Featured Art - August Hill Winery

We are proud to feature local artists in our Tasting Room. Stop in to enjoy works from these artists:

TARA GINOCCHIO – OUR LABEL ARTIST

As a very impressionable and sensitive child, Tara Ginocchio remembers being infatuated with the visual beauty of her surroundings in scenic Southern California. Her fascination with the colorful desert, mountain, and coastal landscapes prompted her into portraying these images in drawings and paintings at a very early age. She moved to Illinois in 1995 where she completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Painting at Northern Illinois University. Today she lives in a small community in Illinois where open prairie and farmland became her new adoptive home. Tara says, “I look to the natural world around me for inspiration in my work; a garden, a forest, a body of water. I pluck elements from these environments; branches, rocks, vines, flowers, leaves, water and use as a reference.” Tara’s artwork is featured on August Hill Winery’s wine labels, newsletters, and other materials.

Paula Guttilla’s passion for photography began at age 10 when she received her first camera, a Kodak Brownie. The imagery in Life Magazine and National Geographic inspired her. Born and raised in Massachusetts, Paula attended the University of Denver in Colorado. She met her husband, Tom, while backpacking through Europe in 1972. After a 36-year career as an accountant and enrolled agent, she is now retired and enjoys time with her two children and five grandchildren.

Adrienne Pike Adelphia is a contemporary artist based in Ottawa, Illinois. After earning her degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, she has developed her practice through painting, ceramics, printmaking, and collage. Her work has been recognized with selection to the Chicago Artists Coalition gallery program and a “40 Under 40” honor from the Illinois Small Business Development Center in recognition of her commitment to the Starved Rock Region.

Bill Piller has spent his entire life observing and appreciating nature. Bill invests in the effort to create a bronze sculpture that will bring joy and inspiration for a lifetime. Each sculpture is painstakingly researched and executed to bring out the best attributes of the subject. Only after Bill is satisfied of perfection does the clay sculpture get sent to the foundry. Using the lost wax method of casting, Bill’s sculpture is forever portrayed in all its glory in bronze.

Lawrence W. Baxter was a practicing attorney in Ottawa for 43 years. After closing his office in 2009, he saw a wire tree exhibit at an art show in Florida. This inspired a desire as a retirement project to create wire tree sculptures because of their uniqueness, and it involved working with wire and hand tools. The trees are created with copper, steel, galvanized or green pottery wire on granite, saucers, or rocks. Adornments are stone, sea shells, or painted cement.

Sue Webb designs one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces. She started designing jewelry because she couldn’t find jewelry that she wanted. Her inspiration comes from the color and shape of the stones. The earth gives us so many fascinating wonders, and Sue enjoys putting the stones together into irresistible designs that celebrate life. Sue uses turquoise, red coral, amber, serpentine, amethyst, many of the jaspers, honey opal, and many other beautiful stones in her designs.

After a skiing accident, Frank Kobilsik began carving custom canes and walking sticks for friends who needed them. His purchase of a wood lathe to ease this process was an epiphany. Woodturning has since become Frank’s passion and consumes every possible moment of his free time. He enjoys solving the unique challenges presented by each piece of wood. August Hill Winery carries a collection of Frank’s beautiful hand-crafted wine bottle stoppers.