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…
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…
Raised in a Chinese family in Hong Kong, Richmond-based artist Vivian Chiu explores themes of migration, identity and transformation in her abstract and optical wood sculptures. Artist: Born in Los Angeles, Chiu emigrated to Hong Kong when she was three years old. Chiu lived there with her extended family until she returned to the United…
Key West’s Helen Harrison transforms pieces of nature and found objects – from palm fiber and calabash to conch shells and coconuts – into sophisticated sculptures with balanced design and unexpected beauty. Artist: Born in Jefferson City, Missouri, she graduated with a BFA from Southern Methodist University. After college she married her husband Ben and…
When Florida ceramic artist Rebecca Zweibel creates her hand-built abstract forms she never knows what the final work of art will look like. And she’s fine with that. “I love the unexpectedness of not knowing exactly what shape I’ll be making until it actually comes to life,” said Zweibel. Artist: The Connecticut native was born…
With help from his custom lathe, North Carolina woodturner Anatoly Tsiris shapes whole tree trunks into large-scale sculptures and vessels. Artist: Tsiris was born into a family of schoolteachers in the small Ukrainian town of Kmelnitsky. He planned to carry on the family tradition by graduating from college with a teaching degree in math and…
With a background in psychology, Texas glass sculptor Malina Cipleu is drawn to how visual environments influence our internal state: how they can ground us and energize us. Or, offer quiet moments of reflection. Artist: Born and raised in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, Cipleu moved to the United States in 1999. After living in a few different…
Georgia’s Shelton Cochran calls himself a modern folk artist, blending traditional folk art subject matter and materials with modern technology. Artist: An Army brat, Cochran was born in Wiesbaden, Germany and spent the majority of his formative years on American Army bases overseas and in the United States. While earning a degree in business management, Cochran…
Keith Holt spent 17 years running a gymnastics center in Maryland before he turned to art. The experience in the gym strongly influenced his wood forms and sculptures. Artist: Grew up close to where he lives now in Forest Hill, MD. In school, Holt took art classes every year and had a teacher who took an…
Historical architecture, industrialism and haute couture influence the bold jewelry designs of North Carolina metalsmith Jill Melyssa. Artist: Born in Bogota, Colombia, Melyssa was raised in New York. She earned a BA from the University of Albany and an MBA from Empire State University. After college, she worked in various managerial positions in New York…