Unique Shops : Fish Creek

Spirited Hands Gallery
Hand-On
3655 Peninsula Players Road
(head west from Hwy 42, about 1 3/4 miles)
Fish Creek, WI
920-868-9311

Ok – this is a very good find! Hands-On studio, at the Spirited Hands Gallery, is one of the neatest places you’ll find on the peninsula for creative activities. The gallery houses many works of art that can be purchased, from photographs, to three-dimensional art pieces and fanciful jewelry in many media – "from refined to funky." But the coolest thing is that you can bring in your family, and actually create some art yourselves! The overwhelming sense of art and beauty fill the studios, and the setting is serene, peaceful and connected to nature.

Hands-On is housed in a two-story, 40-year-old barn, and has a studio on each level for painting ceramics, glassware, t-shirts, ornaments, and lots more! There are dozens of items to choose from – so you will find something you really like. This is a super-place for both adults and kids, whether rain or shine! Select the item you want to paint! Each is individually priced and clearly marked on the bottom of the item – that is the price you will pay for the item itself – now the art begins! Our party of three, which included a 6 year old for our test, selected a ceramic box, a tall, clear glass coffee mug, and a z-stem clear glass cocktail glass – and we went to work! Others were in the studio working on surprise items for their spouse or parents! It was great!

Cy Turnbladh, the owner, and the rest of the staff are very helpful indeed! When you have selected your items, Cy or one of the staff members will help you select the right paints – there is a set specifically for ceramics, and one specifically for painting on clear glass. The studios are filled with tables where you can work. We chose the upstairs studio, which has a lot of natural light from large windows. Cy helped us get the paints from the huge selection of colors available. For the ceramic paints, you select the ones you want, and he pours each color out into an easel with fifty-cent size depressions in them to hold each paint color. The palette holds about 10 colors, and you can mix your own in the center. For the glass paints, the selection is equally large, but you work right from the bottles. In both cases, a chart shows you what each color will look like on the completed item, which is very helpful!

Well – even for me, a definite non-artist, it was a blast! I painted the cocktail glass in a palm-tree, sand and water motif – the staff was calling it a Jimmy Buffet glass! I thought it would look good with a chilly pina collada in it! The coffee mug was painted flowers, and the ceramic box a myriad of colors! You can see my glass here!



They provide the paintbrushes, a bucket to clean off your brushes between colors, the paints and paper towels for a studio charge of $6 per hour per person. The ceramic box our 6 year old selected was $10, and each of the glassware selected was $6. We finished in about an hour, so our total charge was about $42 (3 times $6 for studio charges, plus $22 for the items themselves, plus tax). They are kind enough not to start the studio time until you select your items and you are ready to paint!

Leave your items overnight, and Cy and the gang will fire them if ceramic, or heat them to set the paint on glass items! Pick them up the next day! If for some reason, you cannot get there to pick them up, or you are artistic on your last day in Door County, Cy can ship them to you for an additional charge – but it’s exciting to pick them up! We saw some beautiful items ready for pick-up when we went back (not necessarily ours!), and some gorgeous t-shirts some kids painted that very day!

There literature claims its "Like no other place" and it certainly lives up to that! We loved it and will return!

We were all very pleased with the experience and would definitely recommend going to Hands On Art Studio! It is an experience you will not forget, and one that you will want to repeat! Go – get creative, and tell Cy you heard about them on www.DoorCountyNavigator.com!

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