Music, fun, food and some seriously fine art: Artisphere 2018 is just weeks away (May 11 - 13). We’ve gathered all the details of 15 local artists so you can make the most of Mother’s Day weekend (you’re welcome for that reminder).
Kent Ambler | Printmaking | This Chicago native moved to S.C. in 2000 and owns twelve acres on Paris Mountain with a print studio in his home, where he spends most days making woodcuts + painting. Kent has several upcoming shows in Florida, Georgia and Tennessee.
Kiah Bellows | Mixed Media (2D) | Kiah is a painter and gallery assistant at Art & Light Studios in the Village of West Greenville. We recommend reading her artist statement on how she approaches her artwork (it’s pretty interesting, especially for those of us non-gifted people).
Hallie Bertling | Painting (watercolor) | Hallie studied at SCAD and has illustrated a dozen books + worked at several bookstores (we’re kinda jealous). Now she just makes her own art based on her favorite things: stories and shoes. We’re pretty much obsessed with this Nutcracker piece.
Joseph Bradley | Mixed Media (2D) | Joseph is an Upstate native and nationally known artist showing his works in NYC, Chicago, Denver + in a book by Chronicle that’s carried in Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie.
Darin Gehrke | Ceramics | Darin visited a friend’s home in China that had a lasting effect on his life and artwork. Once returning home, he chose to focus on making ceramics that combine Chinese + Japanese aesthetics. His pottery is perfect for a fancy afternoon tea.
Keith Grace | Mixed Media (2D) | He has participated in over 150 art festivals and his work has been featured in galleries from Missouri to Sweden but Keith calls GVL home. Each painting begins with sketches of photographs Keith has taken of friends or objects that have meaning to him.
Lynn Greer | Painting (watercolor) | Lynn is very involved in the Upstate art world: she’s a member with the excellence of the South Carolina Watercolor Society, a signature member of the GA Watercolor Society, and a board member of the Metropolitan Arts Council. She’s been featured in several national publications, including American Artist Watercolor Magazine highlighting 20 emerging artists from across the nation.
Michelle Jardines | Emerging Festival Artist: Painting (oil/acrylic) | Jardines is a first generation Cuban-American (and you can definitely see it in her works). She focuses on human emotion + spiritual fragility of her surrounding environment.
Meredith Piper | Mixed Media 2D | Originally from Louisiana, she has helped manage + teach painting classes and also worked in the school system as an art instructor. She now has her own studio and does some really cool live event painting (perfect for weddings). Check out some of her live paintings here.
llyn strong | Jewelry | You know the name from it’s Main Street shop, and have probably popped your head in once or twice to see how decadent llyn strong jewelry is. Her Modullyn Jewelry system is to be used by artists internationally. All of her pieces are handmade and are truly wearable art. Shop her collection here.
Judy Verhoeven | Mixed Media (2D) | Judy has been featured in several publications since 2007, and received awards like Best of Show - Upstate Virtual Arts Juried Show 2006. Originally a graphic designer, and then a stay-at-home homeschooling mom (no days off here), Judy uses a comprehensive collection of papers which she paints, stains + textures as her “paint” palette. Check out this owl at night (look at the leaves that have printed words on them).
Janina Ellis | Painting (oil/acrylic) | She comes from a family of artists: her grandmother was an oil painter, and her mother, Jane Tukarski, is currently one of the top maritime engravers in the U.S. Janina focuses on pulling out the beauty in mundane, everyday moments captured in photographs by creating deep textures using acrylic and oil paints.
Erin Stuart | Emerging Festival Artist: jewelry | This Greenville native graduated from Winthrop University + now works at llyn strong casting, preparing jobs, fabrication, stone setting + jewelry making.
Rey Alfonso | oil/acrylic and mixed media 2D | After moving to the U.S. from Cuba, he learned about metal design and fabrication, which he worked with for 15 years and was widely recognized for his large-scale aluminum pieces. He now uses Birchwood to build color by painting hundreds of layers, distressing the surface, then painting it again and carving writings or burns to reflect the lives and languages left by migrants and immigrants.
Patricia Deleon Alfonso | oil/acrylic | She started out welding now creates deep layers of color + texture on Baltic birch using pure pigments, waxes, graphite, and applied elements to capture experiences. Patricia and her artist husband, Rey Alfonso, moved to Greenville this year after falling in love with the area at Artisphere.
