Tom Rauschke and Kaaren Wiken

W625 Little Prairie Rd
Palmyra, WI 53156
262.495.8003
Xn-trix Website

Xn-trix is housed in a hand hewn timber barn at the farm home of husband and wife team Tom Rauschke and Kaaren Wiken. The renovated 1860’s barn includes Tom’s woodworker’s studio with a second floor gallery, as well as an enclosure for their pet geese. In a separate building you can visit the plasma cutting studio where Kaaren creates her metal sculptures. The buildings themselves are surrounded by the Kettle Moraine State Forest, with a dramatic landscape of prairie land and tree savannah. It’s the perfect setting for Kaaren’s life size wildlife sculptures of deer, wolves, turkeys, cranes, and all manner of chickens, cats, opossums, and so many more. The sculptures are unique in that the design components are not welded together, but fit like puzzle pieces. Tom’s intricate wood sculptures are nature inspired and are often lathe turned, cut and carved from the native hardwoods of the Kettle Moraine.

Xn-trix will be home to five guest artists during the Tour. Susan Hanna, a ceramics artist, creates what she calls “eccentric pottery.” The many layered glazing process she uses brings energy, wit, color and surprise to her work.

Brian Hoeppner, designs and builds guitars, mandolins, and a small 12 stringed instrument called a mandolar. He uses a traditional French polish method to finish his creations giving them a lush luster. Brian and a few of his friends will be on hand to play these beautiful instruments for your listening pleasure.

Fiber Artist, Donna Tronca’s work is focused on various forms of felt making, hand weaving, and a Japanese form of braiding called Kumihimo. She uses color and texture to bring a contemporary aesthetic to these ancient art forms resulting in both decorative and wearable art. She also takes weaving to another level by hand weaving her own photography. This year Donna has added fused plastic to her many mediums.

New this year is Robert Lee Fritz who specializes in creating hand-blown glass on which he carves silhouettes. Robert often incorporates patterns of dichroic glass that has a microscopic layer of material which reflects three distinct colors when viewed from different angles. Also new to the Tour this year is Jef Raasch who works with black stained porcelain and often embellishes his wheel turned pieces with sculptural elements. His larger earthenware sculptures tangle and mix animal shapes and colors for a rich visual mélange.