LaVerne Kyriss They call us the Glass Ladies, explained Candy Armstrong in introducing her artistic collaborators and business partners, Terese Butler and Pam Gappa. Armstrong and Butler met in Sacramento, California, where they both lived. They became friends and eventually took a fused glass class. Both were so intrigued by the results, in 2006 they…
Jacqueline Cohen I hope that I do not appear too presumptuous to retain my final column for myself. With this in mind, I would like to thank all the gifted artists I have interviewed, with whom I have gained friendships and learned so much. Four words have been instrumental to any success I might have…
Jacqueline Cohen Painter, printmaker, sculptor and weaver, Loraine Stillman is a master of diverse art mediums, distinctive styles and stunning creations. The eldest child of Willard and Ann Polski, Loraine was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and raised in the St. Louis Park area. She remembers during harsh winters skating on their backyard manmade ice rink…
Jacqueline Cohen Often talent runs in families. For Kathy Borchert this belief holds true within her close-knit family of gifted artists. With an aunt who is a recognized painter and an adored cousin who teaches junior college art and is a master watercolorist, Kathy’s creativity was encouraged from an early age. Born in Humboldt, Tennessee,…
Vicki Cunningham Jacqueline Cohen Vicki Cunningham faces life’s challenges with undaunted spiritual strength and optimism. So, too, does her masterfully created artwork bristle with introspective stories and undeniable sophistication. The only child to Mardelle and Art Hoppe, Vicki was born in Tacoma, Washington, and raised in nearby Lakewood. Growing up, Vicki developed a life-long passion…
Jacqueline Cohen To see like an artist is a powerful talent. Artists look with the same camera-type eyes as the rest of us but often process images differently. Artists see leaves and also patterns, lights, shadows, spaces and more. Harry Huizinga has spent years learning to see like an artist and interpreting what he sees…
Jacqueline Cohen From its earliest beginnings photographs have exposed our world, from its minute molecules to its cosmic splendor. Whether film or digital, black and white or vivid color, photographs record history, provoke emotion, peak imagination and connect us in ways no other art form can. Photographer Bill Brennan knows well the impact a single…
Jacqueline Cohen Sometimes you enter a home and are awestruck by its décor, detail and artwork. And you know the person who lives there not only has an eye for beauty, but knows how to create it. Mick Desmarais is such a person. You can see it in the furniture he has built, the cabinetry…
Jacqueline Cohen Self-defined as an eclectic artist, Fred Flanagan confesses he sometimes lies awake at night thinking about an image he wants to create or a technique or medium he wants to learn. Born in Blandburg, Pennsylvania, Fred’s father, also Fred, an Army career serviceman, mother Margaret and younger brother Francis, moved constantly. Before beginning…
Gretchen Bierbaum Jacqueline Cohen If you ask Gretchen Bierbaum, she will tell you she is not an artist but an administrator and educator. Be that as it may, Gretchen has mastered the fine art of collage and has played an active role in changing this misunderstood medium from that of a craft to its rightful…