Though the lens of the camera and beyond, I am an arranger and composer of images. A single image that engages me may become a springboard for playful manipulation or whimsical juxtaposition. Multiple images and multiple layers merge into a unified composition.

Primarily a Colorist, and always appreciative of the abstract qualities of texture, I am drawn to the ever-inviting nuances of nature expressed through a contemporary lens with a not to surrealism.

— Laura Brookhart —

“Color is the keyboard, the eyes are the harmonies, the soul is the piano with many strings. The artist is the hand that plays, touching one key or another, to cause vibrations in the soul.”  –  Wassily Kandinsky

Painting is my joy! It is the happiness I find in living each day.  Although I have worked with and been inspired by many talented artists I am mostly self taught.  I continue to experiment with texture, color, and mixing mediums aspiring to develop my own unique  style.  I hope to create art that catches the eye and brings forth a smile.

I have always been captivated by light and its impact on our surroundings.  The way the same scene can vary from moment to moment with just the slightest fluctuation of light transforms a setting over and over again, keeping it fresh, renewed and alive.

From this fascination, my love of glass was born.  For me, glass is the perfect medium as it plays with light, capturing, reflecting and transmitting its radiance, and in the process, creating change.

Nature, with its never ending pallet of subtle variances to brilliant color, provides my main source of inspiration, and plays an important role in my creative expression.   I like combining smooth glass with texture; transparent with opaque; mimicking the way light plays upon a landscape.  Often, to achieve this goal takes many kiln firings at different temperatures, adding successive layers to achieve the final results.

With the art of kiln formed glass expanding daily, and new techniques keeping it vibrant and exciting, there is no end to possibilities, which allows me to approach each new idea with eyes open to experimentation. I work with each piece until it begins to breathe and develop a spirit of its own, which in turn will be subject to each individual’s unique interpretation, once again, creating change.

~ Toni Palmer

Gloria Adams is a jewelry artist in Springville, Alabama.  She has always been a lover of jewelry and decided to begin crafting her own back in 2004.  Gloria attended the William Holland School of Lapidary Arts in Young Harris, Georgia, where she learned wire wrapping techniques for her own jewelry.  In 2005, she returned for an advanced class.  William Holland offers classes in a myriad of jewelry crafts.  It didn’t take long for Gloria to realize there was so much “out there” to add to her skill sets!  She has returned to William Holland every year since then to study chain making, enameling, cold connections, advanced silversmithing, stone intarsia, and most recently, channel inlay.

Wire jewelry gets about half of Gloria’s attention.  She says, “Semi-precious stones are among the most spectacular of God’s creations.  As found, many look like plain old rocks.  But cut and polished, they demand attention!  The stones in my pendants are the focus of the jewelry.  I wrap my cabochons in such a manner as to enhance the beauty of each stone.  Wire does not ‘make’ the jewelry: it’s the natural beauty of the stone that makes a pendant stunning.”

Gloria’s copper creations are her most recent.  She sees copper both as a real challenge to her creative skills and also as an opportunity for experimentation and growth.  She says, “With copper, you can beat it.  Fold it.  Drill holes in it.  Crush it.  Anneal it.  And beat it again!  Working with Copper is a real joy.  Copper allows me license to let my imagination flow freely.  My copper creations give you the opportunity to be close to me through the details in the copper.  You are wearing something into which I invested the entirety of my skills in order to transform a hunk of metal into something beautiful.”

Look to see stone intarsia (jewelry created with small pieces of stone) and channel inlay (stones set into intricate channels made from heavy Sterling Silver wire) in Gloria’s future!

Hank is a native of Baltimore, Maryland, and a retired Department of Defense official who now makes his home in Hoover, Alabama.  He has lived in the Birmingham area since 1992 and rediscovered his photographic interest upon retiring from the Defense Department in 2003.

He initially developed his interest in photography in the early 60s’ while in the Armed Services and has been using his camera to capture the light in the forms, colors, and textures of the visual world from the south central Pennsylvania mountains to the Sierra Nevada Range of Northern California and the California Coastal Range; and now in the rural and urban areas throughout Alabama and the southeast.

Being trained as a certified Army Instructor in Behavioral and Organizational Dynamics, he has since parlayed those skills into developing and teaching classes in Digital Photography for all levels of skill. He is the sole instructor for photography for the Birmingham Botanical Gardens and also teaches classes through the Shelby County Arts Council in teaching venues throughout the county.

He also lectures on photography covering such topics as Capturing Light to Create Memorable Images, The Photographer as Artist and The History of Photography as an Art Form.

His works have been displayed in venues throughout the southeast including the Light Box Gallery at Pepper Place, The Dempsey Art Center in Auburn, the Soon-Bok Lee Sellers Gallery in Bluff Park, the Gadsden Museum of Art,  the gallery at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens and the Blue Ridge Mountain Art Center in Blue Ridge, GA.

His images have won awards at annual photography exhibitions throughout Alabama.

Jean McKee will attend the Riverchase Loves Artists Art Show and display her gallery wrapped art. Please come and see her –  you won’t be disappointed!

Mark your calendars for February 7, 10:00am to 4:00pm!

The 8th Annual Riverchase Loves Artists Art Show was an amazing success!

Our thanks go out to our patrons, artists, Riverchase Country Club, and volunteers who all contributed to a great show! Even Mother Nature contributed a pleasant day to get out and about!

We hope to see you all again next year!

Sincerely,
Riverchase Women’s Club

As far back as she can remember, California native Toni Palmer has been looking for the best way to express her inner passion.  Early on, it was through the dramatic arts, including theater, music, dance, and then creative writing.  From there she moved onto other forms of expression, and has explored many mediums, from macramé, needlework and candle making to stained glass and woodturning. Once she discovered the art of kiln formed glass, she knew she had found her niche.

What Toni loves about kiln formed glass is that it appeals to her sense of balance.  The process calls for both imagination and logic, as once the piece is designed the journey is nowhere near over.   So as to anticipate the end result, she must then visualize the different phases the glass will go though as it heats to between 1400- 1700 degrees, forms one piece, and slowly cools.

Look for Toni’s glasswork at art shows throughout the Southeast.

We have added a menu on the right to take you to the list of artists who are participating in this year’s Riverchase Loves Artists or you can click here. We hope you have marked your calendars for February 8 as this promises to be our best show ever!

Also added are several photographs from 2013. Most of the artists pictured will be back this year. See the photos here.