Artist brings work to life

From a life-sized sculpture of a steer to earrings and jewelry, artist Amy Haid uses the color and brilliance of glass along with materials such as copper and leather to bring her work to life.

Her mosaic sculptures have been exhibited in the Gaylord Texan Resort in Grapevine, Texas, for four years in a row and she has made custom logo pieces for country musicians such a Neal McCoy and Wade Bowen.

Haid is opening a studio in downtown Siloam Springs, where she will create and exhibit her art. A grand opening is planned for Thursday, with a Chamber of Commerce ribbon cutting in the morning followed by an open house during Main Street Siloam Springs Girls Night Out, from 5 to 8 p.m. She will be debuting her new jewelry line, “Wild at Heart by Amy Haid,” during the event.

Haid recently moved to Siloam Springs to be closer to her mother, Ann Haid, and sister, Michelle Eudy. She grew up in Texas but has deep roots in Siloam Springs, where she often came to visit her grandparents Tom and Grace Whiteside when she was a youngster. Her grandfather was a banker, but he expressed his creativity through the written word and poetry, eventually publishing several books, she said.

Like her grandfather, Haid has a creative streak, but she explored several careers and mediums before she found her passion.

“As a little eight-yearold girl, I sketched all the time,” she said. “I just loved art and it wasn’t really around me. Then I didn’t really have any aspirations of glass, but I was around New Mexico and I saw all the beautiful jewelry — turquoise jewelry and color. Then I went and I sang overseas for a month in Europe and I saw all those beautiful fine art mosaics, from the top of the ceiling to the floor, but I don’t know that I thought I ever could do that.”

She decided to make a six-foot glass table, her first glass project, 20 years ago when her son was six months old, and fell in love with the shimmer and reflection.

“I am a Texas girl and love the bling and so I already like shiny things… The raw medium is just beautiful,” she said.

Haid was an English as a second language teacher and worked as a financial advisor in the banking industry before she became a professional artist. Prior to opening her first studio in 2012, Haid was working in a bank and staying up until 2 or 3 a.m. to work on her art. She was so passionate See ARTIST on Page 3A

Janelle Jessen/Herald-Leader Artist Amy Haid places hand-cut pieces of glass on an abstract pony sculpture at her new studio in downtown Siloam Springs. The mosaic sculpture already has more than 2,000 pieces of glass.

Janelle Jessen/Herald-Leader Amy Haid sits on top of a giant block of polystyrene that will become one of her mosaic sculptures. A tracing of the sculpture is visible on the front of the block. Once the artwork is shaped, Haid covers it with a thin layer of fiberglass, concrete or epoxy, then places hand-cut glass piece by piece.