Terri Telfer

Watercolor, shattered glass art

University of Northern Iowa

Growing up, Terri Telfer learned how to sew, crochet, knit, and cross stitch from her grandmother. After college, as Telfer worked in fundraising, she continued to focus on creating with textiles. One of her favorite projects included making a long skirt sewn entirely out of one-inch squares of leftover fabric.

In her late 20s, she decided to take a beginning drawing class at the Des Moines Art Center. Telfer also started scrapbooking during this time and she enjoyed the opportunity to turn memories into something permanent.

Feeling a bit lost after her husband’s death the year before, in 2013 Telfer signed up for another drawing class at the Des Moines Art Center. Because of a health problem which caused her hands to shake she was concerned that the class might be frustrating.. But with encouragement from her teacher she started drawing and found that the work helped her physically and emotionally..

Now with two beginning drawing classes behind her, Telfer felt that maybe she knew enough to begin exploring the world of watercolors. But her interest in learning more didn’t end there. She decided to learn how to work with stained glass, an amazing medium with many techniques. Recently Telfer started playing with shattered glass art. It's a good medium mixing glass and watercolor.

• Drawing instruction from Mary Mueller
• Beginning drawing from Melinda Kabel
• Stained glass instruction from Jerry Goodrich