A native South Carolinian, Fran Gardner lives in Heath Springs. She earned her BFA from Columbia College (1982) and later, her MFA from Vermont College of Norwich University (1993). She is professor emerita of art and art history at the University of South Carolina Lancaster where she taught studio courses and art history for 32 years. Gardner has gained attention in mixed media collage. She paints and draws with traditional materials, but also with the sewing machine, layering her work with rich texture, color and mark-making. In addition to creating and exhibiting her work, she writes critical essays about art, leads retreats, teaches workshops, and judges and curates exhibitions.
Sheila Grabarsky recently had featured paintings in Willliams Sonoma catalog and had seven paintings selected for the Hollywood movie American Pastoral. She was recently interviewed for “A Night In The Art Gallery” on NJDiscover cable TV and wrote a published back cover testimonial for a book of art/poetry entitled Leaves of Absence by Sally Brown Deskins, published in February 2016. Sheila is a seasoned, classically trained, national award-winning artist who has worked and exhibited across the U.S. for over 35 years in corporate, educational, commercial, and healthcare venues as well as museums and online. Her work is in numerous private and public collections and is currently represented by Beauregard Fine Art, Rumson, NJ, Boxheart Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA, Lori Austin Fine Art, Sebastopol, CA and ArtWorks Gallery, Cedar City, UT as well as online at UGallery.com, Zatista.com and CharlotteFineArt.com. She is also represented by Elizabeth Sadoff Art Agency, Integrated Art LLC, Artists Circle, MD.
A trip to the East African nation of Uganda in high school lead Muffy Clark Gill to an interest in the ancient art of wax and dye resist painting known as batik and later the Japanese wax process known as rozome. Her main source of inspiration is based on her memories of life and travel. Continuing education in mixed media processes along with extensive use of photography has been the backbone of her art making. Work has been on display in many public institutions around the state of Florida including the State Capitol 22nd Floor gallery and the Office of the Florida Secretary of State. Recently she was designated a Master Silk Painter by Silk Painters International where she also serves on their Board of Directors. Muffy is currently the Vice President of Exhibitions for NAWAFL.
Born in Woodside, Queens, New York, Susan’s youth was involved with school, art and family. In 1971, she married and moved to New Jersey.
Opening her own ceramic business in 1979 enabled Susan to work with ceramics, porcelain, stoneware and clay, for over 25 years. When she sold that business in 1984, she began working for the Department of Defense as a Technical Equipment Illustrator, working on intricate technical illustrations and digitals.
Susan earned her Associates Degree in Graphic Design in 1997, from Sussex County Community College, Newton, New Jersey. In 2000, she earned a BFA Degree from William Paterson University, Wayne, New Jersey, and in 2005, Susan achieved a MFA Degree from William Paterson University, Wayne, New Jersey.
Susan’s interest for photography began 30 years ago in 1990, and it has slowly grown to a passionate obsession. Susan studied with some of her favorite photographers: Robert Farber, Ralph Gibson, George Holz, David Horton, Douglas Kirkland, Mary Ellen Mark, Robert Maxwell, Elizabeth Opalenick, Phil Perkis, Platon, Ernestine Rubin, Robin Schwartz, Joyce Tenneyson, Jock Sturges and Michael Zweibel.
Her photography work involves metaphors and moods and emotions. However, her color photography depicts the delicate images of flora, cloud formations and landscapes.
Leslie Hamrick is a figurative, mixed media artist who embraces exaggerated forms, strong lines, and texture. Her gestural line work belies her contemplative approach, guiding the viewer through her methodical process. Earning a BFA from the University of Kansas and an MA in Art Therapy from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Leslie practiced as an art therapist for several years before raising her family. Coming back to her own art as an empty-nester, she uses pieces from her past to inform current work, incorporating old artwork and narratives into her collages. She embraces the physical act of making art as a therapeutic outlet, focusing on process as much as the end product.
Art has been a lifelong passion for me. I am fortunate to have always had wonderful art teachers throughout my childhood along with family and friends who always encouraged creative pursuits. I completed a degree in Political Science and ventured into an office job upon graduation. I have been fortunate to live in several states and cities and each location offers unique inspiration and experiences. I relocated to the Charleston area in 2013. In the last few years, I returned to painting as a creative outlet and it has become a huge part of my life as I engage with the local creative community. When I'm not working or painting, I help through volunteer work in a nature and/or animal-focused capacity.
Laura McRae Hitchcock
Laura McRae Hitchcock was born in Augusta, Georgia and graduated from Agnes Scott College with an art degree. While she has lived in many places in the US from the East coast to the West coast and back, her home is the South where she lives and works in her studio on a barrier island near Charleston, SC. Laura uses a variety of media including oils, acrylics, cold wax, gouache, charcoal, pencil, and pastel to make her marks and create color passages that build upon each other. Translucent and opaque layers dance and play on the canvas in much the way Nature and Spirit do the same in our lives.
Laura’s award winning paintings have been exhibited in national juried shows, as well as in group and solo exhibitions. Her work has received international recognition, winning the BoldBrush Competition for Abstract and The Camelback Gallery Award of Excellence, and the nationally recognized ArtPop Billboard Program. She has been the recipient of several grants, most recently the Individual Artist Career Opportunity Grant made possible through the South Arts Program. She has participated in public art projects, most notably a mural for the Charlotte Mecklenburg County Courthouse in North Carolina. Her art is featured in the book 100 Love Notes by Hyong Yi and she is currently working on a book of her own. She has enjoyed several artist residencies in Ireland.
After working in the corporate world of advertising for 15 years and licensing my illustrations to the surface design and stationary industry, I am focusing on fine art.
I have recently become mesmerised with the science of pouring acrylic paint. I may approach the canvas with an idea in mind but ultimately the chemical reaction is out of my control. Sometimes it matches what was in my head and sometimes it does its own thing. I then go back in with the water imagery leading the way. I like that the eye is drawn into the swirls and pearls in the water background making it the main subject.
Susan Irish is an American abstract painter and environmental advocate known for her bold and energetic scenes of nature. Each of her distinctively frenetic landscapes carry subtle signs of creeping industrial blight. To appreciate their beauty is to grapple with one’s own role in their decay. Susan works primarily in oil and cold wax. She believes art making is integral to the human spirit and should be fostered and celebrated. She is an internationally known and award-winning artist. Her work has been exhibited in Ireland, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Arizona, and California. Susan Irish has paintings in permanent collection with Pinnacle Financial Partners, SC.
Susan Irish
8391 Manse Rd Edisto Island, SC 29438
207-650-2433
@artbysusanirish on Instagram
Monica Iversen’s artistic journey began in her father’s studio, where she first learned the techniques of realism. Her painting blossomed under his guidance & continued as she honed her skills at the Shuler School of Fine Art, MD along with private instruction from international artist Lee Alban. Inspired by the the Dutch Masters, Monica’s oils are vibrant expressions of color with a sense of nostalgia & complex storytelling. Admirers see her work as reminiscent of Rockwell & Dali, where the familiar meets the surreal. Despite pursuing a career in graphic design & marketing, Monica felt the call of her artistic passion, spurred on by her partner, David. Five years ago, she made the decision to commit to her craft full time, a choice she describes as the best she’s ever made.
