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…
In New Orleans, Sarah House creates contemporary and abstract ceramic sculptures inspired by her fascination with fractals in nature. The artist: House grew up in Baltimore and earned a BFA in 2007 from Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia. After graduation, she started to work as a professional artist and became a resident artist at…
In North Carolina, self-taught wood artist George Peterson uses busted old skateboards to make striking textured art. The artist: Born in Long Beach, CA, Peterson grew up in Bishop, a small town in the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains. At age 6, he stepped on to his first skateboard and remained an active skater, often building…
Inspired by some antique blown glass buttons, Melissa Schmidt designs stunning blown glass jewelry that is both durable yet lightweight. Elegant and unexpected. The artist: Born in St. Louis, Schmidt grew up in Honolulu and San Francisco, where she attended different colleges, first for metals, then for fashion. After a move to St. Louis, she earned…
Influenced by the simple, clean lines of the Bauhaus movement, Virginia’s Christina Boy draws on a love of classic modern and rural environment in her furniture designs. The artist: Born in Gießen, Germany, Boy grew up in Bonn, where she combined a two-year-plus retail apprenticeship in an office and commercial design show with trade school…
Texas artist Hillary Cumberworth hopes her modern ceramic vessels spark a conversation about how we are shaped by the people and moments in our lives. The artist: Born in Austin, Cumberworth grew up in the Texas capital “back when Austin was a sleepy town full of hippies, families, politics and music.” As a busy high…
When it comes to his contemporary sculptures, North Carolina’s Joel Urruty believes less is more. The artist: Born in San Francisco, Urruty earned a BS in industrial technology from San Francisco State University. He then went on to work for one year as an apprentice for David J. Marks, an internationally recognized furniture craftsman. In…
In her modular wall squares, Virginia’s Lori Katz uses clay as a canvas, taking it beyond its traditional realm of function. The artist: Born and grew up in Jersey City, NJ, often visiting museums and galleries in NYC. Katz attended George Washington University in Washington, DC, where she found a place in the ceramics studio. After…