DELAFIELD – From the lake, to an app, and on to an art gallery.
Local marathon swimmer Melodee Liegl has found a unique way to put a spin on her exercise and passion hobby. And if you visit the David Barnett Gallery in downtown Milwaukee, you might find her hobby framed and hanging on a wall.
Liegl tracks her swims in Lake Country on the Garmin app, swimming in patterns that create words. It’s a complicated process that requires precise attention to detail.
“I start out really early in the morning” Liegl tells Wisconsin’s Afternoon News, which she notes is easier for her than during the daytime due to being able to use the lights on nearby homes as reference points. “It just breaks up the swimming for two to three hours, doing something differently.”
One of the lakes she regularly swims in happens to be the lake which David Barnett has a place on. “I shared it with him and said ‘Look at my artwork!’, and he thought that was the coolest thing ever. He said ‘The water is your canvas.'”
The 56-year-old has been a marathon swimmer for 30 years, and is no stranger to unique challenges. Last year, she became just the 10th person to cross the St. Lucia Channel in the Caribbean. And unlike others that have accomplished the feat, she did so under unique and dangerous circumstances due to a lightning storm that delayed the swim. “That was about an hour wait, and you just kind of sit there because you’ve got all this stuff on you. We used desitin to protect us from the sun, and you don’t want to touch anything because you’re all gooey and gross.”
If you’re curious about how you can get your hands on some of her work, Liegl does take requests.
“The ones I’ve chosen are often family members and then I give them as gifts. And then this summer I did a few for the people I know from the lake.”
