Sylvia Peshel, an area artist, painted a lakescape for the Quinn Cabin that makes it appear a beaver was actually swimming underwater. Photo by Mary Hursh.

By Mary Hursh
Guest Writer

SYRACUSE — The goal of the restoration of the Quinn cabin, nestled in the wildflower fields on the Between-the-Lakes Preserve, has always been to provide a glimpse of history.

The 1,181-square-foot cabin, originally situated at Pier 723 on Kale Island, was donated by the Quinn family to Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation. Bob Fanning and Jay Jorgensen have set up the cabin as it was in the 1890s. Ann Garceau, Ali Schuldt, and Mary Hursh from the Syracuse-Wawasee Historical Museum assisted.

Sylvia Peshel, a local artist, recently joined the team by painting a lakescape, depicting the habitat of beavers, semi-aquatic animals native to North America, displayed in the tool room of the cabin. The painting took over 100 hours of work to complete.
Peshel used underpainting (covering the canvas in one color before creating shapes) and color theory to neutralize the greens and blues.

“I wanted lots of green to pop throughout the underwater scene, so I chose green for the underpainting. The painting I did for the Quinn cabin was huge. It was 5 feet by 3 feet. I had the task of creating an underwater scene for a full mount beaver that Jorgensen donated to the cabin project. We wanted the picture to look like the beaver was actually swimming in a lake or a river,” said Peshel.

Peshel’s love of art started when her mother helped her paint with pudding instead of painting with paint she might eat.

“Then as a middleschooler, my dad would sit me down at our kitchen table with a still life of cups for me to draw observationally. I didn’t love doing those because they were so boring, but now I am so thankful my dad gave me that direction so young,” said Peshel.

Her classes in drawing and painting in college gave her a base for the drawing and painting she now does on commissions as well as tattoos she creates for clients.

As an artist, Peshel enjoys oil as well as graphite pencils to create pictures of people, pets and landscapes.

“I show my work on social media and Instagram (@syl.tat). Art is very therapeutic to me. I can tune out the world and focus on what is in front of me. Listening to my music and getting lost in a piece of art is so liberating. I have a wild imagination, so creating something physical with my imagination makes the possibilities endless,” she said.

Peshel also works as a tattooist at J&C studio, 101 E. Main St., Syracuse, where she completed her apprenticeship with her mentor, Christian Wood.

“I start with figuring out a design, do the linework, shading, and finally add the color. The process of planning a tattoo alone is more time consuming than planning a painting,” said Peshel. “… Tattooing allows me so much room for creative freedom. Seeing people look in the mirror after a session and loving what they see is so fun for me.”