Don Byram THE STATE BOTANICAL GARDEN OF GEORGIA
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Emilia Borawska
The sights and traditions of eastern Europe imprinted themselves on Emilia Borawska as she grew up in Poland in the 80's. She honed her exploration of visual arts at the Atlanta College of Art where she majored in illustration. She is a full time portrait and has hundreds of haunting ethereal landscapes in private collections, the world over. |
Kevin Burchett
Kevin Burchett-Graphite and Acrylic- is a native born son of Commerce and has been drawing since he was 6. He attended the University of Georgia, where they tried to make him an artist. Kevin was a little confused by this. He thought he already was one. Luckily, he survived this period of his life, and has been successful, both as a professional artist and designer over the years. While he is known for his work in graphite, his latest direction is folk art and color. It is a fresh and timely approach to a career that has already lasted nearly twenty years.
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Ray Byram
While Ray Byram-Oil, Print- is located, both physically and spiritually in the hills of N.Carolina, he has traveled and produced art all over the world. He is degreed and juried. His work is in demand from both corporate offices to private collectors, both national and international. Ray has made his living from art his entire adult life. His original oils are masterpieces of paletted oil and color. His prints are careful reproductions of the originals and stand as art in their own right. His current style he describes as “tight impressionism”, using a palette knife instead of brushes. “It gives you a real crisp and different effect. It lets you get a little more expressive.” Most of Ray’s work evokes the mood of the hills, waters, and woodland paths of North Carolina and north Georgia.
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Alex Chambers
In 2001, Alex Chambers retired from a 33 year career in the Postal Service. Not ready to be retired, he took up crocheting and, with the urging of a cousin from England, took a watercolor course and fell in love with it. The Banks County, Georgia native loves to paint the landscapes, buildings, farms, and communities he grew up with and his folk style is perfect for the rugged history of the area. A red Cardinal was featured prominently in an early painting and now, through popular demand, lives in most of his paintings.
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Jerry & Kathy Chappelle
Jerry and Kathy Chappelle-Potters- have more stories, history, experiences, prolific production of clay, workshops, apprentices, and emotion tied to their several collective careers than most people could stand. Degreed, Juried, and Commissioned, Jerry left a tenured track Art professorship at the University of Georgia, and with his wife Kathy, created Happy Valley, a somewhat free form Co-op of experienced artists, newbies, dedicated craftsmen, apprentices, and various levels of hanger ons that have helped shape the creative community in the Athens and Watkinsville area for a generation. His quote of who he is and what he believes in when it comes to clay is, “I am traditionally a ‘romantic’ in approach while striving to incorporate my sense of humor." Over the years, designing functional and non-functional clay objects and marketing them has been a means of survival.” And once you meet Jerry and Kathy, you understand the depth, energy, color, and form of their work.
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Loretta Eby
Loretta Eby-Handblown Glass- received her BFA degree in Glass from the Cleveland Institute of Art. She has continued her education at several schools, including the Penland School of Crafts, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, and the Pilchuk School of Glass. She now exhibits her work in juried shows and galleries throughout the country and has operated her very successful Loretta Eby Hot Glass Studio in Watkinsville, Georgia since 1985. To say Loretta is all about passion would be a slight understatement. She is not only passionate about her handblown glass, she is passionate about life, dogs, friends, and the wonderful food her husband, Jeff Jackson, keeps her topped off with. Luckily, for the world, that passion spills over into her work and the endless variety of color, swirls, and shapes she creates in her handblown glass.
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Lee Fox
Lee Fox-Photography- “Successful is the person who has lived well, laughed often and loved much, who has gained the respect of children, who leaves the world better than they found it, who has never lacked appreciation for the earth’s beauty, who never fails to look for the best in others or give the best of themselves.” This is Lee Fox’s approach to life and art. His hobby of photography is continuation of his mission to share the earth’s beauty. For many years, Lee has worked with the Boys and Girls Club of Metro Atlanta at Camp Kiwanis, introducing thousands of intercity youth to the majestic and mystery of the “wilderness”. In the last 5 years, Lee has become serious about the art of photography and has worked steadily to capture nature’s gifts, both big and small on film. It is the “poetry of things” that inspires him and his wife to seek out special places and investigate unusual creatures. The naturalist in him strives to captures the essence of the moment and will do justice to the beauty of all God’s creation.
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Holly Just Holly
Holly. Just Holly-Clay Artist- believes serendipity is as valid an influence on an artist as intentionality. She also believes in Roller Derby, Australian Sheep dogs, Yoga, and bumper stickers…..but those are all different stories for a different day! As for pottery, she believes the many transformations the clay goes through is mesmerizing and she lets the images of everyday life, myths, and spirituality guide her. She works in both concept based and traditional forms of her art. You will find printmaking techniques, added embellishments, slip-cast organic material, and wet clay installations. She pushes the limits of pottery tradition both on and off the wheel. One of her favorite processes (and definite showstoppers) is the ancient Japanese firing technique called Raku, which incorporates fire, smoke, and a flash of the dramatic to achieve the transformations she challenges the clay with.
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Ricky Jackson
Florida is a place where the sun makes the colors of flowers and nature a little more defined and those who were born and raised there, a little more aware of the flavor of the visual world around them. This is certainly true of native Floridan, Ricky Jackson. He moved to Atlanta in the 80’s and graduated from the Art Institute of Atlanta with a Visual Communication Major. His art passion and excellence is in water colors. Describing his process of creation, he says, “I become one with brush, paper and water. I produce not only beautiful paintings, but life investment paintings. Come along with me and invest for your life.”
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Bernie Jacobs
Bernie Jacobs learned Cross Stitching as a young girl growing up in Wisconsin from a Mother that considered accurately worked samples part of a proper ladies' upbringing. Many years later, while raising her family in Washington, DC, she returned to the discipline her Mother instilled in her and started to develop her own personal style. Over the years since then, this process has energized her and her creative passion as she watches a blank canvas evolve into a emotionally laden image, stitch by stitch. Bernie's aim is to preserve the art of Cross Stitch through re-creating existing patterns of artwork, as well as continuing her own original designs in free-flow pieces and personalized work for special occasions, such as weddings and anniversaries.
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Carol Van Sant
Carol Van Sant-Potter- walks with nature and life in a manner that is more in tune with the rural tradition of years past than the technology driven world of today. She turns to nature and walks the woods and paths of Georgia to discover inspiration in the form of leaves, colors, and the feel of the earth. She brings those inspirations to form with her hands, heart, and a foot driven wheel in an old chicken coop south of Athens. Her use of leaves in her ceramic designs serve as a reminder of the natural beauty of our planet. Carol received her BFA in Drawing and Painting from the University of Georgia in the early 80’s. If you want to know more…..all you have to do is hold one of her bowls and run your finger around the outline of the leaf embossed there.
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Katie McFarland www.mcfarland.aftosawebhosting.com
Katie McFarland’s-Potter- goal is to make every one of her clay creations fun, so it brings out a child like playfulness, makes us remember a time when we believed in dragons, fairies, and pirates, and when our favorite food was macaroni and cheese. She wants to evoke a sense of adventure, excitement, and dreams about past summers and future quests. She translates this spirit of Florida born spashes of bright color and busy pieces through her hands into scalloped edges, quirky flowers, and vines surrounding her work. She sees no reason why a cup can’t be more than a cup, why a vase can’t be a tropical fish, or why a casserole dish can’t be a big blue crab.
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Steve Nedza
The fish is the signature pattern for potter Steve Nedza. He loves the symbolism of the fish from the past to present, in combination with his love for the water and all it's diversity of life. His firing to cone 10-11 of his custom formulated clay and signature glazes results in amazing displays of color in his functional pottery. Since childhood, art, in particular pottery, enhanced him. He still has his first piece he every fired in the Fifth Grade. And like many artists, his passion for his art overtook a corporate career and for Steve, 20 years in Information Technology. He broke free to create a business based on clay, his family, and the blessings he has found in life.
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Yolande Norwood
Yolande Norwood’s-Potter- passion for clay was first fired over 15 years ago after a class at a community college in Las Vegas. She is a native born Canadian and her travels have brought her to many places; the last being Commerce Georgia. During this time, she has practiced her art and hobby and is now settled into a routine of family, work, dogs, clay, and glazes. Her distinctive red glaze is the definitive customer stopper at DonByramArt and she can be heard at craft shows over the southeast proclaiming, “my product is microwave, dishwasher, and oven safe. All my glazes are lead free and will last forever!”
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Carol Kennedy
The last lines of the official Carol Kennedy bio states: “Carol produces ceramic art that captures woodland inspired color and form without loosing the whimsy of her childhood.” After a childhood love affair with the deep woods, quiet earthy smells, and speckled sunlight filtering playing across flowing creeks, Carol has, as an adult, returned to the joy of the woodlands through her hands, heart and clay. And who knows, if you look close enough at the faces on her mugs and pitchers……you just might get a smile or wink you remember from your childhood!
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