Ms. Bourne founded and serves as Executive Director of the Joplin based 501c3 not-for-profit organization, Art Feeds. This is a charitable organization dedicated to empowering disadvantaged and underprivileged youth through creativity, art therapy and art education. Art Feeds was chosen to be one of 25 participants in the American Giving Awards sponsored by Chase Giving and spotlighted December 8, 2012 in a two-hour primetime event broadcast nationally by NBC.
Ms. Dawley serves as the Studio Manager of the nationally known Red Star Studios Ceramic Center in Kansas City, Missouri. Red Star is a multi-faceted ceramics center dedicated to promoting excellence in the ceramic arts with an emphasis on functional pottery. They create a supportive environment for ceramic students and artists by providing studio space, a visiting artist series, and artist in residence programs. Dawley is known for her nationally exhibited textured porcelain and stoneware pottery referencing organic, flowing forms. Examples of Dawley's ceramic artwork and more information about her can be found on her website.
Dr. Tom Edwards earned a MFA in Sculpture from Vermont College of Norwich University. A retired Dentist, he currently maintains his art studio in Northwest Arkansas. He has taught Art Appreciation and 3-D Design as an Adjunct Instructor for Missouri Southern. He has also taught at Northwest Arkansas Community College and Ambassadors for Christ Academy, Bentonville, Arkansas. He works in a broad range of media and techniques and his artwork is in private and public collections in fifteen states in the USA, Canada, France, and Sweden.
Mr. Johnson lives in Joplin, Missouri and has experience in marketing, graphic design, web design, and illustration. He has worked as a Graphic designer and web designer for GateHouse Media, PILR Technology Services, DMS Management Services, and the R. Mort Company.
Mr. Hauck earned a MFA Degree in Sculpture from Montana State University and is an Assistant Professor of Art at East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma. His sculpture represents his fascination and annoyance with commercialism, energy, waste, consumption, and the effect they have on our culture and the environment. Examples of Hauck's sculpture and more information about him can be found on his website.
Mr. Leyva earned a MA Degree from Pittsburg State University and then a MFA from the California College for the Arts. He returned to Joplin and built a large complex for his art studio. His paintings are a reflection of his responsibility to the natural things that he loves and finding a common ground between language and freedom. He is represented by Nuartgallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico. Examples of Leyva's artwork and more information about him can be found on his website.
Mrs. Mitchell teaches at Carterville Elementary School and is active on the education committee at the George A. Spiva Center for the Arts where she exhibits her work, teaches classes, and volunteers. She received the Art Educator of the Year award for 2012 from the Missouri Art Education Association (MAEA) and was recognized at the national conference in New York City in March 2012 and the state conference the same month.
Mr. Murray earned a MFA Degree in Sculpture from Wichita State University and teaches Sculpture at Missouri Southern as an Adjunct Instructor. His sculpture strives to communicate the idea of remodeling "self" and "home" through symbolic means as well as by singling out a portion of a piece away from the whole. He teaches sculpture as an Adjunct Instructor for Missouri Southern.
Ms. Putnam's sculptural works in alabaster and Indiana limestone feature contrasts of warm, earthy colors with the coolness of touch. She lives and works in Carthage, Missouri and has work included in private collections in Florida, Kansas, Missouri, Nevada, Oregon and Texas.
Originally trained as a nurse (RN, BSN -- University of Nebraska), Mrs. Reed has her home studio in Joplin, Missouri. Her drawings and paintings strive to incorporate her concern for the environment with a universal sense of spirituality. She recently completed a commission for a series of paintings to be installed in the Woman's Health Center in a local hospital.
Mr. Thomas lives and works in Carthage, MO and his desire to create is funneled into the area he most admires, painting realism. His work is found in magazine articles, National Park Service brochures, and educational books by the Franklin Watts Children Press, Harcourt and others. He has also illustrated books and his images are used on many book covers. His work can also be found in videos produced by the NPS, US Federal Claims Court, and National Geographic. He is represented by Greenhouse Gallery of San Antonio Texas. More information about Andy Thomas and his artwork can be found on his website.
An active educator, in her own work Ms. Wright uses the lost wax process to produce hand carved designs in sterling silver and casts her work in a small foundry at her studio in the Ozark hills of Missouri. She uses metal and stones, incorporating the feel of organic motion and growth into the solidity of metal. She strives to capture the ephemeral beauty of nature and translate it into objects which enhance the connections between nature and humanity. More information about Randy Wright and her artwork can be found on her website.
