carlaniehaus

An artist for over 50 years, I have often dreamed of having my own gallery to show and sell my paintings and pottery together. I think they complement each other. My Etsy shop is a work in progress. I have chosen to first showcase my pottery, and over time include my prints and paintings (Niehausart.com)

My inspiration comes from my walks in the woods.

The raku and pit fired jars are art objects intended for visual appreciation in the home and office setting. It is wonderful that they can also be chosen for ashes. They share my vision of the surrounding woodland, rich with birch and pine groves blanketed with fern beds. My inspiration is endless among the streams and waterfalls feeding the Farmington river. Having a forum to show my art is such a gift. Exhibitions of my paintings and ceramic pieces in galleries and street fairs used to be the only venues available to artists.

Mom always served me coffee in one of the mugs I made for her in my college years. I never saw her drink coffee and tea out of any thing but those first hand made mugs. We save them for special now. I want folks to make plans and share memories while using their mugs every day. I save for a long time when I want to purchase a beautiful painting, but a hand made stoneware mug is a small piece of art that most folks can manage to own with less effort.

My artist journey began around ten years old, as I learned to I draw the large stone mansions with their ornate wrought iron decorative fencing, gates, and catwalks that graced our town center.

While showing and selling my art at street fairs, I developed an interest in ceramics, and other handmade art media.
This respect for handmade items came naturally to me, as I followed in the footsteps of my Grandmother Rosaria, a prolific oil painter, pastelist and seamstress (she kept her paintings and supplies put a way in a drawer, and talked about her art when we were alone). Spending time on your art was considered a frivolous waste of time to this depression era household with 9 children to feed . My grandfather Philip was a stone mason immigrant from Italy who learned english, passed the exams to get his contractor's liscence, and built countless stone bridges and churches in N.W. Ohio where I grew up. I think I am not alone in this history. How fortunate that I do not have to hide my art.

1971 Bachelor degree at Anderson U. in Anderson, In.
1973 Masters of Fine Art in Painting from Miami U. Oxford, Ohio

until 1984, My husband Bernie and I owned and operated our wholesale ceramic business for 8 years in S.W. Ohio and parts of Indiana, supplying gift shops and various venues with pottery for resale. We built our 27 cubic ft. gas kiln for the stoneware firings, and a small raku kiln for smaller firings.

In 1984 we moved to New England to be near the New York art centers, and raise our two daughters 5 and 7 yrs. old in the inspiring Berkshire Hills of Barkhamsted, Ct. where we had often been tourists. These woodlands are the source of inspiration for my paintings and pottery. The rocks are rich with shimmering mica, quartz crystals, and occasional garnet croppings. The inspiring hikes are treats to secret birch groves carpeted with ferns. The streams lead in and out of wetlands feeding the Farmington river, each season bringing it's unique light.

corporate collections:

Aetna Insurance Corp. Berman & Sabel
Cigna Insurance Corp. Danager Corp.
General Electric Corp Fireman’s Fund Insurance Corp.
Grove Hill Medical Ctr. Hartford Hospital,
Hebb & Gitlin Kaiser Permanente Corp.
The Marriotte Corp. Mechanics Savings Bank,
Pope & Hassard Law Offices of Carlos Gomez
Paine-Webber Finance Corp. Prue-Parlotti
Sawmut Manufacturing Corp. United Band and Trust,
Univeristy of Connecticut
Yale New Haven Hospital
Smilow Cancer Center, Yale New Haven
Bridgeport Hospital

I have been a full time artist in Ct. for over 30 years. I look forward to expanding my Etsy shop to include my 2016 to present landscapes available as limited edition prints, and originals. Visit www.niehausart.com ( niehausart.com will be under construction until late fall 2017. A general search may yield some results, but for more up to date paintings, please contact me directly through
1. etsy convo
2. email: carlaniehaus [!at] mac.com
3. Ct. Arts Bank
for more information about my art, corporate collections, and my ceramic art., education and long history of workshops in Ct.
AT THIS TIME: Aug. 2017
I am preparing ceramic pieces for glaze firings in Oct. 2017, and taking the months of Aug. - Nov. to complete plein air oil and acrylic landscapes of the Berkshire Hills near my studio in Barkhamsted.
Feel free to contact me, and have a great day,
carla