Nature Meets Technology on Stainless Steel

“Mirror Lake,” oil on stainless, by Mai Wyn Schantz

It’s really fascinating how a love of nature manifests itself in different artists’ hands. With Mai Wyn Schantz, a Wisconsin born landscape painter, it’s particularly unique.

Schantz, a current resident of Denver, is one of the artists featured in Edgewood Orchard Galleries’ fourth exhibit of the summer. Her paintings depict what she terms the pastoral: trees, ponds with lily pads, animals, sunsets and sunrises. They are a celebration of nature and the beauty of Wisconsin’s wilderness. What makes her standout as an artist, however, is her medium.

“I had a desire to paint on something smooth; I am a fairly thin painter. The texture of the canvas was always something I battled. I wanted to find something lightweight that I could paint on,” Mai Wyn said.

“One day I bought this flat sheet of metal, taped off the edges, and I did a painting. When I took off the tape,” she continued, “I loved the contrast of the really industrial kind of metal with the landscape.”

Using aluminum as a canvas, Mai Wyn masks off a three or four inch frame around the outside of the piece. Then she uses industrial primer where she’s going to paint, which makes the oil adhere to the aluminum.

Nell Jarosh, who owns the Edgewood Orchard Galleries with her husband J.R. Jarosh, discovered Mai Wyn when she submitted her work to the gallery fresh out of college, over 10 years ago.

Nell said, “This will be our fourth feature show for Mai Wyn in the 10 years we’ve had her work in the gallery. I’ve always been so excited about her work. I’ve never seen anyone do what she does – oil on aluminum or stainless. It’s something totally different from anything else we’ve shown.”

“Cluster,” oil on stainless, Mai Wyn Schantz

After graduating from the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design in Denver, Mai Wyn moved back to Milwaukee and got involved with the Cedarburg Artist’s Guild. They recommended that she apply to exhibit at Edgewood Orchard Galleries. Shortly thereafter, she became one of the youngest artists showing at the gallery. It was the beginning of her career.

In the last couple of years, Mai Wyn has transitioned from painting on aluminum to stainless steel. The stainless steel is more expensive, and heavier, but also far more durable.

“The change has resulted in a new body of work, and there are a number of pieces that have a lot more integrated metal. It has allowed me to experiment more,” Mai Wyn said.

What began as a technical choice – painting on aluminum or stainless steel because it was a nice, smooth surface – has since become an integral component of her work.

Mai Wyn said, “Landscapes can be nostalgic and pastoral. [Aluminum provided] a way to paint the landscapes that I love while still having it be about today. The metal makes it present. That core of what I do hasn’t changed at all.”

Much of Mai Wyn’s early work was landscapes with distant horizons. In recent years, along with the switch to stainless steel, she has started to take a more magnified view of the world.

“Mai’s grown a lot since we met. Her scale has gotten much bigger and her colors have gotten much more vibrant. Her work has gotten closer and more detailed – water lilies on a pond or a section of birches instead of the whole forest,” Nell said.

“Full Color,” oil on stainless, by Mai Wyn Schantz

She seamlessly weaves nature and industry together: be it a brilliant Door County sunset with a grey stainless steel frame around it or the vibrant green leaves of a birch tree against a grey backdrop.

“You’d think it would have such a cold feel to it, but it doesn’t at all. It’s clean and fresh,” said Nell, who even owns a piece of Mai Wyn’s work. “It’s so different; it just grabs you.”

In each painting Mai Wyn cultivates a sense of home; her passion for the natural world radiates, as does her pride in Wisconsin’s landscapes. In Denver, she says, people are constantly asking where the paintings take place.

“Her work is unique, original, and a conversation piece. People can interact with it. It fits into a more traditional home, if it’s a traditional landscape. If you have a contemporary home, because of the stainless steel, it would fit there, too,” Nell said.

Mai Wyn’s paintings capture the beauty of the natural world. In addition to deploying an expert knowledge of color in her work, she also portrays a keen sense of depth and movement. For instance, a painting of water rolling on stainless steel reflects and gives the viewer a sense of motion.

There’s a deeper element to Mai Wyn’s work. Her combination of industrial, man-made steel with a devastatingly beautiful sunset speaks to a need for harmony between man and nature.

“A lot of us draw strength and serenity from getting out in nature,” Mai Wyn said. “The only way we’re going to save it is using our big brains and technology. It’s not about separating man from nature, but making the two work together.

“It’s really important for an artist to make art that grabs people, that brings people joy but at the same time, as humans, we want to get more out of it…There’s beauty in finding the balance between the high tech world and the natural world.”

Exhibit IV, featuring the artwork of Mai Wyn Schantz, Olga Ganoudis, Susan Hale, David Lindsay, and Leslie Wu hangs at Edgewood Orchard Galleries – located at 4140 Peninsula Players Road in Fish Creek – from August 20 through September 20. A Meet the Artist Reception is scheduled for Sept. 3, 4 – 7 pm.