WELCOME TO THE ARTISTS PAGE.
Get to know Christos Collective’s artists by viewing their posts below and taking the time to explore their website links. You are encouraged to connect with them to share your interest and support. (Artists listed alphabetically)
Jennifer Bunge
BIO: Jennifer Bunge gets her inspiration from the rural Canadian prairie of her childhood and the suburban cityscape of her youth. She has always lived inland but is especially inspired by the mystery of the sea. Bunge is also inspired by bold and dramatic artists from the past and present; her influences include comic book artist Herge and the cleverly simple German Expressionist Karl Schmidt-Rotluff. She is thankful to have studied under the underground comics pioneer Frank Stack and satirical American printmaker Tom Huck. Her artwork explores real and imagined landscape, themes of faith, and topics of motherhood and parenting.
Awards include placements in local art competitions and inclusion in the New York Museum of Art and Design's exhibition, "The Art of the Paper Plate." Jennifer has been a member of two different art co-op galleries in Colorado and is currently a member of the newly formed Christos Collective out of Denver, Colorado. She lives in Northern Colorado with her supportive husband and four busy children.
ARTIST STATEMENT: I work in watercolor, acrylic, and a variety of other media to make art that represents the world and how I see it; expressionist landscapes, fanciful imaginary scenes, social commentary, faith, and subjects of parenting are topics which repeatedly emerge in my work. I continue to strive to connect and develop these themes in new and different ways. While my subjects may be diverse, dramatic color contrasts and vibrant hues are the constant in my paintings. Thinking of beauty (labeled by philosopher Nicholas Wolterstorff as "aesthetic contemplation") interests me as I follow these themes because my aim in making art is to produce something new and worthy of aesthetic contemplation.
Mary Carpenter
“Know your story, own your story, tell your story” -Phola
Mary is an artist from the Pacific Northwest what loves spending time in the forest. She creates narrative art:
“Every flower & painting holds within it the potential to tell the ongoing, transformative story of each person who holds & views it. Through passing down these pieces, that story can be told for generations.”
Through her recent paintings & floral art about transformational stories & healing elements we can experience in the natural world, Mary seeks to answer the question: “Can art be a useful addition for a Narrative Therapist to use as a visual element in helping guide youth and families toward healing through connections to nature along with the metaphor of the Tree of Life*?” Mary is beginning the journey of collaborating with an organization which helps children in Africa + provides therapy training so that youth and families can be empowered and experience healing.
Sandra Jean Ceas
BIO: Sandra Jean Ceas was born Sandra Jean Raymond in the state of Rhode Island. After experiencing a successful career as a Fashion Designer, Product Developer, Corporate Consultant, and Educator, Ceas eventually turned to Fine Arts. From 2002 to 2012 she added to her AAS Fashion Institute of Technology Fashion Degree, a BFA in Sculpture from Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design, a MFA in New Genres from the San Francisco Art Institute, and a MA in Religious Studies from the University of Denver.
Ceas has a twenty-year exhibition history including international exposure, and decades of years of teaching and speaking at various public venues to included conferences, college campuses, U.S. military exhibitions, and creative and spiritual retreats. Her topics have continually engaged art and spirituality. In the last several years, Ceas has experienced an annual artist-in-residence in Italy, Morocco, New Mexico, New York, Spain, and Mexico, and she often leads collaborative social practice projects with students and colleagues.
Today, Ceas lives and works from a Colorado home/art studio and teaches as Colorado State University in the LEAP Master’s program for Art Leadership and Cultural Management, and studio arts in a private studio setting. Her art practice engages a socio-political point of view with an interdisciplinary approach expressed through various mediums to include installation, drawing, collage, appropriation, street art public intervention, and observational photography. Ceas travels the globe surveying opportunities to use art as a means for discourse, especially where religious tension resides.
ARTIST STATEMENT: I work with a variety of materials to etch, draw, cast, print, paint, collage, assemble, juxtapose, photograph, up-cycle, intervene, distribute, install or document a silent concern that speaks loudly in its time. On a global scale, my art specifically addresses social sensitivities around religious conflict and human nature. My art practice is generated from my worldly travels to zones of cultural tension, prompted by the Holy Spirit and grounded in the study of human conditions surrounding oppression, war and peace. My aim is to create emotional connections to unresolved situations seeking redemption. Often I embed the concept in the art making process as opposed to relying totally on the formal presentation of the work; each attribute feeds off the other to communicate the significance behind the art. Presently I am investigating the crisis in the Middle East and in Africa to deliver a visual commentary for empathetic response, education and advocacy.
http://www.sandrajeanceas.com/
Gabrielle Crosby
BIO: Gabrielle Crosby has wanted to be an artist since kindergarten — where she proudly stated that when she grew up she was going to “be an artist and dye her hair blue.” While the blue hair idea may have stayed in kindergarten, the dream of being artist continued. Growing up, she took group art classes throughout her education alongside private lessons in drawing and composition in high school. After a hiatus from pursuing art in college, she is now turning to art professionally and as a calling from the Lord. Her passion lies in drawing (ink, pencil, and colored pencil especially), with an emphasis in reflecting the natural world with realism.
ARTIST STATEMENT: God is the original Artist, and His creativity can be seen everywhere throughout creation. My passion is discovering awe and wonder through art; the detail, the color, the line and form of God’s masterpieces all act as my inspiration. Art is ultimately a form of worship and a demonstration of how we are made in God’s image, reflecting His original character quality of creativity. By creating art, we can participate in His joy in creation.
https://gabriellecrosby.wordpress.com
Louise Cutler
BIO: Louise Cutler is a Fort Collins based Creationist, artist, writer and sculptor. Her work is motivated by her desire to create beauty that cultivates truth, peace and tranquility.
She considers one’s art an extension of one’s life. Her work, whether painting, drawing, writing, gardening, or performing is a visual or written translation of her life, feelings, and people she have encountered, places she have been, and things she have seen.
Ms. Cutler’s paintings combine her love of gardening, people and the great outdoors.
Drawing has always come naturally for her; as a child, she drew continually. In grade school, her desk was filled with pencil and crayon drawings. Her imagination was her way of escaping some of the harsh realities of life while growing up in urban America.
Ms. Cutler was selected in 2014 as one of Art Business News’ Top Emerging Artists. Her work was featured in the ABN 2014 issue. Her work has also appeared in several issues of Art World News in 2018 and 2019.
ARTIST STATEMENT: My work almost always starts with a figurative form, and then everything else grows around it. It's as if the figure gives birth to the rest; without the figure, the painting cannot exist. I am a Mix-media, multi-cultural artist and sculptor with a focus on nature and the clothed human form. Simplicity, peace, harmony, calm, is my mantra. This is echo throughout my work. I try to continually live in the now, forgetting those things that are behind and awaiting what lies ahead. Every day is a new day with no mistakes in it.
My Bronze pieces are birth out of my paintings. Each painting is and incubator for something greater. As I recreate the forms from my paintings in clay they become a whole new body of work. Work that is alive in three-dimensional form, that is born from a creation to form yet another creation. Much like our creator formed us.
http://louisecutlerstudio.com/
Dan Dynneson
BIO: Dan Dynneson is a self-taught artist, author, and electrician based in Canada. He completed his electrician Red Seal certification from BCIT in 2010 and has worked on a variety of commercial and industrial projects across the country.
Inspired by his mother, who was a painter, his father, who was an electrician, and his grandmother, who was an author, Dan pursued his own creative interests and in 2018, self-published "Reinvented: 26 Authors Share Little Things That Make Big Differences," a book which included an entry of his own about creativity.
Dan is a graduate of Landmark Worldwide and recently converted to Roman Catholic Christianity, which has greatly influenced his artistic vision. He has since delved into computer-generated artificial intelligence artwork and in 2022, launched his first Christian webcomic, "Phillip The Evangelist," which explores spiritual themes and the human experience through a unique and engaging visual narrative.
Dan's artistic process is grounded in his experience as an electrician, using technical skills to blend traditional techniques with innovative materials and methods. His work often reflects his faith and spirituality, inviting viewers to connect with a higher power and find meaning in the world around them.
Through his various artistic pursuits, Dan seeks to inspire others to embrace their own creativity, connect with the divine, and find deeper purpose in their lives.
ARTIST STATEMENT: As an artist, I am constantly inspired by the presence of the Holy Spirit in my life and work. My creative process is a collaborative effort between myself and God, who guides me towards ideas and inspirations that align with my artistic vision.
Through my art, I strive to capture the beauty and complexity of the world around us, revealing the divine presence in all things. My work often explores themes of faith, spirituality, and the human experience, inviting viewers to pause and reflect on their own journeys.
With a background in electrical installation, I bring a unique technical skillset to my art, blending traditional techniques with innovative materials and methods. Yet, ultimately it is my faith that serves as the foundation for everything I create, infusing each piece with a sense of purpose and meaning that goes beyond the surface level.
I believe that art has the power to connect us to something greater than ourselves, and it is my hope that my work can inspire others to see the world with new eyes and connect with the divine in their own lives.
Sidney (Leon) Gage
BIO: I've experienced many facets of life bouncing around the west, south, and mid-west United States. After the so so many numerous close calls, and rather embarrassing life choices, I currently find myself entangled in abstract art expression (deep in the heart of Texas).
In early 2019 I began to use a watercolor gift set given as part of a music concert V.I.P experience(thank you LD). I would paint pictures for my mom and leave encouraging notes in random places for lost souls to find. 2020 brought Heaven's call to my strong and beautiful mother and the distraught "solitude lockdowns" that followed. After some months of mourning and creative silence, I tried to watercolor paint again but memories and pain led me to find another medium. Acrylic pouring crossed my journey and we had some fun adventures. Mid to late 2021, I began to interpret and empty the emotional healing onto canvas in the form of Brush and Acrylic Paint creation.
ARTIST STATEMENT:
My artworks are greatly inspired by the wonderful gift of Grace given us through the way, truth, and life of God's son: Jesus. In the mediums of my artistic expressions, I try to convey hope, love, and moments of peace, all the while resting in faith they will bring healing to people in all calls of life and fill heaven's "Great Hall" for my mom to admire.
I also enjoy making music, hikes in nature, and getting to know people from all walks, cultures, and journeys :)
I've heard it said, "life is what you make of it".
I've made it fun, made it into a disaster, and made it this far-only by grace.
Let's make life: beautiful together...
This is my story, what's yours?
Jeff Gagliardi
BIO: Since his early childhood, Jeff Gagliardi has been busying himself in creating something. As a native of Brooklyn, New York, Jeff was exposed to many creative influences and as a young child he loved to draw, paint and build with any materials he could get his hands on. Always an artist, as a student he won a gold medal for painting in an interscholastic competition among Brooklyn high schools. In the 1970s Jeff won a scholarship to study art at the Brooklyn Museum Art School and later went on to attend college at The School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. His emphasis was on fine art painting, illustration, printmaking and graphic design. Though his passion was painting, design was how he eventually made his living. Through a series of unusual events Jeff also became one of the original pioneers of a crazy fine art movement — art on the Etch-A-Sketch. His work has been shown in museums and galleries around the country, and featured in numerous publications and news programs.
Jeff lives with his wife, Nanci, in Longmont Colorado where he is able once again to do fine art, combining his two greatest joys — his love of Christ and his passion for creativity.
ARTIST STATEMENT: Creativity is a wonderful and sacred gift. Whether aware of it or not, when we engage in creativity we are in a very special relationship with God and reflect something of the Creator himself. I’m of the opinion that the term “Christian Art” is misplaced. There really isn’t art that’s not Christian! Even if the art is dark, angry, or what would be seen as vulgar or obscene, it still expresses something of our condition as humans and ultimately becomes part of the great drama of life. God is not surprised by it and has endowed us with these gifts for the purpose of using them. Creating visual art and playing music are a sacred time for me. I ask God to show me what to paint and to join me in the process. I don’t have a particular style because every painting seems to want to go its own way. I only want it to glorify God and spread that joy to others if I can. And if anyone else can appreciate my work (even a little) how much more wonderful is a joy shared! Making art is every bit an act of worship as any other we can conceive.
Susan Gibbons
BIO: Susan M. Gibbons is a fine artist who resides and works in the Denver Metro area.
Her work has been exhibited in various galleries in Colorado, the Fluxface in Space in Ft. Worth, TX, and internationally with the Book About Death at the Brazilian Museum of Sculpture (MUBE) in San Paulo, Brazil. Her work is also within private collections. Susan’s work has been included in publications such as Fusion IV, Christianity and the Arts, Mars Hill Review, First Fruits – A Compilation of Art, and Edge of Faith Magazine. She is currently represented through Space Gallery in Denver, Colorado.
Susan works with the acrylic, oil and cold wax, encaustic (pigmented bee’s wax) as well as with fiber, graphite, pastel, ink, and mixed media.
She holds a Master of Fine Arts Degree from Azusa Pacific University. Susan has taught as an adjunct instructor at the Community Colleges of Aurora, Denver and at Lamar Community College. She currently teaches out of her studio to adults and children.
Susan enjoys her time with her husband, children and grandchildren when not painting.
ARTIST STATEMENT: My work is based on my personal connection with the Spirit. Through what is otherwise unknown and unseen, my work is a visual representation of what is felt and experienced through faith. Through the use of active brush strokes, intensity of color, draping of fabrics, vertical and horizontal movement of line and shade coupled with sharp diagonal staccato lines and a tight format, my work seeks to order the chaos of daily life much like religious rituals of prayer, meditation, rosary comforts and calms us.
The strong belief that the Divine can comfort, restore, and deliver us from the pain of human existence is the ultimate faith that the chaos that we experience can be controlled through love and belief. As an artist, I seek to reveal the messiness of the human condition at the moment we call on our faith to deliver us from it. The paintings, then, become a sacred place of being, of seeing, and of experiencing that which makes us human.
Chrys Corn Goodman
BIO
Chrys Corn Goodman grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and attended the Academy of Art in San Francisco and California State University Hayward (now Cal State East Bay) where she studied under Corban LePell and graduated with a B.A. in Fine Art, cum laude. While attending college, her love of realism morphed into a love of figurative abstraction and a responding to the work as it evolves, often incorporating words and lyrics which so often hold deeper meaning.
She loves to learn new things—taking inspiration from working in differing mediums and with other artists.
In 2022, she was introduced to oil and cold wax medium and subsequently to encaustic (hot wax), which changed the direction of her art to include more embedded mixed media and found object elements. The resulting works reflect both her realist and abstract backgrounds.
She currently lives and works with her husband in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Asheville, North Carolina.
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
Art has always been a part of my life, in one form or another. I grew up in a town of no importance and live in another one now. I went to a university of no importance, and there I found myself with a wonderful mentor who revolutionized the way I approach art. Music, lyrics, scripture, botanical imagery and raw emotion often work together to inspire the visual pieces I create. My life has been difficult at times, but art has always found a way to resurrect in me (even when I had no idea how it would) — it is something that is in the core of who I am, the voice that I have been given.
There is always more going on than I consciously intend. There is always something more, I just don’t always see it. If I wait long enough and keep my eyes open, it will often become clearer. I try to 'paint with my eyes open'—to respond to the medium and make what I begin to see more tangible as the glimpses come through—striking a balance between what is revealed and what is invisible, listening for the song that is trying to be heard, the words that need to be written or the image that wants to be revealed.
I like drawing, I like words, I like the way colors play with each other. I like things that are sublime and things that are balanced but not rigid, and the juxtaposition of realism and abstraction. I love things that are not contrived, and I love following the leading of the spirit and finding out what will happen next.
Galina Hitching
BIO: Galina Hitching may have been born in Baltimore, Maryland, but she can’t tell you anything about the city. As the daughter of a retired missionary, she was blessed to be raised with a global mindset, despite growing up in South Dakota, Nebraska, and Florida. Consequently, she feels more comfortable in Hong Kong or Scotland than small-town America. Instead of pursuing her dreams of art, Galina took a gap-year that turned into two years of volunteering with nonprofits around the world. From there, she fell into seven years of writing for nonprofits and businesses. Today, she’s cast off the constraints of her communication degree and paints with fresh hope. Believing every experience in life comes for a reason, she combines her communication background with her personal faith to create paintings that spark conversation and connect with viewers on a spiritual and emotional level. Her watercolor and oil paintings explore grief and suffering, but remain anchored in light and the promise of transformation. Galina finds inspiration in nature and spiritual truths, with Hong Kong and the UK acting as visual anchors for her abstracted landscapes. Galina lives in Central Florida; when she’s not painting, you can find her facilitating trauma healing workshops or writing poetry.
ARTIST STATEMENT: As a visual artist and writer, I have discovered art is a gift of healing from our Creator. Art equips us to name the darkness and then place a boundary around it. This is integral to why and how I create art. My process is intuitive, organic, and rhythmic, a conversation and dance on canvas where I allow the colors and the Holy Spirit to guide me. Whether I’m starting an oil painting on black canvas, or tenderly preserving white in a watercolor, I push myself to be an observer and not attempt to control or reform what flows out. Even if it’s ugly. When I can’t push the texture and chaos any further, I begin the process of transformation, pulling out lines and shapes to bring order and beauty. In each painting, I look for the light and push back the darkness by insisting on hope. Painting is a process of self-discovery and spiritual illumination. This allows me to look for unexpected patterns and connections in life and to connect with myself on a deep spiritual level. This leads to reflecting peace and hope to those who view my art.
Becca Karner
BIO: Becca Karner was born and raised in the Midwest city of Springfield, Missouri. The daughter of an artist, she was exposed to creative thinking at a young age.Her work focuses on human relationships and includes such media as photography, typography, watercolor, ceramics, printmaking, and fiber arts.Karner attended Missouri State University, holds a Bachelor of Science in Education, and is a certified K-12 Art educator. She has thirteen years of experience working with youth in various capacities and currently teaches for the Boulder Valley School District.Karner and her husband, Isaac, reside in Broomfield, CO with her two stepchildren. She also enjoys cooking, interior design, outdoor activities, and sharing in community with The Well Church-Boulder. Karner is passionate about empowering youth development through art and inspiring kids and teens to take pride in, and ownership of, their aspirations.
ARTIST STATEMENT:
“A musician must make music,An artist must paint,A poet must write,If he is to be ultimately at peace with himself,What a man can be,He must be.”Abraham Maslow
I believe humanity is an expression of The Creator and we, being made in His image, are meant to be creators as well. This comes in many different forms- plating a dish of beautiful food, designing an app, composing music, building a skyscraper, etc. For me, this comes in the form of visual documentation and expression. When I am not creating artwork, I’m not telling the story I’m supposed to be telling, whether it’s to an audience or just to myself.My art records stories about human relationships and interactions, documenting rather than creating. At times these stories challenge certain thoughts or beliefs existing in our society. Other times, the stories are about my personal experiences and take on a therapeutic purpose.
beccakarnerblog.wordpress.com
Isaac Karner
BIO: Isaac Karner was born and raised in western Colorado. Being the son and grandson of painters, he was involved in art-making from an early age. The first of his family to attend college, Karner majored in Biblical Studies at Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri. After his painting class there, Karner discovered that art was more than a talent—it was his calling. He transferred to the BFA program and studied there until 2003, when he transferred to Missouri State Universityʼs BFA program. There, he studied both ceramics and painting until 2008, when he left college to support his two children.
Since leaving college, Karner has continued to create art. His art has been exhibited in several galleries in Springfield, Missouri. He has also been involved in a number of community-based art projects in Missouri, Colorado, and Mexico. In 2009, Karner was privileged to travel to Cíudad Juaréz, Mexico to take part in a project with students from the Rocky Mountain College of Art+Design entitled, “Beautifying the Barrio.” He also partnered with the Springfield Healthy Living Alliance to create a mural at a local elementary school as part of their gardening initiative. Since returning to Colorado with his family in 2013, he has been a guest artist at Boulder Community School of Integrated Studies in Boulder, Colorado, where he collaborated with K-5 students to create works based on themes chosen by the students.
Karner currently lives and works in Broomfield, Colorado. His work is multidimensional and interdisciplinary, drawing on themes of redemption and hidden truth. He works in a wide variety of media and techniques including oils, assemblage, collage, clay, and lighting to create works that are a combination of traditional painting and three dimensional elements. Each of Karnerʼs works represents a struggle to understand and enunciate his faith in relationship to the world around him.
ARTIST STATEMENT: My art is an attempt to visualize philosophical and theological ideas, and elicit an emotional response in the viewer. In connecting and juxtaposing the literal and metaphorical definitions of objects and images, I am attempting to make a connection between physical and spiritual realities. I want to expose the reality that, though there is decay all around us, beauty can be found in spite of and even through it. The colors and textures of things left to the mercy of the elements–whether it be the gray, weathered wood of an old shed, or a rusty piece of abandoned farm equipment–have fascinated me since I was a boy. I find that the process of decay can take what is artificial and boring and give it character, interest, and even soul. To take the discarded and “ugly” and make art that brings beauty into the world is a metaphor for what is possible when God takes hold of us. I want each piece of my art to be a reflection of redemption.
Donna Kemper
BIO: Primarily a painter, Donna Kemper (who currently lives in Grand Rapids, MI) also works in drawings, mixed media, and more recently in linoleum cut prints as well as calligraphy and installation pieces. Her artworks tend to establish a link between visual art and contemplative spirituality, connecting with something larger than ourselves in an understated way. She started her art career in the 80s but put it aside in the early 2000s to care for a parent she hadn't seen in over a decade That experience deeply affected her spiritual and art practices. Previously working in a representational style, her work is now drawing more from abstraction (color, calligraphic and gestural mark-making) while retaining a link to nature and the landscape. Her works directly respond to the surrounding environment and use everyday experiences from the artist's life as a starting point. Things that might go unnoticed in their original context become a point of meditation - looking for the sacred in the ordinariness of life.
Tierra Lalk
BIO: Having an artist and sculptor dad and a writer mom, Colorado native Tierra Morton Lalk discovered early in life that she, too, possessed an intuitiveness for creativity. Lalk pursued commercial art, earning a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications and Certificates in Graphics and Web Design. She worked as a freelance graphic designer and art director at a marketing agency. Her design career overlapped with painting murals in places of business and faux finishes on walls of residences, as well painting on objects, including once painting on home grown and dried gourds, to be vases and birdhouses, and restoring an antique 1920s cast iron horse tricycle. Lalk’s career has eventually transformed to Fine Artist and she currently enjoys painting on canvas. Lalk’s father, William Morton, a pioneer in museum quality carousel restoration, was her lifelong mentor and teacher. She benefited tremendously with opportunities to participate in several of his restoration projects. Lalk’s work encompasses the realistic and the abstract, often has vibrant color, and is influenced by her Christian faith, passions, and curiosity. She is a wife, mother of three adult children, gardener and health enthusiast. Lalk’s desire is for her art to touch the heart of the viewer, igniting hope, encouragement, joy and healing.
ARTIST STATEMENT: Being an artist is who I am to the core of my being. I believe my gift with art is God-given and my calling. I see life through eyes that notice colors, shapes and patterns in my surroundings and appreciate how they complement and contrast with each other. Seeing life with artist eyes enables me to create beauty that shows the viewer a new perspective. When I paint, I am always thinking of the viewer and praying for them while worshiping God, meditating on scripture and focusing on what I believe God is wanting me to share with the viewer. My hope is that my art is a conduit for God to touch the heart and soul of his human creations
Garrett Larson
BIO: In the rural world of South Dakota, Garrett Larson was born on March 11, 1990. Living the majority of his adolescence on a farm, his imagination gained its freedom. As he entered into a new town and stage of his education, he knew what he wanted to focus his life on and pushed through high school in three years to pursue his goal of furthering himself in art.
From there he transplanted himself into the urban city life of Denver, Colorado, where he pursued a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree at Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design. During his time there, he studied painting, sculpture, mixed media, printmaking and photography. His primary passion lies with printmaking and photography due to his love for street art, an interest that he continues to explore and share.
ARTIST STATEMENT: I believe in love. It’s my concept to life, but with life there’s a part of it that involves hardship or sadness, which brings us a lot of unknowing. I’ve been intrigued by this relationship for as long I can remember. My pieces are influenced by life’s unveiling of the day to me, by each second of every minute of the day created every moment as incredibly unique as the individuals that experience them. This is why I let the concept I imagine to lead me to the correct medium to create that specific piece of my art. Through my art, I am trying to depict both sides of this story of life: love and sadness intertwined. It’s something simple, but extraordinary.
https://garrettlarson.carbonmade.com/
Maryann Leake
BIO: Early in Leake’s life she pursued art. Her grandfather was an artist and familiarized her with oil painting. She was educated at a young age in art schools, high school in Puerto Rico, Colegio San Antonio Abad, and college at ASU/ College of Art. Past Vice President of Colorado Watercolor society, a signatures member and a national award winning watercolorist. Her art is held in private and public collections. She’s a founding member and past Vice president of Roxborough Arts Council. Owner of a company that created art exhibits in metro Denver area for 6 years with over 60 artists. Junior Symphony Guild had Leake curate and set up their galleries at the JSG
Show Homes for a few years. Co-curating art exhibits for Greenwood Church for 8 years gave her more in getting to know the abundance of the christian art community. She was the artist in residence for short term missions at Cherry Hills Community Church, working on creating art for events and fundraising. Ten years ongoing as a theater set designer and painter with Valor Christian High
School is a multidimensional, dream come true, challenge. Eight years of teaching her own original method of “Paint a Masterpiece” classes on French Impressionism and it’s history, taught today at Rox Arts Gallery, it is an ever evolving creative occupation. Married to Mark Baisley, high school sweetheart. Maryann is a mom of four dynamic children and seven genius grandkids.
ARTIST STATEMENT: I knew I was to be an artist early on or an astronaut. Motion sickness eliminated the later. From ten years old on I built murals and mobiles. Created drawings for year books. Posters and oil paintings, watercolors and pastels. High School in Puerto Rico expanded my embrace of the arts. I was educated as a graphic artist in college and loved it, except the time tables where ridged and unforgiving in my agency life. I needed flexibility when I married and had my children. There was a need to be all present in that dream too. Pursuing my fine arts seems to be the solution that would allow me to weave my family into my drive to create. Forty some years of fine art has been a non-stop journey. I am open to the next project, the next exhibit. Great lessons learned is to let go, let God. Trust the mission. Pour passion into the process. Bathe in the creativity. God has provided a sanctuary all I have to do is paint it.
https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/maryann-leake
Katina Lowe
BIO: Katina Lowe was born Katina Sares on March 12, 1981 in Toledo, Ohio.
After attending the University of Denver for her BFA in Electronic Media Art Design in 2003, Katina worked as a freelance designer for several years. She then attended Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan where she studied Print Media under noted printmaker, Randy Bolton. In her first year, Katina was awarded the David R. Zimmerman Merit Scholarship. She received her MFA in 2009.
Katina lives and works in Denver, Colorado as an artist and educator. Her installation on the moment of belief, Now Go Make Disciples, was shown in both Michigan and Colorado venues, including University of Denver’s Victoria H. Myhren Gallery and the Temple Tantrum festival in Denver’s Rhino district. After being both Vice President and President of Christos Community, she remains a leader in the organization. Since graduate school, Katina has continued to exhibit throughout the Denver metro area as well as nationally. Though she works in different media and enjoys experimentation, installation art is her first love, and she has spoken at public venues educating the public on installation art. Her topics focus on the paradoxes belief creates along with the prejudices, fears, magic, narrative, and mystery present within the human spiritual experience. She links these ideas through familiar human anatomy such as hair and hands. After Becoming a mother in 2019, she is excited to see how her new role will play into these concepts.
Katina is an instructor at Colorado Christian University, teaching Art History, Digital Photography, Creative Arts, and C.S. Lewis in Film and Literature. Until recently, she taught college level studio art and photography at a private Colorado high school. Currently, in addition to her art practice, Katina is starting her own creative consulting and art product business. Her partnership with the NPO ministry Turning Point of the City and their annual fundraising events have brought some success in recent years. In her free time, Katina enjoys writing, gourmet cooking, and outdoor recreation in the forms of cycling, camping, mountain biking, and hiking.
Tara Lynnsmith McConnell
BIO: Tara Lynnsmith McConnell was born in Pennsylvania and grew up in Colorado. She is now a Denver based community and participatory artist. She holds a Master’s of Art in Integrated Arts and Education from the University of Montana, Missoula, and a Master of Fine Arts in Visual Art from Vermont College of Fine Arts in Montpelier, Vermont. McConnell has worked as an art teacher for nine years and is experienced working with kindergarten through adult-aged students. She hosts art and worship integration workshops and created a participatory project for 500 teen-agers in the 2013 ELCA Senior High Youth Gathering based on the theme “The Wonder of it All.” McConnell has exhibited publicly in Fraser, Colorado, Decorah, Iowa, and at the College Hall Gallery of Vermont College of Fine Arts. McConnell’s 22 foot tall interactive and theme-based tree project was the center piece for the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America’s Synod Assemblies for 2013 and 2014. The tree sculpture was also featured in the Lutheran Magazine. McConnell’s current work explores multi-media painting and designed experiences of play to encourage her viewers to reflect upon conditions of community connection and habitual norms.
ARTIST STATEMENT: As an artist and a person I thrive on encounters that inspire wonder, allow people to play, and establish the possibility for true connection with others. I believe that all human beings are loved wholly by the Creator of the Universe and we all have the ability to make choices that contribute to the greater good or detriment of our world. When human choices perpetuate patterns of violence and oppression, establish systems of inequity, reduce human beings to mere consumers, and normalize community disconnect, my artistic practice instead seeks to offer counter narratives to forces of destruction and dehumanization and intentionally be life-affirmative by creating experiences of serendipitous interruption, awe, and the opportunity to change. I explore the use of play to inspire discourse about joy and hope, realize the value in mystery and experiment, and reiterate the preciousness of all human beings. Through the use of play, social interactivity, object making, material connotation, historical and political reference, and artistic experimentation, I choose to work in ways that allow us to further understand and live lives of love.
http://www.taramcconnellart.com/
BIO: Liz Miller grew up in central Florida, where she started painting as a young child. In the 90’s she moved to Boulder to attend the University of Colorado. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Kinesiology and later a Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene. She has been working as a dental hygienist in a pediatric office for nearly twenty years. Today, she is only working two days a week in hygiene, allowing her to spend most of her week pursuing her love of art. Over the years, she has had the pleasure of participating in several art shows and
art gallery exhibitions in Colorado. Her work is currently on display at Aspen and Evergreen Gallery in Estes Park, Colorado. Liz's work has also been featured in the online publication Edge of Faith, Art Gallery - June 2021. She has also combined her love of art with writing to complete her first two children’s book, Heaven Awaits and The Gift of Faith. Liz enjoys painting bright, uplifting, and colorful subjects and scenes. She has experience working with oils, digital, watercolor, and acrylic mediums. She hopes to communicate her hope and passion for art and God through her vibrant and positive artwork.
In her free time, Liz enjoys playing tennis with her friends and biking, hiking, and traveling with her husband.
ARTISTS STATEMENT: Art is my passion! It allows me to immerse myself in the fantastical world of color and creativity. While my art often challenges me and pushes my boundaries, in the end, it always brings me a sense of peace and completeness. Life can be hard at
times, but there is still so much beauty that surrounds us. If we open our eyes, we can see God’s hand on so many things: the passing of a storm, the splash of color across the sky in an awe-inspiring sunset, the drops of dew that cling to the grass on an early Spring morning. I hope to glorify God through my work and passion for art. I also pray that I can provide inspiration and encouragement to those who enjoy expressing their creative side as much as I do.
Levi Nelson
BIO: Artist Statement: When I was younger, I carried around a show brochure in my bag for over a year in an effort to remember the experience. Over time, the friction against other elements in the bag wore down the title of the show that I was trying to remember. In trying to save something, it eroded. I used fragments of those words transferred onto canvas as a way of preserving something lost. More recently, I collected pages from a magazine and folded the photos displaying the clothing into patterns that focused on the blurred-out backgrounds shifting the attention from the product to the environment. I used painter's tape to secure the folds and created tiny sculptures that I used as a reference for painting a series of stylized trompe l'oeil pieces. It was a way of reframing a seemingly disposable fragment as an object worthy of attention. The blurred backgrounds and negative space became the subject along with the natural tearing and blue tape that occurred along the edges of the folds. I am interested in how information that should be clear can become lost, misremembered, or distorted in the process of trying to recreate it. The subject of my work is continually informed by an interest in human fallibility and the humble joy found in finding new ways to describe those limitations. That which is perceived as disposable and weak is reframed as essential and vital.
Melissa Pape
BIO: Melissa Pape ( pah· pee) has been creating art in some form since she was a small child. Her love for art led her to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts, with an emphasis in painting, at Northwest Nazarene University in Nampa, Idaho. It was at NNU that she met her husband Daniel, also an art major. Not only did they share a love for art, but also for pursuing Christ and serving in missions. After getting married, Melissa and Daniel spent three months in Romania teaching summer art camps to children, painting
murals in hospitals and teaching adult drawing classes in the evenings. Melissa has been teaching and creating art in some capacity ever since. Melissa started an art school in Nampa called Creative Foundations and taught art classes to children and adults for two years until her first born, Isaiah, came along in 2001. He was shortly followed by two more children, Ian (2004) and Elanor (2005). Then in 2005, Melissa and Daniel were called to serve as missionaries in the Philippines for 5 years with the Church of the Nazarene. While in the Philippines, Melissa once again found herself painting murals and teaching art classes for street kids and also at the school her children attended. Over the past few years, Melissa has been feeling the pull to create art in a more intentional capacity. In the summer of 2018, opportunity, motivation and inspiration all converged for her to start investing more time and energy into art as a career. It has been an exciting journey of coming to learn to believe in herself, trust in God to lead the way, and have faith that great things start from small beginnings, and no beginning is too small.
ARTIST STATEMENT: I’m an artist and a dreamer. I love God and love people and painting is just one way I do both! I paint from my heart to lift up, encourage and inspire others. I believe in a God who is working all things together for good and will one day
make all things new. We live in the inbetween, Christ has come and He is coming again. And so we lean into the Kingdom that is here now and the Kingdom that will come and join with Christ in the redemption, restoration, and renewal of all things here on earth. I paint with hope, with joy, and in the love and freedom Christ has brought me and believe that art can transform hearts, minds, and culture. I believe beauty CAN save the world. And so I say with my whole heart, “Here I am, send me”.
Kathy Self
BIO: Kathy Self was raised in Sunnyvale, California, the heart of Silicon Valley. She is from a family rooted in devotion to Christ and committed to creativity. While much of her life has been spent in the San Francisco Bay Area, she and her husband have lived in Belgium, Washington D.C., Salem, Oregon, and Springfield, Missouri. She is delighted to live in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, where she is a studio artist. While raising their 3 children Kathy was an art docent in the Union School District in San Jose, CA. She taught art privately for 10 years, and when she and her husband moved to Springfield she taught art to children at the Family Violence Center, now called The Harmony House. She has been a guest artist and presenter in churches and academicinstitutions in California, Missouri, Kansas, Tennessee, Michigan, Virginia, and Colorado.
Kathy’s art is in private collections and institutions across the U.S. and in Europe. Her recent series on theStations of the Cross is a
permanent installation at Highpoint Church in Aurora, Colorado.
ARTIST STATEMENT: I believe that art is essential to the well-being of people; as we create we show the wonder of what it means to be human, to be made in God’s image. Through my painting I seek to reveal the inner beauty that is hidden deep within our souls, that secret place where we all carry God’s sacred fingerprint.
Visual art is a way for me to bring beauty to those around me. It is an essential form of compassion; just as we need food to fuel our physical bodies, we need beauty to nurture the growth of our souls. Sometimes the growth is cathartic as art helps us to define our pain and sorrow, and then directs us toward the hope of healing our soul’s wounds.
Karin Soderholm
BIO: Karin Soderholm is a teacher and artist whose love of education and textiles has led her on a wild adventure around the world. She has a BA in Art Education from Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL and an MFA in Fibers from the Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, GA. After four years in Daegu, South Korea, teaching in the Craft Design department at Keimyung University, she now calls Colorado home.
Karin has fifteen years of experience in art education, teaching in public and private schools, facilitating workshops for kids and adults, teaching in art camps, and serving as a visiting artist. Always a maker, Karin learned to sew as a young girl with her mother, learned to weave and paint as a young adult with insightful teachers, and learned to embroider with the help of charismatic friends. Her love of textiles is rooted in family tradition and the joy found in materials and process. Her artwork has been displayed in university and private galleries in the U.S., Korea, and China.
ARTIST STATEMENT: Using simple embroidery and relying heavily on the tradition of boro cloth (Japan) and kantha cloth (India),I remake and repair cloth. I trust the language of my materials -fabric and thread- and my work process-hand stitching and layering fabrics- to speak of my understanding and experience of faith. It is by faith that I see repetitive stitches as more than just marks, they are evidence of the hand that put them into place; they are evidence of the Creator.
http://karinsoderholm.com/
Linn VanLoo
BIO:
I am what is affectionately known as an “older emerging artist”! Basically, that means that I have dabbled in art my whole life, but waited until I retired from a different career to pursue art actively. In many ways, I am self-taught. But through the years, I have found that the best instruction always comes from life itself.
As a Christian, I want my life and my art to reflect God. God, in His Infinite Grace, has redeemed me and set me upon the path of eternal life. This is the story that I want to tell.
I believe that God is the ultimate creative force. We are built in His image. We are meant to be creative. Creativity that honors Him can spring from paint on a canvas, notes from a musical instrument, words on a page. It springs from the time and effort that we spend on relationships. It springs from the service and hospitality that we afford others. It gives life meaning.
In my life, I give of time and effort to my family, my church, and a rich network of friends. I am truly blessed.
ARTIST STATEMENT:
Art speaks to every culture embedding meaning and value. I believe that Christians have a responsibility to interact with the culture that God has placed us into. It is in our hands to tell the narrative of God’s love and sacrifice. Telling that story through color, line and design deepens the communication of Truth.
I find the spontaneity of free flowing paint fascinating. When light hits the wet paint, all kinds of interesting things happen. Then, as that intuitive flow is coupled with solid, geometric shapes – it tells a story.
Art that binds meaning and beauty together can communicate in a way that is unlike anything else. It is personal, but universal. It is beautiful, but educational. It is truthful, but freeing.
Jon Wretlind
BIO: Jon Wretlind is a graphic artist and design educator, whose mixed-media visual art is inspired by the geometries found in both natural and urban forms. With a formal education in design from the Art Center College of Design where he earned a B.F.A. in graphic design, and a background in Christian theology and psychology from Denver Seminary where he earned a M.Div. in chaplaincy and counseling, Jon’s work explores deeply spiritual and psychological themes in human vernacular expressions of the urban street cityscape as well as in the profound fragility in flowers at both their peak and in their graceful decay. Jon has worked in marketing and advertising for the majority of his career and has also spent 11 years working in hospice and hospital chaplaincy, ministering peace to people of all faiths confronted with the traumas of suffering and death. Today, Jon works full-time as Creative Director for a small digital marketing agency in Fort Collins, Colorado, and is also pursuing a second Master’s degree in fine art at the Vermont College of Fine Art while teaching design and website development online part-time.
ARTIST STATEMENT: I work in traditional and digital mixed-media with photography, text and image to explore urban or natural imagery which speaks to me symbolically of some deep spiritual or emotional element of human experience. Lately, reflecting on my experience in my work as a chaplain, much of my art addresses existential crises where I see themes emerging around the meaning of life, loneliness, death and decay over time. For myself, it is in contemplating these themes where I find a spiritual path toward developing a positive sense of gratitude and hope in the divine gift of life and joy in the everyday moments of existence in the “here and now.” My work is often abstract and non-representational, but also includes symbolic representation as well. I am inspired by diverse artists such as Matisse, Kandinsky, Klee, Miro, Picasso, Warhol and Basquiat – all of whom were also noted colorists. Therefore, my work is brightly colored and even joyful or whimsical, even when exploring deep emotional topics. Recently, I have become very interested in alternative photographic techniques of image-making, and heavily inspired by 19th Century photographic methods. I construct my own cameras or use vintage film cameras in order to evoke a sense of timelessness and celebration in the “messiness” of humanity, as a point of contrast to the dehumanizing precision so valued in our technologically saturated era. I experiment with these low-fidelity images in order to directly incorporate them into my pieces as mixed-media elements, or as guides to finding new direction for my abstract expressionist compositions.
S.L.Yang
BIO: Dr. S. L. Yang is an engineer and artist from Centennial, Colorado. Dr. Yang holds a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Southern California. She spent several years in Southern California managing various programs in the aerospace industry. In 2019, she moved back to Centennial, Colorado where she currently enjoys her role as an engineering consultant. Dr. Yang just as equally relishes creating art. Her artwork covers a wide variety of concepts and themes ranging from still life to abstract impressionism and is inspired by God – from His character to His beautiful creations. Dr. Yang has been in multiple shows and exhibitions, including RAW: Denver Presents PREMIER, Advent Art Exhibit at Grace Commons Church in Boulder, and the Lacuna Art Gallery in Aurora. She has also won multiple contests, including Art For Hope in 2020, Women In Their Infinite Forms in 2022, O-Jak Bridge Festival Poster Contest in 2022. Dr. Yang has also been commissioned for custom artwork by large international companies such as American Water Works Association and Potatoes USA.Dr. Yang desires to use her skills and talents to give God the greatest glory and bless others by instilling love, peace, joy and restoration with her art. Dr. Yang enjoys traveling, dancing, snowboarding, hiking, spending time with loved ones, and giving back to the community.
ARTIST STATEMENT: I work in various mediums and styles. I especially enjoy working in acrylic paint, watercolor, pencil, charcoal, pastels and ink. The subject matter of my artwork often involves nature as I aim to capture emotions of love, peace, and safety as seen in animals as well as the beauty of plants and landscapes. In addition to realism artwork, I also create abstract, symbolic, and illustration artwork. Much of my art depicts Christian themes and symbolism; the most notable icons are the hand of God and the Lion of Judah. I desire that my art creations and my presence in the art community touch the lives of others in ways that are pleasing to God. I also pray that I remain humble and a willing servant to use my talents for God to receive the greatest glory.
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