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Erin Bennett Banks Banks' illustrations have also been printed in publications such as Harvard Business Review, Atlanta Magazine, Charleston Magazine and Focus on the Family periodicals. She has also licensed select oil paintings that are distributed to vendors such as JCPenney, Bed, Bath & Beyond and Art & Artifacts catalogue. Banks holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in illustration from the Savannah College of Art and Design, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in studio art and graphic design from Houghton College, NY. In addition to her freelance career, Banks is the director of recruitment for the Savannah College of Art and Design's Atlanta campus. She has served as a 2-D juror for the Atlanta Dogwood Festival, co-coordinator of the Georgia High School Drawing Competition, visual arts examiner for the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program and panelist for the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts (NFAA). Banks lives in Atlanta, GA with her husband, illustrator Timothy Banks, and pugs Fiona and Grace. Samples of her artwork can be seen online at www.erinbanks.com.
Helen Blythe-Hart, inventor of the acclaimed Heat Zone Soldering Method, has been practicing her metal artistry for over 27 years and teaching students for 15 years both at University and Community levels on the East Coast and locally. She has won numerous awards in this country and her work has been collected internationally by the Deutsches Goldschmeidehaus, a metalsmithing museum in Germany, and Orphan Pharmaceuticals in Paris, France. Other corporate collections include the Hyatt Regency, Johnson and Johnson, and AOC Corporations. She specializes in sterling silver and glass sculptures with a futuristic edge, and loves to combine natural stones with patterned gold and silver to create lushly extravagant jewels that sparkle with brilliance and articulated movement. Degrees include a BFA in metals from Indiana University, and soon, an MFA in Sculpture and Metals from Georgia State University. Certified Graduate Gemologist (GIA) and member of the Society of North American Goldsmiths. Her work is shown in art galleries across the US.
James Few, a native Atlantan, has thirty years of dedication to the arts community, gracing his viewers with elegant clay sculptures and pottery. As a career arts educator with the Atlanta Public Schools, former part-time lecturer at Morris Brown College, Atlanta Metropolitan College, and the Atlanta Bureau of Cultural Affairs, he has inspired a myriad of students to express their creativity and many have pursued advanced studies. He obtained his BA degree from Morris Brown College and his MA in Art Education from Georgia State University; his thesis, Creating Nonfunctional Vessels from Clay, has been used as a teaching model. For this artist, the creation of utilitarian wares restricts freedom of expression and innovation, because more emphasis is placed on the possible function of the vessel. Therefore, James uses the vessel as a form of expression or work of art instead of a functional object. His sculptures - A Few Creations - are all hand-built, frequently using the raku-firing method. While he does not try to imitate nature, many of his vessels resemble organic qualities found in nature, such as water, wind, emotions, plants, clouds, and growth. Influence also comes from the arts of primitive cultures, such as masks and ceremonial vessels. In addition, his pottery consists of intricate carvings, cut-outs, limbs, or appendages. From these pottery forms, the elegantly sculpted figurine evolved. The appendages began to look like arms, and the cut-outs, began to take on body shapes. Now the figurines have evolved into mixed media, where James incorporates fabric and jewelry in the finished process. James has exhibited and sold his work in galleries and major events locally and nationally, often winning "Best-of-Show" and the accolades of art critics for print and news media. In addition to having a tremendous following of private collectors around the globe, several of his sculptures were purchased for the permanent art collection at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and for Barcelona Spain's Bureau of Cultural Affairs during the 1996 Cultural Olympiad.
George Nock, former running back with the New York Jets and Washington Redskins was destined early in life to become an artist. His has been a fascinating career - from maneuvering his powerful torso, to swift moves on the Gridiron, to positioning his big, strong hands to delicately mold objects of intricacy and perfection. Self-taught, Nock has distinguished himself among the greatest sculptors of the twentieth through twenty-first century, due to an intrinsic ability to capture with versatility highly original bronzes reflecting life's experiences. The brawny, broad-shouldered ex-athlete found his real victory in shaping exquisite sculpture. Inspired by junior high school teachers, one a sculptor, the other a painter, the multi-talented Nock etched, sketched, sculpted and painted throughout high school - amid stellar performance on the basketball court and football field. In 1964, on a sports scholarship, the mild-mannered jock attended Morgan State University, where he majored in Psychology. By 1969 he had been drafted by the New York Jets. "The team would be going over game strategy in the training facility in Shea Stadium, and would find Nock working on preliminary drawings for sculptures. After 5 years in the NFL, Nock retired. A natural instinct to eye a field and to scheme an entire play transformed fluidly -- to the ability to look at a clump of clay and envision a masterpiece. Whereas, immediate productivity was demanded on the playing field, the average sculpture required 2-7 months of labor to complete. Yet, the euphoria of the vision ?the creativity poured into the 3- dimensional structure - exceeds the thrill or rush one feels in running a touch down, Nock maintains. In fact, his first bronze cast "ScatBack" depicted his very playing position - a running back. "I knew all mechanics of the moves - so I was inspired to recreate them in 3-D." Nock's admiration of the human form and firsthand knowledge of the feats it can achieve is spectacularly recognized in the compelling realism of his work. Through hands-on practice, Nock devoted his life to the creation of realistic figures in bronze. "I feel a responsibility to breathe life into untold stories, usually women, the culture bearers of any society. Oftentimes my subject will be African-Americans, whose way of life seems to have remained in touch with their heritage. One can still observe many of our traditions and ways of times past. Our history is reflected in our faces." His bronzes seem to embody a definite feeling of humility and passion regardless of vast subject matter. Much of Nock's work is derived from some indelible experience stored in the crevices of his mind. Whether sculpting a figure from world history, a forgotten people, or a famed athlete Nock possesses the uncanny ability to capture the essence of his subject with a characteristic pose or expression. Perhaps it's Nock's early coursework in psychology that comes into play, leaving us with the feel that his bronze works are more than mere representations - but lifelike intimate glimpses into the very core of who his figures are.
Ronnie Offen is a native of Washington, DC, and received her early art training in that city. She was graduated from the catholic university in Washington with a degree in art. Before becoming interested in pastel painting, Ronnie concentrated her efforts in oriental brush painting, or sumi-e. Since moving to Atlanta in 1991, Ronnie has worked almost exclusively in pastel and oil. She is a member of excellence in the Atlanta Artists' Center & the Southeastern Pastel Society, and a member of the Plein Air Painters of Georgia. She has had many works juried into both local and national pastel shows, and has received awards in many of these shows. Ronnie has her work in both private and corporate collections. These include: Wachovia Bank, Bank of America, Sun Trust Bank and Northern Telecom.
A graduate of the Savannah (Georgia) College of Art and Design with a Master's degree in Photography, Mr. Slesnick was an active art show exhibitor for over 30 years and has taught photography at the university level. Known for his Private Spaces™ body of work, he has gone on to document the cultures of small town America since leaving the art show circuit in 2006. These projects, commissioned by local arts groups, involve going into peoples' homes and photographing their surroundings, mementos, and whatever else catches his eye. The resulting body of work is then put together as an exhibition and presented to the citizens of its respective community, where it then permanently resides. The winner of many of the nation's top art show awards, Mr. Slesnick, in 2000, was announced the International Grand Award winner of the once-in-a-lifetime M.I.L.K. competition. M.I.L.K. is an acronym for Moments of Intimacy, Laughter, and Kinship, and has been called "The Photographic Event of Our Time." With a world record total prize package, the organizers invited photographers from every country on the planet to participate. Over 40,000 photographs from more than 17,000 photographers in 164 countries were submitted, including four Pulitzer Prize™ winners (www.milkphotos.com). His winning photographs can be seen in the landmark book, Family, A Celebration of Humanity. Mr. Slesnick believes very strongly in the art show venue and in the artists who have chosen to make this venue their life's work. He believes it is part of our responsibility, as art fair artists, to educate the public about what we do and how we do it, and to bring great art to the masses. Stating that "the art of America is on the street," he has continued to volunteer his time to various art shows and does whatever he can to help ensure a continued livelihood for his colleagues. |
