Using local woods, North Carolina’s Steve Miller carves, burns and carefully applies layers of nuanced colors to create his highly textured hollow vessels and sculptures. The artist: Born in Miami, Miller graduated from Florida International University and served 33 years with the Miami-Dade Police Department before retiring in 2007. In the beginning: Miller started woodturning…
Alabama’s Amy Pleasant uses a type of body language in her minimal and monochromatic drawings, paintings and ceramic sculptures. The artist: A native of Birmingham, Pleasant earned a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and an MFA from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University in 1999. After graduate school,…
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…
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 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…
In his surreal metal work, South Carolina native Logan Woodle pays homage to the culture of the agrarian South. The artist: Born in Conway, SC, Woodle grew up playing on his family’s farm. He is the sixth generation to be raised on this land, which has shaped much of his career and life. Introduced to…
Exploring the ever-shifting landscapes of the wild Southern wetlands, Memphis artist Maysey Craddock creates intricate gouache-on-paper paintings. The artist: Craddock grew up in Memphis and lived in New Orleans for many years, where she received a BA in sculpture and anthropology from Tulane University. She also earned an MFA from Maine College of Art in Portland.…
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…
Architecture and environment play a part in Kat Cole’s graphic, enamel-on-steel jewelry and sculpture. The artist: The Georgia native, who grew up in Lithia Springs, received her BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University and an MFA from East Carolina University. Since then, she has worked as a visiting professor in metals/jewelry at Western Michigan University, taught workshops…
At first glance, Sophie Glenn’s work looks like wood. Instead, the Mississippi-based artist recreates classic furniture designs out of painted and rusted steel. The artist: Born and raised in New York City, Glenn received degrees from SUNY Purchase College (sculpture), and San Diego State University (furniture design and woodworking). She also has completed short and…