Self-taught Florida artist Paul Tamanian is well known for his sophisticated and innovative, large-scale paintings and sculpture. The studio: Paul Tamanian Studio is based in Tallahassee, FL. Though he has a detached studio, Tamanian works outside on his physically challenging art, battling yellow flies, sweat and pop-up showers. The artist: Born in upstate New York,…
In her bright, color-happy paintings, Tennessee’s Molly Wright depicts landscapes, people (sheep too) in an abstract style. The artist: Wright grew up in Virginia and Connecticut, taking drawing and painting lessons. She attended a public high school that had an excellent art department, and then earned a degree in fine art from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College…
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 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…
Nashville’s Tim Hooper (aka Mr. Hooper) uses animals and inanimate objects as characters to tell stories in his colorful, surreal paintings. The artist: Born in Nashville, Tim Hooper started drawing the Sunday comic strips at an early age and continued to teach himself to draw. In high school, he discovered underground comic books and thought being…
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…
Georgia’s Ashley Buchanan draws on historical images when designing her contemporary, powder-coated brass jewelry. The artist: An Atlanta native, Buchanan, graduated from the University of Georgia in 2009 with a BFA in jewelry and metalsmithing. For seven years she lived in Tennessee, where she started her business, before moving back to Georgia. The company: Ashley Buchanan…
Using an old, camera-less photographic printing process, Virginia artist Jann Edmondson produces modern, blue-tinted botanical prints. The artist: She was born in Dallas into a family of artists. Her grandparents on both sides were artists. Her mother is an artist. So is her uncle and his wife. Her family lived a short time in Germany, before…