Charlotte Art Collective

For much of her adult life, Patti Bryan earned her living as a writer and felt that this was where her creativity lay.  Then, at 40, she discovered painting and worked as a professional painter for years, selling her work in galleries and juried shows.  As time went on, Patti painted less and less and worried that her life as an artist might be over, a thought that saddened her terribly.  And then she discovered clay.   Her passion for her art is greater than ever, and after a few years of building her craft, she is once again a professional artist.

Building ceramic busts in Raku clay, Patti allows the personality of the character to reveal itself to her. She never knows who will appear as she works the clay, but is often amused and delighted. If the viewer is also amused and delighted, so much the better.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Celena’s work is thrown on a Leach-style treadle wheel, which replaces the regular movement of the electric wheel with the rhythm of the body.  Once thrown on the wheel, many of the forms are altered and manipulated.  Self-designed, hand-carved stamps may be applied to add distinctive texture and enhance the pot’s appearance.  The pots are glazed by a combination of dunking and spraying.  Celena fires her work in an oxidation atmosphere of an electric kiln.  The result is unique, functional pottery that brings beauty into our kitchens and living spaces.

Celena’s love for clay started at Winthrop University where she earned her BFA in the Ceramic Arts in 1992. In 1994 she moved to Cincinnati Ohio where she became involved with the Cincinnati Clay Alliance and was also active in the Art Guild.  Celena taught Throwing and Handbuilding classes there and worked in a local gallery. In 1999 she  moved to South Carolina and set up a home studio and taught classes at the Clayground in Charlotte.  In 2005 Celena took over the Clayground and started her own business that is now The Whirling Wheel. In addition to teaching Celena displays in galleries and sells at art fairs. She participates in the Carolina Claymatters Guild and goes to many pottery workshops, including a course in Italy in 2005.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Growing up in close proximity to the city of Charlotte, NC didn’t deter Patrick Robertson Crawford from discovering her love of nature. Tagged a tomboy in her youth, Patrick spent her childhood exploring the woods and streams that surrounded her family’s home. Before turning to a full-time career as a crafts artist, Patrick lived out her passion for the great outdoors in jobs that included sheep tending, carpentry, farming and archaeology.
Patrick began her crafts career as a ceramic artist. When several kiln mishaps destroyed numerous ceramic pieces, Patrick sought other materials and techniques not vulnerable to the fiery gods of a ceramic kiln. Today her works are comprised of wrapped paper strips and paper pulp/paper clay mixture over wire armatures. Smooth surfaces provide the perfect “canvas” for her highly detailed and patterned surfaces.
A student of nature, a “Jill” of many trades, Patrick has integrated the iconography of her other vocations into the work she makes now. Organic forms germinated from the time spent tending sheep. Building houses inspired a fondness for angles and planes. Farming inspired the merging of organic and angular shapes – much of which we see in her works. Currently, Patrick is working with a mosaic mural artist, Tom Thoune, and is incubating new influences for the next wave of her own work.   Patrick is an exhibiting member of the Piedmont Craftsmen.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Working in a variety of water media as well as collage and cut paper, Laura’s work reflects a background in commercial design and illustration, a love of color and a desire to represent images of personal meaning to her - animals, nature, and the homes and neighborhoods we inhabit.  Her unique vision has received many honors including an Arts and Science Council grant, and awards from The Artist’s Magazine.  Laura works in her home studio under the supervision of two discriminating felines.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Joal Fischer



Joal Fischer is the Grand Poobah of Barking Dog Chocolatiers, an artisanal chocolate company in Charlotte, NC.  In addition to serving as chocolatiers to Bonterra Dining & Wine Room, Joal and his wife Deborah Langsam work together to hand craft truffles, bark, miniature pastries, custom designed candies, and other delectable desserts.  The goal of the company is to make people smile by providing delicious and beautiful pastries and chocolates.

Joal (a retired pediatrician) & Debbie (a retired biology professor) have been making chocolates since 1996.  They have studied with leading chocolatiers in Paris, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Montreal. They have been featured on the Food Network as well as in Southern Living and U.S. News and World Report.  All the profits of candy sales (roughly 77% of the price of a box of candy) are donated to charity.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Celia Flock 



Color is a huge part of Celia Flock’s life and fascinates her endlessly with its mysterious qualities and changing nature.  She didn't realize her passion for color until after graduation from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1977.  As a printmaking major, Celia soon discovered making art on her own would not involve a printing press.  She quickly discovered the joy and immediacy of drawing with colored pencils and soon was incorporating acrylic paint and gesso in her work.  Celia’s first show was at the Collectors Gallery (now defunct) at the N.C. Museum of Art in Raleigh where a faculty member from Davidson College saw her work and invited Celia to do her first one-man show at the College.  What followed were shows at Art Councils around the state, participation in group shows at Spirit Square in Charlotte, the Mint Museum of Art, the Waterworks Gallery in Salisbury, Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem and Cameron Crafts Gallery in Chapel Hill.  Eventually Celia was asked to join Hodges -Taylor Gallery in 1984. This representation continued until 1995 when she joined the Jerald Melberg Gallery for several years.  Both are excellent galleries and were wonderful venues for her work.
Celia was fortunate to win several prizes and commissions over the years including a Public Art Work commission for the Hal Marshall Center in Charlotte, a Gallery Without Walls commission from Spirit Square and a Merit Award from Springs Mill Traveling show in Lancaster, S.C. Later she traveled to Florida where she won First Place in painting at the Coconut Grove Arts show and a Merit Award at the Festival of the Masters at Walt Disney World in Orlando.  In 1996 Celia was one of eight artists awarded the N.C. Arts Council Visual Arts Fellowship.
For the past ten years Celia has been involved in designing textiles for Springs Industries in Fort Mill, S.C.  Her own art has always been with her, but she is beginning to return to it in a fuller capacity, and has done so with the recent opening of her working studio and retail shop, Art & Chocolate.   Her latest works are paper collages full of color and patterns and of course paint with colored pencils … Celia feels blessed to be an artist and to taste lightly the joy of creation.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Laurie Graybeal has worked in the art world in Charlotte for 30+ years, and that experience is now reflected in her striking beaded jewelry designs.   Laurie’s love of art was deepened by stints as gallery manager, calligrapher and watercolor painter. But it’s the design of beaded jewelry that she finds most exciting and rewarding.  Drawn to the beauty of crystals and stones, she calls on her understanding of pattern, contrast, texture, and color as she creates her complex pieces.  Pleased to see her work worn by women of all ages and styles, Laurie is proud to know that each of them wears a design that has no duplicate.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Martha Harrington

Valeria Hawkins is a potter currently making primarily functional work.  She is interested in the interaction of opposites and this is reflected in her work through use of black and white, unglazed surfaces next to glazed surface areas, shiny surfaces next to matte surfaces, textured surfaces mingled with smooth surfaces, soft curves against flat planes. Valerie’s work has its roots in the American studio pottery tradition, but the finished look has a contemporary edge.  Her goal is to make pottery that is elegant enough for a formal setting, but is sturdy and durable enough for every day use.

Work by Valeria is carried at Blue Moon Gallery, Seagrove, NC; Olga’s Living with Art, Coudersport, Pa; and Wilkes Gallery, Wilkesboro, NC.  Valerie has shown in multiple CPCC Annual Juried Student Art Exhibitions, where she received numerous awards and recognitions.  Valerie is completing her Associate of Fine Arts degree at Central Piedmont Community College.  She has attended workshops at Tennessee Technological University Craft Center, the North Carolina Potters Conference, and Carolina Claymatters Pottery Guild. 
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Catherine Hawley



Cathe Hawley designer of Things SHE carried, is a fulltime artist in Charlotte, NC creating functional carryalls, accessories and art.   She combines materials in new and unexpected ways to create a relevant and highly usable canvas and shape, blending traditional & recycled materials to create a 21st century tapestry.   Following the impulse to shake things up & make stuffy, traditional fabrics witty; innovate finely crafted recycled materials and reclaim old treasured textiles to a personal scale is her design direction of the moment.

With a playful approach and serious interest in vintage, recycled and commercial materials, she composes surfaces using collage and quilting techniques to meld a combo of highly colored mixed media onto one visual plane.  Creating with recycled vinyl, tyvek, industrial wool and recycled felt to explore new fiber combinations that go to the edge of is it wearable or is it art?  There’s always a strong move to making functional accessories out of seemingly alien materials.  Articles created from original patterns make striking use of the contrast between materials while maintaining general usefulness.

She has studied at both Penland and Arrowmont Schools of Craft. Things SHE carried exhibits with the Charlotte ART collective, Waxhaw Art and Chocolate and art shows in the southeast.

Cathe began ARCHANGEL Design, a home and garden design shop with several locations in the Charlotte area,  and has a corporate background in marketing. Married with two daughters, Cathe is an avid gardener and demonstrates a love of color and recycling that applies to both gardening and art.

thingsshecarried.etsy.com   WaxhawArtandChocolate.com   CharlotteARTcollective.com 

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Debbie Langsam



Award-winning fabric artist, Deborah Michael Langsam, took a circuitous route to her art.  The colors, shapes, and textures of fungal spores led her to a Doctorate degree in botany and a career as a Biologist at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.  After twenty two years, however, her attraction to the visual and tactile took a different turn … this time in the direction of textiles.  

Today, Deborah uses fabric, thread, and yarn to create contemporary quilted wall-hangings and unique scarves.  The precision of fabric piecing, the problem-solving aspects of design, and the sheer joy of combining fibers to create distinctive pieces appeal to the scientist and artist within her.

Deborah’s creative interests continue to develop and now expand beyond the world of textiles; she and husband Joel Fischer are owners of Barking Dog Chocolatiers, a venture which allows them to craft and sell artisan chocolates.   
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________


Wan Marsh



Wan Marsh picks up “stuff”.  She is a collector and has always been a collector.  After 50 years she has finally figured out what to do with all this stuff she has collected … Create Art! 

Her interest in art began at an early age.  As a child she played alone, using her talent and imagination to create her own personal Art out of ordinary cast off objects.  She dreamed up new ways to use these things, creating her own order, and continues to do so today.  Wan looks at what others might consider trash and sees possibilities. Her Art is about recycling, repurposing and reinventing.  Her work demonstrates skill and willingness to experiment using a variety of unconventional material. She does this out of a need to change things and revisit the past.  Wan’s mixed media collages consist of, but are not limited to paint, paper, wood, glass, photography, metal, fiber and found objects.  She also incorporates many of her unique decorative painting techniques to achieve unlimited effects.  Wan’s mixed-media work has been featured in shows and has won numerous awards, the latest being The Members Hall of Fame Award on Ovation TV. 

A native of Charlotte, Wan studied art at the Governor’s School of North Carolina at Salem College in Winston Salem North Carolina, Penland School of Crafts, Spirit Square, the Mint Museum, CPCC in Charlotte, North Carolina and with many nationally known collage and mixed media artists.   Wan has a degree in design and a horticulture technology degree specializing in landscape design.  She has taught decorative painting classes at CPCC in Charlotte art classes in the public school system, and also teaches privately.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Christy McCormick

Christy is currently a stay at home mom of two boys.  She has always loved to bake and starting making her  cake bites as gifts for the holidays.  A friend thought it would be a great idea if she sold them, so began to  experiment with other flavors.  Currently she has five flavors, but is always working on something new.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Rosemary Peduzzi

________________________________________________________________________

Sukey Pratt

Sukey has been making her living with clay for 35 years. Of course her earlier things look nothing like what she does today. 
She moved to Charlotte from East TN a year ago to be near her grand children and has set up a shop at the Charlotte Farmers Market where she can be found on Saturdays.
She is a past member of the Foothills Craft Guild and has taught at John Campbell Folk School.
Clay is still fun after so many years and she specializes in small figures for the garden as well as storytellers in stone ware.  She has been experimenting with Majolica too, creating small whimsical cups and plates.
Her studio often contains Bert the deaf Jack Russell and occasionally  her husband, a fellow artist.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Stephanie Quattrini

Stephanie Quattrini is a fiber artist and teacher who relocated to the Charlotte area in 2008 from New Zealand, where she lived for 10 years.  Originally from the UK, Stephanie was considered by her high school art and needlecraft teachers to be ‘beyond teachable’!

Having little to do with any artistic expression until she reached New Zealand in 1999, Stephanie finally gave in to the natural beauty and magnificent landscapes surrounding her.  The fact that there were 67 million sheep probably steered Stephanie in the direction of felting first of all which is still one of her major passions.  Stephanie works mainly with textiles and multi-media.  Her mission is to make color sing.  She also loves to pass on her skills through the classroom and is committed to ensuring that everyone she teaches becomes a creative star.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________



Richard Siegel



Richard Siegel’s work is a collaborative effort with nature where technique, control and self-expression are realized.  Watercolor painting is Richard’s first love: depicting beautiful landscapes and seascapes.  He also enjoys working with different types of wood, turning bowls and building custom furniture.

Richard has been an artist and craftsman for 50 years. Presently, he lives in Charlotte, North Carolina where he has his studio and gallery.  A degree in fine arts from the Massachusetts College of Art was the beginning of Richard’s journey.  Richard has also studied at the University of Frankfurt in Germany.  It was at the North Bennet Industrial School in Boston, that Richard developed his interest in furniture making and at the Wentworth Institute in Boston, he studied architectural drawing.

Richard sees teaching as a stimulating challenge.  The Cambridge Center for Adult Education in Massachusetts and the Dallas Creative Arts Center in Texas have been just two of the many places where Richard’s students have inspired him. Presently, he is a Continuing Education instructor at Queens University and Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, North Carolina.  Richard has work in many private and corporate collections.
______________________________________________________________________________________

Pam Swinney



Pam Swinney began her arts and crafts career studying pottery at Queens College and UNCC.   After a 20 year hiatus from art making raising her family, Pam began experimenting with various jewelry making techniques.  Currently she is focusing on combining enameling, glass and metals in pendants and earrings. Pam has studied metalsmithing and enameling at Penland School of Crafts and CPCC.  A former social worker and accountant, Pam supplements her jewelry making habit currently with an industrial automation business she owns with her husband, studio artist Jack Swinney.  A Charlotte native, Pam and Jack have two grown children.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Julie Tassy

Bricklend Ward has an associates degree in Graphic Design as well as extensive continuing educations in fine arts. Her work varies from painting, ceramics, lampworking, jewelery, computer design and culinary arts. She is completely fascinated with colored glass and that has lead to an obsession with lampworking and jewelry. When she makes beads, the ability to see her work come to fruition in such a short time is one of the biggest rewards. She has always loved hands-on art and loves the instant gratification of lampworking.
Currently, Bricklend is a stay at home mother to two wonderful boys, but definitely enjoys her art as a creative outlet. She says she can get "lost" for hours on end with different types of glass. She also enjoys making high end, whimsical cakes and has a passion for edible art too.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Nancy Williams

For Nancy Williams, the interest in photography began at Clemson University when she was advertising manager for the yearbook. "Even though we were working with older cameras, the experience gave me an eye for photography that has really stuck with me to this day, " she says.

Since that time, Williams, who works in Duke Energy’s corporate compensation in Human Resources, has taken her art to a whole new level. From showcasing her work at festivals and gardens around the area, to teaching elementary students as part of a summer camp, her expertise – and her work – is in high demand.

In 1995, Williams was photographing an Austin Healey show at the Biltmore when she realized she must find a way to further pursue her interest. Not long after, while visiting some friends, she stumbled upon photo note cards in a gift store. Intrigued by the photos and the idea, Williams reached out to the artist and received some sage advice -- and inspiration -- to take her craft to the next level.

And, as they say, the rest is history. Today, Williams, an avid traveler, has transformed many images from her travels, love for nature, people and places into note cards and framed artwork. But regardless of whether she’s captured a scene in Amsterdam or the Dilworth area of Charlotte, Williams says she has found one thing to be true.

“I find that people are attracted to the things that are most familiar to them,” she says. A picture of Williams’ Border Terrier dog named Lucas, taken when he was a puppy nearly 12 years ago, continues to be a fan favorite. And her more recent photos of Charlotte icons – like the signs on the Green – are also very popular among individuals and companies.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________


Pam Wittfeld




Pam Wittfeld works mostly in fine silver jewelry forms.  Her designs focus on decorative and constructive use of pattern – and textural markings.  Her collection includes one-of-a-kind bracelets, earrings, brooches and pendants in fine silver, each made with personally handcrafted individual fine silver components, combined with semi precious stones, crystals, and a variety of other embellishing components and traditional metal materials and techniques. 

Pam has studied with acclaimed metals instructors at Penland School of Crafts, Arrowmont School of Crafts, Savannah College of Art & Design, and with the Florida Society of Goldsmiths.  She received a 2007 Regional Arts & Science Council Artist Grant, and participated in an eleven week Art Teacher Resource Residency at the McColl Center for Visual Art (2005).  Pam has participated in various exhibits and shows, receiving special recognitions including a Judge’s show award for 3D Design.  Her work is published in the books Making Metal Beads, and Metal Clay Beads from Lark Publications.  Pam demonstrated her jewelry work and processes at the 2008 American Crafts Show

Pam is a National Board Certified Art Educator who has taught in the public classroom for 28 years.  She has taught numerous jewelry workshops for art educators at the local and state levels, and publicly for the McColl Center for Visual Art.  Pam’s jewelry-related educational lessons are published on the Mint Museum of Craft and Design/Penland Anniversary website, as well as on the website of a national educational publisher and in national classroom textbook. 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________