Through his camera sculpture, Virginia’s John Shuptrine blends his interest in photography with his love of wood. The company/studio: John Shuptrine Art, started about eight years ago. The doctor-turned-artist works in his home workshop in Lynchburg, where he has lived for 35 years. In the beginning: While Shuptrine was in the process of retiring from…
South Carolina’s Susan Lenz uses found and otherwise everyday objects — from buttons and bottle caps to clock parts and curtain rings — in her layered, hand-stitched mixed-media art. The company/studio: Mouse House Inc., a custom picture framing shop in Columbia that Lenz and her husband Steve Dingman started in 1987. The couple live above…
A lifelong athlete, Maryland artist Brandon Donahue collects and repurposes basketballs, footballs and other sports equipment into larger, flower-like assemblages. The artist: The Memphis native graduates with a BS from Tennessee State University (TSU) and earned an MFA from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Donahue now lives in Baltimore, where he works as an…
Nashville-based painter Lizzy Love likes playing with color, patterns and shapes in her abstract, figurative works. The artist: Love grew up in Memphis, and took private art lessons at an early age. She graduated with a BA in studio art from the University of Mississippi. The company/studio: Lizzy Love Art, based in Nashville, started roughly in 2015.…
Trained as a traditional metalsmith, Maryland designer Jowita Allen uses recycled plastic bottles, nylon and other ordinary materials to make her modern and often playful jewelry. The artist: Allen began making jewelry and wearable objects as a teenager while growing up in Poland. In 2005, she moved to the United States and settled in Washington,…
North Carolina sculptor and designer Tom Haney creates a modern offshoot of the time-honored, Old World tradition of automata. The artist: Born in Cincinnati, Haney grew up in a large creative family, and earned a degree in industrial design from the University of Cincinnati. Before he became a full-time artist in 2000, Haney made props,…
A self-taught artist, Atlanta’s Hopeton St. Clair Hibbert wants to be known for the textural aspects of his abstract work, ranging from photography and painting to sculpture. The artist: Grew up in Hillsborough, NJ, and moved to Atlanta in his teens. He graduated from Johnson & Wales University in Charleston, SC, with an AA degree…
Vicki Essig is known for her detailed and Zen-like handwoven mixed-media art. But in a recent, atypical work, the North Carolina artist used her own home-grown silkworms to make a dress, which sold to a collector. The artist: Born in Denver, the artist grew up in Colorado. She lived in Europe for four years before…
NOLA-based artist Mary Singleton calls her color-happy paintings “botanical abstractions.” The artist: Born in Baton Rouge, Singleton started painting as a child, disappearing into her art for hours. After taking a bohemian approach to college and life in her early 20s, she graduated with a BFA from Louisiana State University. She moved to New Orleans…
In her paintings, Mississippi’s Cathy Hegman allows her figurative shapes to remain anonymous, adding a bit of mystery about who they are and where they might be. The artist: Born in Yazoo City, MS, Hegman grew up in nearby Satartia. She graduated from Mississippi State University, where she grew to love art, with a degree in…