Featured artists
Artists who have been given a page of their own in the Pocket Program, in their own words. 247 of them, going back to 1999.
-
Rick Abrams
in print 2023I create my art using themes of __________ that are often_________in a desire to evoke a sense of__________ in relation to one’s _______________. I hope to offer the viewer profound_________with shapes and colors, combined into a ______ which hopefully expresses _______ and also reflects a glimpse of humanity’s________________. By using __________and __________ in union with iconic objects juxtaposed in a multi-layer fashion, my hope is the fine art lover is _________into a dream-like ________ and in the process, exposed to stereotypes of__________which are hidden in plain sight. Each individual piece emotes a canon of____________in hopes of making visible__________, which is__________in the __________. – Rick *(Please fill in the blanks with bombastic verbosity.)
-
Victoria Altepeter
in print 2010Victoria Altepeter is a metal smith and currently resides in Gatlinburg, Tenn., as one of four artists-in-residence at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts. Originally from St. Louis, Mo., she attended Northern Arizona University and earned her BFA with an emphasis in metals. Victoria continued her education at Arizona State University, earning a MFA also focused in metalsmithing. Victoria has been an educator in the field at art centers and universities since 2005.
-
Amos Amit
in print 2023Amos Amit was born in Israel in 1945. He was raised on a farming community in the Galilee. Spending his childhood and adulthood in Israel profoundly influenced both the subject matter and the approach to his artwork. Amos’ batik art on cloth is a unique and ancient art form, which involves working with hot wax and dye. Amos Amit has established himself as one of the leading batik artists in the country. Art critics and collectors alike have praised his unique style and highly refined technique. He has won numerous awards at some of the most prestigious art shows in the country.
-
Dennis Angel
in print 2024My drawings are all originals, created exclusively with razor sharp colored pencils. The delicate luminosity in my work is achieved by carefully applying and blending many layers of color on a smooth hot-press rag museum paper. My drawings are done from direct observation allowing me to scrutinize and capture the nuances of the complex still life setups I have arranged in my studio. Because of the detail inherent to my process, many of my drawings can take over 100 hours to complete. All of my imagery is built on an "Art within Art" concept, so my still life setups always incorporate a reference to a master work from the past. These works are done by artists that I studied while in art school or perhaps have seen in museum exhibitions. What objects or fabric should be used with a masterwork? How should they be arranged? What type of lighting and shadow structure is appropriate? This challenging puzzle is what fascinates me as I engage in a complex collaboration with artists that I have long admired.
-
Irina Kovnacka Ashcraft
in print 2024Irina is an accomplished fine artist from Latvia, where she was classically trained in oil painting at the Latvian Academy of Art. She came to Orlando in 1999, where she now makes her home. Since, she has shown her work at local and European galleries, art festivals and shows. Irina completed her MA in Art Education at UCF in 2006, and teaches art at Trinity Preparatory school in Winter Park, and conducts workshops and private lessons to students of all ages. In 2017, she received the June Hinkley Excellence Award from the Florida Art Education Association. Irina has also been a participating artist in the Winter Park Paint Out for more than 10 years. Her most notable success has been as a prominent emerging fine artist on Sothebys.com between 1999 and 2003. Visit ArtWorkByIrina.com. Festival posters, t-shirts and more are available for purchase – see map at center for locations.
-
Richard Auger
in print 2010Richard is a freelance photographer and nature adventurer, who recently graduated from FSU with his Master’s Degree. He began with filmmaking in elementary school, which led to photography in high school and college. Today, Richard documents his vision and love of the Florida wilderness using many mediums, particularly with large format black and white infrared film. Mixing traditional film and digital carbon printing, he creates unique images of a surreal, magical, and sometimes violent Florida landscape.
-
Stephen Bach
in print 2018As artists we should always think our best painting has yet to be made. I want to be there to see mine. That's what brings me to the studio each day.
-
Margaret Baker
in print 2025Working with oil paint on canvas, I paint people and memories. I refer to the images I paint as moments-in-between, those mundane moments that seem to take on significance and prompt feelings and stories when they are remembered. References for my paintings come from vernacular photographs from my own family and those I collect. I love the idea of forgotten, thrown away moments becoming oil paintings that live on and continue telling stories.
-
Deborah Banyas & T.P. Speer
in print 2007Married since 1976, we have been collaborating on mixed-media sculpture since the early 90s. We combine a variety of media including sewn-stuffed cotton fabric, polymer clay, tooled metals and acrylic paint. A piece of our art usually starts out as a small sketch based upon some small event in our lives that we feel may have some poetic, expressive or "everyman" potential. The collaborative effort is most accute at this stage. The actual creation of the art objects is very straightforward. We use simple, direct construction techniques...nothing tricky or overly technical. The aesthetic aim is to marry several different materials into a unified whole, while retaining the character of each material. Emotionally we want our pieces to be very expressive and despite existing in a strange realm, still have real ties to everyday life.
-
Judy Barnewolt-Jones
in print 2007Watercolors by Judy Barnewolt-Jones are thoughtful luminous pieces, symbolic of the more profound elements of life. The color-glazing and dry brush techniques she uses create an illusion of texture and depth. Her pieces are emotional and reflective with a mood-evoking sense of light. Judy's writings that accompany many of her paintings serve as a road map, guiding the viewer beyond the obvious visual content of a piece into a deeper understanding of it. Coupled with her paintings, it provides the viewer an insightful journey through life experiences and feelings familiar to us all. Judy's work can be seen in fine art shows in the midwest and Florida. Her paintings have been included in numerous private and corporate collections throughout the United States. She has had solo exhibitions, and her work has been included in juried national competitions as well.
-
Michael Baxley
in print 2006I start with porcelain clay to form traditional functional shapes and vessels. The bottle or bowl shapes are then grouped together to form a sculptural piece that makes a larger statement about the world around us. I enjoy using groupings of everyday recognizable objects to get the viewer to look at them in a different and imaginative way. I want the pieces to be useful as well as decorative and able to stand alone as one piece.
-
Robert C. Beck
in print 2012An American modern realist painter, printmaker, photographer and publisher of fine-art media, Robert C. Beck is inspired by 19th and early 20th century American masters. He has developed a diverse knowledge of skills and media used in traditional works of art. His work is exhibited in museums, galleries and private collections around the country. Native to Florida, he received his BA from Rollins College in his hometown of Winter Park, where he studied printmaking, drawing and photography. After graduating, he worked for a short time as an independent graphic designer until moving to Old Lyme, Connecticut, where he studied figurative drawing and painting at the Lyme Academy of Fine Art. Beck has a keen interest in the lakes and waterways of Central Florida and this year's poster was inspired while cruising the waters of Lake Osceola on the Winter Park Boat Tour. Beck currently has a studio in downtown Orlando, Florida.
-
Bert Beirne
in print 2019, 2006, 2002, 1999I combine my love of painting and traditional techniques into distinctive still life oil paintings. I choose my subjects from a variety of materials and textures including Madiera lace, Persian rugs, metal , glass, porcelain and fruit. Working in my studio, I plan, select and set up objects to produce contrasts of color, texture and value and to show the interplay of light on those objects. I am especially interested in creating the movement of light across the painting. I begin the actual painting with multiple layers of oil on Belgium linen or gessoed panels; these layers result in a luminous effect of mystery, shadow and depth.
-
Julie Belfiore
in print 2009 -
Barry Bernstein
in print 2011I've been making Raku Pottery for over 30 years. My work is wheel-thrown, cut, and altered. Each piece gets two electric glaze firings and two-to-four Raku firings. My pieces are painterly; I use classic thrown forms as my canvas and the firing as my brush. I am influenced by the hues and textures of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, in particular the Northern Lights which light up the sky on many clear nights. When I was younger I was a champion ballroom dancer and I've incorporated many of the same elements into my pieces like strong form and line, balance, and grace. I'm influenced by Oriental ceramics and Southwest American Indian pottery. I'm also influenced by ceramists Paul Soldner and Richard Devore and artists Joseph Albers, Dali, Monet, and the Abstract Expressionists. I've won awards at some of the finest art fairs in the country including the Coconut Grove Arts Festival. My work has been on display at the White House. I'm in several permanent museum collections and my work is on permanent display as far away as Yokaichi, Japan.
-
Donne F. Bitner
in print 2007, 2004Donne graduated with honors from Penn State University with a degree in Art, studied at the Slade School at the University of London and has been a full-time studio artist for the last 20 years. She is a senior faculty member at Crealdé School of Art and maintains a studio at McRae Art Studio in Winter Park. Donne is a signature member of the National Watercolor Society, the Watercolor USA Honor Society, the Florida and Southern Watercolor Societies, and in 2006 she received a State of Florida Individual Artist Enhancement Grant. Her artwork can be found in many public and private collections. "I use acrylic paint, oil pastel, graphite, charcoal, and gesso in my paintings. Layering, scraping out and collage are techniques used to enrich the surface and create interesting textures. I never know what the work will look like at the end. It's painting by discovery."
-
Tom Bloyd
in print 2023Tom was drawn to making art because of its freedoms and inventiveness. While working in metalsmithing, he found glassblowing and his passion for creating continued to expand. "Glassblowing feeds my desire to explore and experiment. It is spontaneous and immediate and at the same time methodical and technical. There are endless possibilities in form and coloration techniques in which I can produce textures and visual qualities that leave a lasting impression." In his latest body of work, he utilizes harmonious colors and modern shapes and works with multiple design elements to create striking sculptural pieces. Tom has maintained and operated his own glass studio for 25 years and his work is widely collected throughout the U.S. and is on display in a variety of Kansas City private, corporate and community locations.
-
Victor Bokas
in print 2021For the 2021 festival, local artist Victor Bokas has created another beautiful poster in his signature whimsical style that makes a perfect companion to his 2020 poster. Victor has truly captured the essence of the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival in these two designs. Both posters are one-of-a-kind; the 2020 poster is from the only festival that has ever been canceled, and the 2021 poster is from the first, (and likely only), festival to be held in May. I wanted this years poster to be fun, colorful and whimsical. It’s also a companion poster to last years. The poster brings in Winter Park and art festival iconic elements such as the canals, park fountain, koi pond on the Avenue, rose garden, peacock, and more. I hope the viewer spends time looking and finding these different elements. Visit his website to learn more about this celebrated, award-winning artist and view his work – VictorBokas.com
-
Jack Bond
in print 2011We humans, being the complex creatures we are, within our personal relationships have a built-in defense that I call masking. Masking is a universal experience ... part of being human. Our emotions and feelings are sometimes right on the surface, but often they are hidden, to some degree. My personal interest in tribal art has played an important roll in this work. I use the masks and figures as a metaphor for masking. Some of these expressive masks and figures are used in secret societies to mask the human form so that the true spirit can emerge. By using masks in this way, I remain true to the initial use they were created for. These images are almost exclusively taken from magazines, catalogs, advertising, anything destined for the trash, or hopefully the recycle bin. My image mining and deconstruction of this material, and the reconstructed use of such found images creates a new narrative about modern society. I mostly - without much conscious thought- just let the images tell a story that another person could relate to; I see these relationships only later.
-
Michael Bond
in print 2019, 2018My work is my interpretation and impression of a particular location. I derive subject matter mainly from the United Kingdom and my travels in Europe. Topics, often architectural , may not be new or even topographically correct, but 1 strive to obtain a fresh concept and spontaneity in the pictorial aspect of my art. I first created pure line etchings from zinc plates and was greatly influenced by Seymour Hayden and James McNeill Whistler. I introduced aquatint into my work for several years, then became fascinated with the drypoint work of Muirhead Bone and Martin Lewis and have spent several years working on this technique. Current images are predominantly drypoints that start with a tonal layer of aquatint and are enhanced by the subtle use of a roulette and mezzotint rocker. J work on both zinc and copper plates.
-
Wolff Bowden
in print 2011Bowden was born in Winter Park, grew up in a tree-house in an alligator-infested swamp in Chuluota, and was appointed official ARTIST OF THE MILLENNIUM by ARTEXPO MIAMI. After earning a degree in Natural Science from New College of Florida, Wolff drew on his knowledge of organic chemistry to create highly-textured, vitreous surfaces reminiscent of the swampscape of his childhood. Wolff's art hangs in the collections of baseball star Andre Dawson, author Frank McCourt and Poet Laureate Billy Collins. In addition to showing and selling his visual art for over a decade, Wolff has published two books of poetry Orphanage of Imagination and Heavyweight Champion of the Night. Wolff and his partner, Amanda, perform as the Alt-Folk musical duo, The Winterlings. Their new album, The Animal Groom reached #6 on the Roots Music Folk Chart. Wolff is known for creating wildly imaginative works. To learn more about Wolff and Amanda, please visit winterlings.com.
-
Ken Bowser
in print 2010In preparation for creating the illustration for this year’s poster, Ken spent a day strolling along Park Avenue and translated his experience into his final design. Each element in the poster is symbolic of something that represents the Winter Park experience: bricks, the quaint sidewalks and streets of Winter Park; the cloth-covered tables and bottle of wine, the city’s entertainment and fine dining; the shopping bag and the red shoes, the retail and fashion aspects of the town; the dog peering into the window, the family-friendly atmosphere Winter Park is known for; and the empty chair, an inviting place for you to sit. In additional to his thriving illustration career, Ken also teaches in the Digital Art & Design Department at Full Sail University. Ken is married, has two children and has been a Winter Park resident for 25 years. See more of Ken’s work online at kenbowser.com.
-
Christine Brenner
in print 2007I am enchanted by moonrise, dawn, night skies and shooting stars. Although the sky alone is a worthy subject, I also love to paint an olive tree against the dawn, a Vermont fir at dusk or the moon rising over the Atlantic. The reduced intense quality of poetry is my goal in this work rather than a narrative description. A childhood of invented games with my two creative sisters in the woods and farms of 1950s Ohio, nurtured an early synthesis of the imagined and the apparent, which shapes my work today. Years of formal art education (BFA Cooper Union, 1972) in New York City gave me the tools and a heightened awareness of the landscape. I am drawn to a view by the feeling it elicits and that is what I paint.
-
Robert Briscoe
in print 2006, 2004I strive to create art through simple, robust, functional pots. I create the forms quickly at the potters wheel, manipulating and altering them to emaphasize the plasticity of the clay. I apply multiple layers of colored slips, emphasizing the texture through surface crackle or curdling. Finally, I apply wood ash glazes and overglaze stains to integrate form and surface. I want my pots to engage people where they live and to play a part in their savoring of life. I make my pots to be part of people's homes, celebrations and private moments. My pots are directly about food and flowers, cooking and display. For me, a successful pot is one that inspires the viewer to imagine serving a favorite recipe, displaying their garden's blooms, or enjoying the pleasures of a quiet dinner at home. My goal is a rich, complex sensuality revealed through time and use. These are simple pots, with quiet but robust surfaces, made in a scale meant to convey generosity.
-
Kathleen Brodeur
in print 2013Each one of us possesses an exquisite, extraordinary gift; the gift to create. When we honor this priceless gift by opening our hearts and embracing our creative impulses, our lives become filled with joy. I believe painting is a spiritual experience which unveils the subconscious mysteries of the inner psyche. My paintings reveal themselves to me with each brush stroke, bringing forth a mixture of textures and colors. I enjoy inspiring others to believe in their creative spirits and to follow their vision wherever it may lead them. I trust that as I venture out on this artistic journey, I will be led to exactly where I am supposed to be.
-
Dana Brown
in print 2007, 2001After working in water-media for over fifteen years, I'm still fascinated by puddles of shimmering paint on paper and as eager as ever to start each day in the studio. Watercolor remains my primary medium but I've been gradually devoting more time to casein over the last three years. My subjects tend to be structural with an emphasis on strong design. In my mechanical pieces, I enjoy the fact that all the parts have a purpose and do their job – hoses winding to their destination, bolts tightened securely, and engines ready to crank. Selfishly speaking, it is a secure place to spend the day, painting my way through the light and shadow patterns of a tractor engine.
-
Elissa Brown
in print 2024Elissa often recalls being at her grandmother's feet as a child, enthralled by her folk stories and fairy tales. It was these adventures in imagination that sparked her interest in narrative and eventually her own pursuit of expressive storytelling. Elissa finished her formal education with an MFA in Mixed Media at Syracuse University, where she nurtured her first love of illustration and planted seeds for what would become The Freckled Army collection. Elissa creates what initially feel like familiar landscapes, but upon closer inspection, also entertain fanciful and surprising details that keep you searching for more. Her pieces work to sublimate the narrative of play, allowing for easy immersion into stories that are only fully formed by the experience of each viewer. The process of wood-cut illustration is labor intensive: layered birch has been drawn, cut, and painted with line work burned into the wood. The burned drawings lend to the appeal of the work's graphic nature, while giving the wood itself a vintage touch with the aged patina of the charred edges. The drawing and cutting out of characters and objects, followed by their stacking, and layering into new environments, creates depth and adds to the fantastic element of surprise found in the details.
-
Chris Bruno
in print 2018, 2002I combine acrylics, pencil, found objects and collage to create abstract narratives.
-
Michael Bryant
in print 2025, 2021, 2007I shoot 120mm black & white film using a Holga camera—a plastic camera produced in China in 1982 as an affordable option for the masses. Each Holga's imperfections uniquely affect the film. Light leaks occur despite my Velcro wrapping. Loose film spools create out-of-focus images. The plastic lens distorts edges, sometimes producing "ghost images," and causes darkening around the edges. The viewfinder doesn't align with the lens, creating varying image shifts. Without a built-in light meter, good exposures depend on my knowledge of light and film. I often shoot multiple exposures on a single 2-1/4 inch square negative by manually advancing the film and repeatedly tripping the shutter. I experiment with camera movement between exposures, occasionally creating uniquely abstract images. I scan negatives showing the whole image with film code sometimes visible, then print on watercolor paper I've painted and copper leafed. I create frameless displays using handmade frames. The source of my work is in my head, not my camera—my personal version of truth.
-
Sandy Budzik
in print 2006I have been exploring color since I was 5 or 6 years old. My painting is the result of my constant curiosity and inspection of the abstract shapes contained in both the urban and natural landscapes combined with my complete love affair with color. Using printmaking paper (Rives BFK) or canvas and any combination of acrylics, inks, liquid watercolor, soft pastels, oil pastels, pastel pencils and regular pencils, I add dynamic brush strokes, saturated color and brilliant contrast to create vibrant abstract paintings. I start with a photograph or design idea, then think color and begin. Usually I pour the inks, move them around by hand or with a brush or spatula, scrape into them with a variety of tools found at the hardware store, let the inks dry and finalize the painting with soft pastel, pencil and/or charcoal.
-
Lisa Burge
in print 2007My works are non-representational oil paintings on wood panel, masonite, or paper. The surfaces are first prepared with several layers of gesso to prime and create an underlying texture before applying the paint. The paintings are primarily oil with markings or "gestures" of graphite, or oil bar. The markings are particular to my work and convey a personal symbology and calligraphy which I rely upon to express myself. I work intuitively and let the paintings evolve as I work into them. In my artwork, I focus on how to dynamically define space in terms of flat surface. The use of color and texture form the underlying basis of each composition. As a process artist, I allow this relationship to evoke image and shape. Depth is created through the interaction between density and transparency of color. Shapes appear to float on the surface or mysteriously recede into the paper or canvas when the layering of color is juxtaposed against color. My intent is the pure exploration of color and line.
-
Edson Campos
in print 2025, 2017, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2011, 1999My work is an homage to the Old Masters, with attention to detail and composition. I am a self-taught artist, developing my Art since childhood in Brazil. I continue to be inspired by great works of Art. My work tells you a new story, a contemporary one. I have exhibited nationally and internationally, and this year l am commemorating 45 years of Art in the USA.
-
Cindy Carlson
in print 2008Cindy earned a BA in art education from Eastern Illinois University and an associate degree in visual communications from Parkland College. She studied watercolor at Parkland College. Her subject matter includes things that have a personal meaning – landscapes and still-lifes from places she has visited, still-lifes using family heirlooms and collections and items from nature.
-
Richard Carlson
in print 2000Richard A. Carlson is a contemporary, award winning abstract painter who studied with internationally known artist Michael Kessler at the Baum Art School in Allentown, PA. There he learned the unique process of layering skim coats of transparent acrylic across a relief of gesso textures. The result is a luminous surface, rich with illusion of depth that "fools the eye". Viewers sometimes mistake the process for a photographic technique - a cibrachrome or Polaroid transfer - but it is basically a building up of multiple paint layers. Carlson has shown widely in the eastern, mid-western and southern parts of the United States and is represented in national and international private and corporate collections. He resides with his wife Marjory in their large studio/home near Allentown, PA. They manage two cats: Tiger Lily and Madison.
-
John Carollo
in print 2015John Carollo began studying watercolor in college at the University of North Texas under the instruction of the renowned artist Rob Erdle. Having approached the medium with a goal of producing realistic works, a summer study trip to Europe quickly cured those impulses. During the journey, and continuing upon his return, John’s work took on an increasingly expressive, stylistic flair, meant to convey the mood, emotion, and essence of a scene rather than a literal interpretation. His loose, free-flowing style allows the water and paint to often move on its own with minor guidance, in a technique he calls Controlled Chaos. The end result showcases watercolor’s unique properties of translucency and atmospheric effect. nakedeyestudios.com
-
Gaston Carrio
in print 2021, 2019Gaston Carrio, a native of Buenos Aires, creates abstract paintings and sculptures in his studio in the industrial district of Early in his career, Carrio worked as a designer and architect on projects around the world. After settling in Houston, he began to pursue his vision as an abstract artist. An American citizen, Carrio has received numerous accolades, including six Best in Show awards, and has been invited to exhibit his work at high profile art festivals in more than ten states. Carrio received high praise when he was named a winner of The Woodlands [Texas] Art Bench Competition in 2018. Two of his sculptures were chosen by The Woodlands Arts Council—his glorious metal winged sculpture "Proud Souls," and his sleek metal candy red sculpture "Unmasked Symbiosis." Carrio is a visionary. His work is immediate, impactful, and creates an immersive experience all can enjoy.
-
Al Carroll
in print 2017This year’s poster artist, Al Carroll, was an “old school” graphic designer. Al hand drew and colored his logos and designs but left the computer work to others. In 1997, Al created a 4” x 8” ink on poster board design for the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival that was never submitted until 2016 for the 2017 festival. The work on the poster was a timely effort as Al had health problems. His daughter, Hannah Welch, came across the artwork while organizing his things and thought it was a nice project for the two of them to share, thus keeping his mind occupied with what he liked to do best. Al was informed a few weeks before his passing that their design had been selected. For this project, Hannah had the vision of updating the design by adding color which she did digitally. Scott Sheppard, a computer-savvy, talented local artist and friend, who worked with Al for many years, was enlisted to contribute his expertise. The final design is a combination of skills and ideas offered by all three. To see more of Al’s and Hannah’s original artwork visit alcarrollstudio.com and hannahwelch.com.
-
Don Carter
in print 2009, 2008As an artist raised and educated in the northeast, my art reflects a life long fascination with traditional Down East boats, fishing and the sea. The result... a compelling body of work that brings to light the character and spirit of some classic boats of legendary proportion. My Down East boats are individually unique, historically accurate large-scale replicas, of traditional 19th century work/sail boats. They range in size from 46" to 70" in length. Board by board, each boat is hand crafted from the keel up using researched historical photos, measured drawings and the traditional materials and methods of 19th century boat builders. An important consideration for me is the selection of the same wood that was indigenous to the region at the time and originally milled for each boat. Little if any paint is used. Ultimately, the beauty of the wood selected enhances the quality and is essential to the integrity of the finished boats. Just as the representational art of the day, each boat reflects the character of the region. The wonderful subtle differences which have evolved over the years, make each Down East boat an individual, functional classic.
-
James Carter
in print 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2014, 2013, 2011, 2009, 2005Through my acrylic paintings I strive to give the viewer a fresh, whimsical view of familiar and some not so familiar situations. I like to employ the underlying humor of reality vs. fantasy and delight in juxtaposing unexpected objects where the animate and inanimate interact seamlessly together.
-
Christopher Castelli
in print 2007I grew up near Washington Square in the time when painters Milton Avery and Edward Hopper were Greenwich Village residents, and when rents were low enough to allow small uncompromising art galleries to flourish. I would make frequent trips to the major New York art museums with my father, who was an artist and illustrator. Although I did not realize it at the time, this exposure to great art was the foundation of my art education at Cooper Union School of Art, where I studied with the realist painter Jack Beal and painter/sculptor Sol Lewitt. My landscapes may depict the floodplain of the Connecticut River, the rolling hills of Missouri, the coast of Maine or the subtle atmosphere illuminating the hills of Italy. Whatever the topography, I endeavor to explore the land's unspoken dignity. My still lifes are usually small icons of ordinary items illuminated by a single light source. I carefully study (and hopefully convey) the subtlety of shadow and reflection that enliven the rendering. Each composition invites the patient viewer to contemplate both the painted surface and the illusion of space.
-
Gustavo Castillo
in print 2025It was love at first sight. I was handed a piece of paper, some pigments, and brushes, and all she said was, "...why don't you give it a try?" She was Carmen my future wife. Forty years later, I continue to explore the medium, learning all the time, following what every brush stroke tells me and understanding the process of layering colors. Now, all these simple techniques help me to communicate my reactions and place those moments on paper.
-
Alberto Chailosky
in print 2024Alberto Chailosky was born in Cuba in 1969 and emigrated to NYC at age 3. As a child, Alberto was taken by the graffitied trains and urban landscape of the city, both of which he credits as some of his earliest inspirations. He moved to Miami a few years later and immediately immersed himself in the arts. After graduating from RISD and NYU, Alberto was once again living in NYC, but this time as a professional artist. He worked as a set designer on Broadway and Saturday Night Live throughout the ‘90s, all while creating and selling miniature art inspired by NYC and Miami architecture. Through this collection of detail-packed miniatures, he memorializes the landmark establishments of his youth that no longer exist. Either gentrified or abandoned, these buildings meant a great deal to him and many others; it is through his artwork their memories live on.
-
Danny Chu
in print 2007In a simple sense my paintings are realist scenes. Yet, to me they are attempts to understand the links between my sense of visual harmony and my emotional response. I search and experiment using contrast on many levels to create the drama and energy of each piece so that the work speaks for itself. Whether it's searching for an evocative landscape or carefully posing objects in a still life, in the process of painting and creating the illusion of space I pursue the moments when my aesthetic sense and reality – for an instant – collide. Raised in Shanghai, China, I attended Art College to study painting and illustration. After graduating, I worked as a teacher of Fine Art at Shanghai University. I came to the US in 1989 to attend graduate school at Mankato State University in Minnesota.
-
Ann Marie Cianciolo
in print 2023, 2022, 2014Ann Marie has been designing and creating jewelry in her Milwaukee, studio for 25 years. Her jewelry is inspired by nature, sculpture and her sense of humor. She tries to find a balance between the absurd and serious, modern and antique, feminine and strong. Her process includes casting pieces from nature and fabrication. She has garnered many awards, and she has been featured on the CBS Sunday Morning Milwaukee Show as well as in numerous publications.
-
Rimas Ciurlionis
in print 2011, 2010, 2007In my work, I express the interaction and relation of color, tone, line, form, and especially that of texture and surface – smooth and rough, depression and elevation. In my hands, a painting or work on a flat surface takes on a more sculptural quality. It becomes like a musical chord in relation to the viewer and to the space in which it exists. As a musical sound, it does not obligate. It can only elicit or awaken in us an emotion, a mood, an idea, a memory. My paintings are created with oils and other materials and take many months to complete. Their multi-layered nuances and great depth are revealed with extended meditation. Born in Kaunas, Lithuania, Rimas studied painting and graphic design at the Stepas Zukas Art College. After completing his studies, he was employed for 11 years in the restoration of frescoes at the baroque period Pazaislis Monastery outside of Kaunas. In 1992, he came to the United States and settled in the Chicago area where he lives with his wife and daughter. The winner of several prestigious awards, he has been in numerous solo and group exhibitions in the U.S. and Europe.
-
Megan Clark
in print 2014, 2000, 1999I discovered metals as a medium while attending the Savannah College of Art and Design. This medium has since become my life's passion. After graduating I had the privilege to work as a bench jeweler for several years, before taking the plunge into my own business in 2005. I hand fabricate everything from silver and gold, and draw my inspiration from a combination of architecture and nature. I enjoy balancing strong structures with delicate textures and patterns. In 2010 I began incorporating stingray leather into my work. I treat it like a precious stone by making hollow forms and inlaying the pieces. In 2013, I was honored to receive a Saul Bell Award for my "Stingray Feathers" necklace, which was also featured on the cover of Lark Book's 500 Art Necklaces.
-
Athlone Clarke
in print 2023Athlone Clarke was born in Jamaica in 1956 and immigrated to the United States in 1985, where he first worked as a professional writer. The move also gave him a chance to reinvent himself by starting to pursue a lifelong interest in visual art. At the same time, he began exploring the concept of tsukumogami, the Japanese folk belief that old tools, household objects, and familiar keepsakes eventually acquire souls or spirits as a result of their long use and association with their owners. This led to seeing all objects around him as capable of possessing memories, meanings, and energies that can be channeled into making mixed-media artworks from found objects. “Spontaneity and experimentation across the different mediums is where it’s at for me,” he says, “Even while I accept that in some cases, spontaneity may require practice.”
-
Robert Coby
in print 2012Robert Coby is a glass arti st who received his BFA from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 2011. While a student, he spent a summer as the Windgate Fellowship Intern working with the glass collection at the Cleveland Museum of Art. He now assists at Benchmark Studio and teaches continuing education glassblowing classes at the Cleveland Institute of Art while expanding his own body of blown glass.
-
Carolyn Cohen
in print 2018, 2017Major themes in my artwork are the architecture of plants and the complex, abstract patterns evident in their natural forms, what I call "environmental calligraphy." When I first see a subject in its habitat, I use the live subject matter to develop a botanically accurate detailed drawing from which I create a hand painted etching or a watercolor. The etched image is made using traditional techniques, hand printed, and then combined with watercolor painting. My final artwork becomes a portrait of the individual plant, its movement, rhythms, and colors, and also a record of place and memory. Influences on my work include music, dance and nature as depicted in other cultures, including Persian miniatures, illuminated manuscripts and contemporary abstract paintings. Our fast world today demands appreciation of our personal connection to the peace and solitude of the plant world. I hope that my artwork will encourage people to take time to look closely for elements of beauty, serenity and strength in nature.
-
Bill Coleman
in print 2005A glimpse of Heaven. Thirty-three years ago I chanced upon a remote Amish valley nestled in the Appalachian mountains of Central Pennsylvannia.. It has token me years 10 cultivate tbe trust and friendship of certain Amish families and I consider myself fortunate to have been granted such access to a very private people. The timelessness of this valley is what I set out to capture on film decades ago: how over the centuries the landscape has been shaped by this society, and in turn how this society has been shaped by tbeir land. By our standards nothing seems to change in this valley, until you begin to observe the subtle changes of light, and the not so subtle changes of the seasons, and the growth of the children. Should this intrigue you, then please stop by and see what this world is all about.
-
Robert Coleman
in print 2009, 2007Born in NYC in 1943 and raised near San Francisco, Coleman fell in love with glass in 1967 on a field trip to the University of California Berkley. He received a BA in Design, UCLA 1969; MA in Ceramics, UCLA 1971; and an MFA in Glass from Kent State University 1973. After teaching for 3 years at an art school in , he has been a self-employed glassblower/ designer since 1976. Married to Graphic Artist, Vicki Herrick, they live and maintain studios on a Central Ohio farm and have four children between 18 and 27. Coleman's work tends to ask more questions then provide answers except in the case of classical and functional forms in which history always seems to provide the answers or at least a comparison. He produces all work by himself, each piece is individually made without the use of molds other then for textural effects thus there are subtle differences in size, color, and decoration that result in each piece being both unique and related as well. Coleman works with practical forms, sculptural fantasy, geometric pieces, and abstractions. His concerns are with color, the balancing of negative and positive space, and the distortion of perfection.
-
Matthew Cornell
in print 2026, 2019, 2017, 2016, 2014, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2005, 2004, 2002My latest body of work is a continuation of my life on the road. I have spent most of my life traveling and moving from place to place. These paintings are about what I see that best encapsulates the America as I have experienced it. What does America mean to me? What have I learned? How does my life, past and present, relate to the places and people I meet? I call these paintings roadside attractions.
-
John Costin
in print 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2011A resident of Tampa, FL, John Costin captures in visual form the rich and diverse bird life using the etching process. With a background in contemporary art, he creates life size images of birds that explore nuances indigenous to that species. "Through my art I strive to capture and personify birds, enriching the viewer’s perception of this particular form of wildlife. The birds are presented in such a way that they are aware of the viewer’s presence and react to that confrontation. Their reaction reveals unique traits to the viewer, adding another level of understanding. Ultimately one’s sensitivity and awareness of these natural wonders could lead to a more profound perception of the world we all share.” John has been a professional artist since 1979, exhibiting in numerous exhibits/shows and has won numerous awards. His work can be found in the private and corporate collections including the State Library of Florida, the University of Miami, and Raymond James Financial, Inc. to name a few. He recently completed an elephant portfolio book “Large Florida Birds”; a collection 20 etchings depicting birds life size.
-
Jon Nate Cotterman
in print 2010Jon was first introduced to glass in 2003, under the instruction of glass artist Brent Kee Young. He received his BFA in Glass from the Cleveland Institute of Art, and spent the last two summers at Penland, NC. Jon’s work takes inspiration from process, precision, and technical tradition. Through logical thinking Jon looks into everyday life creating a clever juxtaposition of functionally inspired objects. Each piece brings together history, culture, and modern design to create aesthetically pleasing sculptural objects. Jon is currently making work in Cleveland, Ohio where he is continuing his studies of glass, as well as, 14 working for several studio artists.
-
Scott Coulter
in print 2017, 2005My work links landscape's reality and imagination. I investigate the dynamics of landscape, the manipulation of its effects, the limits of spectacle, and our assumptions of what landscape means. Then an illusion is fabricated to conjure the realms of our imagination. I respond to the surrounding environment and use everyday experiences as a starting point. Often these are images that would go unnoticed in their original context. Originally from the Credit River Valley of Ontario, Canada, I lived and painted for six years in Alberta, Canada. I then moved to the United States and spent 22 years painting in the Finger Lakes region of New York. Currently I reside and work from studios in Sarasota, Florida and Chisago City, Minnesota. The paintings are done entirely with brushwork. There are no airbrushing, digital, photographic or projection processes involved. I do numerous art festivals and shows throughout the country and have paintings in many collections in The United States, Canada and Europe.
-
Ignatius Creegan & Rod Givens
in print 2011, 2009, 2006, 2004Each of our hats are made from a bundle of braided wheat straw. The plait is sewn with a special machine designed for the job. Working with a specific style or design in mind the straw is sewn starting at the top of the crown and continues in concentric circles. Viewing museum collections and watching old movies have given us some inspiration but mostly it takes time in the studio playing and experimenting. The combination of method, materials, shape and decoration are what make our hats reminiscent of times past, while still being wearable and contemporary.
-
Kina Crow
in print 2024, 2011I don't know who I am, and I'm confused about what the outside world has told me to be, because I don't think it knows either. My inner world is wild. Inside it, I'm free, I'm brave and I'm kind of a badass. But the outside world is formidable. It feels awkward. An uncomfortable fit that consistently whispers, "You don't belong here." My work is a bridge between these worlds. A conversation that examines what I find to be real and true about being human, and what is societal fabrication. I create charming clay characters who laugh at themselves first, before anyone else has a chance to. And who sneak wisdom with their wit, into a ridiculous world that so desperately wants to be taken seriously.
-
Dick Cunningham
in print 2011Dick' s photographs capture the incredible beauty and diversity of this great nation by careful use of light, color and composition, not digital manipulation. From the swamps of Florida to the mountains of Alaska, to the wilds of Africa, Dick has been photographing the natural beauty and wildlife of the United States for the last 40 years. Dick's training in art and photography began at an early age. His mother was an accomplished artist and his father was a studio photographer. In high school and after graduating college from Rochester Institute of Technology, having received Associate and Bachelor of Science degrees in Professional Photography in 1971, Dick worked in the family photofinishing business in Danville, Ill. In 1978 he moved to Breckenridge, with his wife Mary, and opened Cunningham Gallery. Dick has exhibited his work throughout the country in fine art shows, started and promoted three annual art shows, owned a gallery with his brother and recently opened a new gallery of his work in Bonita Springs.
-
Richard Currier
in print 2019l am a resident and native of Florida having graduated the Ringling School of Art and Design in 1981. I currently live in Micco on Florida's central east coast. My paintings are immersed in the subtropical inland and coastal influences, having spent the majority of my life in its environment. I try to convey the substance and spacial qualities of light and space that I find in the most dramatic circumstances. in the subtropical storms we experience, other times in the calm and solitude of the inland wetlands. I focus more on painting the spaces between the elements of the landscape or ocean rather than objective realities.
-
Rey D'Alfonso
in print 2024, 2023, 2021After working extensively with aluminum for more than 15 years, Alfonso now utilizes his knowledge of pure pigments and fire in his paintings on Baltic birch. He builds color, through hundreds of layers, distressing the surface and painting it again, deepening the thought or memory. Writings carved and burned into the wood recall the traces of lives and languages left by migrants and immigrants as they move from place to place. At times, the words reveal themselves to be lines of poetry, cherished verses from youth remembered, even as the artist struggles to recall more. Alfonso's personal experiences provide the iconography and palette for his work. The paintings bask in a serenity that recalls his early childhood and his fondness for the brilliant colors, hues and textures of antique cars and life in Cuba. "At the same time, the pieces are charged with the excitement of discovery, as well as a sense of being at one with the experience of building a new life in a new land."
-
Sandy D'Andrade
in print 2013For over 30 years, Sandy D'Andrade has been a Studio Artist producing a unique line of wearable art, consisting of coordinated knitted separates – jackets, coats, tunics, skirts, dresses and scarves. Everything she makes is knitted using original techniques: hand-loomed on a knitting machine and/or hand-knitted the traditional way (on knitting needles). Her finely crafted garments can be found in specialty stores and galleries, at major fine art and craft shows and in museum collections across the country (including the Hope McCormick Costume Collection of the Chicago historical Society). Sandy has developed a large and loyal clientele, from New York to New Zealand, and was the first knitwear designer to ever participate in the Winter Park Festival. She designs and creates comfortable, elegant, multi-functional garments, of the highest quality, to fit real women with real figures. All of her designs are original and each piece is made by hand -- none are mass produced or mass assembled. Making each piece, one at a time, allows D'Andrade the chance to hone her art daily and allows her the freedom to do individual custom work (custom sizing, colors and styles) on a regular basis. Sandy's work is elegant and timeless, artful and carefully considered.
-
Chris Dahlquist
in print 2026, 2024A visual artist and creative strategist based in Kansas City, MO, with a national practice spanning more than three decades, Chris is known for her quiet, layered photographic objects and large-scale public installations, she exhibits in a variety of settings, allowing viewers to encounter stillness in unexpected places. Believing that artists belong at every table, she is also a passionate advocate, working across sectors to shape strategies, programs, and policies that empower individual artists and expand their capacity to create change. With pragmatism and creativity, she disrupts conventional models to reimagine how artists might engage with communities, institutions, and the built environment.
-
Don & Serena David
in print 2022We are a husband and wife team. We have always had a love of art and especially glass. Rene Lalique is a huge inspiration. Our ART is Cast Glass and Silver Jewlery. We make all our pieces using pate de verre. The glass is fully backed by the silver to create a unique glow in all light sources. Our jewelry makes a statement and can be worn as casual or simple elegance.
-
April Davis
in print 2007April Davis was born in New York City. She holds a BA degree from Queens College, and received her MFA degree from Indiana University in Bloomington on a teaching assistantship. "My work has always been representational, either landscape or still life. Since moving to Florida, I have focused primarily on landscape and most importantly on Florida's incredible light. My hope is to create a sense of beauty and peace in my paintings, an image the viewer can move into, an image that stills the mind. I work in acrylic, on canvas averaging five feet by six feet. The paintings are not traditionally stretched; instead, they hang from framing molding on the top and bottom as wall hangings." Teaching experience includes positions at the University of Pittsburgh, Indiana University, and Montgomery Community College in Rockville, Maryland. She has taught classes in Oil Painting, Watercolor, Drawing, and Design. Her works have been exhibited in numerous galleries and museums on the East Coast as well as corporate and private collections.
-
Greg Davis
in print 2014National Geographic Creative Photographer Greg Davis, at last year’s festival, won the Edyth Bush Art of Philanthropy Award for his image the “Blanket Weaver, Vietnam.” His most recent work is from the world’s largest spiritual pilgrimage, India’s Kumbh Mela. The event occurs every 12th year with 2013 attendance estimates quoted as high as 100 million. Greg’s work strikes to the very core of the human condition.
-
Mike Davis
in print 2012Mike Davis was born and raised in Cincinnati. He currently resides in Cleveland, where he is pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the Cleveland Institute of Art for Glass. Davis has worked for a non-profit fine-art glass studio and has taught flat fusing classes for the College of Mount St. Joseph. He is also a guild member at the Kennedy Heights Arts Center in Cincinnati where he shows regularly. Other galleries that Davis has shown at include Gallery One One at Brazee Street Studios, The Container Gallery with ParProjects, both in Cincinnati, and the Bergstrom-Mahler Museum in Wisconsin.
-
Danielle Desplan
in print 2007Scratched, engraved, drawn, painted, glued, written, waxed, pieces of paper...as if they were samples of life, crumbs of recomposed moments, layers of memories. I use painting as a medium to translate impressions, emotions and memories into a visual format. The techniques involved are based on the superimposition of several layers of painting/collages. An acrylic image may serve as the initial background, then, several layers of collaged fragments are added producing a three-dimensional effect - incorporating textured handmade papers, pieces from old books, wall paper, printed elements, old letters, calligraphy from XIXth century archives, etc., to create a distinctive, antiquarian appearance. The original image has thus been reformulated along with the collage elements and is integrated into a singular work of art; combining several techniques and media such as pastel, watercolor and printmaking. The final effect is that of a delicately burnished and finely weathered patina. Drawn upon the past, the artwork is a magical interplay of the formal and the symbolic, antiquity and present, time and place, while creating a personal genre of modern fresco.
-
Paul Henry Devoti
in print 2025My ceramic art sculptures combine rare cultural pottery techniques and motifs with my contemporary innovations in design and color. As a Peace Corps Volunteer in the indigenous pottery pueblo of San Juan de Oriente, Nicaragua, I was introduced to the sparkly documented Nicoyan Indian heritage. Through over 20 years of interactions wilh Nicoyan master Gregorio Bracamonte, the values of cultural pottery have become the foundation of my work today. While my clay journey follows that same 2,000-year-old process, the use of burnished slip clay and the absence of chemical glazes allow for exciting innovations of modern color and design. Blending ancient and contemporary design elements, my sculptures feature Nicoya, Maya and Aztec motifs with magical colors of the under-the-sea world - resulting in one of a kind expressions in clay.
-
Don Dewitt
in print 2018Created by book cover designer Don Dewitt, this year’s poster celebrates the vintage fruit crate labels used by Central Florida citrus farms during the 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s. It is also Dewitt’s nod to Winter Park’s Saturday Farmers’ Market located in the old train depot on New England Avenue where fresh fruit, vegetables, plants, and handmade treats have been available for nearly 40 years. Don DeWitt is a Central Florida native. Born at Winter Park Hospital, and a graduate of Bishop Moore High School, Dewitt majored in Fine Art and Graphic Design at Flagler College in St. Augustine before returning to Orlando to begin a 20-year career working in schoolbook publishing. Don’s book cover designs have been recognized with awards from both the New York Book Show and the New England Book Show.
-
E. Moises Diaz
in print 2011The collection consists primarily of low relief constructed sculptures that are framed for a distinct presentation. Diaz utilizes three different metals: recycled aluminum (from cans), aluminum, and stainless steel. All metal materials are of a thin gauge, which are cut and then sculpted into forms using a technique developed exclusively by E. Moises. All pieces are crafted meticulously by hand - no machines or presses are used - they are then layered in low relief on a reversed painted aery lie background, and framed for wall presentation. Diaz is a self-taught artist. He received his degree in Sociology, from Chapman University, CA. He and his family currently reside in Austin, Texas.
-
Tanya Doskova
in print 2025My imagery is a reflection of the world we live in. It is dedicated to the stride of Lunacy and Hope and the impossibility of removing stupidity. European/Canadian/American artist Tanya Doskova is a Digital and Traditional painter. She has worked as a Digital Artist for the movie industry in London, and over the years has received distinctive awards as au Illustrator like, AMERICAN ILLUSTRATION (AI40), Communication Arts Magazine, multiple Canadian Golden awards from CAPTC 96' -97' and from many American art festivals.
-
Sana Doumet
in print 2015, 2007I graduated from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts. Before creating jewelry, my main focus was on sculpture – the reason I went to Perugia in Italy to study at the Escuela De Bella Arte. Back in Boston, I discovered jewelry and my ability to express and transform my love for sculpture through metal on a much smaller scale, making it much easier for me to carry my work around from place to place. My jewelry is designed and hand made by me using a variety of fabricating techniques such as forging, hammering and construction in combinations of sterling silver, 22kt gold, 18kt gold and, depending on the design, diamonds, semi-precious stones and pearls. My inspiration is the beauty that exists everywhere, in the past, present and the future. My aim is to echo back to the wearer the feeling of love I put into every piece I create.
-
Patrick Dragon
in print 2022Some painters stretch their canvas before painting. Patrick Dragon stretches his Clay on the potters wheel, and the vessel becomes his canvas. Patrick, with over udio potter and teacher, has developed his technique of painting with Clay on Clay. Each piece is then fired in the kiln at least three times building up layers to achieve the colors and textures. His ability to capture realism with abstraction allows the viewer to create a story, a story that has given his ceramics a place in national and international collections including the First American White House collection of American Crafts.
-
Thomas William Dumke
in print 2015, 2011I am a self-taught woodworker with a deep respect for the furniture craftsmen of the 17th and 18th centuries. Their knowledge of form, balance, joinery and wood movement is evident in the pieces of fine furniture that still exist today. The clean line of the Shaker form inspires my designs, creating pieces with a modern flare and sized proportionally for today’s needs. I use only solid hardwoods throughout each piece, always reading each board’s grain pattern and figure to determine its best use in creating an attractive and functional piece of quality furniture. Pegged mortise and tenon as well as dovetail joinery is applied to every piece for a sturdiness that will allow it to last for generations to come.
-
Randy Eckard
in print 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2006, 2001, 1999Light plays an essential role in my paintings. It is as if subtle or dramatic interplay of light and shadow become the subject more than the objects themselves. Light reveals the character, color and texture of the objects, whether man-made or natural. The alternation of lighted and shadowed planes produces powerful repeated patterns and can be an integral element of design. The subjects or objects that I choose to paint, have always been of paramount importance to me, especially with their tendency to come unexpectedly. Quiet, patient observation will always reveal the life of a subject, although frequently, the focus of my initial inspiration will change throughout the course of a painting. The paintings' titles can often offer clues to the experiences behind an inspiration. As one of the artists I most admire, Andrew Wyeth, once said: ‘Catching the essence of a subject, without turning it into a picture, is the most important thing to me.'
-
Kim Eichler-Messmer
in print 2008Kim was born and raised in Iowa. In 2007, she received an MFA in textiles from the University of Kansas. She is currently an Artist-in-Residence at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Her work has been exhibited nationally in numerous juried shows. She is married and has two cats and a guinea pig.
-
Ummarid "Tony" Eitharong
in print 2023, 2022, 2021, 2019As I consider the evolution of my work, I started with the basics as a super-realist, representational artist and evolved into mixed media. Now, I am working with abstract painting. In all these areas I have tried to find the meaning of things in life, and work it out in my art. Abstract painting, for me, is an intuitive process. The challenge is to consider form, composition and color together to create a meaningful narrative. My work involves symbols within each piece with the push and pull of colors reacting to each other on the picture plane. The combination relates to my response to personal as well as world issues, such as family, public policy and the environment. My wish is for the viewers to respond personally to my abstracts and the narratives therein, which are a part of everyone.
-
Joe Engel
in print 2024A self-taught, mixed media artist, Joe Engel has been making art for as long as he can remember. As a child he spent much of his time with dogs, exploring the woods behind his house. As a young adult, he worked with State Parks and wildlife sanctuaries, inspiring his thematic choices. “Every time I paint, I am trying to capture a certain euphoria I feel when a piece has turned out well. New ideas are fuel for work that is constantly evolving. Starting with simple sketches, I begin to explore the relationship between the existing world and an imaginary one. The combination of clean lines and bold color is used to create works that straddle the line between raw and refined.” Joe resides in the Shenandoah Valley with his wife and son.
-
Edie Showalter Fagan
in print 2011Winter Park native, Edie Showalter Fagan's watercolors are painted in a loose, spontaneous manner. She enjoys painting landscapes, still life and figures, and is well known for her dog portraits. She holds a degree in Art from Queens University in Charlotte and has studied watercolor with nationally and internationally known artists. TheN ational Watercolor Society and the Florida Watercolor Society have honored her with signature memberships. "My goal is to interest the viewer in lingering awhile to enjoy the choices I 've made in value, color, hard and soft edges, negative and positive shapes and the play of light. Sometimes it's more about what I've omitted than included. It's much like the rhythm of song, poetry, prose or dance - each artist makes choices that give her work a personal voice." Visit Edie 's website at ediefagan.com to see more of her award-winning art.
-
Deborah Falls
in print 2022I have always been drawn to the natural world. The inherent beauty of plants; their structure and color fascinates me. Plants have the power of creating such visceral feelings of joy, wonder and contemplation. It is these feelings that I try to recreate through my art.
-
Robert Farrell
in print 2016I create sculptural objects fabricated from sterling silver and kiln-fired enamel on copper. Each piece is made in a one-person studio and each is unique. The objects are recollections of childhood in a small Wisconsin town surrounded by rural structures – some still in use and some in decay, standing as sentinels and monuments to a quickly disappearing time. I have always been drawn to structures, of all kinds, as places of refuge and protection. While some of my objects depict easily recognizable forms, others simply refer to existing structures with an ambiguity that leaves opportunity for the viewer to interpret them through his or her own experiences.
-
Patricio Ferreira
in print 2010, 2009My background in my native country of Chile was in architecture, but I discovered my passion for creating fine art jewelry many years ago and now I use many of the same design principles I used in architecture to bring my jewelry designs to life. My aim is to create unique yet wearable pieces of jewelry utilizing highquality gemstones and precious metals. My designs are characterized by clean, uncluttered lines, and I love to incorporate little details that offer an element of surprise when looking at the piece from a particular angle. I create every piece individually, hand-sculpting it in wax around the shape of the stone or stones I am using in that design. Many designs require carving more than one component, which I solder together later after casting them separately in 14/18K gold. I employ a wide variety of stone-setting methods, often using a combination of several, in order to give each piece its own special look. I love what I do and truly think there is no better job in the world than taking a mere idea in one's head and turning it into a thing of beauty which brings pleasure to someone else.
-
Mary Filapek & Lou Ann Townsend
in print 2023For a while, all we heard was the crunching of dirt and stone as we made our way to a patch of beautiful blooming echinacea. We spent an hour plucking out dead leaves and tiding up around the base of the plants to get that perfect shot. We moved rocks and driftwood into the frame to work out the composition we could feel, but couldn’t see. Suddenly the silence was broken by yips and howls. We looked up at each other over the tops of the echinacea and then out around the horizon. Slowly turning back to each other with a grin and saying in unison, “coyotes.”.“Well, that sun has a pretty good downward drift going on. I have gotten at least 50 shots of these guys – surely one will do the job. What do you say we head back?” Without a sound, we climbed back into the truck and headed towards home contented, quiet, and fully recharged.
-
Jamie Jo Fisher
in print 2006My work is created with mineral stones, delica seed beads, and found and recycled objects. The "stones" that drive my work are things that can be found on the ground or in the kitchen junk drawer. These found materials can be anything from seeds, shells, fragments of found plastic, dryer lint, and even those squishy rubber grapes from "Aunt Edna". Monochromatic colors, diverse surface textures, and repetition are commonly used to create a graceful and soothing unity among varying objects. Using these random ordinary objects I encourage the viewer to reconsider their opinion of the mundane. Which material is more beautiful ... a semi-precious opal or the rubber grapes?
-
Robert Flowers
in print 2025, 2019As an artist working with watercolor on paper, I believe it is important to have a strong drawing ability and an intimate knowledge of the subject matter. I make detailed drawings and paint miniature studies on location to capture the effects that quickly changing light may have on the subject of my focus. From my sketches and small studies I am able to glean enough information to do larger and more involved works in my studio. Keeping a simple palette I utilize various watercolor techniques including multiple washes, glazes, lifting and dry brush. I often exaggerate the contrasts, textures and colors in an effort to create a realistic painting that is strong in design and contains the elements of volume, depth, atmosphere and light.
-
Amy Flynn
in print 2015Here's what I love: Robots. Recycling. Flea markets. Making people laugh. Working with my hands. Finding a cool vintage item that was once someone's treasure – a brooch, a toy, a tin – and making it special again, letting it tell a new story. And I love the irony of taking really old stuff and creating robots, which have always been so symbolic of the future. Each of my Fobots (Found Object Robots) is one of a kind, and each has its own story, its own personality, and – like the Tin Man – a heart inside.
-
Samantha Freeman
in print 2016, 2015My desire as an artist is to capture beauty in a unique and lasting way. Life is often mundane, but art is uplifting. Forget about the laundry, the bills, the news - gaze upon a piece of art and feel your heart lift. Art is a high without the chemical influence. Art is love without the complications. To own a piece of art that speaks to you is to own a portal into another world. To create public art is to create a portal for anyone willing to participate. I know it is presumptuous, but I aspire to make art that inspires and creates happiness. To this end, I create sculpture using a variety of materials, ranging in size from intimate to monumental.
-
Robin Frisella
in print 2023, 2014Robin Frisella is known for her photo-realistic pastel still life scenes, scenes that evoke feelings of peace and tranquility – apples in an antique bowl, peonies elegantly layered, eucalyptus leaves against a porcelain pitcher. Robin energizes each scene's tones, lights, and shadows, with the gentle power of layered pastel. Robin is a juried member of the Guild of Boston Artists, Copley Society of Art and a signature member of PSNH. In 2016, she received the designation of Master Pastelist from the Pastel Society of America. In 2022, Robin achieved Masters Circle status with IAPS (the International Association of Pastel Societies). Robin's work has been published in many books and magazines. Her most recent feature and cover was in the spring issue of the Pastel Journal for three awards she received in the 2022 Pastel 100 competition, the Dakota Pastel Gold Award and two honorable mentions.
-
Roger Gandelman
in print 2007Roger Gandelman's work has been seen in more than 800 galleries and shops throughout the US, Hawaii, Canada, Korea, Hong Kong, Grand Cayman Islands, Japan, and England. His work has been shown in the Smithsonian Museum, Corning Museum Shop, and Wheaton Village Glass Museum. "I have been blowing glass for 30 years. Early in my career, I decided to put the bulk of my energy into making art glass perfume bottles. I believe I am the only glass artist in the country, perhaps in the world, who has devoted his full artistic efforts into making this object. I see perfume bottles as small, elegant treasures; made to be turned, touched, and relished. "I use both furnace and torch techniques to make my work. Colored glass is applied to the clear glass surface to build the flowers. The piece is then encased in more clear glass to achieve a multilayered 3D optical effect. The flowers appear to be suspended inside the glass. Many of the bottles have various exterior lusters with windows cut threw the glass to show the interior floral artwork. "I try to make my designs timeless…unmarred by passing trends; with flavors from the age of excellence, encased in a contemporary form."
-
Jennifer Gardner
in print 2014My paintings are created using intense and brightly colored soft pastels applied directly onto sanded paper or a mixed media combination of watercolors and pastels. My impressionist paintings are borne of my initial reaction to color; once my eye has been caught I search for the best composition to express my reaction to the scene. My abstract pieces are borne of freedom of expression – an evolving interaction between line, color and texture, ensuring that every piece is original. Created almost exclusively on a white abrasive ground, each piece evolves intuitively through a process of sketching, pastel under-painting, alcohol washes over soft pastel, watercolor underpainting and re-application of pastel, some with gold leaf highlights.
-
Mark Gardner
in print 2021I make both decorative and functional bowls for use and display from native North Carolina hardwoods. I have been working with wood since I was a teenager and was introduced to the craft by my father who was a hobbyist woodworker. My work can be found at craft fairs and galleries around the county as well as in the public collections of several museums including the Museum of Art & Design in New York, the Yale Art Gallery, and the Minneapolis Institute of Art. In addition to working in my studio making bowls I travel the country teaching woodturning at various craft schools, such as Arrowmont School of Arts and Craft and the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship.
-
Bobby Goldsmith
in print 2024, 2023My art practice is centered around the exploration of texture, light, and movement found in the natural world. Through drawing with graphite, I strive to capture the beauty of my environment, creating soft surreal clouds and textural works of mountains, beaches, and prairies of the Midwest. Working with graphite allows me to create a sense of depth and movement in my pieces, while also conveying the light and shadow of my subject matter. My goal is to create art that transports the viewer to another place, providing a moment of respite from the chaos of everyday life. Through my art, I hope to encourage viewers to take time to appreciate and explore the beauty of the natural world.
-
Deana Goldsmith
in print 2024, 2023Through my pastel drawings, I try to bring the viewer into a vintage world where nature comes to play. Each still life begins with an idea, an old object, and flora or fauna. Shadows and reflections are an important part of each composition. Artworks are completed using soft pastel pencils or sticks on sanded pastel mat paper.
-
Claire Goodowens
in print 2018Born and raised in Winter Park, Claire has grown up looking forward to spring and the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival. She received her first camera at the age of 4 and has spent the past 6 years exploring ways for photography to combine her two passions: nature and mathematics. Over the past 2 years Claire has been enamored with macro photography and it’s ability to expose the complexities in the living world that are typically unseen. Driven by the joy she experiences when she uncovers the visual mysteries of the wild, Claire is rarely seen without her camera. She hopes that her art will engross you in her subjects, inviting you to see them as so much more than “bugs”. If you are compelled to see the beauty in even the most insignificant insect, you are more apt to see the beauty in all things. Claire hopes to inspire other children to follow their passions by being honored as an Emerging Artist at such a young age. She is humbled by being chosen to participate in the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival and is grateful 14 for the opportunity to share her vision on this national stage.
-
Helen Gotlib
in print 2023, 2022, 2021, 2017, 2012, 2009, 2008Gotlib uses a small press and raw commercial materials to render uncommonly large print based images. She pushes the boundaries of printmaking. She brings printmaking out of the 1600s and into today's white wall art spaces. Gotlib's unorthodox approach to the tradition of printmaking is balanced by her subject – the fascinating and gradual changes in terrain and flora across seasons and geography. Gotlib takes inspiration from daily adventures in her Michigan woods, and from her frequent cross county travels. She patiently and unvaryingly transfers her impressions of these encounters on to the blocks and plates that add up to the contemporary print based mixed media she produces.
-
Keith Grace
in print 2023The inspiration for my mixed media paintings come from my past careers as an illustrator, visual designer and newspaper graphics editor. My love of typography and maps merges with clean, graphic imagery. While at first my paintings appear simple in design, upon closer examination the viewer sees the complexity of the process. The maps and type I use are a combination of current and vintage materials along with hand made visual elements. The hand-torn fragments are collaged onto canvas and layers of acrylics and oils complete each painting. My work has appeared in newspapers, magazines, books, posters, websites, stage sets, and in television shows. I have exhibited in numerous galleries, museums and universities in solo and group shows for over 35 years. My paintings are included in many corporate and private collections world wide.
-
Barbara Groenteman
in print 2007Because I am an avid gardener, tropical foliage is my passion. My inspirations come from my tropical surroundings. The process begins with visits to botanical gardens, my reference photography and on sight sketches. Color value sketches are developed which lead to enlarging the concept. The emphasis of my realistic approach is the composition and the vibrant colors that balance with the light and shadow. I capture the sparkle and sunlight patterns by preserving the most important areas of the white paper; no masking is used during the painting process. The essence of my style is the careful build-up of wet-in-wet layers of pigment. The pigments are sometimes just dropped in clear water washes, allowing the colors to mingle and dance on the paper. As many as 20 glazes of pigment may be used to achieve the glow of vibrant color saturation. My palette has the highest grade of light-fast transparent pigments executed on 300 lb. archival mould-made Waterford paper from England. All framing procedures are done in a conservation manner to preserve the archival integrity of the original artwork. Sharing with others my techniques and my passion for this medium "fertilize" my own growth.
-
Debo Groover
in print 2023A native Georgian and decades-long transplant, I have been fortunate to travel the entire state of Florida. Winter Park has always been one of my favorite cities. Once the poster theme was approved, the committee made only two requests: include a French bulldog named Monk and a bouquet of flowers. Both of these elements are a homage to two special board members that are not here this year. The rest of it came together naturally. Some of my favorite Florida birds and the official state fruit, of course.
-
Gruchalla & Rosetti
in print 2011, 2000We create contemporary "American" RAKU, consisting of wheel thrown and hand built clay vessels and tiles. Surfaces are burnished and often carved to create textures as well as landscape-like designs. We are a husband/wife collaboration and often pass a single piece of pottery back and forth several times before it is completed. Details in the creation of each piece and finehand glazing as well as air brush techniques are important in our work. Richard creates and carves the wet clay and Carrin takes over in the area of glazing. Final embellishments include copper wire and wooden pegs.
-
Mel Grunau
in print 2012I work in a variety of styles ranging from abstract to impressionistic to realistic. I also use multiple mediums, oil, acrylic, watercolor and pastel. I have taught watercolor painting for over 30 years. No matter what medium I employ, my tendency is to start in soft washy tones of color. Many of my paintings utilize thin collage material, which I generally try to disguise so that hidden images appear to the viewer over time. As a retired architect, buildings and industrial structures quite often appear in my paintings. A patron once noted, regarding an abstract: a love of drawing is evident in my paintings. That is the kind of statement that keeps my going.
-
Tracy W. Hambley
in print 2019, 2018Inspired by my love of writing and collecting, I use vintage, commonplace, and found items as narrative to explore a variety of themes. By juxtaposing these objects in my assemblages, my aim is to create visual vignettes using things we can see, to express ideas, memories, dreams and impulses we can’t see. I hope to lure the viewer into a world that at first seems distantly familiar, but upon further inspection inspires them to make a personal connection based 16 on their own memories and experiences.
-
Michael Hamlin
in print 2018I combine my passion for gardening with my passion for ceramics and design forms that will compliment the various types of flowers and plants that I grow and propagate. The garden is one source of inspiration when designing vessels! Other sources include Scandinavian Mid-Century design, Ikebana arrangements, and 12-15th century Persian and East Asian ceramic forms. I want the work I create to be soothing to the soul and contribute peace and serenity to an interior environment.
-
Oliver Hampel
in print 2024I am a contemporary jewelry artist born in Hamburg, Germany, and use traditional metalsmithing techniques, as well as modern technologies, to create edgy, one-of-a-kind designs. The shapes and textures I find in nature are a constant source of inspiration for my designs. My slogan sums up my design philosophy: EXPRESS your UNIQUE self with jewelry that has PERSONALITY. I am extremely humbled when a customer decides to express their personality by wearing my jewelry. My goal is to make the wearer feel confident, bold, empowered but also attractive, beautiful and sensual.
-
Richard Harrington
in print 2007In a culture that increasingly separates us from the natural world, my interest is in how we relate to it, how it lives in our minds and memories, and how it can provide us with a sense of belonging, connection, and home. I paint in my studio with oil on canvas or panels based on brief sketches done on location. I aim for a balance between abstraction and representation that leaves the viewer feeling as if they are looking at a memory of a time and place — and leaves them feeling a bit more connected to the natural world.
-
Marga Hayes-Ingram
in print 2007"Surrealism…old botanical prints…Thomas Hart Benton and Botticelli…Italy, Spain and East Tennessee…God, growth, and miracles...the influences come and go, but one does follow something – like the tracks of an animal leading off into the woods. "I am always on the trail of whatever I see that brings me to a place of awe. Our world, known and unknown, so filled with beauty and mystery, and a feeling of at-one-ness, too. Like the saying 'one moment in nature makes the whole world kin.' How can we see this more often?? That we are all kin…with every one and everything." Marga was a winner of the prestigious Niche Award for Mixed Media, winner of the First Place Award for Mixed Media at the Coconut Grove Art Festival and selected participant of the International Sculptural Objects and Functional Art (SOFA) Show on Chicago's Navy Pier. Her work has been featured on the Home & Garden Network (HGTV), "Country Style" television show.
-
Charles Hazelaar
in print 2014, 2012In each of my sculptures I try to create a presence – a sense of life. I want the art to meet viewer eye to eye, and to present itself as something very unique and real unto itself. I begin with materials – boards, bits of stone or plaster – glass or metal. I include photos and collected found objects. With these I sketch out collages and scenes and start planning how they will be housed in a sculpture. To build a home for these scenes, I use sheets of wet clay which I cut and texture. The surface also helps establish the mood and give the viewer a hint of the story going on inside. I am also in love with the bumps and twists, the cut openings and block walls that cover the surface of my work. The finished work is kiln fired two to three times. The colors are from oxides and stains fired into the clay. At this point the story materials are added to the almost finished sculpture. The final surface is decorated with latex and acrylic paints, industrial dyes and wax. I attended the San Francisco Art Institute, The University of Wyoming and Colorado Sate University. I live with my wife, Suzy, in Cape Canaveral, where I operate a full time studio.
-
Jenny Henley
in print 2018, 2017Jenny Henley's methodology embraces sculptural practices in a two-dimensional mixed-media framework. She uses imagery fused with nostalgic sensibility, recognizable to an audience familiar with contemporary notions of art. Though the gel process of transferring photographic imagery from paper to substrate is a well-known technique, Henley uses an original formula that gives her greater control and a very sleek final result. She prints her images on standard tabloid paper, then paints on the image with acrylic. While the paint is still wet she adheres the paper to birch board. Once dry she removes every fiber of the transfer paper. Finally, the image on birch board is sealed with an ultraviolet protectant and framed. Henley has won prestigious awards including Women in Design at ELLE DECOR and Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. Henley is also the founder of the First Friday Art Walk Marietta Square, and one of the original founders of Atlanta's i45.
-
Robert Hessler
in print 2017Robert Hessler, a New York native, graduated from the School of Visual Arts in 1991 and has been making a living as a professional potter since 2000. Showing and selling his work primarily at fine art shows across the country, he has also received numerous awards for his work. "My primary focus and motivation is to create a synergy between form and surface. All of my vessels are thrown on the wheel using a porcelain clay body. I keep the line of the forms simple and fluid to accommodate the glazes I work with. These glazes are fired in a very controlled firing cycle to yield actual crystal formations within the surface of the glaze. The nature of these glazes is very unpredictable and lively. I am drawn to creating a contrast and balance between the very structured symmetrical forms and the free form organic nature of the glaze."
-
Sean Hill
in print 2023, 2005, 2001, 2000I have been designing and making my own jewelry since 1998. I am an entirely self-taught jeweler. My background was mostly scholarly. I taught and published on Critical Theories for more than 20 years as a PhD Professor. For years, I worked mostly on a silver and gem resin collection. I recently added an extensive ones collection and a new line of gold and Ceramic jewelry. My scholarly background may have helped me create and think of my designs in a more complex and somewhat "philosophical" way. I would describe my personal style as "neo-classical". I love abstraction but when it comes to designs, I lean towards a more "discreet" expression, looking mostly for simplicity, movement and classical beauty.
-
Ailyn Hoey
in print 2007Growing up in rural Vermont, Hoey spent many hours exploring the natural terrain. Hoey has always liked to create with her hands and started painting and drawing as a child. Gradually, she began to create art full time, developing her current focus: landscapes in charcoal. The terrains that inspire Hoey provide solitude. They are often remote, rugged, and unspoiled. Each year she spends time on Great Cranberry Island, Maine, in Texas and in Vermont. Recently, Hoey was awarded two residencies: Everglades National Park, 2005 and Big Cypress National Preserve, 2006. During these residencies, she fell in love with the ecosystem and was inspired to move to Florida, where she resides in a cypress swamp. In 2007, Hoey was awarded Best in Show, Beaux Arts Festival, Coral Gables, Florida.
-
Farhana Hussain
in print 2016, 2009I have been painting seriously since I was 6 years old. What I taught myself to do with watercolors got me into Memphis College of Art. There I studied drawing with Fred Burton, and paper making with Dolph Smith. Making my own paper led me to incorporate its textures into my own color palette – my work is entirely original. My style is in the tradition of Mogul Miniatures. This centuries-old technique was used by the artists of the Mogul courts to combine in painting and poem, their rich and treasured history. With research I developed my own technique to replicate the color of gold that Mogul Miniatures originally achieved with 24-karat gold. My technique has since evolved to incorporate other metallics. My Mogul Miniatures are also enriched by the influences of the Pre-Raphaelite artists, the Arts and Crafts movements, and the Art Deco period.
-
Joe Ihns
in print 2007Since the early 90's, my work has involved the creation of utilitarian, functional objects and furniture. My work is reconstructive of the ‘American Dream', as pieces are created one at a time using time-tested techniques and built out of familiar and often indigenous hardwoods. My work addresses a basic component of society, the desire to have items that are both beautiful and functional, that make a statement about the owners, and hold an inherent staying power that allows pieces to be handed down from generation to generation. The two chairs illustrated here are a ‘pair-of-a-kind' from late 2006. Made with mortise-andtenon and bent laminate construction, their chief materials are Brazilian cherry, hard maple, and spaulted maple for the splats. High quality upholstery is also used. Using a ladder-back design, the back legs form a long, continuous arch, distinguished by two thin color lines. These lines are contrasted by the organic irregular lines in the splats, creating visual and physical textures. These features combine to produce a pleasing as well as comfortable place to sit, for now and the future.
-
Bashar & Roula Jarjour
in print 2025We are Bashar and Roula Jarjour and together we are Jarjour Pottery. We were both born and raised in Syria and moved to Lebanon after getting married. War broke out and we left everything behind for the unknown, an adventure to move our small family to the United States in 1990. That same spirit of discovery has deeply shaped our work. We bring the influences of our cultures, our memories of the past and hopes for the future into every form and object we explore. Throughout the last decade we have challenged ourselves to experiment and explore different ceramic focuses; our personal journey has helped us evolve in our creativity and we are grateful for it. Our current favorite is our sgraffito pieces. They are a beautiful blend of monochromatic carvings and unique abstract formations. We also are loving wall installations and the flexibility they afford a prospective owner. Our goal is to give anyone who appreciates our art the opportunity to take home a piece that speaks to them and that fits within their home style.
-
Lori Pitten Jenkins
in print 2011Lori Pitten Jenkins' watercolors can best be described as intense. Color and contrast play an integral part in her work. Being a Florida native is reflective in her subject matter, which highlights the unique treasures Florida has to offer. Lori grew up in She has a studio art degree from Florida State University. It wasn't until 2005 that she revisited those artistic talents. She took a watercolor class at the local museum and was hooked. She began entering shows and selling her art as an experiment in justifying her passion. Now these passions have transformed her. Lori is an award winning artist and signature member of Florida Watercolor Society and Southern. "Art is when you hear a knocking from your soul — and you answer"
-
Xiao Song Jiang
in print 2019Xiao Song Jiang was born in 1955, in Wuhan, China. In 1978 he studied fine arts at the China Academy of Art, formerly the Zhejiang Art Academy, where he graduated with a Bachelor's degree in 1982, then began lecturing watercolor at the City of Wuhan Construction College. Four years after, Song was selected to fut1her develop his skill at the provincial Hubei Art Academy. During his time there, he accumulated years of experience, painting, sketching, and perfecting his grasp of color and technique. In 1988, Song immigrated to Canada. Since, he bas traveled widely across the broad, vivid North American landscape. And in these last 30 years he has refined his unique brush-and-knife style, a style that produces unique natural detail, and a richer handling of light, shadow and depth, a style that has won him numerous awards in North American exhibitions and art festivals. Song now lives by the lake in Toronto, Canada with his wife and son.
-
Aletha Jones
in print 2024, 2022, 2021, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2015, 2014, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2005, 2004In many ways, I feel that I did not so much choose art as a career, but rather found it an unavoidable companion. It has always been such an integral part of my life that its continuation has been as natural as growing up itself. From the time I was a child, my art has reflected my day to day experiences, a visual diary of sorts. Now, it serves to ask questions, at times with laughter, at times with quiet force. Although I began my graduate studies as an oil painter, I find real joy in watercolor. It has such simplicity. I feel at home with it. I am continually surprised by its diverse capacities. Still, I develop my watercolors as I did my oil paintings – with transparent layers. Aletha Jones won "Best of Show" at the 2016 art festival!
-
Robert Kastrinos
in print 2007Originally a sculptor, I ventured into pottery to fulfill my desire to create functional art. The rhythm of the spinning potter's wheel allowed a flow that blended well with my years of musical training. I then discovered that glaze chemistry appealed to the mad scientist aspects of my personality. I take great joy in taking a lump of earth and turning it into something visually stimulating. I experience greater joy when showing my work. It is important to me to entertain my patrons. I love to come up with clever names or twisted concepts that allow me to invoke laughter, or, at the very least, a smile. I have been accused of being a comedian who just makes pottery to have material. There is some truth to that because, while I love to be inspired and create unusual work, it is the anticipation of an audience's reaction that motivates and energizes my actions. I am a native Floridian, having grown up in central Florida. I lived, worked, and studied in Naples, Italy in the early 90's. Being surrounded by centuries old art had a strong influence and motivated me to leave my life in corporate America and pursue a career as an artist.
-
Ronna Katz
in print 2025, 2022, 2021Ronna's 2025 series of double drop monotypes and mixed media paintings depicts idea generation. Her printmaking process layers oil-based etching ink first painted on multiple plates and then hand-pulled to the same piece of paper. Her painting technique is to layer oil paint over a prepared ground … often a collaged surface. Finally pencils are drawn into the final layer where the marking represents a subtle and illegible language. The 'chaos spiral' represents an idea formulating.
-
Julie Keaten-Reed
in print 2012, 2007The inspiration for my work comes from all things artistic beginning in childhood. My grandmother, Carley Craig, was a fashion designer and lifelong artist working in all media. As I grew up I developed an appreciation of form, color and line. That appreciation deepened into a passion as I was exposed to the art and lifestyle of the Japanese. My five-year stay in Nagasaki, Japan, utterly transformed , me, and compelled me to set aside previous career and life goals. I now pour my energies into creating works that don't easily fit genre labels, borrowing from both Western and Asian traditions. I use traditional Asian calligraphy brushes and sumi, ink. Watercolor or oil paints are added for touches of color. I work on canvas or watercolor papers, each surface offering different effects. "A cursory glance at one of Julie's paintings will reveal a simple brushstroke drawing; a second perusal evokes a perception of what has not been drawn, but merely imagined. Herein lies the essence of her achievement. Elegant in its simplicity, subtle in its design, bold in its grace, this art can elicit profound responses." ~ Mary Ruth Curtis
-
Gillian Kemper
in print 2019, 2012, 2009, 2007, 2006, 2005A narrative body of work using trees/landscape as metaphor for the human condition , my images result from drawings made daily when traveling. In the studio images are painted on plexiglas and manipulated with rollers, brushes, fingers, etc. Then they are printed on BFK Rives using a Takach etching press.
-
Teri Kern
in print 2006, 2005, 2004, 2002I like to think of myself as a hands-on artist. That means that every task from wedging the clay (at the beginning of the process) to stacking and unstacking the kilns (at the end of the process) is done by my hands alone. Wheel throwing and hand building are used separately and in combination to create these one of a kind ceramic pieces. After the pieces are dry enough to handle, their surfaces are carved in relief. They are then dried thoroughly. Each piece is hand painted with underglaze before the first firing. The blending of color is done by brush work alone — no airbrushing is used. There are between five and fifteen layers of underglaze applied to the surface of the clay. The pieces are fired and then a food safe clear glaze is applied and they are fired again.
-
Gunbae Kim
in print 2001, 2000After 1979, I created works of Fine Art and Illustrations which have been published in major publications in Asia and nominated '88 Seoul Olympic Calendar Artist. I draw ballet dancers, music players and fairies because their common essences transmit a message of ideal human life, of Human Being, with action and rhythm based on the pure innocence. I like watercolor as my medium because it expresses a message of dreams, hopes and our lost purity. Watercolor is a versatile medium to use because it feels heavy and light at once and can represent soft and cold.
-
Jinsong Kim
in print 2010, 2007I produce one-of-a-kind pieces for major art collectors. All of my work is thrown on a potters wheel. The designs I carve will reflect what I see as the soul of the vessel. Much of my work is geometric and complex in design. This reflects the true nature of mankind, beautiful but complex. I use calipers and a compass to lay out the variety of patterns that I see in each vessel. After the pattern is all laid out I cut the negative spaces with handmade tools that are designed specifically for what I do. After this many things are done...bands added or sections carved away. Final touches – such as dots – are added to finish the piece. All of the work is slowly raku fired and cooled down slowly in the kiln. The work is then taken out of the kiln while very hot and placed in a garbage can with paper. The pot makes a fire and it will be smothered with the cover and smoked to give it the crackle look and the black color.
-
Bill Kinney
in print 2007I 've selected landscape photography because it's the crown jewel of the craft, offering elements that are absolute. My technique is to work on the fringes of the day, to romance my images with light. I work with panoramic and large format cameras, whose larger negatives illustrate my subject matter in much sharper detail and allow greater output sizes without compromising image quality. All printing materials used are of the highest quality and offer the greatest color performance and archival stability.
-
Duke Klassen & LaDes Glanzer
in print 2010, 2006Our work is sterling silver, sometimes combined with 14kt or 24kt gold or copper. All of our jewelry is fabricated, not cast. We use metal sheet or wire which we forge, bend, or pound into shapes which are silver-soldered to complete the finished piece. These techniques enable us to combine two or more metals into one piece, and also to make hollow forms, thus achieving sculptural volume without excessive weight.
-
Brenna Klassen-Glanzer
in print 2022, 2021I'm a second generation silversmith, born and raised in Minneapolis. I've always loved making things by hand and began designing jewelry with my parents. With their guidance and my experimentation I developed a natural, contemporary style. To achieve voluminous, lightweight contemporary jewelry, I saw, hammer, fold, solder, texture, and bend sheet silver and copper with fold forming and hollow-form construction techniques, and create organic natural forms with a contemporary feel. I strive to give each piece an untamed, elegant quality.
-
Barbara J. Kline
in print 2009, 2008, 2007, 2001Through the unique process of conventional photography, images are created using complex darkroom techniques on gelatin silver photographic paper adhering to the highest archival standards. Layers of transparent oil pigment are applied to the photograph creating a rich textural finish. The mystical and ethereal images abound with symbolism and poetry. The artist is the sole craftsperson; from capturing the original images on film, the darkroom manipulations using several enlargers, and the application of photographic transparent oil paints to the surface of the finished photograph.
-
Alan Klug
in print 2007, 2006Monochromatic images are by their very nature unrealistic in the everyday sense – abstract in their absence of color. Black and white film sees a world we cannot, though we can train the mind to approximate a gray-scale vision of a natural scene. Photographing the unseen, infrared range of light can magnify abstraction, as can very long exposures, yielding images that reflect the artist's dream world more than objective reality. Recognizing these motivations in my own work, I have been concerned lately to make an image which distances itself even farther from the objective view by its owing almost nothing to a particular locale, an abstract universal, an attempt to show not what something looks like, but what it feels like. The pictures I want to make are those of reserve and quietness, of "suchness", pictures that invite meditation.
-
Kim Koch
in print 2013, 2007, 2006I build my pieces in gold using the old-world crafting techniques of fabrication, raising, forging, wax carving and casting. I often incorporate natural gems as my color palate, and utilize subtle finishes to further enhance the beauty of metal to define my shapes. My craftsmanship is a process; over three decades of working metals to fulfill my artist mission, while keeping sight of the enjoyment jewelry brings us. I welcome you to participate in my jewelry experience and share the joy I find in one of the oldest forms of art.
-
Antoni Kozlowski
in print 2012, 2011I completed my jewelry education over thirty years ago. The first formal jewelry I created was amber from the Baltic Sea, and I've been working with amber ever since. Pieces of amber are selected for their color, clarity, and individuality. I prefer larger forms of jewelry and due to its light weight, amber is ideal for this use. I handcraft the metal individually, matching the amber and the design. My jewelry is known for its high quality and craftsmanship. Each piece is a representation of a unique form of design. All larger pieces contain hollow metal. While every piece I craft is unique, because of the individuality of the amber that I use, certain themes repeat themselves throughout my work. I use silver and organic material such as leather for settings and necklaces, and I also have pieces made from gold and other precious metals. I have lived in the U.S. for twenty years and I've been doing art shows since 1992. During this time, I've received over fifty awards, including "Best of Show", "Award of Excellence", "First Place Jewelry" and merit awards. Please stop by my festival booth to see the beauty of my handcrafted work, and to examine the quality of the work for yourself!
-
Lynn Krause
in print 2007My art studies began at the Chicago Academy of Fine Art. I began my career as a commercial artist. Several years later, I began to paint and enter art fairs and galleries. My love of art started when I was a small child and has continued to my very mature age of 69 years. I have been very lucky. Several years ago I changed my medium from acrylics to pastels. My images are of things I see. I travel to France every year and photograph what I would like to work on. Currently, my pastels are a fanciful look at the woods in the fall.
-
Michael Kuseske
in print 2007It's hard to pass by one of Michael's paintings without stopping. The large size, the brilliant use of color, the contrast of light and dark, and the smooth blend of paint are among the ingredients that create their spellbinding effect. Born and raised in Minnesota, he studied art education in college, taught high school art, and then continued his art training at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Michael also lived in Portland, Maine, and since 1989, he and his family have made Royal Palm Beach, their home. Well over half of the paintings that Michael sells are commissions either based on designs that he already has or new designs created by the customer and Michael working together.
-
William Kwamena-Poh
in print 2016I am a self-taught artist from Ghana, West Africa, and most of my work dwells on scenes from my home that I photograph on visits there and use as reference for my paintings. I paint with opaque watercolor on watercolor paper using the dry brush method, which basically means its not wet on wet. My goal is to share my country in its true light and build a bridge to a more perfect understanding of Ghana and the African continent as a whole. Images of fishermen working around their boats, market scenes, women and children are the themes that dominate my work. My focus is on light and how it reflects on us.
-
Jessica Stoddart Ladd
in print 2022Jessica is a second generation artist who grew up on a rural farm in Middle, Tennessee, in a rustic house predating the civil war. Attending college on an art scholarship Jessica focused on sculpture and painting. While living in Asheville, North Carolina, Jessica began refining her individual skills and focused on her oil paintings. During this same period she honed her sculpture skills by designing her signature metal frames. Her paintings are rich in color & minimalism. The anonymity of familiar subjects encites the viewer to imagine their own narrative while her frames compliment her subjects. This series focuses on evoking minimalist and ironic representations of nostalgia, including architectural, anonymous figure subjects as well as commonplace objects. Jessica currently resides in Cookeville, Tennessee, with her husband, Jon, and daughter, Elin. Jessica makes a living showing her paintings at distinguished art fairs across the country.
-
Aileen Lampman
in print 2018Handcrafted from Sterling Silver and 14k Gold filled, Aileen's designs draw inspiration from leaves and flowers, landscapes and nature's patterns. Shapely concave and convex forms serve as the basis of her designs; accented by a combination of textures, highlights and layered patterns. She saws, drills, hand-forms, hammers and solders each piece of flat sheet and wire that eventually evolves into a small sculpture to adorn the body. Polished highlights against her signature satin finish help to enhance the articulation and kinetic properties of her jewelry. Occasionally she'll incorporate pearls or bezel-set stones into her work but Aileen explains; "I prefer the metal to be the main focus of each piece – it's my first love and deserves to be noticed." Not surprising, given that metal is in Lampman's blood; her great-grandfather was a blacksmith and today she uses the very anvil that he once used to hammer out his ironwork. Her jewelry has been gifted to the Heads of State at the 2009 G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh. It has also been featured in the Sundance Catalog and the Tommy Bahama 2018 Spring and Summer Collection.
-
Iris Ledesma
in print 2012Having an architecture background, I am immediately drawn to different sources of inspiration and art. I hold a Bachelor of Design in Architecture from the University of Florida and Master of Architecture from the Rhode Island School of Design. I am someone who enjoys working in different scales: from an object that occupies the body, to an object the body occupies. I consider my jewelry as details or little pieces of architecture: wearable art. All are inspired from various sources, usually architecture, details, nature or movement. The pieces are meant to be experienced when worn and to be interesting objects while laying on horizontal surfaces. My work is about process and its evolution ... and in many ways, the evolution of myself.
-
Ning Lee
in print 2012, 2011, 2000Ning Lee is a contemporary realist who paints exquisite still-life paintings as well as landscapes. Concentrating on light and shadow, Ning deftly crafts each painting with careful attention to detail as well as focusing on the more intangible elements such as harmony and serenity. "My creation of artwork is inspired by the simple objects that are often seen in our daily life. To create a unique composition, I focus on the set-up and explore various combinations of objects and light and shades. To capture the precise image, I start my painting with outlining the objects in pencil on fine quality linen or panel, followed by thin layers of color. I usually work on several bodies of work concurrently, allowing adequate time for the paintings to dry completely before applying the next layer, which results in elements and thoughts from one painting being utilized in another. Then, I will spend time working on each individual one focusing on the details and variety of colors. It usually takes a long time for a single piece to be completely done. Like many old masters, all my paintings are completed in my studio, from beginning to end, by myself and this whole process gives me great enjoyment and satisfaction."
-
Karen Leffel-Massengill
in print 2009Born in Lansing, Michigan, Karen Leffel-Massengill knew at a very early age that art was her happy place. Crayons and pencils were her constant companions as her family moved all over the world. Karen majored in fine art at Florida State University, graduating in 1972. She married Ralph Dawkins Leffel immediately after and started a family. In 1981, she received a nursing degree and began working as an intensive care nurse, while raising three sons. Some ten years later, when she married Lester Massengill, Karen returned to painting. Tragically, Lester died in 1995. Leffel-Massengill took her first watercolor workshop in January 1996. Painting became her solace. She progressed rapidly, turning professional in 1997. She was on the cover of Watercolor Magic in 1998 and was selected for exhibition in an international competition called Birds in Art. In 2003, Karen quit nursing and has never looked back. She then started painting in oils and has since received awards in this medium as well as watercolor. Karen has been the poster artist for 5 national art shows. See more of Karen’s work online at: karenleffelmassengill.com.
-
Amy Gmelin Lennard
in print 2021I am a concrete sculptor. While I have experimented with almost every medium under the sun including photography, acrylic and oil painting, etc., for many reasons concrete remains my favorite. Concrete allows me to use its cracks, crevices and textures to create what I consider to be impressionistic sculptures. I love the look of anything that has aged or deteriorated with time – things that have a history to them – and concrete allows me to recreate those things. I carve or make impressions in the concrete before it hardens and add color with acid stains, acrylic paint or metallic powders after the piece cures. I like to involve all the senses so many additional elements are added including bells, live plants, candles and oil lamps to name a few. Hopefully all this adds up to sculptures that evoke a feeling of peacefulness, nostalgia and wonder.
-
Pat Little
in print 2011My work is a unique blend of Science and Art. Each image I create, is a combination of between 2,000 and 6,000 separate digital images. I use a precision turntable to move my subject in exact increments (usually a small fraction of a degree). My camera is stationary and I shoot my subjects in complete 360 degrees. I crop one row of pixels from the first image and then crop that same row from each subsequent image at exactly the same location. These tiny images are brought back together, in the order they were shot, layered and flattened to become the work you see in my booth. I have been working on these images for one year and I look forward to what lies ahead.
-
Rick Loudermilk
in print 2022I paint on a wooden panel, then pour epoxy art resin over the painting. After the resin cures, I continue to paint. I then pour another layer of resin, cure it, and paint more. The slick resin allows me to scratch cleanly through the drying paint. I repeat the cycle several times. Look closely at the paintings.You can see the built-up layers of paint and clear resin resembling fused glass. That's what makes my artwork different. The painting has a luminous depth. The paint/resin layering technique allows you to look into the piece, not just at the surface. I graduated in fine art at the University of Louisiana in 1982, and have worked as a full-time painter, printmaker and mixed media artist for 36 years. My artwork has been collected by many individuals and corporations worldwide. Naturally my career has evolved in style, media and subject matter. Now that I'm finally mature, my current work is the finest yet!
-
Andrew Madvin
in print 2023The "Thorn Series" are each designed and handblown by Andrew Madvin and the Axiom Glass team in Detroit Michigan since 2000. This nonfunctional body of work is a concept that contrasts a universally beautiful and pristine vessel at top with a texture field of light and form at the bottom. Each color offering is carefully curated and applied by the artist adding to but not over powering the overall clean form. As light enters the glass it refracts off each thorn like a faceted gemstone. Offered in several sizes, these works of art can accent any space in a playful, yet serious manner. All works are signed and dated by the artist Andrew Madvin. lhe "Thorn Series" are each designed and hand
-
Trent Manning
in print 2022My art is very much a reflection of my personality: a somewhat disillusioned cynic, with an off sense of humor, who still clings tightly to his inner child. In this series, reclaimed, salvaged, and repurposed items are subtly combined with the new material to create an added sense of history. By mixing things such as bottle caps, old tools and broken furniture, with woodworking, painting and sculpting, I try to create a rebirth of interest in these items that they didn’t have in their previous roles. The search for this material is a major step in the creative process; since I never know what I might find next, I never know what my next piece will be. Constantly changing materials provide a natural evolution in my work, letting me explore new techniques and grow as an artist with every piece. My goal is to create a distinct style that will let me experiment with all of these things in a cohesive body of work that is truly my own.
-
Gail Markiewicz
in print 2009, 2008, 2007My work is handbuilt/slab construction. I first roll out clay flat, rip or cut sizes as needed. I then press in antique and various textures into the clay. When the pieces are leatherhard, I handbuild a vessel out of that textured clay. Some work is constructed out of large slabs, and other vessels out of many little pieces, and embellished with clay ornamentations. Once the vessel is bone dry, I airbrush and handpaint on slips and underglazes. They are fired, and when they come out of the kiln I do more painting and staining to give that antique look. Then, they are fired again. One more check for more coloring, and if it looks good, I glaze the work clear. Fire again, and hope for the best!
-
Amber Marshall
in print 2025, 2025When I try to think about my work and why glass, what pops up is my heritage. I come from a long line of farmers, blue-collar workers and independent business owners. People that liked to be outside. People prone to manual labor who were willing to get dirty. Stubbornly independent people that made things both out of necessity and hobby. That is how I ended up being a glassblower. That is why I love a process that can be demanding and unforgiving at times. It feels like work. And because of the hard work of the people that came before me, 1 get the privilege of being a craft artist.
-
Katherine Mathisen
in print 2024My work is motivated by the human need to communicate and connect. Using the language of visual and tactile vocabulary, this allows me to go beyond the limitations of our given verbal skills. To thrive and grow as humans we continue to seek meaningful connections and relationships to each other, animals, nature and the earth. Art creates connections that touch our souls, transcending time and space. I texture clay surfaces at various stages from soft to dry to create an effect that is simultaneously familiar and mysterious. To create these unique surfaces, each piece may be fired as few as one or as many as five times. Some of these symbols are inspired by nature and ancient cultures, and others are surface designs I create using assorted techniques. My process often results in highly textured surfaces that beg to be touched.
-
Matthew Matsudaira
in print 2025Matt is a self-taught Japanese and American oil painter living in Florida. He began painting in 2021, after being inspired by the vivid red rocks of Sedona, Arizona, where he and his wife were married. Today his passion is recreating beautiful places with intricate detail and rich colors in a version of realism that is reminiscent of Japanese animation. A key theme in Matt's work is the harmony of divine and human creation. "I love how art is a way of choosing to see the beautiful around us - choosing to see the light in the darkness; the glory in the mundane. When I see this kind of beauty, I see the signature of a good Creator who will ultimately make all things beautiful, and this is my hope for a better world. Through my creative work, I seek to discover, showcase, and hope in this beauty all around us."
-
Damon McIntyre
in print 2009 -
Barbara McLaughlin
in print 2012My work is a planned juxtaposition of rocks and metal, textures and patinas. Fabricated from reticulated silver, 18K gold, bronze and gemstones. Traditional metalsmith techniques such as lapidary, fusing, soldering, stone setting, etching, stamping, and the reticulation of metals are used to create each piece. Co-artist: Robert McLaughlin
-
Jody Depew McLeane
in print 2012, 2007, 2004My pastel drawings are derived from actual as well as created situations in which I try to interpret my response to the events I witness. Whether the subject matter is interior scenes, theater or architecture, each drawing has an exquisite sense of light with a heightened color palette. I work from sketches and slides for reference. This body of work features elaborate still life settings in the Old Master tradition as well as fabricated interiors. The pastel I use is comprised of pure powdered pigment combined with a small amount of binder. They are not oil. Crumbling the pastel in my left palm, I use my hand as a palette, scooping the pigment with my right thumb to apply it to the pastel paper. This technique gives the work a painterly quality. Because the pigment is airborne due to its crumbling, I wear a respirator while working in the studio. When the drawing is completed I steam it to fix the pastel, rather than spraying it with a fixative.
-
Don McWhorter
in print 2012My most recent works tend to be the most involved and difficult of my career. I kinda thought the older I got, the wiser I'd be and find simple, easier ways to express myself with clay. However, I'm doing the most challenging forms and techniques I've ever done. They are first wheel thrown. I then alter the most sculpted additions. As well as needle etching and other surface design techniques, I use some found object materials for designs along with hand-carved clay stamps. The surface treatment and appearance is inspired by long flowing aquatic vegetation in shallow moving waters. Small meandering streams in the Rocky Mountains and the Everglades were the first to catch my eye, and watching autumn leaves falling in a gentle wind to the ground or into a stream. Don has been a full-time artist since 1973. He received his BA in Studio Art from the University of West Georgia in 1975 with a concentration in ceramics.
-
Kipley Meyer
in print 2022The focus of my work is to create interplay and harmony between the disparate elements in life and nature that inspire me: abstract forms, music, the art of communication and the philosophy of minimalism. Allegorical in nature, this work tells stories based on Connection, Communication and Love as told through abstract and geometric symbolism utilizing the most ancient of forms; Circles and Lines. All work is made of native hardwood with a finish of milk paint and wax patina.
-
Brian Miller
in print 2023, 2018, 2000For 16 years, I have taken photographs for a living. Most of my better photographs just happen – I just happen to be in the right place at the right time. Patience and planning are critical but sometimes its best to just let things come. I like to be open to whatever resonates. The world is a big and diverse place! Have your camera ready...and be ready to give back what was taken.
-
Miller & Hochhuber
in print 2024, 2023Yvonne Miller and Stefan Hochhuber are a husband and wife team. We create mixed media works and collages using found vintage books, maps, tickets and old photos gathered from our travels. We move with camper in tow from city to city, setting down along the way in various landscapes around the country from corn fields to steel mill parking lots. We love this nomadic lifestyle. The subjects of our collages vary. The idea for our bird nest collages was sparked in our backyard. A bird had woven into its nest a plastic shopping bag and a sliver of screen door wire. The lightbulb went off. Copy that bird! We collect and collage hand torn and cut sheet music, maps, tickets, books, old letters from traveling, and more. Our newest series reimagines classic clothing in a large-scale, with the intention of visually and imaginatively marking the clothing’s surface with the stories and experiences woven into the life lived while wearing it.
-
Marius Moore
in print 2018, 2011Marius' work has always been inspired by Zen. He was conceived in Korea and grew up surrounded by Asian art. It obviously had an impact. His latest work is inspired by Zen Koans, which are allusions meant to short circuit the mind to see beyond the mundane. With the new studio creations, inner subjects are more freely explored. Rather than working with what the world presents, entire new worlds can be imagined. There is light to finesse, angles to ponder and thoughts to deconstruct. Sometimes a concept is preconceived. Other times it seems to manifest itself. The still life subjects are assembled in studio. A single exposure is made with a modern camera and vintage lenses. The image is then printed on old-school baryta coated paper with a new-school machine. Yin, then Yang. mariusmoore.com
-
Lance & Vicki Munn
in print 2007Our philosophy in life and work is "keep it simple and close to the heart." Using our native hardwoods and specialty woods from around the world, we produce high quality furniture that is as fun to make as it is to sell. We use the oldest of techniques blended with newer technology to keep our production efficient yet true to time proven methods of construction. Each piece is hand made with selected woods to guarantee the best possible match of colors and grain. As designers and builders, we endeavor to create fine furniture of heirloom quality. Each piece is signed as a mark of pride and becomes our personal guarantee of satisfaction. Lance and Vicki Munn have been collaborating for over 31 years. The techniques they use in construction are mortise and tenons, dovetails, spline and groove, frame and panel.
-
Linda D. Neal
in print 2007Before trying watercolors, I worked as a portrait artist using charcoal, pastel, and oil. Watercolors seemed unmanageable by comparison, but my initial frustration turned into determination, then passion. The flow of water and brilliant color paints itself into sparkling reflections, water, and luscious shadows; limiting it to portraits seemed to deny its full potential. My style is impressionistic, my palette limited, as I work wet-into-wet mixing primary colors as I go. With an eye for detail, I work intuitively and rather quickly as I think ahead, isolating shapes and saving whites, allowing myself to be a spectator as my brush dances across paper. I paint for the bliss. It's who and what I am, and all the more rewarding when others enjoy the results.
-
James Nemnich
in print 2016Raised on Florida's east central coast, I have used my travels throughout the world as a source of inspiration in my art. My work is a reflection of the world around us. I want my pieces to communicate an ambient landscape through the use of color, movement and rhythm. I strive to achieve this desired effect by the execution of multiple layers that are added and subtracted until the image is complete. My work is created on100% cotton handmade archival paper. I use oil pastels, oil pencil, and graphite to achieve my images.
-
Vicki Niolet
in print 2007Since 1982, I've collected and reassembled found fragments of once valuable personal items. I've unburied treasures from flea markets and castaways, cabinet drawers, old frames, and abandoned furniture, sometimes using the condition of the "injured" article to create a theme. My altars and assemblages are filled with collages of metal, glass, and graphic images. I add handmade clay and cast paper components. Each construction is one of a kind. Most of my recurring symbols evolve from emotional icons, hearts, faces, and good luck tokens with hidden meanings. Some of the assemblages also include music box mechanisms for an additional dimension. I mix music with visual imagery, and add titles with satirical overtones to create "Habitats for Insanity." My hometown, Bay St. Louis, suffered a direct hit from Hurricane Katrina and it has affected the way I make art. Even though I've always used found objects in my work, I now subconsciously blend them with a sense of loss and images of water.
-
Jim Norton
in print 2019Jim has a BA from the University of the South with an emphasis in printmaking and has always had an interest in jewelry and metaL In 1998, Jim began attending week long seminars at John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, N.C. to study the art of enameling. After several enamel seminars, he decided to learn to fabricate his own original pieces. Jim began attending jewelry classes and in 2003 enrolled in the University of Georgia's program in Jewelry and Metalwork. He received an MFA in Jewelry and Metal in 2007. Jim specializes in Kumboo, where 24K Gold is fused to a Fine Silver surface. Designs, textures and patinas are all applied by hand. Jim sells his work at Arts and Crafts Festivals throughout the Southeast and Midwest as well as in selected Galleries throughout the country.
-
Ginger O'Neil
in print 2010, 2009, 2002My One of a Kind Quilts express my love of pattern, color and imagery. They are made from the best quality printed cotton fabrics which inspire a collage. People say that my greatest skill is in combining colors in a beautiful, dramatic way. I also seek a variety of textures, scale and detail, evoking the richness of Persian carpets or traditional mosaics. Yardage is printed in limited editions which dates the quilt and makes fabrics collectable. Over the years I have accumulated a vast library of fabrics which allows an assemblage of wonderful elements. Hand cutting is an important part of my work, allowing me to select only the colors and shapes I want and eliminating the rest, so I can combine fabrics that ordinarily are incompatible. I machine stitch, embracing the wonders of technology as many modern artists do! I use paper piecing for precise shapes, applique blind stitching for odd shapes. No adhesives. A darning foot allows the free form top-stitching for the quilt's final sculptural dimension. The quilts are purchased for walls or beds as centerpieces for interior design.
-
Cindy Olmes
in print 2022Decorative art papers and acrylic paint are applied in layers to canvas. The papers vary greatly in texture and surface decoration. Paint is applied with brush, brayer, pallet knife and stencils. In the layering of these materials I wish to express the many unique individual layers each individual over time, and how those same materials connect us to one another in a beautiful universal tapestry.
-
Scott Olson
in print 2008My work consists mainly of contemporary interpretations of traditional themes such as still-life, florals, and the landscape. It is characterized by bold color and the subtle nuance of line and texture. I work in many different media and feel the work is most successful when a combination of techniques is involved. I prefer to work on paper, using both hand-made cotton rag papers and Japanese rice papers. I start with the hand application of either watercolor or oil paint. The simple shapes and colors are laid down first, then I usually incorporate a monotype intaglio plate to introduce subtle linear and textural elements. Following this I re-work the entire piece with oil paint. My work is inspired by both nature and man-made objects in nature.
-
Ken Orton
in print 2007As a teacher my aim was to develop good visual perception in my students. I believe that the need to respond creatively to those perceptions must be visceral. Those who enjoy the rhythms, tones and colors of our natural world, those who enjoy the lights and shadows of dappled sunlight are the ones most likely to pick up a stick and draw in the wet sand in celebration of those perceptions. I am often described as a photo-realist painter. But my work now is considerably looser – somewhere between photo-realism and a loose expressionism. I still get enormous pleasure watching a person move towards one of my canvases. At that moment when the image switches from being photographic to being to being very human and painterly there is often an uttered "Wow"…..I love them Wows.
-
Lawrence Packard
in print 2018, 2016I have been capturing the spirit of sailing ships for 50 years. I began drawing in 1968 while serving in Vietnam; sketching what I saw on the only paper available – my aeronautical charts. My first subjects were Vietnamese fishing boats and I’ve been drawing ships on charts ever since. I learned the art of scrimshaw and worked in watercolors and oils, but I always found that I could best capture the grace and motion of sailing ships with the nearly lost art of pen & ink. I’ve studied the old ships and sailed on working schooners in the Atlantic and the Great Lakes. My drawings are actual ships; I find their stories in old newspapers, port records, insurance claims and Admiralty Court cases. Each is drawn free-hand with a pen point the thickness of a single human hair; on the nautical chart of 34 the waters where they were last seen.
-
Jim Parker
in print 2013, 2012, 2011, 2007The eldest son of a South Dakota historian, award-winning photographer Jim Parker has always been fascinated by the architectural detritus and geologic history of the West. As an explorer, he uses his lens and camera to examine interesting manmade and natural subjects. As an artist, he's interested in the effects of the passage of time on a human scale. "Stories Told in Things Left Behind," focuses on interior spaces and prairie landscapes. Quirky juxtapositions and peaceful grasslands highlight his images. Whether photographing patterns of wind and water in a desert canyon, or focusing on the textures of a faded ranch, his visual commentary echoes the politics, history and cultures that collided in America's Westward expansion. Parker uses small format cameras and handles his own edition printing in sepia-tones and color on fine art papers.
-
Phil Parker
in print 2008, 2006I work with a wide variety of materials and processes including my own handmade papers, fabricated objects, painting, drawing, photography, and digital imaging. All are emerged into, what I term, mixed media constructions that reference a variety of cultural and theological themes from myth-to religion-to science. My background in printmaking and drawing are disciplines which have contributed to the structure and surfaces in the pieces. I create many of the tools needed to embellish and incise the surfaces in an attempt to recreate an archaic effect. The flow of time, consciousness, and the ever evolving human condition are at the heart my work.
-
Jim & Shirl Parmentier
in print 2019, 2013We have been working together in clay for over 40 years. Each piece moves back and forth between the two us to complete all of the intricate steps involved in our work. As nationally recognized potters, we have participated in nearly every major art fair in the county. We are members of the Southern Highland Craft Guild, Piedmont Craftsmen and Carolina Designer Craftsmen. Our Mars Hill studio is open by appointment where custom orders are always welcome. For the past 10 years we have been members of Ariel Gallery, located in downtown Asheville, one of the most prominent craft co-operative galleries in the country.
-
John Peer
in print 2007, 2000From the Payette Lakes in McCall, Idaho, his birthplace, to communities on both East and West coasts, water has always been close throughout John's life. His interest in the marine world and his love of the visual arts developed a natural course blending the two into a singular form of artistic expression and marine enjoyment. His studies took him to Oregon State University, Laguna Beach School of Art & Design and a two-year apprenticeship with abstract painter/potter Esta Brady. This experience and education cultivated the skills and disciplines needed in the development of what was to become a full-time career in fine art photography. John's unique perspective and clearly recognizable style has become familiar at many national juried fine art fairs. This exposure has created commission work in both private and corporate art collections within the USA and around the world. Technical: I use a 35mm format Canon EOS system, "L" lens, range 20mm to 300mm. Fuji Velvia ISO 50 slide film and Kodak KR 64 ISO film. UV protection filters are used on all lenses. I occasionally use a circular polarizer. Images are taken using only ambient light and all cropping is done in the viewfinder at the time the image is recorded.
-
Bruce Peeso
in print 2019, 2018, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2011, 2004All of my paintings are done in acrylic on board. Numerous glazes are applied for a greater luminosity. Extreme proportions are designed to emphasize the vastness of the landscapes, and the simplicity of content is intended to convey a peaceful serenity that invites the viewer back to another time or place. Although the paintings are based on reality, they are not intended to be paintings of a specific place.
-
Loretta Petraitis
in print 2024, 2014Loretta Petraitis was born in City Kaunas, Lithuania in 1964 and graduated from Vilnius Art Academy with an MFA in 1994. During her studies from 1985-1996 she designed patterns for fabrics for the textile factories in her native City Kaunas. Immigration to the US in 1996 heightened Loretta’s true passion for painting, where her creative nature started to unfold. Working with various textures and City Scapes of Urban/Industrial objects allows her painting to explore super realistic effects. This path brings her attention to details, often finding new, undiscovered ways of techniques.She builds the canvas with textured media and pallet knife, then, after drying, she continues with the oils. Loretta’s desire and objective is to reach the state when painting itself starts talking.
-
Ronnie Phillips
in print 2022, 2004Ronnie Phillips is an award-winning photographer, mixed-media artist, and educator whose insightful works display cultures from America’s rural heartlands, to the villages and cities of West Africa and Brazil. At an art show in Kansas City Phillips’ work caught the eye of musician, singer, songwriter and actress Sheryl Crowe. She took home two pieces. His art now graces the homes of Halle Berry, Cecily Tyson, Bill Cosby, Damon Wayans, David Alan Grier, Spike Lee, Bill Duke, Dionne Warwick, C.C. Pounder, and Glynn Turman. Phillips began as a freelance photographer in Los Angeles, his hometown, and progressed from having over 100 photographs of celebrities published in magazines such as TV Guide, Essence and Ebony Magazines to developing his own unique take on art photography. Expanding his talents, Phillips took up painting and injected new possibilities into his work with mixed media. His works now vary from colorful collages of images to acrylic paintings embedded with his award winning photographic accents. Phillips work has received national praise, winning over 100 awards and 10 “Best of Show” awards.
-
Harold Pickern
in print 2007I was born in 1947 and raised in rural northern California. As a child drawing was my favorite pastime. In school I was the kid that the teachers came to when they needed drawings or scenery, etc. I studied art and art education at Phoenix City College and Arizona State University. In contrast to the highly designed and sophisticated appliances and architecture that we live with, I look for the more subtle evidence of the history of our lives. My subjects speak about the passing of people and the things that they leave behind. One of my favorite themes is portraying discarded objects or forgotten places (and sometimes people) that I find on my frequent road trips. Wherever I am my attention is drawn to the periphery which is where the unintended scene is set. Using notes, sketches, and a camera, I compose a painting and capture enough information about the subject to take into the studio.
-
Richard Pociask
in print 2007My drawings at first glance appear to be very detailed, but they are detailed in a simplistic manner giving it a minimalist style. I am not duplicating images I see but rather conveying the mood and strength of that moment. Although there is much preparation before each piece is started, and most are very controlled images, they seem to take on a life and feel of their own. Drawings are created using graphite pencil or charcoal pencil. Regardless of the size of the piece or the type of paper used, the technique and process is relatively the same. I start each drawing with the hardest lead (light lead) and continue with layers of pencil work using softer lead (dark lead) finally finishing with the softest lead. Each layer of pencil work is the foundation for the next layer and the combination of all the layers of pencil work is what gives me the desired texture and effect I want. I continue working and redrawing all areas of the piece until I find a very satisfying balance. This method is time consuming but it is the only way of achieving this particular effect.
-
Luke Proctor
in print 2018, 2017I am an artist blacksmith. The techniques I use have been used by smiths for thousands of years all around the world. I use traditional forging techniques and joinery to create contemporary work. I start with metal cut to a pre-determined length and heat it in one of my forges, I use both coal and propane gas. I then use either my pneumatic power hammer or hand hammers at the anvil and most often I will use both. The majority of my tooling has been made by myself I use different tool steels for hot cutting chisels, drifts, punches, and hammers. The style I have developed is in part inspired by the Danish Modern and Modern Scandinavian styles. I focus on keeping simple clean lines and forging every part of each piece to shape the metal hot. The joinery becomes the aesthetic part of the piece – a focal point be seen and not faked. Each piece I make represents hard honest work that is thought of to be sophisticated in its simplicity.
-
Gabriel Puyana
in print 2016, 2011, 2000Gabriel Puyana's inventive concept of miniature mechanical art forms creates a unique world of fantasy and nostalgia that propels the observer's mind to the farthest limits of imagination. South American roots, world travel, old books, and a Pratt Institute Master's Degree in Tropical Architecture influence his body of work. Themed worlds of Utopian machinery wheelworks called "caroches" are described in the writings of his own "storytales" that embody his constant quest for design originality and precision of craftsmanship. One-of-a-kind and limited edition pieces stand as functional structures and have been admired, acquired and awarded enthusiastically in the art show circuit for many years. Recognitions include first-place awards at Walt Disney World's Festival of the Masters, the Winter Park Sidewalk and Autumn Art Festivals, and the Coconut Grove Art Festival, among others.
-
T.R. Reed
in print 2007I make what I like to call ‘creachters' – 21st century tabletop incarnations of 19th century ‘whimsies' or ‘whirligigs' – kinetic sculptures that move or interact by means of an outside power source such as wind, electricity, or the observer's intervention. All of my creachters are original creations designed by and executed by me and myself alone. Here is basically how I design, build, and paint my sculptures. First, I choose a theme, sketch it out on wood boards, and cut out the figures and shapes with a scroll or band saw. Next, I sand and shape the parts. Then, I assemble them, utilizing various glues, nails, metal rods, wires, pipes, and wooden dowels. Lastly, I brush paint them with bright acrylic colors, giving them the cartoon caricature kinetic effect I prefer.
-
Rick Reinert
in print 2007Reinert is originally from Northern Indiana and began drawing and painting at a young age. He formally studied drawing and painting at Western Kentucky University and while in the US Army, graduated from the University of the State of New York at Albany. "Oil paint suits my needs for my work and technique, like no other medium because I tend to rework from day to day. Recently, I have used various glazing and paint thicknesses to achieve the emotion I wish to convey. "It is important for me that you will know my work from a distance, that it is unique and like no other. Every bit of nature visually tells us its own story if we ask for it. Walk out the door, look up, look down, side to side there is inherent beauty in every gaze. I attempt to convey the sunlight that moves me, that breathtaking moment that you may or may not have seen but know could have been. "Nature provides me with the ultimate reference library and studying the subtlety of changes in sunlight challenges me to keep growing as an artist."
-
Jeff Ripple
in print 2019, 2018, 2005, 2004l am dedicated to a poetic realism in landscape painting. For me, this is accurately describing a scene in paint while infusing the painting with my emotional response to the light and atmosphere on that landscape. Such a painting may not be of a precise location or moment in time, but it is always believable, true to place, and like a poem, conveys an emotional connection to what I have seen or imagined. I focus on creating quick drawings and "painted sketches" outside in nature, and I shoot video and still photographs for details. Studio paintings evolve from graphite composition/value sketches and my outdoor work. Studio work is generaJly contemplative, with carefully rendered underpaintings and layers of glazing to achieve a luminous mood and atmosphere.
-
Jacqueline Roch
in print 2010The unique Florida landscape, flora and tropical flavor inspire my artwork. Raised on Miami Beach, I have always been very aware of my natural surroundings - relating forms within nature, subtle changes in light and color, and the ever changing skies. On a daily basis, South Floridians are bombarded with stories of violence and despair that seem to plague our communities. By capturing solitary spaces and the subtleties of our distinct environment, my pastel paintings transcend the viewer from a hectic existence to a more peaceful place. My pastels bring a close-up view of what is often overlooked and taken for granted. Tropical botanicals and fruit, as well as landscapes of the everglades, Jacqueline's artwork has won a myriad of awards for its larger-than-life approach to this classic medium.
-
Greg Roche
in print 2015With leather work everything begins with the choice of materials. My leather is a vat dyed vegetable tanned cowhide that is dyed and embossed to my specifications using embossing plates which I own. My construction technique is unusual, the front and back panels are firm laminations of textured and colored leathers with complementary pipings. Each piece of textured leather is cut and positioned so that it fits the shape of the bag and the surrounding leathers. The bag is then bound with plonge’ leather using the stitch-in-ditch technique and then hand trimmed. Softer leathers are used for the gusset to provide flexibility of use. All work is made from start to finish in my workshop studio in Watsonville, California. I offer custom interior pocket arrangements on any bag. I guarantee, sign and date each bag.
-
Hernan Rodriguez
in print 2025, 2024, 2022Born in Güines, Havana, Cuba, Hernan is a self-taught landscape artist with humble beginnings in the countryside. Surrounded by unique and exotic landscapes, he discovered early that painting would be his life long passion. The landscape of his hometown is the motive and model behind his works. He later travelled to Miami, where he now resides. In these surroundings, his landscapes have become memories of his mother country. Showing an impressive maturity and pictorial skill, his style demonstrates a simple approach to nature as he invites us into his world for a constant reflection between man and earth. "As a landscape painter I try to represent the truth and beauty of nature. Using the landscape as my main motive I hope people appreciate how gorgeous and important it is for all kind of life."
-
Rodriguez & Diaz
in print 2023, 2022Born and raised in Cuba, Sandra and Emmanuel, are a couple both in life and in art. They have worked as a duo for over twelve years, both working simultaneously on each of their pieces. They were educated at the Professional School of Arts, as well as the Higher Institute of Art ISA in Havana, Cuba, with a focus on art restoration. They have obtained numerous awards throughout their career. Their work is represented in the United States, Canada, Russia, England and Italy. They currently live in south Florida, where they continue their partnership in life and creative work. "We approach the portrait and the body as a topic to discuss other deeper areas of the human being. We have always believed that for an artist it is very important to have a work that is unique and different. We have studied and we have worked with the aim of developing a totally original work with its own stamp. It has been a path of personal search, technical and conceptual experimentation for more than twelve years."
-
Dale Rogers
in print 2012, 2004I am lucky to have an enriching career that allows me to explore my creative side, meet and connect with wonderful clients, and expose more people to art daily. For me, this last statement is the key to where I would like to see my love for art leading to. I want to be a part of placing art in as many public venues as possible. I take pleasure in creating work that inspires the public to think about the world differently. I truly believe adding sculpture to the public landscape forever enhances communities and the art serves as a reflection of the quality of the community. My true love for art lies with abstract geometries and much of my body of work encompasses the clean, simple properties of that style. Over the years I have also incorporated iconic and whimsical shapes into my sculptures that help viewers connect with my pieces on an emotional level. I want to create thought-provoking work that is sophisticated, easily recognized and serves as a mental postcard.
-
Michael Romanik
in print 2008, 2007I didn't know what enameling or cloisonné was until I was 21 years old. In 1988, a fellow classmate at the Cleveland Institute of Art introduced me to enameling. I took the class for a semester and was truly intrigued with the process! After receiving my BFA degree in Drawing in 1989, I pursued cloisonné on my own, refining my techniques and learning how to fabricate and solder gold and silver settings. Twenty years after my initial introduction to enameling, and being primarily self-taught, my work is sold in galleries nationwide. I exhibit in art fairs, festivals and exhibitions around the county. I have been included in many national and international magazine articles, and have won many awards. I am inspired by the imagery of many ancient cultures and aspects of nature. My latest work involves my interest in repetitive, geometric shapes and patterns, and the contrast of color.
-
Marlene Rose
in print 2012My goal is to create life in what I make. In the ordinary, I see the extraordinary. The glass is a glimpse of something beyond the moment, a vision frozen forever. Like relics that evoke some ancient time, these glass assemblages are shards of what I have seen: unnamed emotions, visions, memories. They are excuses to imagine other worlds, prods to a future we have half forgotten. Maybe these pieces are only hardened sand. What you see is what you put there to see.
-
Dennis Craig Rosen
in print 2006After 25 years of working purely in color, my current portfolio highlights black and white images. Rather than thinking in terms of landscape, portrait or still life, my subjects are mood, texture and light. Film and camera, accompanied by fog, push processed films, a variety of filters and texture screens, are all tools of my technique. In the darkroom, I have redesigned and worked an antiquated "point light" enlarging system. This tool provides an exquisite degree of flexibility in image processing. I print on both silver based media and RA process papers. I am in the process of learning "digital photography" and what it will take to produce images of quality. As I am color blind, my wife assists me in this endeavor along with a close friend and the lab he works at in Tennessee. To ignore the digital factor in photography is to hide one's head in the sand ... especially while approaching the age of 60. This scenario serves as a prelude to hopefully an entirely new portfolio for 2007.
-
Keith Ruddick
in print 2007Having shown in art festivals since 1976, I realize that for my work to be truly of my own creation – thus giving me the full satisfaction to call it my own – I must do it entirely myself. To that end, I have always done my own color printing. I don't believe that an artist can truly call the work his own if he doesn't do the work himself, from the creation of the image to the final interpretation of what he saw and felt at the time of the exposure of the photograph. My color images are strong in their graphic appeal. Composition, light and texture are my tools to achieve the results I desire in my images. A sense of place is also important. After having spent the last 29 years in the darkroom doing my own color printing, I have now switched to digital. Though I certainly miss the direct hands-on experience of light and chemical processing, I have found digital to be a much more creative extension of what could never be done in the darkroom. Now, I feel as though I am an artist, not a craftsman. I am now producing exciting images in ways I had only imagined in the darkroom.
-
John & Carolyn Ruff
in print 2012, 2008My first interest in making jewelry came about as an escape from final biology exams. The interest in jewelry grew, interest in microbes waned, and in udies at the University of Illinois, escaping permanently from academia into the world of metalsmithing. I have always enjoyed working with my hands, learning new techniques, trying new materials. At this time, I'm working primarily in gold and gemstones. Using a vocabulary of simple shapes, I create pieces both figurative and architectural in form. The layered metal technique, mokume gane, has satisfied my search for a complex surface to enclose within these forms constructed as pendants, bracelets and rings. Gemstones are also a fascination. I now cut gemstones adding them to my stone collection of 40 years. These I set in rings and pendants. My wife, Carolyn, joined me in this endeavor in 1977. Together, we seek to make pieces of lasting craftsmanship and enduring aesthetics. We would love for these pieces to be passed from one generation to the next.
-
David Russell
in print 2016Eagerly seeking a career that utilized my hands and was not in the typical office setting, I found myself at the Penland School of Crafts in 1996. My studies first began in the iron forge and wood shop but quickly gravitated to the hot glass studio. It was there that I found the ultimate malleable material for a medium – hot glass. I was captivated by it and became determined to start down the long road of making beautiful objects from glass. After my first semester of glass studies with Bill Worcester, I was hired by Great Southern Glassworks in Asheville, N.C. While working for Great Southern I was fortunate enough to continue my studies at Penland with Jack Wax, Billy Bernstien, Jose Chardiet, Gianni Toso and Richard Rittter. In 1999 I was able to attend the Pilchuck glass school in Stanwood, WA. It was there that I studied with Czech glass master Petr Novotny. The time at Pilchick with Petr, Ivan Kubela and Borek Sipek truly broadened my glass horizons and solidified my love for ancient european glass, its techniques and its heritage.
-
Tom Sadler
in print 2022, 2013Orlando artist Tom Sadler has created a truly beautiful poster that captures the spirit of The Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival. Sadler works in oils because of their inherent versatility and permanence. He utilizes consistencies of paint that alternate from very transparent to very opaque. His glazing techniques imbue his work with an unmistakable sense of light. This depiction of light and its manifestations becomes the subject in most of Sadler’s works. See more of Tom’s artwork at TomSadler.com.
-
Tony Savoie
in print 2011, 2005With a background in advertising and commercial printing, I have an interest in art as communication as well as personal expression. In my work, broad topics like power, politics, consumerism, poverty, social justice, and the environment are mixed with personal vision, humor, absurdity, irony, and dreams. Many of the primary images are very accessible, with hope that the corresponding layers initiate a dialog beyond a purely visual experience. The technical process has evolved around an obsession with layering. Most of this work combines collage, found objects, painting, clear acrylic, epoxy resin, and varnishes, often in a shadow box format
-
John Scanlan
in print 2007Master photographer John Scanlan has spent the last two decades pursuing an artistic vision of the world that speaks of tranquility as well as beauty. A self-taught photographer with extensive experience, John regularly travels to foreign destinations fervently pursuing the images for which he has gained widespread acclaim. In a world that seems to change overnight, there is something quieting about an image that makes the world stand still. A centuries-old castle, ancient mountains, a cobblestone alley...all seem to proclaim their fixed hold on the past, present and future. These images reveal a delicate balance of artistic elements, and offer passage through a "window" to another world; a passage that transports you back to another place and time. Each image is a quiet tribute, a recognition of the tension between inevitable change and the desire for permanence and meaning.
-
Robinson Scott
in print 2007My current body of work displays 30 years of evolution and exploration. In that time, I have worked to produce high quality, individually designed, well balanced and collectable hand-blown glass art work. I am always in pursuit of new ways to challenge my abilities and push my existing knowledge. The diversity of glass, the glass blowing process, and the possibilities it offers, is what makes working with glass so interesting and exciting. My work accentuates the layering of colors with clear glass, creating depth, reflectivity and soft vinegetteing as one color overlaps the other. Each piece is made without the use of molds or forms and gets its shape entirely from hand shaping with wet newspaper and my hand.
-
Stephan Sebastian
in print 2025, 2005, 1999I strive in my paintings to achieve a sense of fluid realism while maintaining visual structure. I use finely woven canvas that I stretch and prime. My paints are finely ground hand-made "Blue Ridge Oils ."
-
Sandra Sellers
in print 2007Long ago, I fell in love with the ancient clay arts. I would love to go on a dig to see the work up close and to touch the dirt and smell all of the smells of the earth…but for now, books will do. My work depicts my imagination and spiritual connection to ancient people. I use low fire clay and lowfire underglazes. I throw my clay on a wheel and hand build as well. Pit firing brings exciting colors and a spirit to the clay. Working with clay brings me close to the earth and I like that. It is my lifelong work.
-
Andrew Shea
in print 2007, 2006Inspired by molecular and architectural structures, Shea first studied the sciences – chemistry, biology, ichthyology – where he learned to look beyond the surface. He transferred this interest to the study of fine arts and glass blowing in the early 70s. "I love the geometric shapes and crystalline forms." Shea transforms such shapes into beautiful and functional perfume bottles. There is a long history of "forging" containers among artisans. This tradition arose from the need for functional artifacts, as well as an inherent desire to collect and store that which is precious – be it ordinary water or exotic perfume. "I have always thought the perfume bottle was underated as a format for artistic expression. It has so much to offer – form, color, surface, depth, interior, exterior. The stopper allows an interplay that isn't available anywhere else. Facets are integral to the piece, they define the form and are the entrance to the interior." Shea exhibits throughout the country and has been recognized with numerous awards for his finely-crafted pieces.
-
Adam Shirley
in print 2006I started making jewelry when I was 14 years old as a freshman in high school (I later discovered how rare it was for a high school to have a jewelry arts program!). Realizing the best way to learn the traditional techniques was through an apprenticeship, I started working as a bench jeweler. I then received a scholarship to study jewelry design at the College for Creative Studies where I earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. In 1997 I opened my retail jewelry store, Adam Shirley Jewelry Design, where I design and hand make each piece of jewelry from start to finish. The techniques used in creating the work include: casting, fabrication, soldering, forging and stone setting. The materials used are predominantly sterling silver, gold and platinum with precious and semi-precious gem stones. The earrings, bracelets, necklaces and rings I produce are inspired by the precision, machined aesthetics of industrial design; this aesthetic is then intuitively infused with organic interpretations and subtleties of the handmade.
-
Will Shotwell
in print 2025, 2025I am a photographer in Florida, where I find myself caught between surrogate realities and nature. After shooting commercial work for my day job at a medical equipment sales company, I'm anxious to immerse myself in the natural world and observe my surroundings. Photography has been part of my life since childhood - my parents were professional photographers with their own studio, inspiring my love for the craft. In high school, I discovered my own passion for capturing moments through the Lens. While studying at Embry-Riddle, I realized photography was my true calling and decided to transform this passion into a career. Beyond photography, I express my creativity through leatherworking and designing jewelry. When not behind the camera, I enjoy time with my fiancee, Susan, and my two stepsons. My family and artistic pursuits are at the heart of everything I do, bringing a personal touch to each image I create-reflecting my unique artistic vision and deep connection to the natural world.
-
Bounkhong Signavong
in print 2022, 2021, 2017My jackets, kimonos, shirts, shawls, and scarves are one-of-a-kind, or limited edition, works of art, all hand-made with naturally dyed silks and cottons. My motifs spring from the spiritual power of Buddhism. I put particular effort into creating textiles with multiple shades of indigo, from plants and other natural sources, designed for formal and every-day wear. I was born and raised in Vientiane, Laos, a country known for its ancient textile traditions. Weaving textiles is an integral part of my own family life. I took an early and special interest in designing and crafting cloths. I was able to open a gallery and present my collection in a hotel in Vientiane, while working for UNICEF during the day. A couple from the US visited my gallery in the late 1990s and encouraged me to present my work in the United States. My work was met with such interest that I've settled here and now work out of my studio in New Jersey.
-
Grant Silverstein
in print 2008, 2007The subjects of my etchings range from social realism to mythology. Many tell stories of various sorts, and weave lost threads from earlier centuries into treatments of contemporary themes. They are drawn with a needle on copper or zinc plates, etched in an acid bath, then hand-printed on fine paper. I usually make 20 or so artist's proofs before pulling an edition, which generally runs from 100 to 125 prints.
-
David Skinner
in print 2025, 2025I am a contemporary landscape painter working out of a studio in the River Arts District of Asheville, North Carolina. I moved to Asheville in 20l4 after spending two years in Ireland on an art residency at the Burren College of Art. My current work is focused on the rural area surrounding Asheville, and the unique light and texture found there. My paintings are creative interpretations of nature that straddle the divide between abstraction and realism. I work in both acrylic and oil paints on either canvas, wood panels or paper and tend to use an enhanced and vibrant palette. I try to keep my brushwork as loose as possible without letting the image dissolve into chaos, which involves a kind of give and take approach to finding resolution in the painting. This visual dance is what keeps me engaged with the process of painting, even after 25 years of dedicated practice.
-
Stuart Slavik
in print 2007My art work is accomplished with acrylic paint on hardboard which I then cut out with a saw. I depict contemporary objects and give them a life of their own. This is done by forcing the perspective and cutting out the paintings to heighten the feeling of depth and suspension and sculpturizing the image. It took me many years to perfect this technique and I still find interesting new aspects and interpretations. Since graduating from the American Academy of Art in Chicago I have done art shows, exhibitions and corporate art. My wife and I divide our time between Florida and the Midwest.
-
Les Slesnick
in print 2006, 2005, 2004My photographs are taken from my Private SpacesTM body of work, which documents the values of a culture as they are represented in the home and other interior spaces. Since 1987, major emphasis has been placed on the Yucatécan cultures of Mexico, with work also being done in Cuba and Colombia. People tend to display in their homes what they value most in life. An enormous amount of information about the people occupying these spaces can be gleaned by studying its contents, and seemingly unimportant details the inhabitants of the spaces have come to ignore, all become critically important elements of my work. The result is often what has been called a "peopleless portrait" – much is learned about an individual without actually seeing him. It's as if the person occupying the space just left the room, but left everything about himself behind, expecting to return momentarily. My work is printed from color negatives in limited editions. The colors seen in my photos are obtained by correct camera exposure, careful film development, and by meticulous hand printing. Finally, it should be noted that none of my images has 48 been set up or otherwise arranged or re-arranged; each environment is exactly as I found it.
-
Mike Sluder
in print 2025Mike Sluder is a metal artist celebrated for his transformative work with both bronze and copper. With a BFA from East Carolina University (2006), he launched his career managing the metal shop and patina department at some of the nation's top fine art bronze foundries. This experience refined his mastery of casting and patina techniques, laying the groundwork for his transition to a full-time independent artist. Mike's work explores the dynamic tension between the strength of metal and the fluidity of the natural world. By balancing precise design with spontaneous elements in casting and patina, his pieces achieve a compelling interplay of form and function. His bronze vessels and copper wall hangings marry visionary craftsmanship with enduring materials, attracting high-profile commissions from clients like The Ritz-Carlton, Hilton, and ESPN. His work has been showcased in prestigious exhibitions, including at the Museum of Design Atlanta. Now based near Atlanta, Mike continues to create custom pieces for collectors and corporate clients, pushing the boundaries of metal art with every new project.
-
Mary Sly
in print 2018Contemporary silk garments. Resist technique, Hand dyed, hand painted, using a brush. Garments are layered, lined and designed by the artist. Contrasting visual foreground and overall patterns.
-
Archie Smith
in print 2008As I studied and taught history for over thirty years, again and again I came upon people in the past who had created "things of beauty". To me the truly awesome wonder of this is that artists are able, through their creation of "things of beauty" to give pleasure and joy to people irrespective and independently of their own existence. We still thrill to the beauty created by Mozart, Shakespeare and Michelangelo, and they have been gone for centuries. My instruments are my small contribution to the body of "things of beauty". For my instruments, I select the most beautiful, highly figured woods available. I split, then bookmatch the pieces to create mirror image effect that is often quite striking. This, together with the inlaying of various materials, provides an outlet for the artistic muses which otherwise find difficulty expressing themselves within the confined acoustical requirements of musical instruments. The artistic muses further express themselves in the "one-of-a-kind" wall display pieces that I have designed for some of the instruments. While many have purchased my work as art simply to be viewed, I would point out that my instruments are functional art. difficulty expressing themselves within the confined acoustical requirements of musical
-
Cheryl Mackey Smith
in print 2022, 2021, 2018Cheryl's her hand-formed ceramics speak directly to her love of the natural world, each piece of handcrafted clay depicting nature as both real and abstract. Her knowledge of composition and feel for nature's randomness develop into finished framed fine art ceramic wall pieces on archival backings. Cheryl and her husband, Randall, an abstract painter, live in the Smoky Mountains where she continues the hunt, that began in childhood, for the rocks, twigs and patterns in nature that inspire her art. You can find her work at indoor and outdoor art festivals across the country and at the Grovewood Gallery at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville. Cheryl was recently accepted into the Southern Highland Craft Guild, and her work will be displayed at the Folk Art Center along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Asheville, NC.
-
Andrew Sovjani
in print 2023Andrew Sovjani is recognized for blurring the boundaries between photography, printmaking and painting. Self-taught, he was raised in a family of working artists. Art is in his blood. His photographs have been shown in solo and group exhibitions throughout the U.S., Europe and Japan, and are held in many public and private collections. “I am a painter trapped in a photographer’s body. The technique used to create each print is a combination of traditional, alternative, and digital methods. Each image is captured on large format B&W film and then traditional, monochromatic silver-gelatin prints are made in the darkroom. Over several days the B&W print is altered by hand, using bleaches, acids, toners, and various homemade concoctions. This reworking changes the silver in the paper and creates beautiful colors, mark making, and spontaneous effects. It also allows a freedom of interpretation and the ability to alter the straight image to reflect more of a deeper meditation on the subject. These raw prints are then tweaked in the computer until the final visual image is realized.”
-
Thomas Spake
in print 2016, 2011A fter 20 years of working with glass, I have learned to approach the material from the perspective of a painter and a sculptor. The fluid nature of glass lends itself to be stretched and drawn across the surface to create a kind of brush stroke, like that of a painter. The ability to grind, engrave, and etch the surface of the glass, lends the material to be sculpted, creating layers of colors, revealing unseen patterns, and creating marks that allow light to dance across the surface of the glass. I find inspiration in the subtle yet mysterious beauty of our natural world. This beauty can be found in so many different places upon our planet, from the sandy ocean floor, to mountainous peaks and from the sublime desert to mossy Forests. I find glass to be a very impressionable material, and it has the ability to be transparent, translucent or opaque, giving it the capacity to mimic the world around us; water, clouds, rocks, forests, mountains...
-
Andrew Spear
in print 2025Andrew Spear is a prominent mural artist and illustrator based in Orlando. Originally from Boston. he attended the Ringling School of Art and Design before moving to New York City and ultimately relocating to Orlando where he has become a well-known figure in the music and visual arts scenes. His distinctive work can be seen adorning numerous walls across the Central Florida urban landscape, including the Pulse Memorial Mural that stood at the comer of Mills and SR 50. His work often combines his signature line work and a vibrant, bold color palette that highlights references from his deep knowledge of pop culture and music. Beyond murals, Andrew has collaborated with organizations such as Live Nation, Hard Rock and MTV. His work has been featured in music videos, international TV commercials, and other various media outlets. Despite his commercial success, he continues to produce more personal works in his favored medium-colored pencil - showcasing his versatility across different scales and mediums.
-
Elizabeth St.Hilaire
in print 2019Meticulously torn bits of hand-painted papers, delicately put together, form the exceptionally vibrant collages created by this year's poster artist Elizabeth St.Hilaire. Born and raised in New England, she has lived in Central Florida for 20+ years. She holds a BFA in Advertising Design from Syracuse University, which prepared her for a dual identity as both communication designer and a painter - these days she's a full-time fine artist. Learn about Elizabeth’s workshops and view her art at PaperPaintings.com.
-
Beau Stahl
in print 2008, 2007I create my drawings using light and shadow combined with negative space to produce high contrast results. My drawings are the end result of my own thoughts and ideas that I transfer to paper through the use of a black drawing pencil and ink on Bristol board. I am the sole creator of these works and use only the highest quality materials to produce each piece. I am continually cultivating my techniques to create new and distinct results with my images. I have pursued drawing as a full-time career for over 18 years. A native of Mississippi, with a BA in History from Mississippi State, I began my art business a few years after moving to Pensacola, Florida in 1984.
-
David Stern
in print 2007Nothing gives me more satisfaction than ‘thinking photographically.' I am most in touch with my soul while taking pictures. Nature and landscape scenes are primarily what I photograph. The relationship of light, color and composition fascinates me; however, I find I'm currently emphasizing color more than any other element in my work. I'll frequently experiment with my photographic tools to push myself to create images that I feel ‘drip' with a rich interplay of color. While making an image, I've learned to increasingly trust that small voice inside of me when it starts to shout, "you've got it!" I especially enjoy the vibrant colors I can achieve with my work when I print it onto ceramic tile. The image is first printed onto dye transfer paper from a scanned negative. Then the dyes on the paper are heated in a hot-press onto a ceramic tile that has been coated with a polymer surface. The dyes come off of the dye-transfer paper and blend into the polymer coating. I use UV-treated, dye-sublimation inks for this process – it give the tiles a unique, rich look – very different than printing the image on glossy or watercolor paper.
-
Michael A. Stipek
in print 2007A combination of fine art training and the skills to print my own color photography enables me to pursue and secure on film the essence of an image. My work captures a sense of warmth, beauty and composition that few have achieved. In my creative process I strive for a balance between simplicity of composition, strength of color, and dramatic lighting techniques that lead observers to believe they are viewing paintings rather than photography. I photography all of my work, either on location or in my studio, using a medium-format (2.25 in. x 2.25 in.) Hasselblad 500CM camera system and Kodak film. I print on Fujicolor Crystal Archive paper with Kodak "RA-4" chemistry. I cut my own matts and frames, using archival materials and standards. To the field of photography I bring six years of fine art education in painting and drawing, as well as several years in printing black-and-white photographs for the Denver Art Museum. I also worked as a custom color printer at ProLab, Inc. Since 1978 I have been producing and marketing my photography full-time at juried fine art festivals and in galleries throughout the U.S.
-
Michael Stipek
in print 2008The combination of fine art training, traditional medium-format color negative film photography, and computer imaging skills has enabled me to create and produce images that evoke classically naturalistic paintings. In my work, I try to capture a uniquely individual sense of warmth and beauty, whether the subject matter is architectural, floral or scenic. In my creative process I strive for a balance between simplicity of composition, strength of natural color, and the use of dramatic lighting techniques.
-
Gary Stretar
in print 2008, 2007I paint in both watercolor and oil. My paintings are primarily landscapes from the area in North central Ohio where I live. as well as many places I visit each year in the Great Lakes, Plains states, New England, and the Southeast. Most of my paintings are pieces painted in my studio from observations made from nature. In both mediums I employ layering, thin washes, as well as dry brush and blending.
-
Mark Sudduth
in print 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2002The desire for people to make something with their own hands is as old as time, but when certain individuals have the innate ability to create beautiful works of art with theirs, the concept takes on a whole new meaning. Mark Sudduth's exceptional hand-blown and sculptural glass takes "working with your hands" to a whole new level. "The entire process of concept, design and execution in the hot and cold shop is my responsibility. I've built much of my own equipment. I melt my own glass. I blow it as well as cut, grind, engrave and polish it. All of this puts me in very close proximity with my work. Since 1983, I have operated a full-time studio for my work and have made my passion into my livelihood. The ability to manipulate glass and achieve a desired result has taken a great deal of time and effort, yet it still holds the mystique it did when I first started." Mark's work is included in many public and private collections and can be found for purchase at the Cleveland Museum of Art store.
-
Lauran Sundin
in print 2007Lauran's work is based on a reverence for the fine handcrafted techniques which have been handed down for generations throughout the world. Following Asian textile study at the University of Hawaii, as well as traditional overshot weaving with indigenous Indians in Guatemala, Lauran investigated modern weaving interpretations in Denmark. She enjoys the challenge of employing very traditional weaving techniques to fashion flowing contemporary pieces of sculptural jewelry. Lauran says: "It is the fineness of the weaving which I want to be the feature of my pieces, with the bold structural support bringing it all together." Photo by Robert Diamante
-
Marina Terauds
in print 2023, 2021, 2017, 2011, 2010My main inspiration is nature: everything starts there and everything comes from there. Also I find a lot of inspiration in mythology, legends, fairy tales and folklore. In my art I like to merge reality with imagination, life with fantasy, obtained things with desired ones. I like symbols and metaphors and use them often. I work with very old intaglio print techniques on copper and zinc plates. Each image is etched and engraved on metal, hand inked with oil based etching ink, hand wiped and hand pulled on paper through an etching press. The body of work in this show represents my experiments with intaglio prints.Trying to find a new approach to a very old technique, I hand cut my intaglio prints and combine them in a one of a kind 3D composition.
-
Charles Tersolo
in print 2014Fine Artist Charles Tersolo was born in New Hampshire in 1974, and graduated Summa Cum Laude from The University of New Hampshire with a BA in Studio Art. Working full-time in Boston as an oil painter for the last ten years, Charles creates Color Realist oil works painted in seven layers. The varnish in hand-mixed oil tubes makes layers diaphanous. The seven layers include Rough Draw, Gold, Rough Color, Blue, Final Under Layer, Final, and Detail. For his Virtual Plein-Air technique, Mr. Tersolo trained in photography to take dark, richly colored digital originals. He then lightens and manipulates them into slideshows for each of the seven layers. As some shadow and color is created by light trapped between layers, the contrast and color of each work varies with lighting and position of the viewer. Charles creates works that capture the original beauty of inspiring places; their changeability.
-
Cat Tesla
in print 2007I love the outdoors and live on a lake 25 miles outside of Atlanta. The water is meditative and healing, where every moment one can feel the presence of a higher power. My paintings are inspired by my surroundings as well as what I perceive through my memories – some recent, others from childhood. I select images, which serve as archetypes of life experiences: a path, a tree I loved to climb. My formal education is based in science and graphic design. I think this is why I am compelled to divide a painting into sections of images, color, and texture. Multiple layers of acrylic and oil glazes, combined with handmade clay pieces (the tiles in my work that I make which I refer to as "cookies", and gold leaf, allow me to integrate all of the mediums I love to work in. My paintings are a process of exploration. I work with layers of thick and thin color, washed or scumbled over a textured surface. Traces are left by assorted marks, surfaces are wiped, dripped and spattered; all adding to an eventual sense of accumulation and the essence of time.
-
Heidi Thamert
in print 2019For some, hands are just there. They do everything for us but we take them for granted. They work hard for us everyday. If we have an itch they scratch it. We use our hands to complete every menial task every day of our lives. And as we get older they show the hard work they've accomplished, they show what we have done in our life. I like to inspire contemplation of older folks. I want my photographs to tell their story. Their stories are my inspiration. The picture you imagine in your mind of who this person is and was, to themselves and their families, is up to you. Our hands display the traits of who we've become. They tell "our" story, your story. Your hands, your Hands of Time.
-
John "Jack" Thursby
in print 2011, 2010, 2009My work is essentially narrative and features the human figure. The story being told includes its setting, figure position, color, and technique used. I choose to paint on large canvases, and often present the finished work as a diptych or triptych. My acrylic paintings have content that helps explain the human condition and all its many variables. The figures that I paint are people that I've met and have interesting stories to tell, whether it be his or her personal story or from the relationship with others. I often select objects to include with the figure that have powerful symbolism that influences the narrative. Although I was trained in the Abstract-Expressionist period of the 60's, I have chosen a type of contemporary realism as a style for my story-telling. Jack has won numerous awards including the prestigious Best-of-Show award at the 2010 Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival.
-
Vicki Tindall
in print 2008During 1981, while taking somewhat of a sabbatical before her third book was to be published on needlecrafts, Vicki sought a diversion involving something she had apparently suppressed all her life...Clay! She became aware that from her Cherokee ancestry, the new path (direction) was inevitable and instinctive, enabling her to draw from those who came before. Through the evolutionary process of self-education in several areas of pottery, destined reality became apparent. After years of research, study, and experiments, she has developed her own unique and spiritually influenced style of primitive firing. Over the years, she has won numerous awards, attended invitationals, and had a one-women-show in California. Her works are in galleries and private collections all over the country. "Each pot has a story to tell...one of love and harmony through understanding one another...we'll come together. May the great spirit always be with you."
-
Jessica Turner
in print 2009 -
Mick Vagner & Nurit Asher-Vagner
in print 2007Our studio "Nurit & Mick Arts" has been functioning for the last fifteen years. We are a couple both in life and in art. Mick, a graphic designer and a photographer joined Nurit, a graduate of the Betzalel Academy of art & design in Jerusalem in 1992 and since then we work and create together. All our Jewelry is designed and made by us and done by hand. We use sterling silver combined with 14k gold. We use various techniques like high polishing, hand hammering, hand-knitted necklaces, and bracelets from fine silver plated with 24k gold and reticulation of the silver with oxidation.
-
Taman VanScoy
in print 2019Born March 26, 1979 in Santa Barbara California, and raised in the San Fernando Valley of Southern California, the imagery surrounding Taman as a child consisted primarily of cityscapes with the occasional glimpse of a sun-drenched desert climate. Instinctively drawn to nature yet lacking the visual stimulation of wide-open colorful landscapes, he unconsciously began to idealize landscape compositions and color combinations in his mind. In essence he would create an imaginary and almost dreamlike scene, which to this day continues to be the first step when creating his paintings.
-
Ellen Vontillius
in print 2007The creative process has always played an important role in my life. Along with a Bachelors degree in Science, I also did undergraduate study in the Visual Arts and Dance. I began working in metal about 1991 after taking a workshop at the Gulf Coast Museum of Art. I draw a great deal of inspiration for my jewelry designs from classical dance movements. Dance is one of the most exquisite forms of human communication and expression, and I have worked for 30 years to learn how to use my body in this beautiful language. It has allowed me to appreciate and embrace that delicate quality of life that is female. I have grown to love the graceful, fluid lines involved in a simple movement and try to capture that elegant simplicity in my work as a metalsmith. I strive to create pieces with soft, subtle, understated designs. My jewelry is hand fabricated and cast using sterling silver, 14kt gold, brass, semi-precious gemstones, glass and pearls. The current series is entitled "Temps Lie" (pronounced: Than lyay) which is a French Ballet term meaning "connected movement."
-
Jill Wagoner
in print 2006Wagoner is a North Carolina artist. She received her art education at the Design School of North Carolina State University. However, her skill in the art of marbling is entirely self-taught. To produce a marbled design, Jill starts with a shallow tray of water, sprinkling thousands of paint droplets on the water's surface. Next she pulls a series of combs through the paint, each successive comb producing a more intricate pattern than the previous one. When the desired image is formed, she gently lays a piece of silk on the water to absorb the floating design. After proper treatment with heat to make the paint permanent, the marbled silk is sewn into ties and scarves. Jill designs and executes every marbling composition herself. Each is unique due to the nature of the process. Marbling is an art that originated over a thousand years ago and historic samples are often seen as covers or end papers of fine books. By incorporating memorable patterns from the past with her own imaginative, original creations, Jill hopes not only to preserve but also to advance and expand the marbling art. Fiber • Booth 124 919 552-9137 Fuquay-Varina, NC Award of Distinction 2005 J ill Wagoner is a North Carolina artist. She received her art education at the Design School of North Carolina State University. However, her skill in the art of marbling is entirely self-taught. To produce a marbled design, Jill starts with a shallow tray of water, sprinkling thousands of paint droplets on the water's surface. Next she pulls a series of combs through the paint, each successive comb producing a more intricate pattern than the previous one. When the desired image is formed, she gently lays a piece of silk on the water to absorb the floating design. After proper treatment with heat to make the paint permanent, the marbled silk is sewn into ties and scarves. Jill designs and executes every marbling composition herself. Each is unique due to the nature of the process. Marbling is an art that originated over a thousand years ago and historic samples are often seen as covers or end papers of fine books. By incorporating memorable patterns from the past with her own imaginative, original creations, Jill hopes not only to preserve but also to advance and expand the marbling art. Fiber • Booth 124 919 552-9137 Fuquay-Varina, NC J Award of Distinction 2005 ill Wagoner is a North Carolina artist. She received her art education at the Design School of North Carolina State University. However, her skill in the art of marbling is entirely self-taught. To produce a marbled design, Jill starts with a shallow tray of water, sprinkling thousands of paint droplets on the water's surface. Next she pulls a series of combs through the paint, each successive comb producing a more intricate pattern than the previous one. When the desired image is formed, she gently lays a piece of silk on the water to absorb the floating design. After proper treatment with heat to make the paint permanent, the marbled silk is sewn into ties and scarves. Jill designs and executes every marbling composition herself. Each is unique due to the nature of the process. Marbling is an art that originated over a thousand years ago and historic samples are often seen as covers or end papers of fine books. By incorporating memorable patterns from the past with her own imaginative, original creations, Jill hopes not only to preserve but also to advance and expand the marbling art.
-
Li Wang
in print 2007Wang was born into an artist family with oriental cultural influence. He graduated from Luxun Academy of Fine Arts in China with a BA in Fine Arts and History of Art. Afterward, he went on many journeys to Europe, where he was exposed to, and was greatly inspired by, the paintings of Rembrandt and Vermeer. His professional life has been devoted to combining western technique with oriental philosophy – using the western oil painting language to create a sense of peace, tranquility and harmonious world, with oriental mystery – which are clearly illustrated in his exquisite chiaroscuro paintings of still life. Li Wang's artful manipulation and painterly approach are paramount in terms of form and light – distinguishing light from dark shadow in a dramatic fluid style – fulfilling his personal obligation to advocate tradition, admire the great masters and reveal the norm to majesty. He is now a member of Oil Painting of America Society and a special guest for Modern Art Edition. His work hangs in both private and public collections in North America, Asia and Europe. Modern Art Edition in Lyndurst, New Jersey has published many prints of his work.
-
Thomas R. Wargin
in print 2006I begin with sketches, which evolve into clay or carved 3-dimensional forms. Resin models are created, which are hand packed into flasks with casting sand, ready for the casting process. In my foundry, I melt aluminum and bronze and watch as the molten metal burns new life into the molds. After cooling, parts are assembled for rough fit and positioning. Meticulously, I either weld or drill, tap and screw every component together to check for form, fit, and overall composition. Some pieces are disassembled again to be taken through phases of polishing or sandblasting. I complete the desired finish through high polish buffing or patination. Some of my art adds a diverse mixture of materials both raw and man made such as: various woods, stone, glass, or even original drawings. These types of processes and materials allow me and my work to be spontaneous and assures each piece is an original. My goal is to create a unique art form that shares a seamless integration between the world and the human spirit.
-
Robin L. Washburn
in print 2007My forms are influenced by nature and architecture and are derived from my desire to experiment with geometric shapes, texture and color and how these elements relate to and contrast with each other. I've never found an individual material that I'm happy working with exclusively. Combining materials is what I find exciting. I like the strength and durability of metal. Starting with steel, brass, copper and bronze alone or in combination thru brazing, welding, soldering and other techniques of fabrication I create a form. Utilizing these with colored concrete, corian, wood, stone and glass to enhance the overall properties of each is the intriguing challenge. By adding other materials to metal it softens it and provides contrasting color, warmth, texture and sensuality. And by combining different metals the range of color and texture achievable thru patinas is greatly extended. I use chemicals to make hot and cold patinas employing immersion, wrapped, buried and torch techniques. This past January, Robin's work won Best of Show at the Bonita Springs National Art Festival.
-
Michael J. Weber
in print 2015, 2005As a kid I copied cartoons from the Sunday papers and filled notebooks with all sorts of drawing. It was something that came easily to me and that I enjoyed doing. After military service in the U.S. Navy I attended Brevard Community College, but after a year I transferred to the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota for more comprehensive art courses. Upon graduation I was hired by Hallmark Cards in Kansas City and after several years I moved to New York City to work in advertising. It was there, after four years in commercial art, that I decided I wanted to paint full time and started doing the outdoor art shows for a living. It has now been 42 years of doing the art shows full time, and I wouldn't have it any other way. In 1984 I was elected into the American Watercolor Society.
-
John Whipple
in print 2010My sculpture work usually starts by rummaging through my collection of objects that I have found scrounging in antique stores and markets in our travels. I enjoy the surprise of matching odd combinations of materials and the challenge to make the finished piece feel as if it had always been that way. My sculpture career started with my artcar, which many people from Winter Park may remember. I had carved a few folky crude characters on it and really enjoyed the tactile experience compared to painting. The work has evolved over the years as I've begun to incorporate more types of materials and played with combining the pieces in my parade series. Most of the pieces I work on develop over time with pieces and parts strewn all over. Eventually a story emerges and I can compete the piece. People can view more of my sculptures, and my paintings as well, at whippleart.com or visit our studio at McRae Art Studios here in Winter Park at 904 Railroad Ave. My wife Lynn and I also teach workshops at the studio, if interested contact us at jxlwhipple@aol.com.
-
Lynn Whipple
in print 2004, 2000I was born and raised in Winter Park, Florida and share a warehouse studio with my husband John, who is also an artist. My work continues to evolve and move between two and three dimensional pieces. Recently I have been working on a group of mixed media assemblages and collage paintings. The joy of taking found objects, and found images and creating something new and fresh is very appealing to me. I allow myself to play and let my pieces reveal themselves to me. I like to leave all possibilities open to start, unattached to the outcome, everything totally permitted, enabling me to fully enjoy the process.
-
James Whitbeck
in print 2024, 2023Simply put, I fell in love with the art of 17th century Holland. From the genre paintings of Vermeer and Pieter de Hooch to the landscapes of Jacob van Ruisdael and the still lives of Pieter Claesz, the creativeness and innovative drive coming out of that small republic, from the very beginning, has caught and held my attention, and continues to be a strong driving force behind what and how I choose to paint.
-
Vonnie Whitworth
in print 2025, 2023, 2018I find myself at a stage of life that I can concentrate on images and subjects that inspire me to my core. With no perimeters, I am able to pursue this search into the soul of the subject. An ordinary experience, a slice of life or a moment in time can make my heart race. Dignity, beauty, strength, and grace become my source of inspiration. From the beginning of my SO plus years as an artist, capturing the human spirit in drawings and watercolor paintings has been a passion of mine. Subjects vary with landscapes, still life, travel experiences and portraits. It begins as a simple piece of white paper, it ends as an expression of my existence.
-
Lorraine & Gene Wieskamp
in print 2007, 2004, 2000Our baskets are a collaborative enterprise. For over twelve years, we have worked as a team, creating baskets that are both useful, and pieces of art. Gene is the wood worker, and takes care of the preparation and finishing the baskets, while Lorraine does all the weaving. We strive to produce authentic reproductions of the Lightship baskets originally created by the men who manned the lightships off the coast of Massachusetts, and later on the island of Nantucket. Our love of the Nantucket Lightship baskets, and the history behind them, has led us to share this beautiful tradition with students eager to learn this same art form here in the United States, in Australia and in Russia.
-
Kimberly Willcox
in print 2007Kimberly Willcox puts a contemporary spin on primitive forms. Her sculptures have been described as soulful, whimsical, primitive and kinetically alive. "My aesthetic decisions are based on intuition and driven by my obsession to constantly make and create art. My work has never been constrained to a single medium, as I prefer to work with a range of materials and techniques. I love to discover the unexpected and to leave room for spontaneity." A self-taught artist, Willcox has worked full time as a studio artist since 1987. Her design work includes the highly successful "Free Expressions" line of hand crafted jewelry and the "Tickle Your Soul by Kimberly Willcox™ for Silvestri" home accessories and gifts. Her artwork is in the collections of Steven Tyler, Paul Simon, Alexander Julian, and Marriott Hotels. Free Expressions objects appeared on the White House Christmas tree during the first Clinton Administration. Willcox also completed commissions for HGTV, India Ministry for the Promotion of Handcrafts, Cirque du Soleil, Sony, Woody Allen's New York Stories, and ABC's series thirtysomething. Willcox's signature mix of found objects and diverse techniques has earned worldwide recognition .
-
R. Michael Wommack
in print 2023This series of pastels stems from a dream I had a while back. I was back in my childhood neighborhood swimming in pools at night. The houses were dark, but the pools were illuminated, being the sole source of light. I began making these drawings after the dream, and the process evoked memories of growing up in Levittown in the 60’s when that development was relatively new. The houses were uniform, in a pattern of alternating colors. The trees were mere sticks, and there were no fences. I have been trying to capture what it is like to grow up in this uniquely American landscape ever since. I don’t care to deconstruct any of the dreams, but I am interested in tapping into the imagery. I am not concerned with historical accuracy, but in the emotions caused by living in such a place at an early age. I am not interested in making a specific social statement. I like to keep aspects of the drawing ambiguous, to allow the viewer their own interpretation of what it means to live in the American suburbs. I am trying to capture beauty in what we consider ugly.
-
Woods & Herbrand
in print 2024Glenn Wood’s work is influenced by gourds, flowers, sea creatures, and patterns found in nature. He uses porcelain to create vases, lidded jars, and other functional and decorative vessels. Many of his pieces are altered, pierced, and beaded – the carved pieces create the illusion of overlapping flower petals and the altered bodies appear to be gourd-like. The beads create patterns that resemble strings of pearls, creating jewelry that adorns the necks and collars. The surface he enjoys most is achieved by using matte crystalline glazes - it is soft and more subtle than the glossy crystalline glazes and allows the carving, beading, and altering to come through beautifully. Glenn uses glossy crystalline glazes when the piece requires a little more bling. He creates his work out of two studios: Palm Harbor, Florida in the fall, winter, and early spring; and Blue Island, Illinois during the late spring and summer months. He is constantly testing new glazes, firing techniques, and surface treatments so his work evolves throughout the year. Collaborator: Keith Herbrand
-
Jean Wydra
in print 2007I am especially excited by the possibilities of a very new form of metal called Precious Metal Clay. I describe this material as "Silver that is pretending to be clay", or "Silver that doesn't push back". PMC is fine gold, fine silver or platinum in clay form and it allows working directly and spontaneously in the precious metals. The clay gives all of my silver work a casual, slightly organic, softly modeled sensibility, so that no matter how formal the designs are, the hard sheet and wire aesthetic is preempted. After firing, the clay forms have become fused into solid fine silver. PMC also allows me, a traditional hard metals studio jeweler, the exhilarating experience of using color in a lavish manner in the form of traditional glass enamels. I find that PMC has an organic plasticity that allows relationship to all gemstones in cabochon and bead form as well as to the liquid nature of glass enamel.
-
Kreg Yingst
in print 2018I became interested in the woodcut and linocut twenty years ago when I stumbled upon the woodcut novels of Lynd Ward and Frans Masereel – wordless books that transcend language with one image per page presented in stark black and white. There is a slow, meditative process to printmaking that appeals to my temperament. Though I draw inspiration from different sources, my recent ideas stem from lyric and poetry. Unlike Ward and Masereel, I combine text and imagery, using letters and words both their visual shape and meaning. My process is simply to draw out my ideas, transfer them backwards to the block of wood or linoleum, carve away the negative space, ink the block, and with paper on the surface, hand crank the work through an antique sign press. I like the immediacy of creating an image in this way. There are times when I use multiple blocks or reduction printing or watercolor to apply color to the image.
-
Brent Kee Young
in print 2007, 2006, 2005, 1999The Fossil Series pieces are made in two stages. The first is the layering of the glass, building up the thickness of the form. As the piece is layered, the imagery is placed in an interior part of the piece. The imagery is made in clear glass, generally lamp worked, as you see it, in positive. Each spine, gill plate, lobe or tail is made separately by hand. The images are then pushed into a softened interior surface so that when the next layer of clear glass is taken over it, the images disappear, leaving their impression. In reality the images remain, but since they are clear, you don't see them, you see through them to their impression. Once the interior surface is finished, including negative imagery, texture and other background structure, several layers of clear glass are gathered to build up the exterior thickness. Mr. Young is also the Professor of Glass and Chairman of the Glass Department at the Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland Ohio.
-
Zu Sheng Yu
in print 2023Zu Sheng Yu constantly challenges himself in an artistic sense. His versatility and creative passion lead him through life to create a diverse array of innovative work that includes architecture, painting and sculpture. Not limited by the skills and techniques acquired throughout life, Zu Sheng Yu passionately discovers ways to express his ideas – a desire that drives him to constantly innovate and create. Deep metaphorical and philosophical thoughts, as well as poetry, mark his art and bring the audience into the natural setting of his work. This ability to move his audience is his greatest sense of accomplishment.
-
Furong Zhang
in print 2007I grew up in Shanghai China. I majored in oil painting at Shanghai Teacher's University, and then, after graduating, taught at the same college. In 1987, I received an MFA degree from Central Academy of Fine Art in Beijing. I participated in many important art shows held at the Chinese National Fine Art Museum and the Shanghai Fine Art Museum. In 1989, a fellowship from Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine permitted me to continue my exploration in painting. My paintings have been shown widely including Middle Tennessee State University; Z gallery, New York; Werner Milletin, Germany; Yale-China Association, Yale University. I have also been a part of many group shows internationally. I try to use tangible images to communicate with an intangible inner world.
