linda azar

Architect turned jewelry designer Linda Azar has heard it said that silver collects and stores moonlight. The North Carolina metalsmith tries to capture that feeling in her work. Artist: Born and raised in St. Petersburg, Fl., Azar earned a BS in architecture  from University of Florida. In 2001, after graduating, she moved to Asheville, NC,…

amy gross

In her embroidered, beaded and fiber sculptures and canvases, Florida artist Amy Gross draws on the natural world and stories she wants to tell. Artist: Born in Oceanside, New York, on Long Island, Gross lived there for most of her life. She studied fine art at Cooper Union in New York City, then at the…

jeff mead

Georgia sculptor Jeff Mead turns salvaged wood into shapely textured works. Artist: The Georgia native grew up in Acworth. At age 18, Mead moved to a small town in northern Massachusetts to work in the tree care business with family. In pursuit of other passions, he packed up and headed to the north woods of Wisconsin…

helen dorion

Known for her fresh and often bold designs, Texas metalsmith artist Helen Dorion believes jewelry is art and your body is the gallery. Artist: Originally from the North West of England, Dorion received her undergraduate degree in Fashion and Textile Design from the Sir John Moores University in Liverpool in 1987. After meeting and eventually…

dana brown

Dana Brown was a watercolor painter for more than 20 years before she decided to try a new medium: encaustic. In late night sessions, she experimented with wax on various surfaces, with different tools, often splattering it on the carpet, ceiling – even the cat. After a couple of fruitful years, the North Carolina artist…

spencer tinkham

A lifelong bird and nature lover, Spencer Tinkham creates meticulously detailed and expressive wildlife sculptures with contemporary colors, forms and textures. As others have said: There is nothing “wooden” about the Virginia sculptor’s work. Artist: A Virginia native, Tinkham grew up in Norfolk and graduated with a BS in economics from Baylor University in Waco,…

rushton waltchack

Alabama native Rushton Waltchack uses alcohol inks in her abstract flower paintings and butterfly collages. Artist: Waltchack was born and grew up in Birmingham. She graduated from Auburn University with a degree in mass communications and spent a year in China before returning home. Company/studio: Rushton Art is based in Birmingham. The self-taught artist, who…

stephanie rosendorf

Atlanta ceramic artist Stephanie Rosendorf makes richly textured porcelain sculptures inspired by the natural world. Artist: Born and grew up in New Orleans. She graduated from the University of New Orleans. In late 2006, after Hurricane Katrina, she moved to Atlanta, where she worked in print and online publishing. In 2008, Rosendorf started taking ceramics…

blackwing metals by lisa cimino

Whether it is black birds on sterling branches or dragonflies on bracelets, Baltimore designer Lisa Cimino creates unique jewelry interpretations of land, sea and sky. Artist: Born and raised in Baltimore, Cimino studied jewelry at Maryland Institute College of Art, where she experimented with a variety of jewelry making techniques. Ultimately, it was lost wax casting,…

courtney n. ryan

Georgia artist Courtney N. Ryan envisions her ceramic sculptures as organic natural seed pods that travel from place to place in the natural world. Artist: Born in Fort Bragg, NC, in 1991 into a long line of Army service members. Her family moved soon after she was born to Fort Benning, GA, where her father was…