New discoveries await at the Austin ArtWorks Center. Stop by our Austin ArtWorks Center retail gallery to check out items by new  and established artists.

Humans have been forming clay and baking it since 24,000 B.C., but there is something new in ceramics: Dock 6 Pottery from Minneapolis. Artist Kerry Brooks creates trays, dishes and wine stoppers with fused glass baked into the ceramics. The fused glass creates a crackle texture and also allows the introduction of vivid blues and greens not often seen in ceramics.

Brooks says she was the worst student in her beginning wheel-throwing class, but she loved the process and continued to pursue pottery as a hobby. In 1993, she created a few tabletop fountains that her fellow students asked to purchase from her. By 1995, she was making her living as a potter.

“Making beautiful things people will use everyday is what inspires me the most and drives me to make new things… Bringing affordable art to everyday people is what keeps me motivated and makes my soul happy” Brooks said.

‘Salvage Art’ is what would best describe Michael Kutch’s artistic work. Kutch creates one-of-a-kind plaques, signs and decorative pieces, often depicting succulents and plants. Kutch is fascinated with antiques and old junk and uses locally-sourced, reclaimed wood, architectural salvage, old tools and recycled tin to create each piece. Kutch’s business, Barn Bridge Hill Art, is based out of Fairmont, Minnesota. Originally from Michigan, Kutch moved to Minnesota to serve at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and School in Fairmont, where he is the music director. He plays the organ at church, directs the choir, and teaches music and art at the school.

Another artist committed to upcycling is Melinda Wolff of St. Paul, Minnesota. Wolff salvages wood scraps from her husbands wood shop and creates jewelry with them. She uses intensely glossy resin coating to bring out wood colors, which can range from deep blacks and browns to warm reds and purples to rich whites and yellows. The result is earrings, pendants and other one-of-a-kind jewelry. Wolff earned a bachelor’s degree in studio art from the College of St. Benedict. When she is not making jewelry, stained glass or watercolor paintings, she enjoys camping trips, nature hikes and craft beer.

Chris Nibbe of Rochester has only been making brooms since 2013, but he has family history on his side. His great-grandfather started making brooms with his uncle for a history show in the 1970s. Nibbe now uses the machines his great-grandfather helped to restore and build.

“I make hand-tied brooms to satisfy my cravings for building something creative and useful. I have the most fun when I can use a handle that I made from logs or branches, or from an item that is either no longer wanted or useful,” Nibbe said.

Each of his brooms, sold under the business SWEET! Corn Brooms, is unique and many incorporate bright colors.

Coming soon at the Paramount Theatre

•$5 Movie, “The Quiet Man” 3 and 7:30 p.m., Sept. 26

•$5 Movie, “A Day at the Races” 3 and 7:30 p.m., Oct. 3

Coming soon at the ArtWorks Center

•$5 Kids Studio: Make Your Own Kalidescope, 10:30 a.m., Sept. 29

•Fundamentals of Digital Photography with Hannah Rosholt, 5 p.m., Oct. 3.