As a child, Michael Enn Sirvet had an obsession with drilling – and holes. “The desire to excavate and open space where none had existed was intoxicating,” said the structural engineer turned sculptor. That fascination endures today and defines Sirvet’s architectonic work. Artist: Sirvet was born and grew up in the forested suburb of…
Jackson Shaner incorporates elements of body horror and the uncanny in many of his emotional clay works. “I find great interest in the body’s ability to be both beautiful and aversive,” said the South Carolina sculptor. “Working in clay also allows me to explore vulnerable parts of myself in a tangible form.” Artist: Born and raised…
With their dark, unflinching eyes, Paulina Archambault’s portraits are unsettling to some viewers. But for the Virginia painter, the portraits express human emotions, like melancholy, that reach back to her childhood in Poland. Artist: Born and grew up in Krakow, Poland, Archambault studied visual art in Poland and Hamburg, Germany, where she earned an art degree.…
In her vividly colorful and structured geometric compositions, Georgia-based artist Helen Ziga strives to give visual form to thought. Artist: Born and raised in Warrington, PA, a Philadelphia suburb, Ziga graduated with a BA in art from Albright College (PA) and earned an MFA in Art from Ohio University. Ziga said she had an incredible formal…
Shaped by his Alabama roots, Atlanta-based photographer Jerry Siegel uses his camera to tell stories of the ever-changing South through its landscapes, culture and people. Artist: Born and raised in Selma, Siegel attended the University of South Alabama in Mobile and later graduated from the Art Institute of Atlanta. He worked for five years with…
Whether creating porcelain cherry blossoms, wall installations or other figurative and abstract works, Maryland’s Laurel Lukaszewski is always looking for ways to push clay and explore what the material can do. Artist: Born in Kansas City, MO, Lukaszewski lived in Charleston, SC, until elementary school. Her family then moved to the West Coast, first California…
Stephanie Henderson uses simple geometric forms and playful color combinations in her abstract paintings. The Atlanta-based painter says that her art is about color and how colors speak to each other – and affect you. Artist: The Georgia native grew up in Thomasville. She graduated with a BA in English literature from the University of Virginia…
Francesca Vitali is a modern-day alchemist. The Texas-based designer, who started her career as a chemist, turns everyday papers into jewelry that is both modern and special. Artist: Grew up in Rome, Italy, where she earned undergraduate and master’s degrees in chemistry. She left home to pursue her PhD at the University of Zurich in Switzerland.…
In her North Carolina studio, Dori Settles draws on a French casting technique to craft glass shoes that range from baby shoes and boots to stilettos and sneakers – each one often accompanied by a personal back story. Artist: Born in Milwaukee, Settles grew up in southeast Wisconsin. She moved to Nebraska to attend the University…
Harry Underwood, a self-taught painter in Tennessee, creates scenes of everyday people on vacation or enjoying themselves in his nostalgic, outsider-style works. “My paintings look like postcards from a better world” said the soft-spoken artist. “But if you read them, you find more depth than that. “I think that people dream of wealth and identify…