When Nashville’s Jeremy Mitchell started his company, the longtime baseball fan hoped to hit a homerun with his heritage-inspired, hand-painted baseball bats. He has. The artist: The Tennessee native grew up in Hendersonville and studied sports marketing at Western Kentucky University. After college, Mitchell worked in advertising for 10 years before starting his company in Nashville,…
In his visually complex sculptures, Atlanta ceramic artist David Robinson is inspired by the natural world and “the residue of the human experience.” The artist: Robinson grew up in Greenville, MS, and graduated from Delta State University in Cleveland, MS. He also earned a master’s degree in instructional design from Georgia State University (GSU). While working…
In her contemporary jewelry designs, Virginia native Austin Titus is influenced by old world textures and details. The company/studio: Austin Titus Studio, based in Richmond, started in 2005. The artist has a private studio in an old Victorian house with tall windows and great light in the historic neighborhood of Church Hill. The artist: The…
Self-taught Florida artist Paul Tamanian is well known for his sophisticated and innovative, large-scale paintings and sculpture. The studio: Paul Tamanian Studio is based in Tallahassee, FL. Though he has a detached studio, Tamanian works outside on his physically challenging art, battling yellow flies, sweat and pop-up showers. The artist: Born in upstate New York,…
Using local woods, North Carolina’s Steve Miller carves, burns and carefully applies layers of nuanced colors to create his highly textured hollow vessels and sculptures. The artist: Born in Miami, Miller graduated from Florida International University and served 33 years with the Miami-Dade Police Department before retiring in 2007. In the beginning: Miller started woodturning…
Alabama’s Amy Pleasant uses a type of body language in her minimal and monochromatic drawings, paintings and ceramic sculptures. The artist: A native of Birmingham, Pleasant earned a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and an MFA from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University in 1999. After graduate school,…
Texas jewelry designer and metalsmith Dawna Gillespie describes her art as sculptural and soulful. The artist: Gillespie grew up in Fort Worth and graduated with a BFA from Texas Tech University. At college, she first focused on acrylic painting. Then Gillespie took a metalsmithing class, and never looked back. The company/studio: Dawna Gillespie Adornments, started…
Though she grew up in Georgia’s “carpet capital,” Trish Andersen never thought she would be in the rug business. But the Savannah fiber artist, best known for her bold, hand-tufted wall work, is about to launch a new carpet line. The artist: Andersen was born and raised in Dalton, GA, the so-called “carpet capital of…
South Carolina ceramic artist Lucy Bailey studied faces for years before she started to make them. And it shows in her surreal figurative work. The artist: Bailey grew up on Lake Murray in Irmo, and graduated from Columbia College (SC) with a theater degree. She earned a master’s degree in clinical counseling and an education…
Atlanta’s Jim Wise blurs the lines between fantasy and reality in his large, dreamlike paintings. The artist: Wise grew up in Raleigh, NC, and graduated with a BS degree in visual design from North Carolina State University. After graduation, Wise moved to Atlanta to pursue a design career. His first job was work at John H.…