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…
What looks like feathers is actually recycled plastic. For North Carolina environmental artist Deborah Kruger, the transformation is intentional. Kruger uses one of the most ecologically destructive materials to create intricate feathered artworks honoring endangered birds, languages and cultures. Her art reflects the losses caused by climate change, habitat fragmentation and human consumption. Artist: Born…
For Jessica Beels, materials are more than a medium. They’re the starting point, and they often hold the message. Drawing on found objects and unexpected materials, the Kentucky artist creates sculptures and installations that invite viewers to reconsider their relationship with the objects they use, discard – and often overlook. Artist: Born in New York City,…
For Melissa Callaway, every flower tells a story. The South Carolina multidisciplinary artist creates dreamy gardens of ink botanicals and handmade blooms that explore both the beauty of nature and the complexities of human emotion. “When I paint a plant, I’m making a portrait,” Callaway said. “I’m drawn to its stoicism, beauty, tenacity, and resilience…
Home has always been defined by more than one place for Sayma Ali. Raised between Bangladesh and the American South, the Atlanta-based multidisciplinary artist turns recycled materials, discarded plastics and found objects into captivating works of art – as well as expressions of identity and connection. Artist: Ali (also known as Sayma Hossain) was born…
To create her sculptural and flat works, Alabama textile and fiber artist Kami Watson specializes in wet felting – a centuries-old process that is both labor and time intensive. In Watson’s hands, the medium becomes a rich blend of personal narrative, deep-rooted craft and storytelling. Artist: Born in Nacogdoches, TX, Watson grew up in a…
Key West’s Helen Harrison transforms pieces of nature and found objects – from palm fiber and calabash to conch shells and coconuts – into sophisticated sculptures with balanced design and unexpected beauty. Artist: Born in Jefferson City, Missouri, she graduated with a BFA from Southern Methodist University. After college she married her husband Ben and…
In her latest installation works, Miami fiber sculptor Patricia L. Cooke uses material with saturated “girly” colors and layers of detail to imitate wood carving in antique furniture and interior architecture. Artist: Born and raised in Greensboro, NC, Cooke earned her BFA in studio art in 2011 from Appalachian State University. In 2018 she received an…
Kentucky native Emily Ridings says her fashion training helped refine her eye for silhouette, proportion and storytelling: Qualities that now define her basketry. Artist: The Kentucky native grew up in Richmond in a creative family. Judy Ridings, her grandmother, is a master basket weaver who lived nearby. Ridings’ mother is a talented seamstress. By age…
Growing up in Colorado, Chad Hayward experienced the feeling of openness and expansive space that today influence the Georgia artist’s wide-ranging and interdisciplinary work. Artist: Born in Summit County, NJ, Hayward moved to Colorado at the age of 7. After high school, he studied fine art at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago,…