Mary has lived in NC, SC and GA all her life. The southern landscape has influenced her perspective in art making. For over twenty years Mary taught public school in GA, finally finishing her career teaching art in an elementary setting. She has created art and commission pieces, participated in numerous juried shows and published illustrations in books and magazines. Mary has memberships in regional and national arts organizations.
Mary’s art practice is a reflection of how she views the world, past and present. Working mainly in contemporary landscapes inspired by poems, prayers or memories; bright colors and textures convey an abstracted scene that could be anywhere. Mary loves collage combined with painting; using blocks and layers of colors to create interruptions and movement in a piece. Future goals are to incorporate the figure, explore different collage techniques and present art in new venues.
I am a self-taught artist and produced my first work in 2002 "#1 Bill", a portrait of my husband. Daisy Grubbs' book: "Modeling a Likeness in Clay", purchased at Brookgreen Gardens, was my guide.
An accomplished printmaker and painter as well as sculptor, Maidy Morhous was born in New York and currently creates out of her studio thirty minutes north of San Diego. Morhous received her Master of Fine Arts degree while studying at Stanley Hayter’s Atelier 17 in Paris in the mid-1970s. Before returning to the States, she traveled to Italy to further her studies in casting techniques at the Fonderia Artistica–Marinelli Foundry in Florence.
Morhous expresses herself through the medium of bronze, which allows her to portray extremes, from the soft flow of water to the harsh asphalt pavement of our world. Her work encompasses the pop art concept of presenting commonplace objects as fine art in a very permanent medium.
A hapa who grew up in Philadelphia, I attended Syracuse University and received my MFA from Boston University. Art and being an artist are therapy for me physically, psychologically, and spiritually. Mine NOW reflects my dual Buddhist-Catholic heritage. My work frequently explores the relationship between humans, nature, and objects. I think of art as an objective homage to my Eastern and Western traditions and the raw architecture and sounds of the city—adding conflict, balance, and harmony to shape my work’s form and energy in my constant search for new noise and passion.
Growing up in Brooklyn, NY was wonderful. I hold a BS in Accounting and worked as an auditor and an accountant. It was not until retiring and moving to beautiful Bluffton, SC that I was able to pursue art. I enrolled in my first oil workshop in 2019 and have continued to expand my knowledge ever since. I occasionally work in acrylics and love photographing the areas I visit and people I meet. I am a member of the Art League of Hilton Head and the Society of Bluffton Artists.
Nancy Jacey is a native of Richmond, Virginia and had a love for drawing and illustration from a young age. She received a BFA in Studio Art from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 2002, earned her MFA in Illustration from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2004 and also studied at the Rhode Island School of Design. She is a signature member of the Colored Pencil Society of America, the UK Coloured Pencil Society, the National Association of Women Artists, Inc., and a recognized member of the Allied Artists of America, the American Artists Professional League and the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club.
My lifelong artistic goal and focus is endangered animals and to bring them to the attention of the public - how the environment affects not only the natural selection of a species, but also how the human use of their territory impacts their survival, because the two are part of the same circle. They have thrived or not thrived, depending on how people protected, abused, or even limited their habitat. I study wildlife in their natural habitats so I can get a feel for their personalities, not just their anatomy. Their personalities are extremely important for me to be able to give my sculpture a unique attitude.
“I hope that when you look at a piece of sculpture it would engage more than one of your senses. And personally, I hope it would bring a smile to your face.”
Born in Ilhéus, a coastal town in the Northeast of Brazil, Selene Paschoal spent most of her time enjoying the tropical outdoors. Today she is a textile artist who is inspired by the world around her, especially by nature.
Her art creation journey started in 2018 when she was searching for a more creative outlet that would give her enjoyment and a sense of accomplishment. Fabric is something Selene has been working with for most of her life.
Attending a fabric collage class was the turning point in her journey. She learned how to look at fabric as the medium to create art. Her artistic approach is mostly intuitive with a constant awareness of color combination and contrast. The use of strong colors is a direct influence of her Brazilian heritage.
My collection of vessels and fabrics serve as my inspiration in creating still life compositions that are intensely dramatic. On occasion I borrow vases, bowls, plates from friends’ homes and purchase new pieces if they appeal to my sense of style. A vessel can be center stage in more than one canvas. This collection process begins the treasure hunt that sets the mood for my canvases. Pattern and rhythm, especially stripes and polka dots begin the tabletop dialogue. A walk around my property adds more props such as citrus, flowers, succulents, weeds or branches. Local color, the shape of the objects, and patterns are orchestrated to appeal to my compositional theory. Objects are arranged and rearranged, and then I study the shadows cast by the sun coming through my studio windows. Then a quick sketch and ready to begin the painting process. This lasts until organic objects die and then I just skip reality and paint from the heart. You have realism and abstraction.
I exhibit both locally and around the country. I am in private collections in homes and offices as well. My images have won various awards both internationally and locally. Magazines have included my work both on covers and interior spreads.
I was born in Mankato, Minnesota and lived in many areas of the United States while growing up. As young adults my husband and I made Tulsa, Oklahoma our home where we raised our two daughters. In addition to painting I enjoy playing the piano, reading, walking, yoga, and traveling.
Emi Sisk is a juried artist whose work embodies the beauty of the natural world and the complexities of the human mind. With a diverse background in mental health, neuroscience, and nutrition, Emi brings a unique perspective to her art. Her paintings showcase the vibrant colors and intricate details of marine creatures, while her digital art transforms nature photographs into captivating abstract compositions.
Emi is a member of DACOR, foreign affairs of professionals. She is also a member of National League of American Pen Women. She holds coaching and Hawaii tourism certifications and is a member of the Institute of Coaching at McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School affiliate.
Self-Taught Gullah Folk Artist
June 2007 - Present
Owner of Gullah Art By Renee, LLC.
Member of the National Association of Women Artist-2018
Listed in Guide to American Artist “Self-Taught, Outsider and Folk Art” by Betty-Carol Sellen
Art on permanent exhibit at Brook Green Gardens, “Gullah Geechee Garden” entrance at Myrtle Beach, SC
Mary has a love of the landscape, and seeks to interpret the feeling of a place within her work. She works primarily in oils on either canvas, or most recently on wood panels. Mary creates sketches in watercolors, colored pencil, pastels, or collage. She also incorporates her own photography to work from within the studio. Mary takes her sketches and photos and melds them together on the computer to work out a sketch to develop into a painting. Her color palette is strong and bright, yet often mysterious. Mary has been a member of NAWA since 2004. Mary joined the South Carolina Chapter in 2019 and currently serves on the Board as Treasurer and Web Manager.
I am originally from South River, New Jersey and have a B.S. in Design. My husband and I lived in New Jersey, Illinois and California before settling in New Hampshire in 1976 where we raised our two sons. We are now enjoying the life of snowbirds so I currently have an art studio in Hillsborough Center, New Hampshire and also a studio in Hardeeville, South Carolina. The picturesque villages and ever-changing seasons of New England have been the inspiration for my "Contemporary Primitive Americana" paintings while living in New Hampshire. Since coming to the Low Country of South Carolina, I have been inspired to paint the beautiful marshlands, coast, birds and wildlife of the South. My artwork has been sold in select galleries and shops throughout the U.S.and is also found in many private collections in the U.S. and abroad. I am an exhibiting member of the New Hampshire Art Association, the Society of Bluffton Artists, the National Association of Women Artists and the Monadnock Area Art Association.
Rhian Swain has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Atlanta College of Art. She is a painter, photographer, designer, illustrator, writer, and former talk show host.
In 2023 she exhibited her new traveling exhibition “Breaking the Barriers: Women Who Impacted the Arts” twice, once at the Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History and at the City of Augusta Gallery. The series of paintings and first exhibit was partially funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. The exhibit has been met with critical acclaim and will continue to tour for the next several years. She was inducted in the National Association of Women Artists in September 2023, and currently serves on the Board of the South Carolina Chapter. Her solo and curated shows include exhibitions at Sacred Heart Cultural Center, the Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History. She's curated several themed shows that featured the work of local and national artists. She recently had three paintings on exhibit in the Burroughs Chapin Museum in Myrtle Beach South, Carolina. Rhian has been exhibiting and selling artwork regularly for 40 years.
Rhian is an artist who works in many mediums, including acrylic, watercolor, multi-media and digital (non-AI) painting. She loves to explore cultural and social issues and infuse symbolism into her pieces. Humor and bright colors are often found in her work. Her recent focus has been on merging figurative and abstract techniques that evoke an emotional impact.
Much of my work exists where tradition meets personal. As I create, I’m reminded that there is a long familial tradition of women who came before me, stitching and creating. From their whispers, I find the very foundations of my art.
I began my career as a textile designer in the home furnishings industry and today my work "reinterprets the patterns and textures found in function-driven objects such as quilts and baskets as dreamscape imagery that straddles the line between figurative and abstract." My work is exhibited at many galleries across the Southeast.
I am a juried member of the NAWA and a Certified GOLDEN Artist Educator. My book, Acrylic Expressions, and 4 instructional painting videos published by Random House are available at major retailers and online at Amazon.
Bernice Mitchell Tate was born in Sheldon, South Carolina, March 27, 1943 - an authentic Gullah native daughter, where all of her early years were spent on an isolated self-contained family farm. She was raised along with eight siblings and attended local segregated schools in Beaufort, South Carolina. After High School graduation in 1960 she moved on to pursue a nursing education and career in New York. Bernice has been married for fifty years to Andy Tate, a retired global finance technology executive. They have one son, a private practicing psychiatrist in New York City. Upon retiring and relocating to Bluffton, SC in 2006, Bernice revisited her earlier autodidactic interests in the arts, displaying her amazing talent as an installation, mixed media collage, and assemblage sculptural artist. The art of Bernice Mitchell Tate is deep-rooted in personal spirituality, cultural relativism, and a sacred combination of many different connected parts where life, death, history, culture, spirituality, material culture, realia and veneration of the dead intersect. Her belief that ideas such as "ancestor worship," right or wrong, are not absolute but change from culture to culture and circumstances. Bernice’s art form is uniquely termed Ancestrialism, a sacred amalgam of connected parts. Ancestrialism is a curious blend of traditional beliefs and contemporary thought, ingrained and inspired by her Gullah-GeeChee heritage southern tradition where spiritual practices and relationships continue with those who are no longer living beings. The dead have a continued existence possessing the ability to influence the living.
Brittany Taylor-Driggers received her BFA in Drawing with a minor in Art History from the University of South Carolina (2006) and her MFA in Visual Arts from Union Institute and University, Vermont College of Fine Arts (2009). A native of South Carolina, she lives and works in Lancaster, SC with her husband and three sons. She teaches art and art history as an Assistant professor, and Director of Campus Collections and Galleries at the University of South Carolina Lancaster.
Melinda Welker is a wildlife and nature photographer with a passion for photographing the wonder of birds in their natural habitats, where she captures artistic images of bird personality, behavior and beauty. Welker studied photography at Savannah College of Art and Design. She is a founding member of the NAWA SC Chapter, a member of the the Aiken Artist Guild, the Aiken Center for the Arts, and the Midlands Chapter of the Carolinas' Nature Photography Association.
Beau Wild is a non-objective and figurative artist. For decades, she has explored the emotional landscape of the individual through an improvisational and intuitive process which has produced a brilliantly varied body of work filled with rich abstractions and impressionistic figures.
Born and raised in New York City, Zalisko was encouraged by her parents to pursue a career and practiced law in the northeast after graduating from Fordham University School of Law until moving to Florida in 2004. Zalisko remained immersed in NYC’s rich visual and performing arts, studying art whenever possible at several NYC and Florida universities, and in private study or workshops. She continues to enrich her artistic practice in university classes, travel, residencies and fellowships.
Zalisko’s work is regularly included in exhibitions and private and public collections in the US and abroad, and numerous museum exhibitions.