My Journey

As a child, art and creativity always sparked something in my spirit, whether it was making clay mud castles or doodling with pastels, art had the ability to capture my attention. Now, as an adult, I am realizing that our God who is the Creator of the arts is releasing in me pictures that express His nature and His messages that He wants me to share with others.

What started as a childhood spark has now become a meeting place with Him, a place in His presence, seeing what He is seeing and becoming what He has created me to be -ARTIST.

“If to worship God is to sing His praises, then the life of the artist is one perpetual song of praise. - Randolph W. Johnston, 1952 

When I read this line I felt it best described who I am and what I have been doing, because my life has been one perpetual pursuit of the arts that sing His praises!

I have been actively pursuing the arts since the early eighties. During that time I was a stained glass artisan and in the late eighties I gravitated to pottery, where I got involved with the pottery community. I studied and worked in the creative process of clay for 9 years.

In 2010 I was challenged to express my artistic ability during a worship service at my church. A friend of mine saw in me what I could not see in myself. She asked me to come up on stage and worship by drawing during the prophetic arts. It was the timing of the Lord for me and that is how my passion for painting in acrylic’s emerged.

I have had many influential art instructors in my life. But the most influential has been the Holy Spirit. He has been my main teacher and with His guidance I create what I see in the Spirit realm. He guides me along while painting, He leads me to instructors who help me, and as I listen to Him I see and reproduce what He is showing me. He, the Holy Spirit, has shown me my weakness and my strength and as I am walking through this artistic process it is by His power and His instruction that the art is being created.

When I paint, I begin by asking the Holy Spirit what He wants to express through me today. I am in His creative presence and the atmosphere is one of rest. I usually listen to worship music without words. Because words tend to block my creative flow, I hear Him best through musical notes and not words.  I wait on the Lord, listening for what He wants to say while looking at a blank canvas. It is during this quiet contemplation time of waiting, looking, and listening that the picture begins to manifest.Therefore, each picture I paint has a narrative all it's own.

As I continue to do what the Lord is showing me to do I am trusting Him to finish the work He has started in me. Because for me, it is all about being in His presence and hearing His voice, in my art more than in the rewards. 

 DONNA GAGNON

I have lived in Connecticut all my life until I retired and moved to Conway a year and a half ago. I started painting as a child with acrylics. I would paint on any surface, paper, canvas, wood, metal, glass and cloth. That all changed after I took a week long workshop in watercolors at the Lyme Art Association in Connecticut 20 years ago. I was completely enthralled in this new way of painting. After that I took many classes at Farmington Vally Arts, West Hartford Art League, Glastonbury Art Guild and the Wethersfield Academy of the Arts. Then I studied landscape painting open air with a talented artist Jacqueline Jones before I moved to South Carolina. I’m now a member of the Seacoast Artist Guild, the Waccamaw Arts & Crafts Guild and the Franklin G Burroughs Art Museum. I find great joy when painting. It’s meditation for me. I am truly blessed to have this in my life and to be able to share it with others.

Sharon raised two sons and pursued careers in the arts and education in Washington, DC. She earned a BFA in Design with minors in Art History and Education receiving instruction from renowned artists Lois Mailou Jones and David Driskell at Howard University leading to positions at the National Gallery of Art and the National Endowment for the Arts. Later, a Masters Degree in Library Science led to a rewarding career with the DC Public Schools.
Sharon and her husband, Anthony, recently moved to South Carolina, enjoying the beauty and cultural significance of the coastal area. Sharon is a board member of the Waccamaw Arts and Crafts Guild and the Seacoast Artists Guild, and vice president of the SC District Chapter of the Colored Pencil Society of America. She has participated in exhibitions and juried shows where she has been honored as featured artist and has received various awards, including Best In Show. Her oil, watercolor, and acrylic paintings can be viewed at the Mercy Care Art Gallery in Myrtle Beach, SC, Seacoast Artists Gallery (The Market Common), Myrtle Beach, SC, and the Georgetown Art Gallery in Georgetown, SC.
“I never tire of exploring and photographing the rural and low country landscape, people, towns, rivers, and beaches, and historical and cultural sites of this beautiful area. Most of the paintings I have completed recently illustrate these experiences.  
I love to use color, light and expressive brush strokes in landscapes, figurative paintings, and portraits. Many of my landscapes feature pathways, roads, and meandering waterways intended to pull the viewer into the scene.  
Needless to say, I love to paint! And lately I have been exploring other creative activities and media as well, including block printing, pastels, colored pencil, and jewelry.” …Sharon Sorrels

sorrelssf@usa.net
www.sharonsorrels.com

VICKIE WRIGHT

Like most artist I grew up with crayon in hand ... leading to pastels ...  charcoal ... and paints. 

But, putting my painting away after college to “ get a job “ and raise a  family , in 2005 I began to pick it back up slightly after 27 yrs.

In 2006 feeling the need to do more regularly and with the boys grown, I  put  “ the job away “ and a plan was make.  

With a phone call involving my childhood friend, a cross country road trip  was in the works.  Leaving the husband at home I flew to Montana, also my  home away from home, and met up with my friend Ann.  

Camera and map in my hand ....steering wheel in hers, we set out on a 14  day road trip. Collecting photos I came home with lots of inspiration.   

These photos .....  growing up in Myrtle Beach .... moving to Aynor a  few years ago .... gave me the inspiring coastal and rural landscapes which  inspires the artistic side of me.

Formerly from New York State, I was a Certified Nurse-Midwife of 25 years, and a Registered Nurse of 50 years. In 2016 I decided to both retire, and move to Conway, South Carolina, where I live with my daughter and her family, and my sweet Yorkie – "Pippin."                                                                   I have always been encouraged by my multi-artistic and talented family to create. Having much time on my hands has inspired me to express myself through the arts.

  I have been crafting for over 60 years.  It all started when my mother enrolled me into 4H at age 8. I learned how to sew, knit, crochet, and create small crafts. I have been “crafting” ever since. I loved to paint, especially in watercolor, but have found my niche now in later life to work with Precious Metals to express my other side.

   In 2004 I began creating beaded and silver jewelry. I started selling my jewelry at local craft fairs as well as in-home shows where I developed a successful following. In 2010 I branched out and began creating Fine Silver (99.9% pure) jewelry from Pure Silver or Pure Copper and Bronze “Clay.” This Precious Metal Clay** is unique in that it allows me the ability to imprint, texture, sculpt and mold it into any design I choose. Once Fired it becomes Pure Silver or copper.  Living a few miles from the "art hub" of Woodstock, NY gave me the opportunity to meet several artisans and to take classes as well. At the Woodstock School of Art, I studied alongside Statts Fasholdt. I was also fortunate to take classes with local artisan from Kingston New York - Elke Hekler, and with Bianca Terranova (Bianca Nova Jewelry) in Rhinebeck, NY.  Although I have created my own line called, “This Heart Matters," I am particularly partial to re-creating nature’s gifts." 

    I am inspired by nature’s infinite woodland beauty and seashore. Through the use of Precious Metal Clay, I create leaves for my collection called “Please Don’t Leave Me." My creations have a timeless appeal and are affordably priced with the buyer in mind. I also enjoy recreating Jewelry in the Art Deco style. While these are both my signature lines, I specialize in personal design items created especially for my clients such as fingerprint jewelry or incorporating their heirloom pieces into a new creation.

    In 2019 I was judged by nationally renowned artisans and received the honor of Finalist/Honorable mention From the International 2019 Jewelry Making Contest of Fire Mountain Gems and Beads for my “Copper Serene Moonlight” Creation. This winning creation is featured in their 2020-2021 catalog.

**All metal clays are composed of micron-sized particles of pure silver, a cellulose-based binder and water. When the clay is dried and placed in kiln at 1600° for at least an hour the piece is .999% pure Silver.             

E-Mail: Catcher713@gmail. FB: Avalon Arts: designs by Helen Crisman-Jassen,

Festivalnet.com/AvalonArts

Hannah Millner - Sea to Seed
I’m Hannah, owner and designer behind Sea to Seed. I love making things with my hands, spending time in the ocean, growing food, and dancing my heart out to latin music.
After years of jewelry design as a hobby, Sea to Seed came to life in the summer of 2016.
Sea to Seed is inspired by my love for nature and the beauty of a simple life. The happiest years of my life have been spent covered in soil and rinsing off with sunset surf. My intention with each piece is to channel some of the joy and inspiration I've found while planting the tiniest of seeds or paddling into the foggy abyss in the chilly North Pacific. All of my jewelry is made by hand in my sunny studio in Blue Lake, California.