Becky Tesch

Born and raised in Milwaukee WI, Becky's hands have been busy making things as long as she can remember. Receiving a BFA from UWM in 2000, she is now an artist making a life in Milwaukee. She strives to make functional objects and sculptural work primarily out of found objects. Tesch's work challenges traditional ideas about art supplies, garbage, and what is considered to be "precious." She takes items that have been discarded and makes them into sculptural and functional objects. Other people's trash is the artist's treasure. Tesch has an aversion to throwing things in the trash. She loves industrial things. Objects designed purely for function and strength are usually stunning to look at. They employ austere, purposeful design. She loves bicycles. Utilitarian, simple, graceful. The artist is constantly frustrated by how wasteful our society is. Lots of things can be fixed, reused. More people need to do this. Tesch is thrifty: free trash that can be re-purposed = free art supplies. All of these factors combine, and result in her art making. She feels that beauty can be found in a gutter just as well as in a sunset. A rusty chunk of sheet metal for example is like a painting that was made by random acts of this world. It was manufactured, purchased, used, broken perhaps, or lost, and then left somewhere to rust. The effects of rain, sun, wind, grit and time, all transform things in this world. often they become quite beautiful. History is written on their surfaces. Objects that show their age have stories to tell. Tesch likes to make stories up for them since they cannot speak. Or maybe she just adds to their stories. In any case, she likes to give old things new purpose and put them into new situations so that others can see the beauty too, then send them off into the world again.