Martini Girls 4 Mix Many Styles of Art

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The four Martini Girls met at different times in their lives. Marcia Hochstetter and Debbie Callahan years ago when their children were young and attended the same grade school. Marcia Hero met Callahan and Marcia Hochstetter while taking acrylic and pastel painting classes at Artist & Display in order to further enhance their skills. Hero and Callahan met Patti Belbin (Marine, retired), who was looking to expand her art horizons, at Fred Bell’s morning class.

Here is what they have to say:

We don’t drink alcohol while creating or discussing art in our studio rooms located at Inspiration Studios. We do, however, like to enjoy a martini, margarita, brandy old fashioned or glass of wine when we attend gallery or exhibit openings. The Martini Girls 4 have exhibited in many venues including the Anderson Art Center in Kenosha, the Cedarburg Cultural Center in Cedarburg, Plymouth Arts Center, the Art Bar and the Schauer Arts Center.  

When we plan our exhibits, or where we’d like to send an exhibition proposal, it is a totally collaborative effort. We discuss possible plans and ideas for exhibits when we meet at the studio to make sure all four of us agree. We’re a very cohesive group, so if an issue presents itself where there is disagreement between us, we talk it through and resolve it. We’re actually more like sisters.

Our styles of painting vary widely. Marcia Hero’s works are influenced by the 8 years she lived in Mexico and Central America, as well as her own Irish Heritage. They offer a colorful array of acrylic, oil, and mixed media paintings, and she love to transition from traditional florals and seascapes to abstracts. She is always experimenting with mixed media and loves to make her own artist books. 

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Says Hero: I hope people will experience the joy and enthusiasm I infuse into my paintings and books, many of which are inspired by nature in particular my small gardens.

Patti Belbin creates works that define her, capturing her experiences and emotions on canvas. She works in mixed media: oil and cold wax, collage with tissue paper, paints, inks, and transformed ephemera. Her amazing new works express her life over the past two years and incorporate the use of wire and metal pieces. My work expresses my feelings and thoughts, my highs, lows, big and small and everywhere in between. I hope to translate all of those to the viewer. 

Hochstetter has explored ways to embody her love of sewing into her latest creations. Her abstract quilted and collaged works are incredibly tactile and inspiring. She says, “I am excited by the visual and physical textures that I’ve created incorporating both fabrics and acrylics.”

Callahan is inspired by the natural world, flowers, birds, and the enigmatic content of abstract work. She paints traditional subjects in nontraditional ways. She says, “My selection of works painted in acrylics, crayons, colored pencils, and torn papers all on cradle board, will hopefully foster a connection with the viewer and serve as a reminder in this much divided world, that art has the power to heal and unite us.”