Author: Seraphina Calder

John Gardner’s journey into sculpture is as textured and layered as his bronzes. He is a storyteller with clay and metal, capturing more than just the physical likeness of his subjects. His sculptures radiate warmth and humanity—qualities he believes history should remember alongside the achievements of remarkable individuals. For Gardner, the work is not about chasing perfection, but about revealing essence. He sees his role as translating memory, spirit, and lived character into a physical form that endures. His bronzes are human in the truest sense—faces that carry emotion, postures that hold presence, gestures that remain long after the people…

Alan Brown’s artistic journey began not in a gallery, but in the quiet shadows of a darkroom. It was there, watching images emerge slowly on photographic paper, that he first felt the magnetic pull of art. That moment—seemingly ordinary, deeply transformative—ignited a passion for visual storytelling that has carried him through more than forty years of creative work. With a BS in Communications from Syracuse University, where he majored in Advertising Photography and minored in Art History, Brown built a strong foundation that bridged both the technical and historical sides of art. Over time, that balance of craft and context…

Patricia Skibbe, a 72-year-old artist from North Central Texas, is just now coming into her own as an artist. Her connection to fine art and music runs deep—she grew up in an artistic family and always carried a creative impulse. But like many, the push and pull of everyday life often left little room for pursuing that impulse fully. Raising a family, work, responsibilities—those came first. The easel, the brushes, the sketchbook, they were always nearby but rarely at the center. Now, after years of quiet observation and living with that pull in the background, Skibbe has stepped into her…

Samaj X is an artist whose work delves into the layers of the human experience—merging personal reflection, cultural heritage, and contemporary life into a visual language that feels both intimate and expansive. His practice blends intuition with introspection, drawing from the collective conscience as much as from private memory. Each piece emerges not as a polished answer, but as an unfolding question, a glimpse into identity shaped by chaos, silence, and discovery. For Samaj X, the act of creating is transformative. The canvas becomes not just a place for color and form, but a space where inner currents meet outer…

Derrick Bullard started painting when he was just a teenager. He had ADD, lots of it, and not much that held his attention. But painting did. It gave him something to lock into—something that didn’t ask for neat answers or perfect focus, just time and presence. That was enough. And so he kept going. What began as a teenage coping mechanism became a lifelong rhythm. No art school. No dealer’s pressure. No critics to please. Just him and the paint, day after day. Over time, the act of making art stopped being a distraction and became a form of survival.…

Beth Vendryes Williams grew up on Long Island’s North Shore, New York, the oldest in a bustling family of seven children. With six younger siblings filling the house with constant chatter and motion, she carved out quiet corners wherever she could. Art became her way of creating stillness. A pencil and paper, a paintbrush, or even a notebook offered the pause she needed. When the house felt too loud, she often slipped into books, wandered outside under the trees, or sketched what caught her eye. Those small escapes added up. Drawing and painting stopped being a pastime and became a…

Sigrid Thaler is an Italian artist whose life has unfolded across continents and cultures. Now based in Milan, her path began in a small mountain town in northern Italy. That environment — quiet, raw, and grounded in nature — left an early mark on her creative approach. Over time, her work has taken on new layers through years spent living in Austria, Paris, Singapore, and São Paulo. Each city added its own rhythm to her visual language. Along the way, she absorbed influences from Nordic simplicity to Southeast Asian vibrancy. These varied perspectives now coexist in her art, forming a…

Federica Masini is an Italian artist whose creative path has taken shape through the cultures and colors of several countries. Though born and educated in Italy, she has lived and worked in Germany, Spain, and France—each place leaving its mark on her sensibility and style. Her Italian upbringing gave her a deep-rooted appreciation for art history and aesthetics, but it was Berlin that unlocked her own voice. The city’s rawness, contradictions, and energy gave her the freedom to explore. Masini’s work today reflects a life spent observing and absorbing. Her palette is bold, her themes direct, and her approach honest.…

Miguel Barros is a Lisbon-born artist whose work invites quiet reflection on the planet, memory, and our fragile place within it. Born in 1962, Barros holds citizenship in Portugal, Canada, and Angola—each country leaving a distinct mark on his life and creative direction. He studied Architecture and Design at IADE in Lisbon, graduating in 1984. That background shaped how he sees space and structure, but it’s through painting that he has found the freedom to explore inner landscapes. In 2014, he moved from Angola to Calgary, Alberta, shifting his base from one kind of horizon to another. The geographical transitions…

Ruth Poniarski didn’t begin her creative life with a paintbrush. She started with blueprints and drafting tools, earning her Bachelor of Architecture from Pratt Institute in 1982. For the next ten years, she worked in construction—building structures with logic, measurements, and hard edges. But in 1988, she turned to painting, a medium that allowed for less rigidity and more emotional and intellectual freedom. Painting gave her a way to channel her thoughts, questions, and stories onto canvas in ways that architecture could not. Her work draws from myth, literature, culture, and philosophy. Each painting carries a surreal quality, often dreamlike…