North Carolina native Tara Locklear designs geometric and playful jewelry using broken and discarded skateboards. Artist: A North Carolina native, Locklear was born and raised in Fayetteville. After high school, she headed to East Carolina University (ECU), but left to go to work. Locklear spent 11 years in the corporate world of event planning and…
Asheville porcelain artist Laura Peery textures and cuts simple shapes to create her one-of-a kind figures, teapots and vessels. Artist: Born and raised in Washington, DC, Peery took her first ceramics course at Ohio Wesleyan University. After graduation, she was an apprentice to a potter for one year before enrolling in the MFA program at…
North Carolina jewelry designer Emily Rogstad translates architectural details and everyday objects into wearable pieces. Artist: Born and raised in East Calais, VT, Rogstad got her start working with metal in the eighth grade at her public high school, which had a metals and jewelry studio. From there, she was hooked. Rogstad went to Maine College…
Atlanta-based painter Charles Keiger creates a world that is both familiar, with real-world elements, and surreal. Artist: Born in Asheville, NC, Keiger mostly grew up in Rock Hill, SC. He earned a BFA from the University of South Carolina and an MFA from the University of Georgia, where he decided to go after reading a…
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,…
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…
Jasmine Best tells stories in her textile and fiber art. Often, they are her own. Other times, they are family stories. But all give a platform to the varied experiences and identities of Black women in the South. Artist: Born in Jacksonville, NC, and grew up mostly in North Charleston, SC. Best earned a BFA in New…
North Carolina’s Valerie Berlage likes to think that her colorful and playful art is like quilting with wood. Artist: Born and raised in the Asheville area, Berlage graduated with a BFA with a concentration in mixed media printmaking from University of North Carolina Asheville. After graduating in 2003, she returned to UNC-Asheville two years later…
In Alabama, chase and repousse’ artist Norman Morgan captures the natural beauty found in the outdoors in his detailed jewelry designs. Artist: Morgan grew up in Tarboro, NC. His art career started as a teenager when classmates discovered that he could draw reasonably good rock stars, and they were willing to pay for them. After…
Ancient folklore, festivals and customs inspire the masks, outfits and sculptures of Georgia artist Jym Davis. Artist: Grew up in Radford, VA. At Carson-Newman University in Tennessee, Davis studied drawing and painting. In 2003, he earned an MFA in video art from the University of North Carolina Greensboro. He later taught part time at UNC Greensboro…