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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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Visitors to The Chatham Studio Tour the first two weekends in December will have a special treat. Photographer Craig Greiner will hang his work alongside that of his wife, oil painter Amanda Greiner, in their joint studio in Bynum, NC. “I have had a passion for photography for over 15 years”, Craig says. He relocated […]

“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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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. […]

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 […]

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 […]

Interview with William Moore Studio #8 on the Studio Tour 1075 Rock Rest Road, Pittsboro, NC 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. […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Interview with Colleen Black Semelka Studio #2 on the Studio Tour 336 East Perry Road, Pittsboro, NC 27312 Interview by Zoe Allison, recorded by Nathalie Worthington Z – When did you begin your creative work with clay? C – The first time I worked with clay on a wheel was in 1989 at Pottery 7 […]

Martha Danek has exhibited her unique natural art since the second year of the Chatham Studio Tour, now in its 25th year, in her Red Barn Studio in Bynum, North Carolina. It is the original barn down a grassy path behind her house that was built in the 1920s by her great-grandparents. Visitors literally experience […]

Annabelle Stein Studio #7 on the Studio Tour 997 Rock Rest Rd. Pittsboro, NC 27312 Interview by Zoe Allison. Scribed and edited by Nathalie Worthington Z – How long have you been working with fabric. A – All my life.  I started out making little clothes out of felt for my troll dolls in pre […]

It’s the 25th anniversary of the Chatham Artists Guild and as one of it’s founding members, Vidabeth Bensen has “been there’ and “done that.” And after 60 years of making art she is still doing “that.” An accomplished Screen Printer, Vidabeth says she has been pulling ink thru original hand-cut stencils ever since her Brooklyn […]

Area art-lovers will experience double vision in December. The strikingly colorful paintings of Chatham Guild artist Jim Aiken will be featured at the Carolina Brewery in Pittsboro and at the 25th Chatham Studio Tour. And – Aiken has lived a double life – as an accomplished artist and a recognized scientist. “My first juried show […]

Lara O’Keefe has a “clay personality” or so she was told early on in her career. To be more specific Lara is earthy, warm, and has a rich common sense about her.  When speaking to what excites her, she says it is extremely satisfying to look up and see racks full of pots at the […]