Painter Cally Curtis’s Chatham studio is a kaleidoscope of color and pattern. Her acrylic and mixed media creations reflect deep seated inspiration dating back to her childhood. “When I was about four, my parents were commissioned as United Methodist missionaries. They were stationed in the subtropics in what was then called Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe. I […]
Artist Interviews
Artist Interview: Greg Wandless
“I love wood,” says woodturner Greg Wandless. ”I love the feel, the warmth, the look, the way it warms up a home.” Visitors to the 2020 Chatham Studio the first two weekends in December will have the opportunity of experiencing Greg’s beautiful wooden bowls, art vessels, peppermills and custom writing instruments. Greg has been working […]
Artist Interview: Amy Wandless
“I just love to make something useful and beautiful with my own two hands,” explains potter Amy Wandless. “It is even more thrilling when a pot that came from my eye and my hands appeals to the eyes and hands of someone who lives with it, uses it and loves it.” Amy will display her […]
Artist Interview: Kathy Flood
“I am fascinated with facial expressions and the eyes of the people and animals that I paint,” explains Kathy flood. She will make her debut in the Chatham Studio Tour the first weekend in December, exhibiting her works in graphite, watercolor and acrylics in her Briar Chapel studio. Kathy became an artist in a non-traditional […]
Artist Interview: Jane Eckenrode
Jane Eckenrode drew a picture of her father at the age of 6, at about the time her parents enrolled her in her first art class. As a child, she and her dad spent time together walking in the woods and fishing. She still has the cigar box of natural treasures she collected as a […]
Artist Interview: Minnie C. Gallman
Minnie Gallman took her first photograph, with a brownie box camera, at the age of 4. “It was a picture of my newborn sister,” she remembers.” I’ve been taking pictures ever since.” Folks who come to the 2020 Chatham Studio Tour will see the results of Minnie’s life-long passion in the nature-inspired photographs that she […]
Artist Interview: Vince Pitelka
Vince Pitelka — Vince Pitelka Pottery “I have always been fascinated with tools and machines and working with my hands,” says studio potter Vince Pitelka. “I had a little shop at our house as a kid,” he remembers. Pitelka had a formative experience with clay at the age of four. A friend of his parents […]
Artist Interview: Michael Blotzer
Michael Blotzer – Michael Blotzer Photography “I became interested in photography in high school,” recalls Michael Blotzer. “We loaded film from a bulk loader, shot photos around campus, processed the pictures chemically in the darkroom, and published them in the school newspaper and yearbook.” “I was very oriented to science,” he says. “Looking back, I […]
Artist Interview: Karen West
Karen West – Karen West Gallery “I guess you can say that I have always been a bit of an explorer,” explains oil painter Karen West, who makes her debut with the Chatham Artist Guild at the Chatham Studio Tour in December 2019. Born in New York City and later living in the bedroom suburb […]
Artist Interview: Linda Watkins
Folks who attend The Chatham Studio Tour the first two weeks in December have the opportunity to experience an enchanted garden. Watercolorist Linda Watkins has captured the blooms, bugs, frogs and fish that inhabit her lovely property on Prince Creek, near Pittsboro. “I am fascinated both by color and detail,” Linda explains. “I like to […]
Artist Interview: Lee Kazanes
Lee Kazanes has been making pottery for over 40 years. “I was in college at SUNY in Plattsburgh and my roommate was taking a ceramics class,” he remembers. “I thought – You can actually take a ceramics class for credit in college.” Lee took that class and it was the beginning of his life-long passion […]
Artist Interview: Selden Lamoureux
Selden Lamoureux grew up in Whippany, New Jersey not far from NYC and had a circuitous route to her Bynum, NC pottery studio. After receiving a degree in anthropology at Boston University, she continued her studies in archaeology in Mexico. “After that, I had my back-to-the-land period, living in the Virginia and Carolina mountains, raising bees and doing occasional […]
Artist Interview: Andrew Wilson
“I have always felt compelled to create,” stresses Andrew Wilson, who will participate in his first Chatham Studio Tour the first two weekends in December. “It gives me energy to create objects for aesthetic and functional use.” This desire came early. When he was a student at Chatham’s Northwood High, Andrew accessorized with macramé and […]
Artist Interview: Lani Chaves
Lani Chaves has always found the humor and liveliness in everyday life. “I recall once making poster-sized copies of political cartoons to present as a history project to my classmates. Explaining why they were funny was the lesson. And as a comedienne in comedy clubs around the country after college, I was that sweet faced girl […]
Artist Interview: Bronwyn Watson
Not long ago, Nurse Bronwyn Watson lived on her 10 acre farm just outside of Siler City. Years ago, she had attended the San Francisco Art Institute, made baskets, did some printing and temp jobs to make ends meet. Then, at 40, she decided to attend nursing school and pursued a health care career, most […]
Artist Interview: Janet Resnik
Janet Resnik Studio #5 on the Studio Tour 132 Collins Mountain Rd., Chapel Hill, NC 27312 Interview by Zoe Allison, recorded by Nathalie Worthington Z – How long have you been in Chatham County? J – I’ve been here since 1967. Z – Did you join the guild right away? J – No, it did […]
Artist Interview: Michael Thompson
Michael Thompson2460 Pete Thomas RoadPittsboro, NC 27312 Interview by Zoe AllisonUpdated November, 2020 Z – How did you get into your woodturning? M – I have a degree in forestry. My career focused on teaching people how to recognize what is in their forest and how to better manage it. I spent 31 years in […]
Artist Interview: Jeff Clark
Jeff Clark Studio #6 on the Studio Tour 38 Wild Rose Lane, Pittsboro, NC 27312 Interview by Zoe Allison, recorded by Nathalie Worthington Z -What brought you here initially? J – I had retired from a job I had in New Jersey and so I got this other job working for a bio tech company. […]
Artist Interview: Gretchen Niver
Whether her work of art is inspired from a personal photo, a patron’s photo, or as a form of play thru geometric design, Gretchen Niver receives great pleasure creating and sharing her paintings made of glass. “I grew up doing various crafts with my mom, went into Graphic Design in college, and continued doing crafts […]
Artist Interview: Doug Dotson
Studio #20 on the Studio Tour 326 Mockernut Road, Pittsboro, NC 27312 Interview by Zoe Allison, recorded by Nathalie Worthington Z – What is the name of your pottery business? Doug – Doug Dotson Pottery Z – When did you move to the area? Doug – I’ve been in NC since 1989. My father was in the […]
Artist Interview: William Moore
Interview with William Moore Interview by Zoe Allison Z – Do you have a sense of a mission with making your art? W – Not a mission per se, just a determination to continue doing what I’m doing as long as I’m able. Z – Is there something you might not want to make again? […]
Artist Interview: Rusty Sieck
Interview with Rusty Sieck on November 10, 2017 Studio #4 on the Studio Tour 1469 Chicken Bridge Road, Pittsboro, NC 27312 Interview by Zoe Allison, recorded by Nathalie Worthington Z – How long have you been in Chatham County? R – I’ve lived here 21 years. Z – Did you join the guild right away […]
Artist Interview: Amanda Greiner
Amanda Greiner will debut her vibrant oil paintings in her newly finished studio in Bynum on the 25th Chatham Studio Tour. Her first time on the tour, Greiner’s paintings have an unusually radiant feel because of her signature oil painting process. “I use only one brush and mix the colors directly on the canvas,” she […]
Artist Interview: Forrest Greenslade
Forrest Greenslade has lived in Fearrington Village for almost 17 years. A retired Microbiologist, Forrest has the mind of a scientist and the lightness of heart of a child. You will experience all of this when you visit him in his studio during “The 25th Chatham Studio Tour.” He began sculpting in 2001 while recovering […]