It is time to mark your calendars for the 2016 Riverchase Loves Artists Art Show and this year we are celebrating our 10th Anniversary! The date is February 6, 2016 from 10 – 4. Please stay tuned as more information will be forthcoming.

Photography is a journey of people, places and things…all captured in one special moment by the photographer’s lens. It’s actually a journey of stories, and, just like a writer always has a pen and notepad with him, my camera goes wherever I do.

I am a landscape photographer based in Birmingham, AL and St. Joe Beach, FL. My other careers have included being a public relations executive with BellSouth and the Executive Director of the Nonprofit Resource Center of Alabama.

As one who has always been enchanted by the ocean and the ambiance of small coastal towns, I try to capture the ‘beach time’ so many of us yearn for. Water always calls to me, too. Somewhere deep inside me the rhythm and sounds of water and waves sing a special song for me.

Vibrant colors are also a mainstay in my photographs. Newspaper photographers taught me much about composition and color. They also taught me to see the possibility of photographs where others might not…they developed my photographic eye, so to speak.

I am married with three children, one of whom, Amelia, died in 1995 at age 17. Often I take photographs of our world for her, because she would want you to see the beauty around us each day and tell you to take it all in.

www.georgebelliottphotography.com 

georgebelliottphotography.zenfolio.com

I turned my first pieces of wood many years ago as a teenager.  They were quite primitive but I was hooked on the process.  Through my professional career I had little opportunity to participate in turning as a hobby but since retirement I find myself drawn daily to the lathe.  Woodturning is the best stress reliever I have found as well as being a lot of fun. I am constantly amazed by what the wood reveals. Although I may start with a specific design in mind, the wood often leads me to an entirely different outcome.  I am a recycler. The wood I use comes almost entirely from the roadside and is often oak, maple, cherry, Bradford pear, dogwood, poplar, sweet gum or IDK (I don’t know).   My pieces are generally turned for function or whimsy and include bowls of various types, hollow, open and closed forms, tops/toys and off-center turnings.  I am an active member of the American Association of Woodturners and the Alabama Woodturners Association.

We are a mother and daughter team of painters. We offer affordable original paintings, and we want to bring happiness to your walls whether it be a serene landscape, a   colorful still life, or a dramatic figurative piece.

While last year had its ups and downs, 2015 is promising to be challenging also as Larisa now lives in Austin, TX and Mary Ann remains in Birmingham. However, we will continue to support each other, both personally and artistically, as we create our Fine and Fun Art!

Larisa’s work can be seen at Austin Art Garage (Austin, TX), Four Seasons Gallery (Homewood, AL) and Littlehouse Galleries (Homewood, AL). Mary Ann also has art at Four Seasons Gallery in   Homewood.

ETSY SHOP: www.etsy.com/LamaArt

Other websites: http://lamaartworks.com/

http://larisabrechun.com/

http://mabrechunart.com/

EMAIL: mabrechun@gmail.com

The Artist’s Kaleidoscopic World

Like a real Kaleidoscope, Toby’s art is created with a burst of color, symmetry of design and motion all captured in “The Artists Kaleidoscopic World”.  Her goal in creating work is to intrigue each person by drawing their eye into the piece of art, while holding it there so they may see all of the intricate detail.  In developing her style, she has strove for her work to be unusual and different from other artists.  She is a mixed media artist, whose work is contemporary and ranges from different degrees of abstraction and experimental to representation.  Her images both representational and non-objective show the use of color, design & techniques as seen through the artist eyes.

All of her work is an adventure – beginning with an idea and then working through each phase to completion.  The journey begins by creating color, depth & texture with Toby’s hand-dyed & painted papers, textured & embossed metals, kiln formed glass & fibers, which are layered and built up into a three-dimensional collage.  She sometimes uses other small items if it completes the overall design.  Other pieces show dimension through the painting process.  

Toby latest one-person exhibition was at Aldridge Garden’s Art Gallery Dec. 2014 – Jan. 2015.  She won the top award at the 2013 Bluff Park Art Show ($3500. Purchase Award for their permanent collection).  Toby was selected as the Artist for “Southern Voices” in 2010 and exhibit in the Hoover Library Gallery for 3 months.  Among awards, locally as well as internationally, she was a Finalist in “The Artist Magazine’s” 2006, 2005, 2003 & 2002 Annual Art Competition. Toby is a Signature Member of the International Society of Acrylic Painters, International Society of Experimental Artist, Southern Watercolor and Watercolor Society of Alabama, where she served as President in 2003-2004.  She is an Elected Member of the National Association of Women Artist in New York. 

Publishing’s

2014: Magazines – Southern Jewish Life; The Hoover Magazine.  2013: Book – Who is God IV  Magazine – Southern Jewish Life  News Paper – The Birmingham News.  2012: Books – Eyes On: Abstracts; Journeys To Abstraction;  Who is God Book II & III. 2011: the Memphis Jewish Scene Magazine; American Style Magazine (for the 3rd year).  2010: A Walk Into Abstract DVD;  Southern Jewish Life Magazine; Cover of Temple Beth-El Membership Directory for 2nd year.  Additional publishing’s: American Artist, Watercolor Magazine; Watercolor Artist Magazine; The Artist’s Magazine; Memphis Jewish Journal; The Birmingham Post Herald; The Pen Women; The Birmingham New.

Represented By

Museum Cotempo – Olympia, W. A. ● Newbill Collection By the Sea – Seaside, FL ● Temple Beth El Gift Shop – Birmingham, AL

Permanent and Corporate Collections

 Alabama Power ● Compass Bank ● Brookwood Medical Center ● CSE Investments ● Data House ● Children’s Hospital ● Heritage Hall Museum ● Hoover Public Library ● Howard Industries ● Regions Bank ● St. Vincent’s Hospital ● Wells Fargo Bank ● Grandview Financial Group ● among others

Private Collections ● throughout North America, Europe & Israel.

http://www.tobykleinart.com ● (205) 823-3376 ● toby@tobykleinart.com

Becky’s professional clay career has spanned 38 years. She exhibits at the Kentuck Festival and Bluff Park Art Show as well as other shows throughout Alabama. Presently her clay art may be purchased year-round at Blue Phrog Gallery in Montevallo.

Becky’s wheel-thrown clay artworks are graceful forms with artistic surface considerations–most involving utility into art. Her tripled coated glazes give a rich, cobalt blue color, patterned with crystalline bursts and textures derived from the interaction of several glaze components, including rutile and gerstley borate. Becky has developed a paper-relief and porcelain slip design technique–these design surfaces can be very geometrical or loosely ornate, with either white or black slip applications. Another approach is a method of porcelain slip decoration by simply drawing into it free hand with a pencil to create her ever-popular “swimming fish” motif. Sculptural applications are also incorporated in her “corsage” pieces, “Clayfolk” jars and figure sculptures.

Process:

• sculpted stoneware & mid-range porcelain
• functional/wheel thrown stoneware
• clay pieces fired to cone 6/oxidation firing (~2300 F)
• hand mixed glazes from crushed stone & chemicalsTechniques:

• paper relief design on surfaces using airbrushed porcelain slips
• sculpted and folded clay designs
• slab work with impressed materials
• hand drawn pencil work into clay slips
• layered glaze application

This is a little bit of info you may want to know about me. I’m a graduate of The University of Alabama where I received my degree in Non-Profit Management and Event Planning. After graduating in 2012, I began taking classes online and recently became a certified Interior Designer from the Interior Design Institute located in California. I am a wife, daughter, granddaughter, sister, and friend to some of the most amazing people on earth. The Lord truly blessed me with the finest mentors, side-kicks, and supporters I could have ever asked for.

There are so many things that I love about life, including: My relationship with Jesus Christ, time spent with my amazing family & friends, traveling, the South, thrift store shopping, yard sales, bangle bracelets, big-teased hair, painted fingernails, date nights, new shoes & purses, clearance racks, Blue Bell ice cream, weekends, tan skin, everything about the Autumn season, Alabama football, anything that sparkles, and last, but not least…painting, creating and designing STUFF!

Creating unique artwork and designing beautiful spaces is my passion in life. Ever since I was a small child I have always been aware of design and color. As a little girl my family would drive around and look at all the different house designs, whether we were in our surrounding neighborhoods or on vacation. If there was ever an open house, we were always the first ones in to check out the interior design of the remodeled home. Scanning through magazines and tearing out the “good pages” have been a hobby of mine ever since I learned to read. Growing up with creatively inspired parents and grandparents molded my life in a fundamental way. My mom taught me to use a sewing machine before I learned to tie my shoes, while my dad educated me on all the carpentry tools. From the time I began earning allowance as a child, shopping for craft supplies and wood working materials was a weekly quest. Whether it was paint materials, colored pencils, marker sets, sketch paper, crochet needles, tool kits, or a wood burner, I always seemed to find the money and time for craft projects. After many years later… I am still buying craft materials, making unique items out of “junk”, designing artwork, building items with power tools, doodling with markers, and re-vamping spaces. Spreading my love for stunning design and happy artwork is my mission! I can’t imagine going through life without creating something beautiful!

Emily’s Original Art came to be in June of 2009. I decided to take the summer off from college and open my very own art shop in Mentone, Alabama. I found a tiny building on the main street for rent and jumped on the opportunity. For anyone who know me, it’s no surprise that I spent “every waking moment” at my little shop. It was literally me pride and joy. I would open my doors early in the mornings and “close shop” late at night. With Nora Jones playing on the CD player and delicious smelling candles burning inside the shop, it became my “home away from home”. I would set-up my “paint studio” outside, underneath a big oak tree, while customers strolled through my tiny shop filled with various pieces of artwork and furniture for sale. In those short months, I met hundreds of new faces, many of who are still great friends today; I learned how to run my own business; and most of all I learned who I truly was. I was a girl who was determined, outgoing, creative, and not afraid of taking chances!

Since 2009, my client base has grown to include for-profit businesses, non-profit organizations, schools, and private households all over the world. In 2013, my first line of artwork with Magnolia Lane Collections was featured at Atlanta & Dallas Markets. My original artwork and home décor designed for Magnolia Lane Collections can be found/ordered for wholesale at http://magnolialanecollection.com. Every year I donate artwork to non-profit organizations and mission-based charities around the country, which includes my own mission charity called “Art on a Mission”. Emily’s Original Art allows me to use my creative talents, design concepts, marketing skills, and business expertise. My artwork has been featured in Louisville Magazine (April 2011), Shop 280 magazine, and Shop Tuscaloosa magazine. I also was asked to speak about Emily’s Original Art on ABC 33/40 “Talk of Alabama” in October 2012.

—

Emily Neel Guin

(256) 295-0211

www.emilysoriginalart.com 

“Be so happy that when others look at you they become happy too”. 

About the Artist

Michael Davis is a watercolor realist inspired by the beauty and timelessness of the southern landscape. His passion for nature is reflected in his many paintings of the southeast from the mountains of Tennessee and North Georgia to the Gulf Coast.

Although he began painting in oils when he was young, he quickly developed a love for the beauty and detail he could capture with watercolor. Influenced by the works of Hubert Shuptrine, John Carlson and Wayne Spradley, Michael has spent his entire career developing his unique style of realism with watercolor. While his current works in acrylic offer a new dimension to his artistic vision Michael remains primarily a watercolor realist. After years of offers and requests to share his knowledge of watercolor painting he is taking some time away from his fine art exhibitions and shows to teach his techniques of realism through watercolor in the Birmingham area.

He has been accepted into numerous juried art shows and exhibitions and won many awards. In 2012 his Realism in Watercolor Solo Exhibit was featured at the Hardin Cultural Arts Center in Gadsden, Alabama, the Fine Art Gallery at the LJCC of Birmingham and the Leeds Arts Council Gallery in Leeds, Alabama. He was a participant in the 2012 Energen Art

Competition in which his painting “Autumn on the Bayou” was purchased for their permanent collection. Solo Exhibits for 2013 included the Art Gallery at Hoover City Hall, Amicalola Falls State Park in the North Georgia mountains in October as part of their Visiting Artist Series and a Solo Exhibit at Brookwood Medical Center in Birmingham. Recently his paintings were on exhibit at the 2014 Energen Art Competition, the 2014 Alabama Wildlife Fine Art Exhibition, the 56th Annual GAA Fine Art Exhibition at the Gadsden Museum of Art and the SAAG National Juried Art Show in Blue Ridge, GA. Michael’s watercolor and acrylic paintings were featured at the Rosenzweig Art Center in Columbus, MS in July 2014 and he returned to Amicalola Falls for a Solo Exhibit in October 2014.

Among his many awards are the People’s Choice Award Award at the 56th GAA Fine Art Exhibition at the Gadsden Museum of Art, Best in 2-Dimensional at the 2014 Fountain City Art Festival, Best in Show at the 2012 Eufaula Art Show, Hoover Arts Alliance Award at Art in the Gardens 2011, Hannah LeMaster Watercolor Award in Arts Alive 2011, Best of Show in Painting at the 2011 Fountain City Arts Fest, First Place Watercolor in the 2010 Hoover Shelby Art Association Show and Best of Show in the 2009 Vestavia Art Association Show. Michael is a member of the Mountain Brook Art Association and the Over the Mountain Plein Air Painters of Birmingham. His paintings are in private and corporate collections throughout the South.

www.michaeldaviswatercolors.com

Nuno Felted Reversible Silk and Merino Vest

Nuno Felted Silk and Merino Wrap Vest in Twilight

Traditional Wet Felted Flower Lariats

Traditional Wet Felted Hat and Nuno Felted Scarf

Kami Watson is a free-spirited Fiber Artist who uses both Traditional Wet Felting and Nuno Felting to create Fiber Art-to-Wear and home décor.

Traditional Wet Felting, thought to be one of the earliest textile forms, is the process of turning raw fibers into felt through the intensive labor of washing, carding, and dyeing wool, layering the fibers, and adding soap, water, and agitation to force them to interlock together. Nuno (“fabric”) Felting is a contemporary twist on the traditional technique and consists of wet felting fibers into an already established lightweight fabric.

Kami uses wool from her family’s farm in Virginia; as well sources select fibers elsewhere. She dyes her own fibers and fabrics to allow for color exploration and works primarily with wools and silks, but will also incorporate other fibers, textiles, and treasures into her designs. She enjoys experimenting with color, design, and technique, and each of her pieces is individually crafted and one-of-a-kind.

Kami learned her craft from her mother, also a Fiber Artist, primarily when she would land back at her parent’s small farm, in between international development, humanitarian, and conservation jobs. Kami would help in her mother’s studio and at juried shows in exchange for room and board. She would use the skills taught to her by her mother, as well as other art forms, as education tools while an AmeriCorps VISTA, a Peace Corps Volunteer, and an Outdoor Educator.

In 2009, Kami took a job with the American Red Cross and deployed to Iraq where she and her husband would first briefly meet. Their paths crossed again several years later in Afghanistan, and upon their return to the States, they relocated to the Huntsville, Alabama area, unpacked their storage boxes, and got married. In spring 2014, Kami transitioned into a new career as a full-time Fiber Artist. She opened a studio at the Flying Monkey Arts, 2^nd Floor South, Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment complex in Huntsville, began doing juried art shows, teaching workshops, and settling into a more permanent life, as an artist in Alabama with her husband and their dog.

Website: http://www.kamiwatsonstudio.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kamiwatsonstudio