAGLvCOU%2E,K_spvtxyxDSJjRvTs_UJq6PRPq4OsSL6" /><param name="isVid" value="true" /><param name="dynamicStreaming" value="true" /><param name="@videoPlayer" value="609451959001" /></object><!--This script tag will cause the Brightcove Players defined above it to be created as soonas the line is read by the browser. 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