Art comes in many forms, and Lydia Reichard is an artist in many different art forms. Her current passion is in glass art. She has developed one of the largest clubs at the Ranch with the Glasshopper Club. Her talents go beyond her own creations, such as her skill in teaching others how to create beautiful glass creations.
Even though glass art is her passion, she enjoys other art forms as well. She creates fiber art projects with knitting and crochet, cross-stitch, needlepoint, jewelry beading, sewing, basket weaving, mosaics, and much more. In her past, she would design and paint custom designs on canvas for needlepoint customers. She spent many hours with her grandmother learning many of these skills. Her children benefited from the numerous clothes she made for them growing up.
Lydia and her husband Jim moved to SaddleBrooke Ranch from Milwaukee, Wis., in 2013. Before moving to the Ranch, they owned 230 acres, and provided a home for rescue animals. In their menagerie, they had a pot belly pig called Pork Chop, a miniature horse and donkey, ostrich, emu, miniature kangaroo, lemurs, ducks, chickens, and sheep. The most amazing animal was a mountain lion named Monte that they had for more than 14 years.
In Wisconsin, she had a commercial bakery in her basement with four employees. They delivered biscotti, scones, and decorator cookies to local coffee shops and shipped them all over the U.S. They were featured and were distributed by Wisconsin Made. She sold her business when they moved, but it’s still in business today.
If you know Lydia, she does not sit still for a minute. She’s always learning new techniques by attending classes, but much of her skill is self-taught. She also enjoys teaching classes, finding joy in seeing the art her students create and from receiving positive feedback on her own work.
Some may say an artist is only a painter, but one cannot deny the artistic talents of Lydia Reichard. She is a kind and caring person we all enjoy knowing.