About the artist...
Interested in drawing and painting since early childhood, Ralph painted off and on throughout his high school years in Upper Darby, PA. School summers were spent on the Kuerner farm in Chadds Ford, PA, scene of many paintings by Andrew Wyeth. He met Wyeth and was introduced to his sister Carolyn who invited Ralph to take lessons from her at the old N.C. Wyeth studio. But art was not seen as a means of paying the bills and took second place to college and a careeer.

It was not until retirement in 2000 that Ralph began painting agian. Largely self taught, he worked in acrylic and watercolor. His first entry to the Watercolor Society of North Carolina's 60th juried exhibition in Winston Salem was accepted for display. Last year, he was juried into their October show in Hendersonville. He has displayed at the Carolina Club at UNC, winning awards including the Ackland Museum best of show award in 2004. His first solo show was in the fall of 2006 at the ArtsCenter in Carrboro where he set a record for sales in one show. His work has also been displayed at the Mansfield Art Center in Ohio and most recently at the Falconbridge Art Festival. He was also one of four featured artist in the September/October 2006 edition of Chapel Hill Magazine.When not painting, he plays golf and travels with wife Jan.

Susan Powell

About the artist...
I have been engaged in some form of art and creative process most of my life. As an undergraduate I majored in Education and Fine Arts. For many years, while raising my family, I taught preschool at the Family Center of Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. It was during that time I learned the joy of teaching art and experimenting with the creative process. I also learned to be fearless and embrace change. I took that lesson to heart and made a career change earning a master’s degree in Family Therapy and a location change, moving to Carrboro, NC. It was the prospect of facing the empty nest that renewed my creative energy. I started painting, sketching and took a pottery class. A good friend suggested quilting and I was hooked. After learning the basics I soon discovered my own style of quilting. I continue to evolve and experiment with various techniques and subjects.The inspiration for my quilts usually comes from my surroundings as well as the fabrics. I love to examine textures, color, form and shape and those ideas are incorporated into my quilts. My husband, who loves to garden, has filled our house with beautiful potted plants providing more inspiration for my still life quilts. Most often the color and pattern of the fabric guide me through the process. Recently, I have returned to my education roots and take great pleasure in sharing my joy of quilting through teaching classes.

Chance Murray

"Memory Delusion ManiPulation"

My work is an abstract representation of Industrial decay, the ever present conflict between the industrial and the organic, and the impact on society that this conflict creates. These ideas are presented as a series of interconnecting paintings and drawings layered one on top of the other. I feel that these layers read as "Urban Fossils" drawing forth images of the past. I use heavy repetition in my work to further reference my industrial influence, as well as the never ending cycle of life, death and rebirth found both in organic and the industrial. My work reflects Human negligence as well as man kinds need for rapid progression, with no intentions of looking back.

About the artist...
I have always been drawn to industry. I love the look of it, the smell of it and the feel of it. In recent years after living in the small rural area of Cedar Grove, I have developed a love for organic material and the natural world. The influences and effects that these two very different worlds play on each other are fascinating. Recently memory and anatomy have come in to play as layers in my work, seemingly channeling all of the people I have lost over the years. My work is about exploring how all of these very different elements can fit into, and play on one another, and I am constantly exploring the infinite possibilities.

About the artist...
There is a photo of me as a toddler screaming with delight at some tulips. The annual return of flowers continues to thrill me every year. I feel like running and skipping through spring and I remember the many hours I spent as a child imagining what it would be like to be small enough to live inside a flower. Growing up I was encouraged to explore my passion for art and spent long hours in the studio in high school and college. I explored many mediums, but focused mainly on batik and watercolor. As a teacher of young children I enjoyed exploring art with children and perhaps retain a young perspective on art.My art is largely a kinetic and emotional response to the world. Through painting I participate in the beauty I see and bring it more deeply into my experience. I am inherently process driven and I enjoy most the paintings that show lines, brush strokes and tell the story of their own creation. My artwork is representational, but my intent is to convey the feeling, the expression and the vibrancy I see in nature and people.

1307 Legacy Green Ave.
Wake Forest, NC 27587
919-453-2653
Email: naturpix@mindspring.com
web page

"Natures Beauty"

A few words about my photography and philosophy

Many people comment that Nature's Images in the business name has the apostrophe in the wrong place since it indicates that nature owns these images. I quickly point out that nature does indeed own the images she creates for our enjoyment. All I attempt to do is capture that image for myself and others to enjoy.

I, along with most other professional nature photographers, have learned a lot about nature and the flora and fauna that occupy it with us. We have also gained an appreciation for the awesome ever-changing beauty that has been created for us. As our native American friends say take away the sights and leave only footprints, also take away many photographs for others to enjoy.

About the artist...
Sol's award winning photography emphasizes flora, fauna and landscapes capturing the beauty and grace of the outdoors. He participates in wildlife and fine art shows in various locales on the East coast. Sol's most recent award was in a Canon World-wide Photo Contest. He is a member of, among others, the Carolina Nature Photographer's Association, NC Museum of Natural Science, Kerr Lake Arts Society, NC Zoological Society and the North Carolina Master Photographers Society®pending. He is self-taught with some training through the NY Institute of Photography and some workshops/seminars.

Sol's work has been published in books, magazines and calendars. He has presented several solo and has participated in multi-artist exhibitions in a various venues. Included among these: the US Department of Interior Museum, the National Wildlife Visitor's Center, Sertoma Arts Center, Page-Walker Arts Center and the Sunflower Studio and Gallery. Fujifilm has used Sol's photographs in show booths and two were chosen for an exhibition celebrating the 100th anniversary of the National Wildlife Refuge System. His work includes the covers of the TriCounty (NC)Telephone Directory, two Hyde County (NC) Tourism Guides, the Hyde County website, and the cover of an internationally distributed calendar and, recently, the book celebrating the 100th birthday of the Town of Wake Forest along with photograph in a NC Wildlife Commission Education brochure

Sol presents outdoor photography workshops in various locales. Sponsors have included the NC Estuarium, Raleigh Parks and Recreation, Cary Parks and Recreation, Wake Forest Parks, Durham Arts Council, the Town of Holly Springs and the National Wildlife Visitor's Center (Laurel, MD).

His note cards and photographs are sold in diverse places as bookstores, gift shops, floral centers of food markets, galleries and the National (Department of Interior) Wildlife Visitor's Center. He has provided office décor for businesses and medical facilities; Sol's photographs are in collections in the US, Korea, Japan, Canada and England.

Sol has a PhD in chemistry and in prior lives, was a chemist at IBM for over 29 yrs., helped teach a course at Cornell University and the University of Sherebrook (Quebec). Since leaving IBM, taught chemistry at Durham Community College, NCCU and has been at NC State for the last several years. He has authored dozens of papers, book chapters and a laboratory manual and holds several patents. He presents chemistry outreach programs sponsored by NCSU to various schools and for the American Chemical Society at the State Fair and NC Museum of Natural Science.

"We Invite You to Use Plastic"
A photography exhibit

About the artist...

In 1982 the plastic, low-tech camera,,Holga, started being produced in Hong Kong. Photographers all over the world have come to love this camera. Because of its somewhat flimsy construction, it lets in light leaks. Because of its manual film forward, it is possible to do double, and triple exposures. Because of its imprecise focusing, one is never sure what the results will be. Fun, fun, fun. The resulting photos can be quite extraordinary.

Seth Tice-Lewis, Rachel Elliott, and Hunter Levinsohn love the Holga. Debbie Meyer does too and wanted more people to see what a fun tool it is but is shy about showing her work so she invited the three to exhibit their work in a show she would curate. The result is quite extraordinary. Elliott's color and black and white photographs explore our local food industry. Tice-Lewis' ten black and white photographs are of the 2009 State Fair's carnival. Levinsohn takes her camera on tour and her color and black and white photographs include scenes from Poland, Las Vegas, and Chapel Hill.

Each artist can be contacted through their website or by contacting Meyer at 942-3252. Receptions for the show are scheduled for May 8 and June 12, 6-9 p.m. during the 2ndFriday Artwalk. Come fall in love with Holga. One will be on-site during the receptions.

Elliott's website is: www.easysite.com/rachelelliottphotography
Levinsohn's is: www.hunterlevinsohn.comeasysite.com
Tice-Lewis' is: www.sethticelewisphotography.com.

Other websites that provide great information about using plastic cameras (yes, there are others beside the Holga) are www.lomography.com, and www.toycamera.com. Southeastern Camera in Carrboro sells Holgas.

Thanks to the Carrboro Arts Committee who sponsored this show and continuously does an incredible shop supporting the arts.

Steven Silverleaf
Multitude of Mediums

Charleston Altered
By Amy Stern

A Fine Art photography collection created by Carrboro NC photographer. The architecture and history of Charleston, South Carolina is beautiful in itself, but when tweaked and edited, the effect is to create a more vivid and dramatic look.

For more information visit: Amy Stern's web page.
Contact Amy Stern at 919-951-8604 or amy@amystern.com .

About the artist...
Born and raised in the south, Amy Stern has lived in Atlanta, Tampa, Chicago, New York and in 2006, happily settled in North Carolina. She lives in Carrboro with her family.Amy Stern trained as a professional photographer in New York. Although she was a diehard film fan, Amy eventually discovered the beauty and ease of the digital world. Amy owns her own portrait photography business in Carrboro, North Carolina. Besides her passion for photographing children and families she enjoys creating fine works of photographic art while traveling. Her latest effort is a digital creation altering photos taken on a trip to Charleston, South Carolina.

Liz Roetzel

I have been creating art for as long as I can remember. In childhood this included activities like drawing on lined notebook paper with a No. 2 pencil, constructing a model of my dream home in a shoebox, and designing fashions for my Barbie dolls. Until well into my adulthood I put this creative urge on the back burner, occasionally taking an art class here and there while tending to the “important” details in life, like earning a living, since I wasn't quite able to make the mental leap into a land where art might actually provide me with an income. I worked in a wide variety of fields, from corporate sales and marketing to pipeline construction, on a continual quest to find the job that would bring me personal fulfillment. All of these positions had their merits, but all failed to hold my interest for more than a few years.

Finally, after many years of asking, “What's next?” I decided to take the plunge and return to school to study the only thing that had been a constant love in my life—Art. I earned my BFA degree from Memphis College of Art in 2007 and moved to North Carolina in early 2008. Almost immediately, I began indulging a new obsession for collage, which has become my Portals series. In addition to this art form, I am a painter who also loves photography and dabbles occasionally in printmaking. I'm being rewarded for honoring my true calling by being invited to show and sell my work in various venues as well as create specially commissioned pieces. I have never been happier.
(Statement from Ms. Roetzel's web site )