Christine Rook

Portfolio Categories: Fabric-Fiber.

Purple Bunny Sweater

Christine does not remember when she did not knit. Her mother and grandmother got her started and she has not stopped since! From whimsical mittens, hats and beautiful Icelandic style sweaters to her now famous artful shawls, scarves and necklaces, everything in her collection is handmade with care and expertise by Christine herself.

She became enchanted with arts and crafts at a young age when she worked at Current Crafts, a ‘before its time’ artisan crafts store in Mt. Carmel, Connecticut. Her Wearable Art business grew out of this lifelong affection for handmade, one-of-a-kind items and her expertise in the art of knitting and working with unusual yarns. Christine’s Knitting is currently exhibited at Spectrum Gallery in Centerbrook, Connecticut.

Gina Rubin

Portfolio Categories: Ceramics and Pottery.

Cow Themed Birdhouse

Gina Rubin is an award winning Ceramic Artist and Photographer living along the southern New England shoreline. Gina’s sculpture and wheel thrown Ceramic designs are influenced by the coastline with its graceful fluid forms and asymmetrical movement abundantly found along the water’s edge. The transformational relationship between water and sand in its’ natural element fascinates Gina, as she explores these themes in her art work. The integration of rhythm and continual ebb and flow of the shoreline engages Gina’s creative process across mediums.
Gina currently exhibits her sculptural and functional ceramics in museums and has exhibited her ceramics, paintings, printmaking, drawing and photography in local, as well as national galleries and museums. Gina is an Elected Artist at both the Mystic Museum of Art, Mystic, CT. and the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts. Gina completed a two month Ceramic Artist Residence at Truro Center for the Arts, Truro, MA.
A selection of Rubin’s work is currently available at Spectrum Gallery in Centerbrook, Connecticut.

Rosemary McClain

Portfolio Categories: Ceramics.

Seagull Cup #1

Rosemary was born in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. During her youth she studied art at Saint Joseph’s Art Academy in Pittsburgh. That training and experience lead her to Carnegie Mellon University where she graduated with a BFA in Graphic Design.

Rosemary has had two careers, the first: As an Elementary Art Teacher in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Batavia, New York.

The second career as a Product Designer, this career path carried me through Ohio, New York State, and Connecticut. She designed faceted glass windows, soft toys, injection molded wall decor and etched mirrors.

Upon retiring her focus is ceramic sculpture and creative pottery. She finds great satisfaction and creative energy producing art through clay.

Her current galleries are:

Spectrum Art Gallery
Creative Arts Workshop
Stamford Downtown
Mill Gallery with Guilford Art League

Rashmi Talpade

Portfolio Categories: Decorative and Ornaments.

Rashmi Talpade is a professional artist with a fine arts degree from Bombay, India with additional specialization in photography and ceramics. Her work has been exhibited and has been purchased by private collectors in USA, India, Middle East, and Europe.
Since immigrating to Connecticut in 1991, Rashmi has involved herself in the local art community and has exhibited her paintings, drawings, collages and installations in the New Haven and Hartford area as well as in New York. She has given lectures about her work statewide and in major corporate settings and organizations, including the New Britain Museum of American Art and GE Financial. Rashmi has received a visual arts fellowship from the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism.
She has served as a co-coordinator and the director, for City-Wide Open Studios and is currently part of the Visual Arts Committee at Artspace, New Haven and the Visual Arts Advisory Group at the Arts Council of New Haven
She has explored the world around her through photo collages, ink drawings and paper sculptures. As a next chapter in her continuing exploration of daily life, Rashmi have created a series of dolls, which at first glance may seem decorative but they are characters of people surrounding her. Each doll is a unique creation, like every person in this world and she create each one of them with the textures, colors and forms in mind.

Lisa Pichnarcik

Portfolio Categories: Jewelry.

Carnelian Blossom Earrings, dapped and painted copper, carnelian and quartz, earwires & headpins rose gold filled, earring drop 2 1/16in

Lisa Pichnarcik has been studying and designing jewelry for over fifteen years. Her metalwork and mixed media designs are rooted in her intensive study and exploration of a variety of techniques, including forging and fold forming, wirework, stitching, and bead making using precious metal clay, polymer clay, paper clay, and wool. The inspiration for her designs broadly ranges from living creatures and natural objects to industrial forms and tools. As she hammers and paints metal, shapes polymer and paper clay, and wire wraps beads, she seeks to transform inspiration into reimagined designs. Each piece becomes a reflection of how emotional impact and mood converge with technique and material. Lisa’s designs were featured in a solo exhibition in the Fisher Front Space at the Farmington Valley Arts Center in Avon, Connecticut, in May 2018. Her jewelry has also been published in several magazines, including an honorable mention in CLOTH PAPER SCISSORS magazine’s Mixed-Media Excellence Awards in 2017. Her work has been sold at various vendor shows, shops and galleries, and as commissioned pieces. She shares her love of jewelry design by teaching classes to both adults and children.

Emily VanDerMaelen

Portfolio Categories: Jewelry.

Pink Sugar Drops Earrings

Emily VanDerMaelen’s imagination has been greatly influenced by her colorful upbringing. She grew up on a small farm, wearing ladybug printed sneakers and a little red coat. She felt beauty, wonder and magic all around her, as she was surrounded by the ever-changing wildlife. She has studied jewelry at the Guilford Art Center with Linda Edwards, as well as privately studied with Rebecca Bunting, a local goldsmith. She is now attending PAIER College of Art, for a degree in Illustration. Her style is sophisticated yet playful and whimsy. Each piece is handcrafted by her in her backyard studio. Her favorite materials are sterling silver, brass, copper, semi-precious gemstones, glass Czech beads, vintage lucite, ceramic beads, and other interesting treasures. VanDerMaelen’s jewelry is currently exhibited at Spectrum Gallery in Centerbrook, Connecticut.

Linda Lundqvist

Portfolio Categories: Fabric-Fiber.

Amara Childrens Purse

As far as she can remember, Linda always kept her hands and mind busy creating things. As a young girl after WW2 in Germany, Linda started weaving, knitting, crochet and sewing her own clothes. Later as a mother of three living in France, knitting was her main hobby, but she also tried all kinds of different needlecraft, as well as jewelry making with whatever material she found suitable.
Years later when living here in Connecticut, besides some mosaic work, knitting and sewing were Linda’s hobbies of choice. She is especially interested in recycling. For her purses, Linda uses belts as shoulder straps and embellishment and also some hardware for purses and necklaces (drawer pulls, washers, bobbings etc).

Heather Gerl

Portfolio Categories: Jewelry.

Swarovski Flower Lattice Bracelet

Heather has been a beader for about 8 years. She and her husband went on vacation to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. There she discovered a bead store and from then on she was hooked. She spent so much time in that bead store that the owner gave her a set of tools for free. She started off just stringing and then broadened her creativity with stitching. She loves them all: peyote, spiral, ndebele, and many others. She loves being able to play with the colors and different sizes and shapes of the beads. Recently she started to experiment with bead embroidery making her first collar this past year for her mother for Christmas. It was very stressful at first, but she found she loved manipulating the beads in different directions and being able to control the sizes of the beads. She is a Registered Nurse and loves people and animals. Heather feels very fortunate that she could find a hobby she loves, and that helps her relieve the stress of her job

Irene Dizes

Portfolio Categories: Fabric-Fiber.

Skylark- Blouse

Irene has always had a passion for creating simple, elegant clothing and unique wearable art. Her love of color, design and fiber has especially developed an interest in nuno felting. She finds this felting process to be both exhilarating and relaxing while creating one-of-a-kind pieces from scarves, purses, brooches and vests to seamless jackets and dresses.

To develop her expertise, Irene has taken numerous classes since 2009 with well-known fiber artists in various U.S. locations along with attending classes offered by visiting artists from Europe. She has participated in the Annual Hartford Open Studio, Paradise City Show, Northhampton, Mass. Vt Craft Show, Chester, Vt, the Hillsted Museum May Show, Farmington, Ct, the New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, Ct, the Annual Art Show, Winsted, Ct.
Manchester Community College Annual Christmas Show, Manchester, Ct, Japanelia Boutique of Hartford, Ct.

Her work is presently showing at Spectrum Art Gallery, Centerbrook, CT, Sharon’s at Country Commons, Chester, VT and Venice Art.

Carley Tillinghast

Portfolio Categories: Decorative.

Lake Skeeter Decorative Bug

Carley’s art began when she was a child, where she would spend hours in hopes of becoming a cartoonist. She grew up in a creative household, with a mother whom created hand-braided rugs. As she grew up, she moved from the world of traditional medium, and began to explore the world of Fiber arts, when she took up crocheting around the age of 10 years old.

As she became more involved in crocheting, she eventually moved onto the art of tatting in the early 90’s. Tatting is also known in many circles as poor man’s lace or a hand-created lace, and is a rare and dying art form. She began to sell her pieces at craft shows, much like her mother had, but did not find as much success as she had hoped.

One day, while looking at her inventory, she realized she had extra supplies of beads and networking cable from the IT work that she does in her M-F 9-5 job, and stripping wire. By chance, Carley had come across a folktale about Christmas spiders, and while experimenting with her wires and beads had created her very own Christmas spiders. These became quickly popular, and eventually Carley began to make other creations with her wires, including other bugs, trees and LED-lit trees.

Theresa Santoro-Smith

Portfolio Categories: Decorative and Fashion.

Pink Furry Bear, 18in tall x 10in wide, spot clean

 

By day, Theresa is a a Literacy Coach at Guilford Public Schools. By night, she is a knitter. She has been knitting for 50 years…with time off to raise 3 children.

A few years ago, Theresa began knitting hats and sweaters to give as shower gifts….and her baby and children’s collection began. She also knit women’s sweaters, scarves, capes, and shawls, as well as hats.

Every January, you can find her at the Annual Vogue Knitting Event in New York City. There, she stocks up on the best yarns and patterns available at their marketplace…and continues learning from the best knitters in the world.

Theresa tries to knit an assortment of styles to meet a broad spectrum of tastes. If you don’t see something you like, let me a gallery representative know!

Isabelle Lee

Portfolio Categories: Fashion.

Market Bag, knitted & felted, wool strap

Isabelle Lee has a background in fashion design which allows her to utilize the world of colors in different media. She has learned through the years to work with fabrics, yarns and paints. She creates felted bags, quilts and paintings, always surrounded by colors that she loves to mix and match. All her creations are one of a kind since the early 1980s through the present. Isabelle’s crafts have been shown in juried shows all along the Connecticut shoreline including the holiday shows at Our Lady of Mercy School in Madison and Saint Mary’s Church in Branford. She also donates her work for fundraisers like Project Return in Westport.

Lauren Mullaney

Portfolio Categories: Jewelry.

Venus Necklace

Lauren Mullaney’s pieces are unique, handmade and custom-designed jewelry featuring various sizes and styles of chain, silk and cotton threadwork, leather cord, pearls, quartz, Swarovski crystals, gold & silver beads, and other mixed media. All pieces are hand-crafted by Lauren Mullaney using a variety of techniques including wire-wrapping, braiding, crocheting, weaving and chain-making. Many are one of a kind colorways and/or designs in a constant effort to develop unique multilayer pieces with variations in depth and texture.

All products are handmade using nickel-free silver, gold and gunmetal plated brass chains. All threadwork is hand waxed before weaving for added durability.

Linda Saucier

Portfolio Categories: Jewelry.

Blue Sky Pearl Earrings

Linda enjoys designing and making jewelry in a variety of materials: platinum, gold, silver, brass, bronze, and wood, especially ebony. She has made settings for all types of

stones and found objects, from classically faceted gems to cabochons, carved shell and bone, and fossilized shark teeth.

Saucier spent fifteen years working as a designer and model maker at a jewelry shop and now is pursuing her own jewelry business. Previous to this, she operated her calligraphy and sign-painting service. She has a BFA in Crafts from Carnegie-Mellon University and an MFA in metalsmithing from Cranbrook Academy of Art.

Linda has taught calligraphy, jewelry, and sign-painting workshops and classes in colleges, art centers, and calligraphy guilds. She has participated in art shows in New England, in Wisconsin, at Spectrum Gallery in Connecticut and in an international show for the Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG).

Phyllis Nolan

Portfolio Categories: Jewelry.

Seagreen Island Pendant, sea glass wire wrapped in gold tone aluminum, 17 inch collar, gold tone metal alloy. Pendant: 2in h x 1 1/4in w

Phyllis Nolan lived on St.Maarten, where she organized an international jewelry making club. What began as a social activity soon evolved into a passion for making beaded jewelry and wirewrapped seaglass. Living near the ocean made sense to focus on wirewrapped seaglass, where she has taught jewelry making for over 10 years,

Phyllis has taught wirewrapping seaglass and seashells at Suncoast Technical College, in Fl., Sarasota School of Glass, in Fl., and recently, classes through Branford Park and Recreation Department. She feels her jewelry teaching helps people find enjoyment and a feeling of accomplishment. Clearly a form of art therapy. “I enjoy seeing participants leave with a smile and sense of pride.”

Phyllis’s jewelry has been shown at arts and crafts shows in the Venetian Gulf and River Club, Venice, Fl., art festivals at Suncoast Technical College,Sarasota, Fl, and arts and crafts markets in Venice, Fl.

Her career before finding her passion for jewelry making was working in the medical field as a registered nurse. She also teaches chair yoga and beginners’ ukulele.

This past summer, her jewelry was at the Madison Art and Antique Show, Clinton Library Arts and Crafts festival, St Andrews Community Bazaar, and the Madison Art Society show at Scranton Library in Madison,CT. Nolan’s jewelry is currently exhibited at Spectrum Gallery in Centerbrook, Connecticut.

Nancy Scilipote

Portfolio Categories: Pottery.

Flared Vase with inlaid slips

Over 25 years ago my children gave me a gift of pottery classes and I have been making pots ever since. I was a studio potter at Creative Arts Workshop in New Haven for much of that time but have since given that up to spend more time in my own studio. I use stoneware and porcelain fired to cone 6 (2200 F) in an electric kiln. I make all my own glazes and like to experiment with different glaze combinations. I love the versatility of clay. My work may be thrown, hand built of a combination of the two. I use texture, slips and glazes to achieve a desired look. I continue to learn and explore by taking workshops; including a Women Working with Clay Symposium at Hollins University. I have also attended workshops with Jennifer McCurdy, Tom Coleman, Hayne Bayless, Jeff Oestreich, Nick Joerling and John Townley. Although I lean toward functional work I try to inject a decorative and playful feeling. I teach a hand building class at Gallery 53 in Meriden. I sell my pots at the Dudley Farm Gardeners Market in Guilford, Gallery 53 in Meriden, and Spectrum Art Gallery in Centerbrook.

Niko Scharer

Portfolio Categories: Ceramics.

Summer Breeze Olive Oil Jar & Plate

Niko Scharer is a ceramic artist in New Haven with a focus on functional pottery. She loves every aspect of pottery, pursuing the fusion of beauty and purpose in clay while exploring different techniques when working on the wheel, hand building, creating surface designs, glazing and firing.

After receiving her Ph.D. in philosophy, Niko taught logic and philosophy at the University of Toronto until she moved to Connecticut in 2015.  There she began taking pottery classes at New Haven’s Creative Arts Workshop and was happy to turn away from her academic career to work with clay.

Niko currently manages the Erector Square pottery studio that she shares with other ceramic artists.  She continues to develop her craft by attending different classes and workshops in New England.

Niko primarily shows her work at local events, such as the Milford Artisan Market and the Holiday Village on the New Haven Green, as well as at Artscape’s City Wide Open Studios.  Scharer’s pottery is currently exhibited at Spectrum Gallery in Centerbrook, Connecticut.

Christine Miller

Portfolio Categories: Decorative and Servingware.

Jewel Poppy Wine Glass Set

Christine is a continually evolving self-taught artist whose work exudes bold bursts of color, vivid textural elements and splashed of simple brush strokes. Her paintings have been representational, slowly morphing into free, abstract touches of nature. She credits this inspirational transformation to her children’s boundless, inventive energies.

Christine has been creating art since childhood with vibrant imagination and strong connection with nature. She has nurtured her creative interests by graduating high school with an art endorsement, taking studio art classes at Wheaton College while majoring in psychology and elementary education, incorporating elements of art as a history teacher, creating art projects for her children, and always exploring a variety of mediums.

She enjoys painting landscapes, abstract florals, working with mix mediums and sculpting. Christine resides in Killingworth, CT with her husband and their five children. Many of her pieces are in private collections and showing in galleries in and around the shoreline. Miller’s work is currently exhibited at Spectrum Gallery in Centerbrook, Connecticut.

Rebecca Terhaar

Portfolio Categories: Fabric-Fiber and Jewelry.

Alaska Onesie 3 – 6 mo., 90% cotton, 10% polyester

Rebecca Terhaar is a lifelong creator. She discovered her passion for the arts as a child, immersing herself in gifted arts programs in-school and out. As a finalist of various art competitions, Rebecca’s work has been featured at The Institute of American Indian Studies in Connecticut and WNET Channel 13 in New York – and was also selected to hang in the halls of the capitol building in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Rebecca graduated from Gibbs College with a degree in Visual Communications and a 3.98 GPA. Professionally, she is a recipient of the Young Professional of the Year Award from the Association of National Advertisers (formerly the Direct Marketing Association) and has served as a judge for the International ECHO Awards and the Collegiate ECHO Awards

Today, Rebecca is the owner of PepperPi, a creative agency in Danbury, CT, and continues to pursue her artistic passions as a form of self-expression and relaxation.

Terhaar’s work is currently exhibited at Spectrum Gallery in Centerbrook, Connecticut.

Ryan Lavorgna

Portfolio Categories: Ceramics.

Yonomí with Gold Luster Cup

Ryan Lavorgna has been investigating the vessel as a means of expression for over 30 years. His style is ever evolving with a current focus on hand building uniquely balanced pieces of art. From taking youth pottery classes to his first formal art schooling at Colby-Sawyer College, where he earned a BFA in StudioArt, the idea of a life in clay began to form. A Production Pottery Apprenticeship after undergrad with Maishe Dickman in New Haven, CT allowed Lavorgna the freedom to explore his own work while engaging in every step of the ceramic process.

Always wanting more information, he then earned a Post Baccalaureate certificate from Umass Dartmouth which encouraged a more technical and academically structured approach to all aspects of ceramics from glaze calculation to kiln construction. Upon completion, Lavorgna began work with Gustin Ceramics full time managing anagama firings, tile production, and studio assistance. His work has been shown at River Oaks Square in Alexandria, LA as well as the Gustin Gallery in Dartmouth, MA. He has received awards such as the prestigious Presidential Purchase Award from Colby-Sawyer College. Lavorgna currently works in his small home studio located in Higganum, CT.

Lavorgna’s pottery is currently exhibited at Spectrum Gallery in Center brook, Connecticut.

Maureen Maalouf

Portfolio Categories: Glass.

Spring Tree Wine Glass

Maureen Maalouf received her art degree at State University of New York at Fredonia and has been painting for many years.  She draws much of her inspiration from nature.  Trees, flowers, and sunsets are common subjects of her paintings, although she enjoys the freedom of the occasional abstract piece.  She is known for her vibrant colors and strives to bring feeling into every project. In addition to painting on canvas, she also paints wine glasses to sell at craft fairs.  Maalouf’s work is currently exhibited at Spectrum Gallery in Centerbrook, Connecticut.

Janet McCready

Portfolio Categories: Decorative.

Low Tide Stone Bowl

Two of Janet McCready’s greatest passions are Artistic Creativity and the Ocean. Janet finds beauty in nature, especially when she is at the edge of the Ocean. The community in which McCready lives is on The Long Island Sound. They are lucky to have three community beaches. Every stone in McCready’s bowls is individually handpicked, from the ocean’s edge, by Janet.

McCready isa forever art student in many different mediums. She has been taking art classes her whole life. Janet likes to share her love of art. She has given classes in Beach Stone Bowls and in various other mediums.

McCready’s Beach Stone Bowls are currently exhibited at Spectrum Gallery in Center brook, Connecticut.

Diana Eastwood

Portfolio Categories: Paper.

Vase with Paper & Dried Flowers

Diana has always loved handmade items. As a child, she was influenced by many of her aunts who spent hours knitting, crocheting, sewing, and trying newly discovered arts and crafts. She was the recipient of many handmade items, which she treasured. Over the years Diana tried her hand at a variety of crafts which were usually given as gifts to family and friends.

Now retired after more than 30 years working in municipal government, Diana enjoys creating types of paper art: Folded Book Art-an age-old method of using different techniques to fold book pages to create artworks for decorations; Quilling-the ancient art of rolling, shaping, and gluing thin strips of paper together to create decorative designs; and Origami-the Japanese art of folding squares of paper into representational shapes.

Her work has been sold at various craft fairs, the You’ve Got It Made shop in Somers, CT; and juried exhibits at the Vernon Arts Center in Vernon, CT.Diana’s work is currently exhibited at Spectrum Gallery in Center brook, Connecticut.

Lynn Webber

Portfolio Categories: Decorative.

Bird in Flight Birdbath, repurposed glass

Lynn Webber has been playing with and repurposing glass for the last six years. She designs garden art in the form of bird baths, totems, seed feeders and flowers. She has shown in Simsbury at the Flea and Smorgasbord for the last four years. She had a show at the Historical Society in Simsbury and one of her pieces sits in one of their gardens. She also has shown in Chester, CT at Repurpose Happiness. Her pieces are additions to peoples already beautiful gardens and add all season color.

Webber’s glass work is currently exhibited at Spectrum Gallery in Centerbrook, Connecticut.

Kristin Hinkle Trainor

Portfolio Categories: Jewelry.

Teal Spring Earrings

Kristin Hinkle Trainor is the artist behind 10-ton goldfish designs, a bespoke jewelry and wearable art studio in Newington, CT. Classically trained under renowned artist Leonard Urso at the prestigious School for American Craftsmen at RIT, and Pierre Schlevogt at the Fachhochschule fur Gestaltung in Schwaebisch Gmuend, Germany – Kristin creates “fun & funky jewelry for EVERY body”.  From simple explorations in line and form out of Sterling Silver and 14k gf, to playful explosions of color and contrast with non-traditional materials like recycled glass, anodized aluminum and hard enameled wire, there truly is something for everyone in her many collections. Her work can currently be found in boutiques, galleries, and shops around New England and the front range in Colorado.

Marcia Kindlmann

Portfolio Categories: Pottery.

Marcia Kindleman has been making pottery for about 35 years, in stoneware and porcelain. Marcia makes each piece by hand on the potter’s wheel, making individual pieces related in shape as a family. Kindleman’s fascination with glazes led her to years of experimenting, making her glazes from scratch.

She created a series of colors in subtle shades of blue and ice-green, and another series in colonial reds, with freehand brushwork designs. No two pieces are alike.

Marcia learned pottery-making at Wesleyan Potters. Her inspiration is the functional and hearty forms in country pottery of Britain and early America. For the past several years Kindleman exhibited in the nationwide juried/invitational Celebration of American Crafts at Creative Arts Workshop in New Haven as well as at Spectrum Gallery in Centerbrook, CT.

Pauline Clifford

Portfolio Categories: Jewelry.

Turquoise Leaf Kumihimo Necklace

Pauline Clifford is not an artist by vocation or profession. She is an educator, currently focused on technology infusion in the classroom. Clifford serves as Director of Educational Technology at Quinebaug Valley Community College. In an adjunct capacity, she also teaches English. Pauline delved into the world of jewelry making at the prompting of friends.

Although Clifford started with basic bead stringing and wire wrapping, she moved on to bead embroidery that incorporates Soutache braid and Shibori silk. She makes jewelry that she likes to wear herself. Clifford favors bold statement pieces. Color and sparkle appeal to her but so do graduating colors in the same area of the color spectrum. Pauline seems to start a piece with a general idea of what she’d like to produce in terms of placement and color. Clifford is not comfortable tethered to a rigid pattern; she likes to see where the beads and cord and wire take her.

Clifford earned a Bachelor’s degree in East Asian Language and Literature, a Master’s degree in Language and Literacy, and a Ph.D. in Educational Technology. Her jewelry is currently exhibited at Spectrum Gallery in Centerbrook, Connecticut

Racquel Miller

Portfolio Categories: Jewelry.

Antioch Necklace, ancient Roman glass beads, copper wire, gold stainless steel 8 inch chain, gold stainless steel lobster claw clasp, Pendant size: 1in h x 2in w

 

Raquel Miller was born and raised in beautiful Southern California. She moved to Connecticut 13 years ago with her husband and three very energetic boys.

She was inspired to make her own jewelry to encourage beauty, expressive language, and individuality. With a passion for the 16th-18th century she tries to incorporate similar features with a twist of architecture.

She took a short metalsmithing class at Wesleyan Potters, in Middletown, CT which taught her some very valuable skills. She is intrigued with taking items apart and putting them back together to see what shape would come about. Her jewelry designs consist of gold and silver wiring, clock parts, and natural foliage. They have an unconventional twist and unexpected forms.

Her jewelry pieces have been displayed at storefronts such as Trish’s Connecticut Artisan Gift Shop, Naugatuck, CT, Stacy T’s Artisan Store, Wallingford, CT, Walmart.com, The Brass Mill Mall, Waterbury, CT and CT Post Mall, Milford, CT. Her jewelry designs are currently exhibited at Spectrum Gallery in Centerbrook, Connecticut.

Linda Reid

Portfolio Categories: Decorative and Jewelry.

Purple Rain Tin

Linda Reid developed a love for nature while roaming the fields and woodlands near her childhood home. She took numerous drawing classes at UCONN while completing a degree in environmental horticulture. Linda learned to paint by taking adult education watercolor classes and is self-taught in acrylics. By combining her scientific knowledge of plants with her passion for all nature, she produces landscapes and animal portraits in both watercolor and acrylics. Linda’s artwork celebrates God’s creation with bright colors, delicate line, and a sense of joy.  Linda’s paintings are currently exhibited at Spectrum Gallery in Centerbrook, Connecticut.

Glen Heller

Portfolio Categories: Decorative and Wood.

Glen has been carving decorative wildfowl for over 30 years. He spends between 150 and 250 hours carving and painting each bird with intricate detail to achieve life-like accuracy.

As visual reference for his work, Glen uses photographs of each species in its natural habitat as well as taxidermy specimens. Through the relationship he has built with the ornithology department at Yale University, he borrows a specimen from the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale for each bird he carves.

Glen particularly enjoys working with clients who commission his work from start to finish so that they can not only choose the wildfowl, but select the way in which the head is positioned and the attitude of the bird.

Joanne Brown

Portfolio Categories: Decorative.

Blue Arabesque Picture Frame

Joanne Brown (Mottsie) was born in Boston and moved to Hartford, CT in 1977 when her employer, American Airlines, relocated there. She was fortunate to meet and work with many talented people in an atmosphere that allowed her creative side to flourish. As a child, her mother, a talented artist, encouraged her to try anything that interested her which, in the ensuing years, led to a wide variety of hobbies; calligraphy, Chinese brush painting, oil and pastel painting, egg decorating, miniatures, cake decorating and sewing among others! She began making floral ornaments as gifts, using silk flowers, fabrics, trims, jewelry, beads and found metal, and was encouraged by her friends and family to set up a business to sell them. Joanne says she loves the creative process, but the best part of her business is meeting fellow artists, making new friends and having fun, and she says that Spectrum Gallery and the annual Arts Festivals are the perfect place for that.

Elizabeth Hargett

Portfolio Categories: Pottery.

Starlight Candleholder, B mix clay, white clay, Cone 6 glaze, 5 1/2in h x 10in w

Beth has worked in clay for over 10 years.  She worked mainly with functional forms using the wheel until 5 years ago when she began experimenting with altered forms in clay. This led to using piercing techniques to enhance the functional forms she created on the wheel. She is happiest creating and experimenting with clay. Beth has been a member at Wesleyan Potters for 5 years and is a current NECEA member. She resides in Meriden, Connecticut.

Monica Hewryk

Portfolio Categories: Ceramics and Pottery.

Masquerade, stoneware, 11in h x 9.5in w x 6.5in d

Monica graduated from Central Connecticut State University with a BA and a focus in ceramics in 2014. She previously worked as the University Assistant at CCSU, the intern at Wesleyan Potters, and a Resident Potter at Guilford Art Center.She has been exhibiting work in juried shows since 2013. Monica is currently studying for a MFA in ceramics at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania.

Sharon Hosley

Portfolio Categories: Ceramics and Decorative.

Seafoam Fish Tray

Sharon was an award-winning potter with twenty-five years’ experience. Developed an interest in
design and color on terra cotta clay. She was recognized for her fine work throughout Connecticut and
New York. Winning many awards. She was represented in fine craft shows throughout New England and
had sold work in galleries and shops.

Hosley’s terra cotta pottery is both functional and non-functional, decorated with brightly colored
images including animals, insects, and vegetation. Each piece is a medley of vivid colors. The glaze is
applied in three coats and the surface background carved away to achieve a raised design effect.
Animals are sometimes sculpted as accents to form vessel lids, handles or feet.

Hosley’s work is currently exhibited at Spectrum Gallery in Centerbrook, Connecticut.

Sandi Nyren

Portfolio Categories: Pottery.

Polka Dottie Bowl

Sandi has been creating with clay for well over 30 years. She is experienced in the production of functional stoneware, raku and majolica pottery.  She is now creating delicate porcelain miniatures expressing her love of nature.  Sandi has been a member of Wesleyan Potters since 1991 and now also shows her work at Spectrum Gallery in Centerbrook, CT.

Melinda Shea

Portfolio Categories: Jewelry.

Roses Sculpted Mesh Cuff

Melinda Shea’s artwork crosses several disciplines, including jewelry and collage on glass. Her jewelry incorporates richly woven metal with gemstones and Murano glass beadwork. In her collages, she treats glass as a canvas, telling visual stories that incorporate themes from architecture, natural history, and Baroque aesthetics. Melinda’s collages are lush with detail and symbolism, set against backdrops of beautiful handmade decorative papers. Melinda is a retired architectural designer. When she is not working in her studio, she can be found playing piano or working in her gardens.

Melinda’s artwork is currently exhibited at Spectrum Gallery in Centerbrook, Connecticut.

Maris Fiondella

Portfolio Categories: Decorative.

White Vine Letter J, gouache on paper, 23K gold leaf, Gilded white wood frame, Acid free cream matte, 10in h x 11in w

Maris Fiondella is an illuminator and retired teacher of medieval literature.  Studying the Middle Ages introduced her to beautiful illuminated manuscripts with gilded letters and pages ornamented with images of animals and birds, vines and flowers.  She began to paint decorated letters from a desire to imitate this practice, especially with regard to the Celtic tradition of illumination, which often exhibits a delightful sense of humor.  She studies manuscript illumination and gilding at the St. Michael’s Institute for Sacred Arts on Enders Island, off Mystic CT.  Her current work includes decorated letters taken from Ireland’s Book of Kells, White Vine letters in the Italian Renaissance style, and holiday Gold Box letters.

Caroline Yankura

Portfolio Categories: Pottery.

Copper Bubble Glazed Bowls

Caroline Yankura was born in New Haven Connecticut, but resided in Portland Maine for eight and a half years, after receiving her BFA in Ceramics in 2013, from Maine College of Art. Caroline has worked as a teacher in her field for ages 5-17, as well as also been recognized in a show at Art Space New Haven gallery in a small exhibition showing “sea and insect” studies. Caroline has since participated in a thesis exhibition in April of 2013, displaying her BFA work, constructed multiple ceramics series, (Flora Memorium 2013/14: in memory of flowers, Deficiens Pulchritudo: Decaying Beauty2019/20) and now “Briny Froth” 2020. Yankura is working in a studio space with local Branford Connecticut artist, Sharon Hosley. Caroline’s work is currently exhibited at Spectrum Gallery in Centerbrook, Connecticut.

Edith Deeg

Portfolio Categories: Glass.

Leaves on a Stream Dish

Edith was born in Germany during WWII. Towards the end of the war, the apartment building where she lived was bombed out. Her mother was forced to leave Germany with her two children, running across the border to Switzerland on foot. In those years, Edith cherished the few belongings they owned. She and her fiancé married back in Germany, but they decided to immigrate to the United States permanently. Edith put her self-taught design talent to work, designing homes, gardens, and always interior decorating.

She took a distance learning class from the Art Institute in Manhattan when her children were grown and cultivated her artistic passion by experimenting with different mediums. In 2011, she found her passion in glass. Edith is now in her late70’s and enjoys creating new designs and sharing her creations with others. She spends summers with her daughter’s family in CT and winters in northern FL.

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