Just over ten years ago, a desire for unique garden accessories in her own landscape led Terri down a path… and now that path is filled with the designs you see on this web site!  Their first arts festival proved that lots of other gardens were anxiously awaiting one-of-a-kind artwork.  Shortly after that, the artwork moved indoors.  Now Prairie Dance's collection features as many designs for the inside the home as outside.

Who is Prairie Dance
“They”, who make each and every piece of Prairie Dance art, are moms that have a first responsibility to their family.  You probably won’t find them in the office or in the studio after 3:00 p.m. on school days and they try to arrange their work load such that they can be home during school vacations.  They think they have the best of both worlds…flexible time with their family and a career that allows creativity.

“They” also now includes their part-time welder, a talented and dedicated Ethiopian immigrant.  And an art grad that they’ve somehow talked in to packing and shipping for them!

“She” is Terri Schuver, a textiles and clothing major by education, a retailer and business person for 25 years and a wife and mother of two boys every day.  It was the wife and mother part that pushed her to look at a little adventure in a different way.  Read on…..

How It All Started
While on vacation with her husband and another couple, Terri was attracted to some metal sculptures fashioned from aged metal.  The husbands, not relishing the idea of transporting the art home, responded “Well, we can do that.”

Terri took the men up on their claim and just to give them a little push, committed to a local arts festival a few months away.  True to their word, the husbands were able to help craft the new designs, yet days before the Sidewalk Arts Festival in Sioux Falls, she had nothing to sell.  The experiments to age the metal had failed.

Two days before the festival, tired, hot and frustrated we applied a solution of vinegar and water to the sculptures lying in our garage and walked away.  Overnight, a combination of elements imparted a patina more unique that any she had seen.  Others found it appealing too.  The arts festival opened at 9 am: by 9:15 am they had sold out of several designs and Prairie Dance was on its way!

Today
It took them months to figure out just what worked that night, but through trial and error they were able to replicate the process.  Today, they’re honored and gratified every time they see one of their pieces gracing a fireplace mantel, near someone’s front door or on a stroll through their garden.  They’re also happy to have expanded their design formats such that there is a price for every pocketbook.

They’ve recently expanded their studio and gallery, located in an up and coming historic warehouse district in downtown Sioux Falls.  They truly enjoy the opportunity to create their art and sell it along side hundreds of talented American craftspeople in their gallery, Sticks and Steel.

Thank you so much for including Prairie Dance metal art in your decorating plans!

Browse Terri Schuver Designs