Learning to let go didn’t come easily to Georgia artist Janice Rago. In college, a painting professor encouraged her to loosen up, experiment, and move beyond her perfectionist tendencies. Years later, that lesson is at the heart of Rago’s figurative paintings, where female figures, florals and unexpected elements come together in compositions that balance control…
Using gemstones and fossils, Nina Kawar’s copper electroformed jewelry balances sophistication with raw beauty. But the North Carolina designer’s jewelry is about more than aesthetics. Each piece is created with healing and personal transformation in mind. Artist: Originally from Appleton, WI, Kawar moved to California as a young adult and later began her creative journey…
For Lydia C. Thompson, “home” is more than a physical place. Through ceramic and mixed-media sculptures, the North Carolina artist combines architectural forms, embedded objects and layered storytelling to explore home as a place of memory, loss, and belonging. Her works become mementos of what has been lost – and what endures. Artist: Thompson was born…
For Lisa Tuttle, discarded materials can hold stories. Using leftover scraps, folded book pages and old photographs, the Atlanta artist creates layered mixed-media works that explore personal family history, Southern social legacies and the way the past lingers in our collective memory. Artist: Born in Little Rock, AK, Tuttle grew up in Charlotte, N.C. She…
Macie Rollins likes to take textiles somewhere unexpected. Using hand-tufting and other fiber techniques, the Virginia artist pushes beyond the expected wall and floor formats to create work that can be sculptural, functional, illuminated — or something in between. “A lot of my work starts from something that might traditionally belong to one category and…
As the son of immigrants, Shareon “Bhare” Blenman grew up in the United States navigating two worlds: the culture, values and spiritual views of his Caribbean ancestry and the individualism that shapes much of American life. Today, the self-taught North Carolina artist explores that dual inheritance in large-scale paintings that examine themes of identity, emotion…
Drawing on themes as varied as cave art and poetry to Gee’s Bend quilts, Atlanta painter Michael Barringer creates abstract works alive with layers of color, energy and emotion. His paintings bring these disparate influences together in a visual language that is uniquely his own. “I think a question which is always present for me…
Inspired by the raw beauty of the North Carolina mountains, Asheville-based jeweler Laura Lau Klein creates bold, organic pieces that celebrate the natural world. For Klein, jewelry is more than adornment. It is a daily celebration of ourselves and the world around us. Artist: Born and raised in Wilmington, DE, Klein holds a BS in…
Through her ceramics and printmaking, Ina Kaur explores themes of entanglement and detachment, being and becoming, displacement and belonging. “My practice investigates the intersections of materiality, memory, migration, gender, labor and identity,” said the New Orleans artist. “Examining how identities are shaped by the people, places and the histories we carry with us.” Artist: Kaur was…
Using hand-cut vintage ephemera, florals, figures and objects, Kentucky artist Shawn Marshall constructs intricate worlds and lush “still lives” beneath glossy surfaces. Her resin collage works initially seduce the eye but reveal hidden details and narratives the longer you look. Artist: Born in Richmond, VA, Marshall and her parents moved overseas when she was eight…