About the Art & Artists

Christine has dedicated more than five decades to her artistic journey. She earned a BFA from Carnegie Mellon University and has worked in various mediums, including clay, metal, glass, fiber, and painting. In addition to creating captivating art, she has also shared her expertise through teaching and has conducted workshops and classes in Pittsburgh, upstate New York, and Mt. Vernon. For more than 15 years, Christine taught at the Kenyon College Craft Center, imparting her wisdom to aspiring artists. She has participated in juried shows and one-man exhibitions, showcasing her distinctive style and creativity. Although clay is her primary medium, Christine continues to explore new mediums, including painting. Inspired by the natural landscapes of Gambier, she captures the beauty of nature in her artwork. With over 50 years of artistic experience, her legacy as a talented artist and dedicated educator continues to inspire and enrich the world of art.

bonesawbaron, better known as Atticus, is a 21 year old artist who enjoys the craftsmanship behind creation. He devotes his time to improving his skills, and hopes to inspire others by sharing his work.

https://www.tiktok.com/@bustillo.ink

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An artist from birth, Nikki has spent her life experimenting with different styles, mediums, and concepts, ranging from handicrafts to fine arts. Ten years ago, she made the decision to turn her passion into a career, and currently earns a living painting tiny masterpieces on people's fingernails. When she's not in the salon, you can typically find her enjoying nature, live music, or hanging out with her two cats.

Oil x India Ink

I’m a multidisciplinary artist drawn to dark romance, emotional storytelling, and symbolic imagery. I work across painting, chalk art, sculpture, digital design, and mixed media, creating pieces that feel both haunting and deeply personal. A lot of my inspiration comes from gothic aesthetics, fantasy, horror, mythology, and the emotions tied to human connection. My work often lives in the contrast between softness and brutality: Armored figures holding flowers, sacred imagery mixed with grief, or strange creatures emerging from vivid color and chaos. I’m less interested in making something simply “beautiful” and more interested in creating atmosphere and feeling. Whether I’m working on a large chalk mural, a portrait, or a handcrafted sculptural piece, I want the final work to feel like part of a larger story; something ancient, vulnerable, and alive.

Instagram: @Kailync.art

Sebastian Coleman has been involved with glass his entire life.  Starting with the attendance of shows with his parents, Robert and Vicki Coleman, at around 18 months of age, he then moved on to cold working glass with the help of his father at age 3.  Growing up with involvement in almost all aspects of the business, he began blowing glass on his own in around 1996 at the age of 15.  After graduating from the College of Wooster in 2004, he spent 11 years in the biotech/pharmaceutical industry, playing a wide variety of roles for several companies.

In 2015, after the passing of his father, Sebastian decided to keep the furnace lit, and carry on the tradition of Patient Medicines and glass in the Coleman family.  

He is applying the lifelong training received from his father to produce both traditional and newly designed forms, and fully pursue a lifelong passion for glass.  He is producing glass using traditional materials and techniques in the hot shop on the family farm in Mt. Vernon, Ohio, where Patient Medicines has been located since 1978

Facebook: Patient Medicines Blown Glass https://www.facebook.com/patientmedicinesblownglass 

Instagram: @patientmedicinesblownglass

Website: https://www.patientmedicinesblownglass.com

My paper doll series came about when I rediscovered a box of paper dolls in my mother’s home after her passing. These simple vintage play items are a nostalgic touchstone of my childhood, which I had cut out and played with during the hours I spent playing alone in our rural home. Animals also had an important role in both my childhood in the country and my adulthood as a mother raising my own four children on a farm, where there was never a shortage of both pets and wilderness. As an artist, I often choose to work in mixed media. These pieces combine the crisp designs of the cutout fashions with soft color pencil strokes of the animals wearing them.

Instagram: @colemangallerygaleriesuite
@foldenstitch, @galerie_glass_suite

Olivia is a designer and illustrator at Boxcar Creative Co. located right here in Mount Vernon. While she illustrates a wide range of subjects, birds remain her favorite source of inspiration and creativity.

Instagram: @boxcarcreativeco

My name is Jim Coontz, Married 22 years and a father of 3 girls and a son. I've lived in Knox county since 1998 and we love it out in the quiet country setting. I started oil painting in April of 2023 after my wife bought me a Bob Ross painting kit. She's heard talk about always wanting to try it through the years. Haven't painted in over a year and a half but trying to find motivation again to get back at it.

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I’m Jared Doze, a local artist living in Apple Valley. I spend weekdays at an adult day center, where I dedicate time to creating art and refining my skills. My work spans ink, watercolor, and oil painting, reflecting a range of styles and subjects that inspire me daily. A selection of my pieces is displayed in local spaces, including the Health Department and the Columbus Airport. I’m grateful to the community for supporting my art and inviting it into everyday life.

Christopher Michael Duda is an Ohio-based multidisciplinary artist, muralist, writer, and musician known for bold, symbolically layered artwork blending surrealism, pop culture, and emotional storytelling. Working primarily in acrylic and mixed media, his work explores identity, spirituality, nature, and the hidden poetry of everyday life. Duda has exhibited publicly, created community-centered murals, and maintains collections in both public and private spaces.

Instagram: @chrisdudaxd

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Kendrick Flanagan was born in upstate New York, but spent most of his childhood and adult life in Central Ohio. From an early age he discovered a passion for art, nature, and architecture. These passions are evident in his artwork, which most often depict cityscapes, buildings, or various aspects of nature. Most comfortable with pencil or pen sketching, Kendrick has expanded his work to include watercolor painting and marker art. He is a 2008 graduate of Utica High School, where he was voted as Most Artistic in his senior class. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Biology from Mount Vernon Nazarene University. He currently resides in Mount Vernon with his wife and three daughters, and is the Director of a Camp and Outdoor School in Central Ohio.

Instagram: @kendrick.sketch.art

I grew up in Mt. Vernon and have been involved in some sort of art my entire life. Painting, drawing, tattoos , cosplay, music, I always try to pour my heart into what I’m doing.

After a fulfilling career in the field of developmental disabilities, Liz has now turned her focus to working with fused and kiln-formed glass.This process involves the application of heat to fuse pieces of glass or glass powders together in a kiln. Once fused, Liz enhances the creation by incorporating additional glass elements or shaping the piece further by subjecting it to another round of heating in the kiln. She explores temperatures reaching up to 1575 degrees, carefully manipulating them to achieve desired effects. Liz draws inspiration from both the natural world and manmade objects, finding beauty in their forms and colors. Constantly driven by her passion for experimentation and growth, she continuously seeks out new techniques, skillfully translating her inspiration into mesmerizing works of glass art.

Website: https://kudosartco-op.square.site/artists

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My name is Rogan Hickman, I’ve been an aspiring artist since grade school and hope to eventually have the opportunity to expand my passion into work that I can share with everyone! Typically I love to depict heavy emotions with my art or to convey a message, hoping someone else can find some kinship or comfort within trauma related circumstances or the oddities experienced in life!

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Submitted by Beth Holt, this hand sewn feed sack quilt was created sometime between the 1920s and 1940s by her Great-Grandmother, Pearl Horn (1883-1966), who lived in Knox County her entire life. If you notice on the quilt there are patches used to mend some holes. It is presumed that these patches were brought home by her two sons, after they served in WWII.

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Kayla Hughes is a community artist and writer. She blends storytelling, art, and education. Through her art studio, Scraps Community Studio, she shows community is something we create together ~ one act of kindness (and piece of art) at a time.

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This babayaga house is inspired by the pollypockets I played with as a kid. I enjoy using bright colors and pencils to create art with a child like whimsy to it.

I’m Joan McGough, work at MVDC. I have 2 wonderful kids, Kian and Leo and an amazing husband Nate, who bought me my first camera for Christmas a year and a half ago and turned my hobby into an obsession. I draw inspiration from nature and old buildings.

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My name is Sarrah Muroski and I live in Gambier. I am a self taught graphite pet portrait artist and have been creating for the past 4 years.

Jaxon Reed is a 20 year old artist who is working hard to build his portfolio for future endeavors. He has been creating art for over 10 years and shows no sign of slowing down. He uses every kind of media he can get his hands on, from digital creations to acrylic paintings. His favorite thing to create is portrait style paintings.

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 I am a local artist native to Knox County who graduated in 2024 from MVNU with a BA of Art. I primarily work in acrylic for my paintings, exploring the abstract expressionist style. I strive for a balance between the fluid organic movement of the paint and controlled brushwork to convey the process in my paintings. My work serves as an aesthetic and graceful redemption of challenging memories from my adolescence.

After many years away from the studio, I am returning to my practice with the perspective of an artist who has lived, paused, and rediscovered the need to make. Trained in visual communication design in 2003, my work now centers on cyanotypes and mixed-media processes, methods that allow me to collaborate with light, time, and chance. Alternative photographic printing has drawn me in for its blend of precision and unpredictability. Each piece becomes a negotiation between control and surrender, structure and accident. I work with natural materials, found textures, paint, and layered surfaces to explore memory, impermanence, and the traces we leave behind. These works are both a continuation and a renewal, an exploration of how process, patience, and the passage of time shape what we create and who we become.

Facebook: Sara Smith Mixed Media Artist  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61577628035190 

Instagram: @burlapandspice

Website: https://galleryongambier.square.site/shop/sara-smith/C6LCTCEDP3KTHXVMR2B344ZZ

Katrina Steele is a photographer in Knox County, Ohio.  She works across many genres but is particularly drawn to images portraying the natural world.  Katrina has placed in numerous local competitions and participated in juried shows at Bryn Du (’20 and ’25), the Ohio Artist Registry Exhibition (’23), and the Ohio State Fair (’23).  She is a current Click Pro Elite through the Click Community/Click Magazine. Her work has been published in local and regional guides and breed industry magazines, and online through various platforms, and she has volunteered countless hours photographing events for local non profits.

Instagram: @k_steele_images

I have always drawn ever since I was young. My dream is to spread love and community with my art. I'm starting to take on more freelance work, including tattoo designs, posters, hoodie designs, stickers, and original characters.

I do most of my artwork digitally, these especially. I used the ibisPaint X app and my Phone.

Wendling Glass Creations is the collaboration of husband-and-wife artists Kurt and Lorraine (Lorry) Wendling. Both lifelong creatives with a background in art, they discovered a shared passion for stained glass early in their marriage and have been crafting beautiful works together for over 20 years.

Lorraine draws inspiration from Renaissance architecture and has a keen sensitivity to color, while Kurt focuses on innovative construction techniques and strong design foundations. Their combined talents produce original pieces that range from simple geometric forms to intricate organic designs—works of art meant to endure and inspire.

Kurt and Lorraine enjoy connecting with patrons at art festivals, gaining valuable feedback and inspiration from those who appreciate their craftsmanship. More recently, they have expanded into designing custom pieces that enhance personal living spaces, offering clients the chance to be part of the creative process. Their mission is to create meaningful, lasting art that brings beauty and joy for generations.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kurtwendling 

Instagram: @kurtwendling

Other: https://www.artworkarchive.com/profile/wendling-glass

I was born in Westerville, and after living in several states, it was time for my husband to retire.  In 1989, we picked Knox County because it reminded me of Westerville when I was younger - small, friendly towns. When my husband died, I needed something to occupy my time, so I started crafting and painting.   I don't think of myself as an "artist" but more of a crafter who will try anything. I have a small woodworking shop, an embroidery sewing machine, and a ton of painting and crafting supplies. I even surprise myself as to what I'll try next.

I think most of my items are just so-so but I enjoy the process. I'm self-taught but I watch a lot of YouTube & Pinterest videos. My grandmother started painting when she was 80 years old, only to find out she was a true artist.  Art seems to run in my family, as my sisters and grandchildren are all talented. My daughter is an amazing photographer. Even my 4 year old great-grandson is starting to show skills.  If you think you don't have talent, you won't know until you give it a try.

• Pamela primarily creates functional ceramic kitchen, utilitarian ware and serving pieces meant to be used and enjoyed in a unique hand-made, tableware experience. The love of cooking and entertaining drives her to spend a great deal of attention to ceramic functionality, practicality and the ability of hand-crafted ware to enhance the presentation and enjoyment of food. Striving to create unique designs as well as countless years in glaze formulation contributes to her conversation on ceramic aesthetics. To satisfy her desire to work on a grander scale, she enjoys creating sculptures with a narrative focus on nature and the beauty inspired from hiking, camping and travels.   This body of work tends to be the source of entry into various juried art shows over the years. You will find  PineRowStudio work in nearly all 50 states and in collections around the world. The endeavor of creating in clay, with a focus on exploration and continuing education has given the reward of winning recognition and awards in local, national and international ceramic arts exhibitions.

Pamela is a veteran High School Art Teacher that brainstorms interesting and educational workshop sessions. Although painfully and tragically widowed in 2023, she sings accolades of her husband Bill Jones, "the original Bill Jones" whom she shared a 20+year journey in life, love and clay.  Bill retired several years ago from the American Ceramic Society where he was the editor of Pottery Making Illustrated, a magazine for studio potters. They both received a Bachelor of Fine Art from the State University of West Georgia and The Ohio State University, respectively. Pamela is continuing the legacy of PineRowStudio and  brings many years of experience with and of clay in a fun and creative schedule of classes that will engage and inform beginners and all clay enthusiasts.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PineRowStudio/

Instagram: @pamelapinerowstudio

Website: https://www.pinerowstudio.net