Susan Lenz - Window XXIX, 2011

Fiber Artist Susan Lenz:

“My artistic mentor is oil painter Stephen Chesley.  His studio is across the hallway from mine at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios.  He’s been a self supporting artist for over 25 years.  He gave me good advice right from the start.  He always has an opinion for contemplation, a kind word when needed, a strong suggestion when needed, and honors me with his respect.” 

 Natalie Boorman Lacy Ferns, 2011

Ceramic Artist Natalie Boorman: 

“Many people and institutions. Indirectly, my early teachers who noticed my art work in grade school, my family, and art institutions in places I’ve lived as an adult.  In North Carolina, I’ve attended many classes locally in Chapel Hill as well as Penland, John C. Campbell School of Crafts.  Paulus Berensohn, Jimmy Clark and George Kokis, teachers from Penland, have been very inspirational to me.  I think broadly, family, friends, institutions, and community all support and inspire me and others to make art.”

 Julia Woodmann Cockle Burr I, II, III Servers, 1995

Silversmith Julia Woodman:

“Mostly the late Heikki Seppä with whom I studied in several workshops at the Penland School of Crafts inspired me. Heikki was born and received his early metals training in Finland. After immigrating to America he for years chaired the metals department at Washington University in St. Louis. He was widely recognized and honored for his seminal work with anticlastic and synclastic forms and related shell-forming techniques. When I moved toward work involving three-dimensional tessellation he was most generous with guidance and encouragement. He was likewise very supportive while I was engaged in my graduate studies and subsequently encouraged me to apply for a Fulbright grant to study in Finland. Once in Finland I found myself studying with 2^nd and 3^rd generation descendants of Faberge masters. Following completion of my studies I was able to compete successfully for certification by the Finnish craft guild as a Master Silversmith, the first American so honored.”

 Bruce Lankard Lankard 2007

Photographer Bruce Lankard:

“Like many young photographers, I was inspired early by the works of the great street photographers like Henri Cartier-Bresson and Garry Winogrand. My biggest inspiration, to this day, has been the work of Robert Frank: his ground-breaking vision at the time of “The Americans” and his refusal to be pigeonholed and his continued explorations into new avenues of artistic expression.”