Elizabeth (Betsy) Abeel is an award winning batik artist, teacher, and creativity workshop leader. She has been a part of Northern Michigan College’s Extended Education department and guided numerous students to discover the artist within for over 25 years. She and her daughter, Samantha Abeel , author of Reach for the Moon and My Thirteenth Winter, have led creativity workshops throughout the country.
Linda J. Beeman is a multi-award winning Michigan artist who works exclusively in the ancient art of mokuhanga – Japanese woodblock printmaking. She attended the Dundas Valley School of Art in Ontario, Canada. Primarily showing wilderness landscapes and waterscapes, Beeman showcases the beauty, diverse ecology, geography, and the healing value of our world. Linda is one of only 100 professional mokuhanga artists outside Japan. She was an Artist in Residence at Mt. Fuji. She is also the founder and director of Art From the Lakes, an artist exchange program between Shiga, Japan (our Sister State) and Michigan. www.lindajbeeman.com
Margo Burian is an award-winning artist who maintains studios in Grand Rapids and Northern Michigan. She holds a BFA from Kendall College of Arts and Design. After a long career as a commercial illustrator, the transition to fine art was a natural evolution. She is best known for her iconic Northern Michigan landscape paintings in oil and acrylic. Heartfelt enthusiasm and creativity are the hallmarks of Margo’s teaching style. She approaches her classes with openness and encourages students to embrace their own innate creativity. www.Margoburian.net
Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli is a mystery writer, journalist, short story and essay writer, teacher and speaker. Her 12th novel, Manners and Murder, will be released Spring 2018. Her other novels include Gift of Evil, Dead Dogs and Englishmen, and She Stopped for Death. She also has received many awards for her writing and journalism. Additional biographical information is available at www.elizabethbuzzelli.com/bio.php
Dan Cruz, Master Gardner, studied floral design in Japan and Korea, and flower design in Europe. A Michigan State graduate in Floriculture, he is past president of the Michigan Florist Association, a past member of the American Institute of Floral Designers, and has owned three florist shops.
Sterling Edwards is a contemporary watermedia master who is originally from Kansas City, Missouri. He has been a resident of North Carolina since 1973.
Sterling was honored to be awarded signature member status in the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour (CSPWC) in 2007 and in 2010 he was awarded signature membership status in the Transparent Watercolor Society of America (TWSA). He is the author of the best selling North Light book Creating Luminous Watercolor Landscapes, a Four Step Process. In 2013 Sterling was proudly accepted by invitation into the International Watercolor Society (IWS). In 2016 Sterling was honored with a biographical listing the Marquis Who’s Who in America for his diverse artistic achievements, business ethics, and professionalism and in 2017 he was awarded signature membership status in the National Watercolor Society (NWS).
Sterling is often commissioned to jury national and international art competitions. His award-winning paintings are in private and corporate collections worldwide. Website: sterlingedwards.com
Hank Feeley is an author, painter, and sculptor whose second book Painting the Joy of Sleeping Bear County was published in 2016. He is a graduate The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Harvard Business School. He has been a Visiting Artist at SAIC, an Artist in Residence at Ox-Bow, and has taught at Roosevelt University and the Dennos Museum. His work is held in public and private collections nationally and internationally. He is represented in Chicago by Aron Packer Projects and, in New York, by First Street Gallery.
Lauren Everett Finn’s art making obsession began over 30 years ago with pen and ink drawing, then came watercolor, and finally acrylic and mixed media. The versatility of acrylic continues to delight her; it’s an experimental artist’s dream medium. She’s been teaching her painting techniques and tricks since 2007 in the metro Detroit area and in northern Michigan. www.laureneverettfinn.com
Cathy Fitzgerald is a wedding, portrait, and travel photographer based in Traverse City. You can see more of her work and adventures on her blog www.cathyfitz.com
Mary Guntzviller has been teaching art since 1993. She has a BFA from Wayne State University and has been a professional artist since 1988. Mary is the illustrator of McGillcutty, A Very Special Bear, a children’s book released In December 2014. She won first place at the GAAA 2012 Paint Out and second place at the Traverse City Botanical Gardens Paint-Out in 2013. Her paintings have been accepted at the Michigan Watercolor Society and are displayed in private and public collections throughout the United States. www.guntzviller.com
John Huston will be Potter-in-Residence all summer at Thoreson Farm. John has been a potter for more than 35 years and has lived and worked in Ohio, Indiana, and Japan. He works in his home studio overlooking Sanford Lake in Benzie County. John and his wife Amy Stevens own and operate Glen Lake Artists Gallery in Glen Arbor.
Jim Jacoby is an award winning, professional landscape and fine art photographer. With more than 25 years of experience, his images have been featured in galleries, private collections, calendars, books, and ad campaigns around the world.
Joseph Lombardo received a MFA in painting from Bowling Green State University and studied landscape painting at the Burren College of Art in Ireland. He has served as Artist In Residence at Buffalo National River, Hot Springs National Park, and at the Glen Arbor Art Association. Lombardo teaches painting workshops internationally and is an Adjunct Instructor at the Columbus College of Art and Design. Lombardo is represented by Art Access Gallery in Columbus, Ohio, and he exhibits annually at Center Gallery in Glen Arbor, Michigan. www.josephlombardo.weebly.com
Mary O’Neill invented PLART after getting tired of hauling plastic to recycling. She is a former creative advertising writer and voice-over artist who wrote, produced and appeared in dozens of radio and television ads. O’Neill has also dabbled in the fine arts over the years, trying her hand at painting, charcoal, pencil and pottery through classes at Cranbrook Academy of Art and the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center.
Anne-Marie Oomen, author of Love, Sex and 4-H (Next Generation Indie Award for Memoir), Pulling Down the Barnand House of Fields (both Michigan Notable Books), and An American Map: Essays (Wayne State University Press); and a collection of poetry, Uncoded Woman (Milkweed Editions). She has written seven plays, including “Secrets of Luuce Talk Tavern,” winner of the 2012 CTAM playwriting contest. She is an instructor at Solstice MFA at Pine Manor College (MA), and Interlochen College of Creative Arts. www.anne-marieoomen.com
Joan Gallagher Richmond graduated from the Art Academy of Cincinnati and holds an MFA from the University of Notre Dame. She taught painting for 10 years at Northwestern Michigan College and continues to instruct at drawing and painting workshops. Richmond uses gouache, acrylic, and other media both in open air and in her studio in Traverse City. Richmond exhibits regionally, is represented in corporate collections throughout the Midwest and has been awarded numerous artist-in-residence positions. www.joanrichmondart.com
Ken Richmond, an architect and regional painter, has taught watercolor workshops in the area as well as classes at Northwestern Michigan College. His paintings have been exhibited in galleries and venues throughout northern Michigan. Richmond’s work is inspired by the classic watercolors of Winslow Homer and J. S. Sergeant as well as painters Fairfield Porter, Milton Avery and the Canadian Group of Seven. Ken is recognized locally as an arts leader and innovative teacher. www.richmondarchitects.net
Carol Spaulding earned her BFA from Syracuse University School of Art. She has been exploring various subject matter and mediums including oil, gouache, acrylic, wood, fiber and collage mixed materials throughout her career. Her popular “Messing Around with Paint” classes at her studio in Leelanau County offer creative art making experiences to beginning and seasoned artists alike. She believes that experimentation, working in series, and maintaining an initial non-judgmental attitude is the basis of a productive and enthusiastic art making practice. Carol works and teaches out of her self-named Studio and Gallery in Maple City, MI. www.carolcspaulding.com
Liz Zlot Summerfield attended the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis to complete her Masters of Fine Arts in 2004. Since graduation, she has lived and worked in Bakersville, North Carolina with her husband and glass artist, Scott Summerfield. She has been an instructor and visiting artist at numerous clay facilities, colleges, and universities. Liz exhibits and sells her work nationally through exhibitions, galleries, and fine craft shows. Her work resides in various permanent collections; and Liz has been featured and on the cover of Ceramics Monthly and Clay Times magazine. She has also authored and been included in a variety of ceramic publications. In 2013, Ceramics Arts Daily released an instructional DVD featuring Liz’s ceramic process and her work. www.lzspottery.com
Lynn Uhlmann has received BFA and MFA degrees. She is a full time studio artist, exhibiting locally and nationally. Her paintings are inspired by favorite locations in Sleeping Bear Dunes area. Using gouache or oil, her work interprets the personalities and rhythmic movement of trees through various levels of abstraction and representation. Shapes in landscape have rhythmic movement described by light and shadow, which expresses an emotional connection. www.lynnuhlmann.com
David Westerfield studied at Wayne State University in Detroit and earned a BA in Art with a concentration in drawing and painting from North Park College in Chicago. Other study has included the American Academy of Art in Chicago, the Sedona Art Center in Arizona, and workshops with painters Marcia Burtt and Randall Sexton. After a career in graphic design and illustration, David has transitioned to full-time painting. He exhibits in several Michigan galleries as well as one in Hawaii. David’s painting, “Glen Haven Mich.,” was selected for the 2017 Manitou Music Festival poster image, and “Rising Moon,” was used on the 2012 poster. www.westerfieldstudio.com
