Deborah Banyas and T.P. Speer have lived the life of independent artists since their marraige in 1976. In 1979 T.P. resigned his position as a teacher at a liberal arts college in order to devote full-time to studio work. The next several years he plied his trade as a graphic artist (printmaker, painter and illustrator) while Deborah dabbled in a number of fields including printmaking, photography and quilt-making. During the 1980’s, the couple began studying and collecting American and Mexican folk art and their passion for the material began to rub off on their own artwork. Deborah began a series of sewn/stuffed/painted figures that proved to be successful. The addition of polymer clay, wood and metals to the mix increased both the variety and popularity of the work to the extent that T.P. joined her to collaborate in the business. Though both artists have conceptual input into each piece, Deborah concentrates on the sewn/stuffed wall pieces while T.P. works mostly on the wood/clay/metal works in addition to graphic work.

http://www.banyasandspeer.com

Katie Halton grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She was raised with an appreciation of the arts, rigorously studying dance, music, and visual arts from a young age. After completing her degree at the University of Michigan School of Art & Design, Katie traveled the world, living in London and touring Thailand. Upon her return, she fell in love with painting and has since completed multiple series of work. She has been part of many exhibitions in the Ann Arbor area, including solo shows, and aspires to spread her work worldwide.

http://www.katiehalton.com

http://www.supah.com

http://www.stephenkinnard.com

I like to paint pictures of meats and cheeses, and I enjoy making pants for birds. I used to think that a good artist should be able to see a bowl of fruit and paint it exactly as it looks, and I don’t know why it took me so long to realize (1) that not everyone sees the same thing when they look at the fruit, and (2) you can paint the fruit however the hell you want. There’s nothing terribly serious about my subject matter, and the things I create aren’t intended to change your life – just add a little fun. I hope you’re having fun right now.

As a photographer, my main passions include macro and abstract work, in the studio and the real world.

http://www.judewaltonphotography.com

John Leben was born on October 17, 1945 in Chicago. He has been married since 1971 and has two daughters. John Leben is an active artist as well as the owner and president of Leben Productions, Inc., a media production company. He has a BFA in Painting from the University of Illinois in Champaign (1968), and an MFA in Painting from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (1971).

As an artist, John’s passion has always encompassed a wide variety of media. He learned the ancient arts of fresco and glass mosaic in the woods of Northern Maine as a scholarship student at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (1968). At the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, he built robots, experimented with Xerox technology in paintings, and inched closer to electronic media, in both his imagery and his tools. He graduated with honors in 1971 winning the Kuniyoshi Traveling Fellowship which paid for a 6-week tour of European museums, galleries and churches.

After returning from Europe, John worked as a painter in Chicago exhibiting in several group shows and having a one man show at the Michael Wyman Gallery on Ontario Street. His paintings of this period utilized Xerox technology for developing images with a theme of degeneration caused by the involvement of technology. John worked the Chicago gallery scene for two years winning critical acclaim for his work.

http://www.lebenart.com

Reina Mia Brill is a New York City based artist whose work has been exhibited extensively in the US and internationally.  She is the recipient of a Bronx Council on the Arts Grant as well as a New York Foundation on the Arts Fellowship. Her sculptures have been published in over 10 books and many magazines. In 2009, Brill’s work was featured on the Cover of Surface Design Magazine. This year she is traveling to St. Petersburg, Russia on invitation for an international figurative exhibition.

Working in knitted wire and clay, Brill creates oddly endearing sculptures that look as if they just walked out of a fractured fairytale.  Her visual vocabulary reflects on her childhood years of playing creature drawing games with her Dad folded into the way she sees the world today. Using antique knitting machines, like a character out of an old fable, she animates the surface of the clay with colorful netlike wire skins that are stretched onto each figure.

http://www.reinamiabrill.com