Kat Cunningham has been a professional artist, creativity coach, author and entrepreneur for 55 years. Her studio represents the 5 countries she has lived and taught in with a wide range of all art media. In Florence, Kat represents all products and art with coastal themes from CA, Maui, Bali to the beautiful Oregon Sea. Private lessons mentor everyone from a budding artist to a seasoned professional in 3 Layer Mixed-media, Altered Jewelry, Printing and Textile product development and Basic Design. Over the years, Kat has developed proprietary art systems to grow a student quickly, easily and with fun. 30 years of commercial art marketing can give the mentee an edge to learn how to market their work. Lessons are for all ages and private for advancing growth.

Kris DeNoyer

Peggy has lived in the Pacific NW all of her life.  After a long career as a Dental Hygienist she took up stained glass as a hobby in 2002.  In 2018

she got hooked on mosaics.  She enjoys her creative endeavors, and loves to repurpose “treasures.”

Sculpting in marble creates a strong affinity for the earth which grounds and gives me a wonderful sense of achievement. I carve my sketch onto a marble slab, ink it, register a piece of paper, rub the surface and pull a print. Each print is an original.

I was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec; studied drawing and painting at L’Ecole des Beaux Arts, etching at the Montreal Museum of Fine Art and stonecut printing with Canadian sculptor Stanley Lewis. Drawn to the west in 1978 I moved into a log cabin in Grand Teton National Park and fell in love with the wilderness.

Native American tribes traveled through the valley on their way to Yellowstone. Being in such close proximity spurred my interest to their plight. I have completed a series – “Indian Oratory of Eight Great Chiefs.”

I have shown in galleries in Canada and the US. Going Home, a 3-dimensional sculpture and my coyote stonecut print both won prizes in Women Artists of the American West exhibits.
One-woman shows Montreal, QC, Calgary, AB, Stowe, VT, Jackson Hole, WY, Taos, NM, a 4-group show in Santa Fe, NM

Melanie Heard of Wicked Kitty Designs, has been crafty since she was just a kitten.  She loves sinking her claws into many different artforms, but specializes in unusual handcrafted jewelry and fine art photography that makes her customers “purr.”   Originally from Southern CA, Melanie relocated to the OR coast with her husband, Chris in 2008.  They now have a beautiful daughter named Sabrina who keeps them on their toes.  Melanie is also Artistic Director and Founder of C.R.O.W.– a nonprofit youth theatre organization.  Melanie thanks you for reading and hopes you have an absolutely “meow-velous” day!  

Claudia Ignatieff

Margie Kelley grew up in the Adirondack region of Up-State New York where she learned an appreciation for nature and the effects of the seasons on a constantly changing landscape.

She relocated to California and has been engaged with landscape photography and art since she began studying in Saratoga, California in 1977. She received her B.A and M.A. in Art Education from San Jose State University. Her focus had been in 2D Drawing and Painting, as well as Photography, with a minor in Graphic Arts. 

After graduation she started her career as a Graphic Artist working in Santa Cruz, CA. Then she went on to work as an Art Educator in San Jose, CA for 29 years, where she taught classes in Graphic Arts, Advanced Drawing and Painting, Traditional Silver-based Photography, as well as Advanced Digital Photography and Photo Alternative Processes. 

Currently her interest is in exploring ways to combine her 2D experience with her photography through collage, alternative processes and photo encaustic.

While her early inspirations were predominately illustrative in nature, over time she has come to appreciate the more expressive qualities that are achievable through mixed media, and now that she is in retirement, she looks forward to exploring paint media, as well as photographic media and hybrids of them in combination.

As is true in life, so it is in Art…that the journey is the destination.

Teakki Legg

Greta Olivas is an abstract artist, tech coach, mentor, creativity teacher, and
book co-author of the best-selling book “The Creative Lifebook- Reflections on
the art of living a fully expressed life”. She has been painting for over 20 years
(technically, she’s been an artist her whole life)! Born in NYC, she grew up in
Argentina, lived most of her life in Austin, and recently moved to the Oregon
Coast.
Greta discovered her painting style after teaching herself and attending several
workshops. It was when she embraced “play” in painting that everything
changed.
She believes that creativity is our soul speaking through us, our true self. It is our
job while on this earth to find that light within and shine it to the world. When we
are the person we are truly meant to be, we help others discover their light and
make the world a better place. Sometimes she wonders if her personal growth
helps her create her art, or if her art helps her with her personal growth. She
believes it’s both.

Kimberly Renteria studied Fine Arts at the University of Oregon receiving a BS in Fine arts in 1991. Her work as an artist mostly was expressed as being a creative thinker during her office working years, then later expressed more often when raising her children. She enjoyed assisting teachers and other community groups in developing simple art projects that encouraged creativity with easily procured materials. Since she retired in 2019 and moved to Florence, Oregon where she has spent more time back with her first creative expression of drawing and painting, and learning updated techniques from the web and her fellow artists at FRAA. Often distracted, the years of looking at everyday things in creative ways often leads her wandering on creative trails,  sculpting with paper and tinfoil, weaving with t-shirt string. You never quite know what she might make next.

Jerry Schneider is a versatile, visual arts  professional with over 45 years of photographic experience. His expertise in traditional and digital still photography was honed at Walt Disney Imagineering throughout 18 years of a multitude of projects. The J. Paul Getty Museum benefited from his talents and experience in the design, creation and administration of the museum’s digital imaging lab. Jerry received his Vocational Teaching credential from the University of San Diego and spent 9 years teaching Photoshop at John Burroughs High School in Burbank, CA. He is currently living in Florence  with Stephanie, his wife of 39 years. He volunteers his time with the Siuslaw Library Arts Committee, is a supporter of the annual Plein Air event and operates The Arts Doc, where he digitizes, archives and prints clients’ artwork for reproduction.

I am a retired person who finally has time. I took a watercolor class 30+ years ago and was hooked. I now love painting, pastels, mosaics, quilting and pottery. I’m living  the dream. 

I am a retired middle school teacher who was used to making hundreds of decisions daily. So, when I retired, I fell into creating artworks to stay busy. I had always tried to incorporate art into my curriculum so it was a natural progression.

I also am an avid traveler. This summer I spent two months in my favorite, Italy. For years I have traveled to Italy to explore and visit friends but I wanted to extend my time there this year. It was amazing! As a teacher, I always encouraged my students to gain the best education possible: travel. The people you meet, the experiences you have, and the interesting places you see are so very enriching and I believe it adds to one’s creativity, as well.

Enjoy our wonderful gallery!

Mike Wilbur lives in Florence, Oregon. He has been doing woodworking for many years now. He enjoys being creative, especially working with different types of wood and resin. Making a variety of Lazy Susans, Charcuterie boards, Serving Trays and more. 

I began working with fused glass about 10 year ago to counterbalance my analytical daily work as an Engineering Director. It was liberating as I let myself go with the moment to add color and design. I fell in love with the creativity I am able to express through the glass medium, experimenting and challenging myself with new techniques and colors.

Each kiln cycle leaves me waiting with anticipation to see the result. A piece can often take multiple firings in the kiln. The first firing fuses the glass pieces together at approximately 1450 degrees F. The final firing at a lower temperature allows the piece to slump into its final shape.

I enjoy challenging myself, learning new things as I explore the vast options in fusing and push my boundaries. I relish when others suggest ideas, color schemes and visions as it often leads to new discoveries. What I have observed is that people have an affection for color and flow, and having art glass near them offers a sense of beauty and serenity, which is the true beauty of glass. I especially love sharing my passion with others!

I’m a teaching artist with a degree in visual art and textiles, and arts education training through Arts for Learning and the Kennedy Center. I paint, stitch, collage and weave, and I enjoy helping students of all ages build their art muscles. If I’m not in a classroom, art studio or my garden, I might be at a garage sale or hardware store imagining artistic uses for the objects I see.