Joe Schaeffer is a graphic designer, educator, and artist. He was born in Santa Barbara, Ca, was raised and currently resides in Sioux Falls, SD. Schaeffer co-owns graphic design studio Made By Thaw, maintains his own painting practice, and has recently taught design courses at the University of South Dakota.

His body of work is grounded in his background of design. He works intuitively with ink, oil, acrylic, and various other media to create abstract works that illicit a calligraphic energy and intensity. Schaeffer’s use of ink as the primary graphic element of his compositions has become a distinguishing feature of his visual language.