Artisans of the SC Cotton Trail


	Our Artists (Pictures & Bios) The Artisans of the South Carolina Cotton Trail consists currently of nearly 30 individual juried artists from a variety of medium venues. A short biographical sketch of each artisan, along with an example of their work, will be displayed to the right as they become available.


Bobbi Adams Medium: Mixed Media Art and gardening are Bobbi's passions. Her garden is her muse. Light and color are important in her painting, just as light influences the colors which are seen in a garden. Bobbi has been painting for thirty years and gardening all her life. In 1975 Bobbi left the New York-New Jersey area and moved to South Carolina. In rural Lee County, she gardens. Her art developed in its current form from the materials in the garden. Many of her plants are flowers and shrubs native to South Carolina. Today Bobbi makes her own paint of materials from the earth and handmade papers from the plants she grows in her gardens. Bobbi graduated from Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois with a degree in zoology. Later she attended the Art Students League of New York and the National Academy of Design. She studied in Venice through the International Program of New York University from which she also obtained her Masters Degree in studio. Contact info: Bobbi Adams 215 South Heyward Street Bishopville, S.C. 29010 803/484-5874 Website: www.bobbiadams.com

Carolyn Moore Atkinson Medium: Mixed Media I am a mixed media artist and creator of couture cards. A collector of many things. Antique buttons, demitasse, fairies, small boxes, just ridiculous! As well as collecting I have always saved things. Broken jewelry, wall paper scraps, post cards, wrapping paper, things torn out of magazines, the list goes on. I have a degree in art and have been a painter on and off for years until I took a collage workshop and bingo, I found my fix. Mixed media is a perfect fit for me as I can recycle all of my saved objects and express myself at the same time. What's not to love! In my artwork you will always find a butterfly floating around somewhere. The butterfly is a powerful symbol representing transformation. In the caterpillar stage we may get stuck with ideas we do not like or behaviors we want to change. In the cocoon stage things are not always changing as we want them to and we can feel a bit stuck or lost at this stage. Then comes the final transformation to a beautiful butterfly. We are free to fly and roam as we see fit; to flit about seeing things in our world in a whole new perspective. The butterfly for me teaches us that patience brings reward and to keep working and developing ourselves we will be like the butterfly, fluttering through life filled with joy. I hope you enjoy my art!

Anne Baldwin Medium: Photography

Greg Benner Medium: Painting I have loved great oil paintings since early childhood and visited many museums in my youth, pondering the masters' work with enthusiasm. I especially enjoy painting the human form and other life forms, but try not to limit myself to that genre entirely. I believe that all art should give back to this world, that in which this world takes away from us. We all suffer from life's uproar. In art there exists a unique prospect for a ray of hope in our lives -- and in art, there is a fitting prospect to bring about a glimmer of expectancy. I guess if you were to ask what makes a great oil painting, I would say a meaningful moment captured in time, which excites the soul. This "stirring of the soul" is best said with a balance of many facets of visual impression. All of these attributes coming together in one equalized statement of compositional lines, color statement (palette), light/contrast, color balance and economy/efficiency of brush strokes. I also enjoy writing and composing music in my studio in Chesterfield, SC. Contact: Greg Benner 150 Main Street Olde Towne Centre Chesterfield, SC 29709 843.623.3200 800.605.5761 Greg@Benner.com

Heidi Bond Medium: Painting My dog paintings are simple, humorous, and full of spirit, as are the creatures they depict. I have exhibited paintings in Virginia and the Carolinas for several years, continue to exhibit regionally, and often make paintings available to animal rescue groups and shelters for fundraising efforts. I can be contacted at rl_bond@mindspring.com.

Gina Bowles Medium: Painting

Pollie Bristow Medium: Painting As a painter, my primary goal is to create paintings that encourage the viewer to find a sense of discovery in my work. Many ideas come from common place scenes around us, my travels and abstract forms. My work is in Chameleon Gallery in Darlington, Fitness Forum in Florence, The Art Spot in Lexington, and Harris-Nelson Designs in Ocean Isle Beach.

Frankie Bush Medium: Painting Inspiration for my work comes from the beauty that is around us. Each of my paintings is a personal response to that beauty. My watercolor paintings are done in the studio. I photograph nature to get my ideas and record details that people often don’t see. As I work I am concerned about design, color and shadow. I continue to evolve as an artist. I chose watercolor about two years ago as my sole medium. There is excitement to the transparency and the opaqueness of watercolor that allows for the bold as well as the delicate. I invite the viewer to share my experiences of painting flowers in close focus.

S.R.Donmoyer Medium: Mixed Media

Ann Dowling Medium: Painting

Bob Feury Medium: Painting

Patz Fowle Medium: Sculpture South Carolina artist Patz Fowle is an award-winning visual artist; innovative art educator and published author. She specializes in creating hand built anthropomorphic ceramic sculpture and her work is recognized internationally for its distinctive, thought-provoking, humorous style. Fowle’s sculptures and original techniques have been chronicled in numerous art books and featured in documentaries. Since 1970, Fowle’s significant contributions to the ceramic arts have become a tradition and she has taught the Patz Process Ceramic Technique to countless numbers of students in public schools and universities. Fowle shares her techniques locally, nationally and internationally in hopes that this exciting art form will continue to inspire creativity for many generations to come. Patz Fowle’s unique sculptures and paintings can be found in museums, public art exhibitions and in public and private collections. Contact information: Address: PO Box 676 Hartsville, SC 29551 USA Phone (843) 332-8474 E mail: patzfowle@yahoo.com Website: http://www.patzfowle.com

Jo Furman Medium: Painting

Mike Gann Medium: Glass

Carolyn Govan Medium: Painting The use of strong bold colors is the foundation of most of my works. Through my works I share the vision of mine and other’s past and present experiences in life. My painting represents the ideas of diverse culture through a storytelling form. I seek the opportunity to inspire my viewer to journey into my works, focusing on the simplicity of the subject matter and the use of line, patterns, space, colors and spatial positions. To draw the viewer in as part of the story being told.

Ina Ingram Medium: Painting Since retirement, Ina Ingram has devoted herself full time to painting. Her studio is located in Hartsville, South Carolina on Home Avenue. Ina’s formal art education was at Coker College, Converse College, and Francis Marion. Ina also says that a “lifetime of discovery” has played a major part in her development as a painter. Due to her humble nature, the local media has dubbed Ina the Assuming Artist. Ina paints in oils, pastels, and watercolor. She is a traditional artist who paints traditional subject matter -- portraits, still life’s and landscapes.

Heather Jordan Medium: Painting

Vicky McLain Medium: Painting I have been an avid artist since I first picked up a crayon as a child in Texas. I have now been a professional artist for over 30 years, a full time artist for eight years, a professional cartoonist for 7 years and an art teacher for over five years. My life revolves around art and I work hard to learn more techniques and improve my skills. I studied drawing at the San Antonio Art Institute and have taken over 15 workshops with various instructors since moving to South Carolina in 2000. I studied design while earning a B.A. in Management at Virginia Wesleyan College. My work reflects my love of the out-of-doors. I have found that a cotton field, and an abandoned car or barn has as much to say on canvas as a vase of flowers. I am now a proud South Carolinian and really appreciate what South Carolina has given me to capture on canvas. My works have won numerous awards including Honorable Mention in the 2006 Gamblin Torrit Gray Painting Competition, 2005 People's Choice Award - Masterpiece Art Interpretations Contest, First Place - Leroy Neiman Sports Art Contest, Best of Show - 2007 Marlboro Jubilee Festival, and Best of Show - Cheraw Fine Art Show 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 & 2007. You can visit my work online at www.drivenbyart.com. Contact Information: Vicky McLain PO Box 634 Chesterfield, SC 29709 vicky@drivenbyart.com 843-623-7214

Barbara Mellen Medium: Glass Barbara Mellen, also known as "The Earring Lady," handcrafts her colorful earrings from a wide variety of American made glasses which she cuts into tiny pieces and melts together in a kiln. Her earrings include an iridescent dichroic coating that appears to change color depending on the angle of the light. Most of the sterling silver wires are made by Barbara's sister, Sarah Mellen. Whether you prefer your earrings extra large or tiny, brightly colored or basic black, there's sure to be a pair that matches your taste amongst the hundreds in Barbara's showroom and studio at 2717 Second Loop Road in Florence, open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 to 6:00. Barbara Mellen's earrings are sold by over 200 galleries, boutiques, and museum gift shops nationwide. Consult her website, www.glassearringlady.com or call her at (843) 317-1732 to find out if there is a store near you.

Suzanne Muldrow Medium: Photography I have enjoyed photography for many years,but I have taken it more seriously since I got my first digital camera two years ago.I like to think of my work as artistic photography since I try to "paint" with my camera and my computer.I love preserving the beauty of God's creation which is all around us.I like to share my photography, and I hope it brings a little of the joy to others that it brings to me. Suzanne can be reached at: hmuldrowjr@sc.rr.com Suzanne Muldrow PO Box 1 Darlington, SC 29540

Denny Stevens Medium: Painting I graduated Bennettsville high school in 1973, 1978 BFA from Coker College, 1979 studied at the Maryland institute of art for a year of a grant for painting from the Greenshields Foundation, 1983 MFA from University of South Carolina. worked for 6 years as an artist in the field of comics. I bought a business which I still own today. In 1995, started painting and teaching art again. Since then I have won numerous awards and have works in many collections in SC, GA and NC. I work in oils and love to paint the human figure and the local Pee Dee and low country landscapes. I try to paint them in a way that is unique and is the way I see both subjects.

Gloria Turner Medium: Watercolor I have been painting seriously since 1976 when I entered my first art competition and won 1st and 2nd place in watercolor. This inspired me to continue, and throughout the years, I’ve won numerous awards. I am mostly a self taught artist, but have taken art instruction from Jane Jackson, as well as workshops from Guy Lipscomb and Genie Wilder. I worked for B.C. Moore’s Advertising for 32 years as a graphic designer and illustrator. For the past two years I have been teaching art to children and adults in group and private classes. Watercolors are my favorite medium but I also work in oils, acrylics, pen and ink, charcoal and pastels. I have had several one woman art shows throughout the years. My commissioned portraits and landscapes can be found in corporate and private collections throughout the United States, Germany and Canada. You can reach me at: gvturner@bellsouth.net

Beth Wicker Medium: Metal I have been an artist since I was a child, working in a range of media from oils to papermaking to printmaking to mixed media fiber to silk painting to metals. Regardless of the media I explore my interests in pattern and texture, and in seeing things in a slightly different way. I have been on the South Carolina Arts Commission's Approved Artist Roster for over 25 years, and have done Artist Residencies in schools across South Carolina. Workshops in a variety of media for a range of ages and abilities may be booked. I am a certified member of Very Special Arts. Her website can be seen at www.bethwicker.com.

Holly Young Medium: Ceramics Holly Young resides in Hartsville where she creates earthenware serving platters, spoon rests, and soap dishes imprinted with leaves found in the area. Zucchini and cucumber leaves come directly from her small garden; the kudzu, luckily, does not. Tobacco leaves are donated by local growers. Holly finds herself busy with her hobby even after the leaves fall. Her other product line of whimsical children’s décor can be viewed at www.ginkofolkart.com.