Matt Donner
sculptor
Matt Donner is a figurative, portrait, and animal sculptor living in Austin, TX who works in ceramics and limited edition bronze sculptures. His artwork has been exhibited in many juried shows and galleries, as well as, commissioned or created for personal collections. Matt Donner began at an early age sculpting animals and he still remembers the 1st time he was given oil based clay, and fell in love with its plasticity, texture, and non-drying characteristics. His dad and siblings tell everyone that he didn’t start talking until he was six years old, preferring to be by himself, creating clay dinosaurs and animals from his imagination. To this day, he spends hours creating, by himself, an introvert, within his studio surroundings. Although he has worked in oil based clay, wax, plaster, and stone, he presently prefers water based clay for its earthiness, characteristics, and ancient bonds. There is a connected spirit of earth, clay, and soul which is conveyed within his artwork through finger prints, tool marks, colors and movement.
Matt Donner graduated from the University of Georgia with a bachelor of fine arts degree with a focus on sculpture. He predominantly worked around the school foundry, sculpting directly in wax and utilizing the lost wax bronze casting method creating one of a kind sculptures. It wasn’t until years later, when he took a figurative ceramic sculpting class, that he realized how much he enjoyed working in water based clay and being able to produce sculptures directly in clay and ceramics. Over the years, he has consistently tried to hone his skills, relying on his studies, artist’s influence, and zest for learning to create a style which communicates representational movement, gestures, and beauty influenced by all living beings. He hopes you enjoy all of his creations and are drawn to each sculpture with a feeling of divine connectivity.
https://www.mdonnercollections.com
Hailey Herrera
watercolorist
I am a watermedia artist based in Texas, known for my vibrant watercolor and watercolor batik paintings as well as abstract pieces with calligraphic motifs. My artistic journey began in South Korea, where I started exploring painting at a young age. In 1996, I moved to the United States for graduate studies and obtained my PhD from Texas A&M University, College Station, in 2004. After that, I worked briefly as a research scientist and lecturer at Virginia Commonwealth University. However, my deep passion for art led me to pursue community art classes.
Although mostly self-taught and guided, I started seriously focusing on watercolor painting in 2011 and received the Best of Show award in the 2012 Brazos Valley Art League judged show. Encouraged by the local art community, I made the decision to become a full-time artist. Since then, I have created many beautiful and captivating works through experimentation.
My first breakthrough on the Internet happened when Fine Art America, one of the largest on-demand printing companies, featured my colorful buffalo painting, "American buffalo III," on their front page in 2013. This opened up opportunities for me to gain financial stability through print sales and licensing with FAA. It allowed me to concentrate on my creativity without the worry of financial burdens or the need to constantly create new pieces.
My artwork is known for its vibrant colors and captivating beauty, earning recognition and finding a place in numerous private and public collections. I have received many awards in national and international competitions, showcasing my skill and dedication. I have also earned signature memberships in the top watercolor organizations in Texas. Furthermore, I am honored to be one of the select 30 artists chosen for the Art of Texas Park. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has officially recognized our group as "Centennial Painters."
https://www.haileyherrera.com
Jack Roseman
glass artist
I began working with glass as an artistic medium in 1967 in my hometown of Johnstown, PA. In 1974 I opened the Emporium near Johnstown. It housed my glass studio, a fine craft gallery and my family's residence. In 1982 we relocated to Tarpon Springs FL where I had a studio and eventually a gallery/studio in the historic downtown - Fusion Fine Crafts. I was very active in the revival of downtown Tarpon Springs. My wife and I created an acoustic music space, The Iron Horse, that won several awards, in the old train station . It was operated entirely by unpaid volunteers (including ourselves). We also operated a small gourmet food store for a while.
Looking for new challenges and inspiration, we left Tarpon Springs in 2007 and moved to a new home and studio near Canyon Lake, Texas. The house and studio are nestled in the oaks and cedars in the beautiful hill country about midway between Austin and San Antonio.
My smaller Lightstreams are available to shops and galleries in areas where I don't already have representation and I show my larger works at a small number of Galleries.
https://jackroseman.fineartstudioonline.com
Mary Owens
painter collagist
Painting in mixed mediums and working with jewelry has become my main focus as I ease out of providing graphic design for the past 40ish years. Born to 2 artists, art is obviously in my blood, mixed with a heaping helping of Spanish feistiness from mom and Welsh craziness from dad I had a troubled start in life. After art school, I landed a job at the local Discotheque and things went downhill from there. When I came-to I got into graphic design. And for 40 years things were all business. However, the influences of the bold colors and island dwellings in a Gauguin and a fascination with the oddities in Picasso's art, my fellow Spaniard, I've always been delighted. The feel and texture of paint and the joy in painting have always called. So I retired...sort of.
Often, I would incorporate abstract art pieces within my graphic design projects for my clients. Though I never try to outdo God I humbly enjoy putting my creative spin on His creation and His glorious human form.
While fine art has been my call family has always come first, and that is where time has flown. However, now retired and with art in my blood, the dusty files of ideas stored away for years should produce an interesting series of work.
Art... from the beginning to the final frontier.
https://www.maryowensfineart.com
Garrett Michael
painter
Born in 1987, Garrett has had an appreciation for art starting at an early age. He graduated from Texas State University in 2013 with a BFA in Studio Art and a concentration in painting. Garrett now resides in New Braunfels, Texas with his wife and kids. He participates in the surrounding area Art Festivals.
My ideas for a painting are sourced from nature. I consider each composition solely on what speaks to me. The exciting moments that grasp me and kindle my creative fire are what I want to share with the viewer. Representing how water acts with light and movement is what excites me. With so many moments like these, the stream of inspiration shall never run dry.
https://gmichaelart.com
Carol Schwartz
ceramacist-narrative sculpture
Carol Schwartz is a storyteller. For the past several years, she has focused on narrative sculptures. Drawn in part from real life, and in part from fantasy, her work addresses issues of love and desire. She often uses the human figure and animals to tell stories about romantic relationships. The narrative quality of her low fire sculptural work lends itself well to drawing, and she also draws onto functional pieces that are high fired.
Carol has been working with clay since 1997. She received her BFA in ceramic arts from Texas State University in 2002, and her MFA in ceramic arts with a minor in printmaking from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania in 2005. She has been teaching and making work ever since. She currently resides on five acres just outside of San Marcos, TX. She maintains an active studio at home while teaching ceramics and 3d design foundations at Texas State University.
http://www.hellocarol.com/about
Peter Mangan
sculptor
Peter Mangan works primarily in metals and glass. The solid metal contrasting with the transparent glass. Old and new techniques are used, from laser-jet metal cutting to medieval glass painting methods. Mangan holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from San Jose State University. Mangan's artwork has been shown and collected in the U.S.A., Europe, and Japan. See Tree of Life in the courtyard at 220 Fine Art Gallery.
“From childhood I’ve been able to express myself visually. Creating artwork enables me to use planning and intuition to make objects that communicate to others. I enjoy the struggle with ideas, materials, and tools. It is rewarding to bring something original into the world and see how people respond. One of my current interests involves the human figure. A basic silhouette is a starting point we can all relate to. What makes up the interior of a person: the memories, humor, quirks, faults, emotions? What of the external environment: relationships, possessions, location, time, obstacles? These are concepts worth exploring through sculpture.”
Sam Elkins
fiber artist & weaver
Sam Elkins is a contemporary fiber artist and weaver in Wimberley, Texas. A native of northern New Mexico, her art reflects an early awareness of natural fibers, a lifelong respect for traditional weaving techniques, and a beloved vision of the beauty of the sheep ranch where she spent her childhood in the blue shadows of the Sangre’ de’ Cristo mountains.
Her textile work has varied from simple sewing to professional tailoring, to wearable art and traditional weaving, to contemporary off-loom fiber construction, to quilting and 3-dimensional fiber sculpture. However, Sam always returns to the loom and the simple act of weaving where her roots began.
Elkins’ work has been shown in galleries from Santa Fe to Boston. She has participated in curated exhibits in New Mexico, Dallas and Austin.
https://www.samelkinstextiles.com
Jessica Cook
painter
Jessica Cook is a figurative and still life painter. She paints in a gestural style, often bridging the line between realism and abstraction. Cook’s work transcends traditional boundaries, evoking both contemplation and emotion. The artist seeks to capture the essence of everyday life and infuse it with movement and soul.
At the University of Texas in Austin, she pursued dual degrees in English and Advertising that led to a communications career. During this time, she began a disciplined practice of life drawing and a daily visual journal of everyday life. To further her training, Cook studied at the Austin Fine Arts Classes atelier, and later with outstanding figurative artists. She apprenticed with portrait artist Marc Chatov.
Cook has had solo shows at Emory University, along with several venues in Atlanta, Georgia. She has won awards in juried shows, and her works are featured in collections across the country. She has lived in places as diverse as the Pacific Northwest, New York City, Atlanta, and is currently back in central Texas, where she grew up.
“I have always been intrigued and inspired by the varieties of expression in people and animals. Creating figurative works has helped me observe and listen closely, to move beyond first impressions and connect more deeply with our world. As I evolve as an artist, I am playing with exaggerated color and focusing on rhythm and movement to depict the spirit of the scene. I’m trained in portraiture and traditional techniques, but will often add collage, thick texture, words and calligraphic marks to my paintings. Ultimately, I’m inspired by the wildness of nature, aiming for a sense of abandon and freedom in my work.”
Diane Sandlin
painter
Diane Sandlin is a visual artist from Georgetown, TX. Working in mixed media painting, her interest is in the nuanced language of abstraction. Imagery often is informed by daily observations – landscape, skies, interactions with people, decay and growth. Her goal is to create wholeness of an experience in a single painting, much as a single frame snapshot or a one-sentence poem.
Originally from Bryan, Diane graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a BA cum laude. A business career in corporate risk management followed, centered primarily in Dallas and San Francisco. She later became an Executive Director with a non-profit textile arts organization. The desire to create visually began with textiles during which time she was accepted in a 3-year art cloth mastery program. An intense urge for more direct expression then led her to painting. Diane commenced self-directed studies and continues to benefit from many impactful guides, mentors and teachers as she hones her own voice and style. She is a frequent participant in juried group shows, two-person and various solo exhibits. Her work is in many private and public collections.
Abstract art provides mystery, challenge and a continual revealing. In addition to painting, Diane calls herself a stealth poet and loves finding ways the two mediums inform the other. Her goal is to create paintings which communicate fully and authentically, not only to herself but to the viewer who pauses and observes. https://dianesandlinstudios.com; www.instagram.com/diane_sandlin_studios/; www.facebook.com/dianesandlinstudios
Sue Anne Sullivan
fiber artist
Born into a family of needle artists, I have been making ‘a textile something’ since the first embroidery project was put into my hands at age 12. I learned every ‘no idle hands’ skill I could as I grew up. Knitting, crocheting, sewing, quilting, embroidery and eventually weaving.
As a young woman, I discovered that women all over the world use these same skills and I feel a companionship with them. I feel part of a giant network of needle workers and I find great joy and comfort knowing most of us are our happiest selves when using our hands in any one of these pursuits.
Now as a textile artist my view of our chaotic world is as multi colored strands interlaced in layers of connections. I weave, wet felt, needle felt, stitch, embellish, and manipulate wool fibers to suggest our connectedness. I am continually astonished by the possibilities and hope to spark an awareness of this bond with viewers of my work.
Nancy Hampton Elliott
painter & mixed media
Originally from St. Louis, Missouri my journey has taken me to live in several regions of the U.S. I have a BFA in Fine Art from Auburn University and a teaching certificate from Birmingham Southern College. In 2006, following a move to Texas, I was able to begin pursuing my career in Art. I am now located in the Texas Hill Country where the natural beauty of the region informs my work. I work in series pursuing my inspiration without restraint for style or method. That is why my work is divided in abstract work and contemporary realism.
https://www.nancyhamptonelliott.com
Winston Hicks
photographer
I’m from the Texas Panhandle. I’ve been living in Austin since 1979. I am a carpenter/craftsman and a photographer. I have been showing my photographs since 2012, mostly during the Austin Studio Tours.
The photograph “Hopper-Rockwell” (image #11, People - Color Gallery) was chosen as one of the ten finalists in the 10th Annual Smithsonian Americana Photo Contest.
http://winstonhicks.com
Kris Cummings
ceramic sculptor & potter
Before focusing on ceramics, Kris Cummings worked as a photographer, studying under Garry Winogrand; as the keyboard player and backing vocalist for Joe “King” Carrasco; appearing on Saturday Night Live and Austin City Limits; as an assistant to film maker Les Blank on the New Orleans music documentary “Always for Pleasure.”
Since receiving her BFA in ceramics and printmaking at Texas State University she has worked full time as a ceramicist based in Wimberley and taught ceramics at Laguna Gloria in Austin, Eye of the Dog in San Marcos and Jump Into Art in McKinney, Texas.
Her work is inspired by the native flora and wildlife of the Texas Hill Country.
https://www.instagram.com/kriscummingsart/?hl=en
Camille Delgado Sales
potter
Camille Delgado Sales is an Architectural Residential Designer and Potter living in Austin, Texas. She was born in Puerto Rico and credits the culture for her love of color. She has found ways to express color in her pottery work. She attended the University of Florida and received an undergraduate degree in Architecture and her Master's degree in Architecture at the University of Texas. She has practiced residential architecture for 25 years as sole owner of her business. In 2019, she felt the urgency to pursue pottery and has been balancing architecture and studio time since then. Her work is influenced by the spaces she has designed, graphics, textiles, and ornamentation. She is interested in the ways color and line work are expressed on pottery. She feels it is a delight to bring drawing techniques, color, and clay together into a body of work.
“My pottery invites you to enter the places we call home. As an Architectural Designer for 25 years I have designed these spaces and their relationship beyond the exterior walls to nature and place. Through imagery, I illustrate rooms where we gather, entertain and take respite. Kitchens, the heart of a home, are one of my favorite spaces to depict. They provide a place to cook and nourish our bodies, as well as entertain, pay the bills and answer homework questions. Through several layers of process, using images from my past work, sketches, a light table, a metal liner and colored slip, my work invites you to glimpse a place of possibility. Home is possibility and belonging.”
Efrain Arvela
metal art
I have been a student of the blacksmithing craft/art for several years and thought it was time to share some pictures of my metal work with you. I try to combine the many techniques and methods I have learned into my work, adding found objects and scrap metal when possible, to make a one of a kind piece. From an artistic point of view, however, I'm still learning and have yet to develop what I would consider a style of my own. Right now I'm having fun experimenting with an eclectic approach, which really means I'm drawing inspiration from blacksmiths and metalworkers from all over the world!
http://www.phoenixforges.com
Ronnie Weeks
assemblage artist
Since retirement, I have travelled the USA, Canada and Mexico. Along the way, I have collected many unusual items, most of which are old with little or no value for their original purpose. I let the objects themselves inspire a general direction or idea for me, then imagination takes the piece to a final form that has a new life, meaning, and value. I truly enjoy the treasure hunt on my travels and the thrill of creating unique and eclectic art forms. I hope you enjoy them too.
Susan Best
mixed media artist
Susan Best is equipped with distinctive mixed media skills, perfecting them through years of practice. The artist is influenced by Dadaism and is undaunted by chance. She creates a textural surface using paint and collage, transforming abstract shapes and lines into reality and back again. Like the Dadaists, found objects often find a place in her work. Words and images that disappear in the layering process are important guides to the finished piece. Best’s playful compositions invite the viewer in for a closer look, leading them to create narratives of their own.
Best holds a BFA in studio art and a Master of Arts degree in Fine Art. She lives in the Texas Hill Country and enjoys exhibiting work in San Antonio, Austin, and Wimberley.
https://www.instagram.com/artbysusanbest/?hl=en
Suzanne Oliver
metal smith - painter - curator
Hand forged jewelry, metal smithing, sculpting, and other art forms, which are informed and influenced by the natural world, are what keep me inspired and moving in life.
I enjoy forging metal because it often moves in unplanned, and spontaneous ways, and natural forms are discovered as the piece develops. I like to incorporate textures and markings into the designs and much of my jewelry is stamped with tools I make by hand.
I believe all people are creative. Artistic talents are sparked and discovered when we are present with nature, in beautiful environments, and when in the presence of artistic production. While I wake every day with ideas for pursuing and fulfilling my own artistic urges, my intentions in life include the support and encouragement of others in discovering their own artistic nature.
Brooches - Earrings - Bangles - Cuffs - Charms
Sterling Silver, Precious Metal Clay, 14K Gold
ScenicWayDesigns.com
