Scroll down to view more samples of Teresa's geode artwork using genuine stones...
Artist Name: Teresa Harbaugh
Town: St. Charles, IL
Mediums: Many! In addition to Geode Artwork, she also enjoys alcohol inks, oils, watercolor, acrylic and mixed media
Biggest Challenge: “Trusting myself…I struggle over whether what I’m creating will be beautiful and if people will like it. I think not having a formal art education has made me feel more vulnerable. However, I’ve learned to accept my art as it is.”
Teresa’s Philanthropic Work: 10% of her art sales are donated to the Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai, Thailand, a non-profit dedicated to providing care and rescue efforts for abused, sick and elderly elephants.
As the old warning goes, “Kids, don’t try this at home!” Wearing a respirator and working in a well-ventilated studio, Teresa has learned how to safely harness the dangerous tools of her trade to accomplish arresting geode designs that mimic nature’s crystal formations.
“It takes Mother Nature millions of years to create these,” Teresa explained. “It takes me up to five weeks starting with the genuine stones I’ve selected and then building around it with resin.”
Resin is expensive and tricky to work with effectively, Teresa adds. If not handled in a perfect Goldilocks manner, mixing and measuring precisely, it will be too runny or too quick to dry. She even has to use a blow torch to eliminate the bubbles! When working with it, she said it helps “to just go with the flow.”
Teresa has been working with crystals for about five years now. At first, she started small and added them to acrylic paintings, but was unsatisfied with using a hot glue gun to adhere them to her work. Because she wanted to achieve a more natural look while using even more crystals, she began watching how-to videos. From those, she began learning and experimenting how to combine crystals with resin until she perfected the organic look she now creates.
Teresa’s new website: www.artbyteresah.com will soon be live. In the meantime, her artwork is available for sale online through Instagram: @teresaharbaughartist and Facebook: Teresa Harbaugh Artist, and she also accepts commissions.
By the way, if you’re vacationing in Cancun, Mexico at the Atelier hotel, her work in alcohol inks with gold leaf is on sale in its art gallery there!
Artist, Teresa Harbaugh, with a work in progress.
Fine Line Creative Arts Center | www.fineline.org