Artist/Farmer Tells Corn Story With Glass

Artist/Farmer Tells Corn Story With Glass FARM HOME Kitchen As a farmer and an artist Michael Meilahn is on a mission to inspire people to think artistically about the advancement of science in farming through corn His immersive exhibition Primordial Shift captures the history of corn from a hand-fabricated bushel basket spilling out giant and colorful glass corn representing Native American culture to 28 larger-than-life glass ears of corn hanging from the ceiling All are handblown in his Wisconsin art studio/farm shop Primordial Shift is a traveling exhibit currently showing at the South Dakota Art Museum in Brookings S D through mid-July and is scheduled to be in Rochester Minn in 2025 Meilahn’s work is exhibited and collected privately and in museums in the U S and internationally Until 5 years ago his life revolved around four seasons of caring for and working 2 000+ acres while etching a pattern of winter creating spring planting summer art shows and fall harvesting Now retired from farming he focuses on art continues to create sculptures and works at streamlining his traveling exhibition Meilahn’s passion for glass-blown art began when he signed up for a ceramics/glass class in college while studying Ag Business at UW-River Falls “When I happened upon the roaring hot glass-blowing lab on campus I was captivated by the medium and changed my major to art That was it ” he recalls In 1969 Michael traveled to Europe on the Quarter Abroad Program to study glass history and technique He spent 6 weeks in Germany with Erwin Eisch a renowned glass artist and abstract art painter at his family glass factory and studio He also served with the Peace Corps and lived and worked with Indigenous peoples in Bolivia sharing sheep management practices Those experiences helped shape his approach to art For the installation audio plays and video images of the farm flash in the background creating shadows cast by 3-ft ears of corn hanging from the ceiling Bronze-fabricated leaves and objects fastened to the ears add texture and dimension For example Meilahn adds dice decoration to many of the ears “The idea of risk is familiar to all farmers and comes in many scenarios from weather price markets economy and seed choices to name a few I planned to design a visually engaging environment that brings forth thoughts of contemporary issues involving branding bioengineering new and safer practices evolution and survival of the fittest in today’s complicated world ” he explains Creating the ears of corn requires a team of skilled glass workers including his son to assist Meilahn with blowing and controlling the liquid glass placing decorative elements sharing the weight bearing and maneuvering 50 lbs of glass into a giant bronze mold As a farmer Meilahn views it as capturing the spirit of agriculture and invites readers to watch the video on YouTube search “The Arts Page Segment Farmer and Glass Artist Mick Meilahn” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Michael Meilahn North 9268 Co Rd M Pickett Wis 54964 ph 920-420-2945; mmeilahn12@gmail com; www michael-meilahn com

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