Artist Spotlight with Chip Freund

Peggy Van Arnam has been making jewelry since she found herself with a skirt with which she had “nothing to wear.”  During her career as a university administrator, she searched for unusual beads and stones as she traveled and made jewelry for herself and her family.  In retirement she began taking classes, selling her pieces and approaching jewelry making as a business. Thus Uniquely Yours! was b...

Theresa is an intuitive abstract artist, creating vibrant art for memorable spaces. She specializes in mixed media, using acrylics, spray paint, ink, adhesives, and paper. Her work refuses to be contained and often extends beyond the edges of the canvas. Theresa's process has her working on multiple pieces simultaneously, flowing from one canvas to the next with big athletic strokes.  She oft...

Sarah Cawn’s mission is to design and create beautiful, unique, and functional glass objects. Initially using Tiffany stained glass techniques, Sarah has evolved into creating original fused glass works of art. Her innovative use of color, shapes and whimsical designs never fail to engage the viewer. She is fascinated by the captivating power of light’s interaction with glass, showing the beauty o...

Autumn Cobeland is a painter, muralist, triathlete, and Raleigh native. She holds a degree in Fine Arts and studied art in Florence, Italy. Her prints and paintings can be seen in galleries, shops, and private collections both nationally and internationally. Autumn has created a series of paintings devoted to the Triangle Greenway System, and she donates a percentage of the proceeds from print sal...

Susan Hensel’s new innovative artwork, which blends commercial embroidery processes with sculptural concerns, is gaining attention and awards. Her knowledge of materials makes it possible for her to create small to large-scale hard-edge sculpture from soft fabrics that paradoxically keep their crisp form with minimal armatures. Her knowledge of the physics of color allows her to create shape-shift...

Diana Hrabosky is a self-taught artist who is most grateful to those gifted individuals who elected to share their knowledge and talents by writing books on colored pencil, acrylic, and abstract technique and related subjects. She was inspired by an artist whose work she at an art show in Chantilly, VA but couldn't identify the medium. When Diana learned it was colored pencil, she wanted to t...

Kyle Wilson is a photographer from Selma NC. He is originally from southern Maryland where he became fascinated by Rural America . Kyle uses a technique called High Dynamic Range photography (HDR). It is an evolving form of art that enables the photographer to capture and display the full range of light that can be realized by the human eye. To Kyle art is a representation of the world we experien...

Growing up in Catskill, NY, Jim was constantly drawing. This led to being the art editor of his high school yearbook, majoring in Fine Arts at SUNY Plattsburgh, and obtaining a BS in Art Education from Florida International University of Miami in December 1979. Jim dreamed of being an art instructor and artist, however, that was put on a 35 year hold! Jim went to work for IBM in September 1979 in...

Maureen’s story as an artist started with her dad who was a commercial and fine artist. At an early age her father discovered that he had a talent for art (it runs in the family). He decided to pursue art as his career even though his family felt that this was a terrible mistake. In addition to taking art classes, Maureen spent countless hours learning from father about art. He began with perspect...

Boots Quimby considers everything she has done in life a creative endeavor.  From teaching high school and college to raising children and designing experiments during her doctoral work and as a cell biologist, Boots explored her creativity. In 2016 she picked up a paintbrush and decided it was time to paint, something Boots had wanted to do since childhood.  The artist inside finally had the cour...

Ann works in oil, encaustic (hot beeswax) and collage. Her work in oil focuses principally on landscapes, architecture, and still life. Growing up in rural Virginia she spent much of her free time outdoors and learned to know and love the natural world; this sense of place has stayed with her throughout her life and informs her work.  In landscapes she seeks to express the essence of places she ha...

Natacha's practice uses experiences, seeing, touch, smell, for ideas she creates. This practice helps her be intuitive while constructing an object. Natasha creates in the space of her studio, but the memory of the actual experience and her psychological response are incorporated into the work. There are ideas that use other experiences such as books, movies, music, foods (smell and taste can...

Studio artist and instructor Jean Cheely has been working with fused glass techniques since 2001. She uses many approaches to transform “super cooled” liquid into art pieces. Jean is an award-winning artist who exhibits in juried glass competitions in the U.S and abroad. She has pursued her passion by studying under nationally known artists at numerous glass studios, including:  The Corning Museum...

David Blevins is a nature photographer, author, and ecologist. He combines a sense of wonder with an artistic eye to create images that tell stories about the meaning and significance of the natural world. He received a Ph. D. in forest ecology from the University of British Columbia, as well as M.S. and B.S. degrees in forest science from North Carolina State University. His fourth book, " N...

Jim Aul is a pottery based in Vancouver WA. He draws inspiration for his functional pottery from his travels, the natural world, and music. Presently, Jim is a part-time craftsman with plans to devote more time to his craft once he retires.  You can find Jim’s work on Instagram and at local craft fairs in the Vancouver area. IG: @jimaulpottery   Jim's artist  recommendations:     Babette Harv...

Although it can sound a bit trite when someone says they have a real passion for something, Dan really does have a burning desire to capture on a canvas the things in our lives that make us feel more ALIVE.  Art has a way of making us slow down long enough to see and even experience something beautiful or poignant or precious about life.  He literally can’t wait to put paint (and a bit of his soul...

Bayou Gray is intrigued by the human form. The slump of a shoulder, the refraction of light in an iris. The subtle shifts that tell a tale far more than words ever could. The breadth of Bayou's work tries to capture the intimate meaning of those moments and pour it back upon you. In short, Bayou wants the viewer to feel the piece, and not just see it. To that end, his tools of choice all have...

Born in Winston-Salem, NC, Jane D. Steelman worked toward a degree in Art at Appalachian State University. She studied under Bill Dunlap in drawing and painting as well as Clyde Owen in Ceramics. She is certified in art education for K-12 and taught high school Advanced Digital Photography and AP Art History. She now teaches private art lessons in her home studio.  Dr. Steelman works in various me...

A Signature Member of  Pastel Society of America, and Signature Member of Pastel Society of North Carolina, award-winning pastelist, Diana Coidan, has been an accomplished and experienced full-time professional artist for over thirty years.  Although she works in many mediums, working in soft pastels is her most expressive, offering her the rich color, variety, and immediacy to paint her award-win...

An oil and watercolor painter, art workshop instructor, architectural illustrator,  life time ardent reader, and writer of the occasion when painting is not sufficient to express his feeling and thoughts... JJ’s childhood was spent in China during the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966-1976).  During that era of madness, drawing, writing and reading poetry kept him safe and sane, and shie...

Angel Ingrietta is a self-taught artist from North Carolina. Her passion for art started many years ago as a very quiet little girl. Every piece starts out with an outline of a hat and the word Mama, which you may never see. Angel is inspired by her loss, her life, her heart and soul. She hopes that her art inspires others, that have been through so much pain and feel they have nothing, to push yo...

Understanding the “why” behind her work has been an important part of Angela’s creative process. Being sensitive in nature, she has learned to recognize how even subtle harmonies in color, shapes, visual textures etc. can affect herself and viewers. She believes what we choose to look at/surround ourself with affects our thoughts, mind and heart. You can check out Angela's work on her website...

Artist Teri Pohlmeier is a mostly self taught jewelry designer based out of Fuquay Varina, NC. She always loved pretty rocks and sparkly things, but it wasn’t until she was an adult that she discovered the world of jewelry making. She started out doing simple stringing and after experimenting with several styles settled into wire weaving. Shortly thereafter, she discovered bead embroidery, which s...

When it comes to her art Jnet has always had the desire to create something of beauty made from her hands. Her love of clay focuses on two main properties: the contrasts of transforming a soft malleable material into a rock hard object that retains the appearance of softness, and the ability to create unpredictable colors and designs on pottery and sculptures with fire. She strives to create sculp...

The natural world is Lynne’s source of greatest inspiration. Beginning in early childhood, her family camped and hiked around the US, visiting all 50 states. She comes from several generations of scientists, serious gardeners and avid birders, activities she has expanded on in her own life and which contribute to her love and interest in the environment and growing things. Typically, she works fro...