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.

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