She Destroys Perfectly Good Paintings — to Create Imperfectly Better Ones
Oil painter Alicia Anne Armstrong often labors over a painting for hours or days. Then, as soon as the paint is dry, she does…
You Get Better Visions Once You Move to Art Heaven
“You know how photographers put paper in a chemical bath, and gradually the image starts to come up?” asks painter Elizabeth Henderson. “I feel…
Live-Model Sculpting is the Very Shape of Intimacy
Realist figurative painter/sculptor Angela Cunningham studied illustration at the Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida, before earning her BFA at Laguna…
Sometimes it Takes a Village to Raise a Street Artist
“There is as much art on the outside of the [Foundation Studios] buildings as on the inside,” says Kean Werner, head of Foundation Woodworks,…
Tugging the Right Thread Could Unravel the Whole Garment Industry
Leanna Echeverri, owner of the handmade hemp clothing and upcycled-garment business Grateful Threads, studied interior design before going to work for an architect. But…
Fine Glasswork is a Fiery Contradiction
Kit Paulson worked as a furnace glassblower before transitioning into meticulously intricate glass sculpture created with a flame torch. She’s taught her techniques at…
They Drive the Ice-Cream Truck Grownups Chase Down the Street
After winning “Best Dessert” two years in a row at the Asheville Mardi Gras Cajun Cook-Off competition, entrepreneur Jane Kennelly and baker Sara Widenhouse,…
Making Thousands of Itty-Bitty Sculptures, She Broke the Mold of Outsized Assumptions
Cynthia Thornton of Green Girl Studios went to school to learn how to make large-scale bronze sculptures. But once she was out in the…
For the Sake of Drama, She Sets Fashion on Fire (or Puts it in a Blender)
Betsy Puckett has been an eclectic stage performer since age 8. Last decade, she gained regional fame as the bawdy belle Augusta Wind —…
When it Comes to Woodworking, What Doesn’t Kill You Gives You Great Pleasure
Dana Smith has always had a penchant for woodworking. He loves the natural beauty of the grain and the story it tells about how…