Johanna Riddle

johannariddle.com

Drawing on her background as an art educator and administrator from the preschool through the university levels, New Smyrna Beach artist Johanna Riddle combines painting, printmaking, mark-making, dyes, and chemical alterations to create mixed media collages and assemblages. She experiments freely with media combinations, layering and arranging hand crafted papers into small- and large-scale compositions. She has long been interested in the symbiosis of word and image and often works in a cycle where one informs the other. Excerpts from literature can often be found on the reverse of her pieces. Meditation and journaling are integral to her work. Johanna’s award-winning art has been exhibited in a number juried venues, including Art Fields, The Museum of Arts and Sciences in Daytona Beach, Sarasota Art Center, The Orlando Museum of Art, Ormond Memorial Art Museum, The Grey Gallery at NYU, and The NAWA Gallery in New York City. Her work was selected for inclusion in the 2022 International Exhibition of Collage Artists, and was featured in the 2022 edition of Art Folio: 100 of the World’s Most Exciting New Contemporary Artists. She is the author of Engaging the Eye Generation. Johanna’s research and writing on the topic of visual literacy has been referenced in a number of scholarly articles, recognized with a Fulbright Scholarship, a Smithsonian Learning Innovation Award, and is housed in the Smithsonian’s Museum of U.S. History Age of Information archives. She was also recognized as Florida's Art Educator of the Year. Johanna is active in the National Association of Women Artists, Collage Artists of America, Artists Workshop of New Smyrna Beach, The Art League of Daytona Beach and The Florida Women’s Art Association, and serves as a Board Member of Beaux Arts of Central Florida.

Mindy Z. Colton

mindycolton.com

Award-winning Mindy Z. Colton, B.F.A..M.A., originally from NYC, was classically trained in all the traditional arts. She pursued a career in Graphic Design & illustration while still finding time for her fine art. Mindy move on from her successful career to follow her true calling. Involved with horses her entire life, she chose to combine her passion for art and horses in her unique sculptures. Mindy has created from tabletop to monumental outdoor works. She has mastered and created numerous natural and manmade materials and processes to create her unique mixedmedia horses. Mindy graduated with honors from the renowned High School of Music & Art in NYC, and attended Parson’s School of Design, her BFA degree is from Washington University School of Fine Art in St. Louis. She has an M.A from the University of Central Florida where she was the Art/Publications Director. Colton’s award-winning fine-art has been exhibited in many solo and two-person shows and more than 300 shows. Her sculptures can be found all over the world, England, South America, Germany, Canada, Caribbean, Australia, and more. Mindy is a three-time State of Florida Grantee, and three-time United Arts of Central Florida Grant recipient. Two of these grants were to create large-scale, outdoor sculptures exhibited at Epcot Invitational Flower & Garden Sculpture Exhibit. She has received Best of Shows, People’s Choice Awards and the sculptures public and private venues. Mindy is in many permanent collections in museums and public venues. She was awarded three Purchase Awards at the Equine Art Exhibits in Washington State Thoroughbred Equine Art Shows. Mindy’s sculptures have been exhibited in The Boca Raton Museum of Art, The Appleton Museum, Ocala, The Ormond Museum of Art, Ormond Beach, The Leepa Rattner Museum, St Petersburg, The Mennello Museum of American Art, Winter Park, FL, American Association of Equine Art, KY, Elliott Museum, Stuart, Deland Museum of Art, The International Museum of Art, TX, Pace Performing Arts Center, CO., Westchester Arts Center, NY, Polk Museum of Art and more.

"When I chose to focus my fine art on horses, I decided to use them as vehicles to express concepts and ideas as opposed to typical, classical anatomical portraits. In doing so I have also developed a number of unique processes and combinations of materials that best express the concept of the work."

Nancy Newlove McElroy

newlovepottery.com

Nancy Newlove McElroy was born in Plattsburgh, New York. She earned an Associate in Arts degree from Green Mountain College then received a BFA from Alfred University College of Ceramic Art and Design. After graduation Nancy worked in production management at Bennington Potters in Vermont. She then moved to the suburbs of NYC, worked in retail, taught pottery, and had a one woman show in the Silo Gallery in Croton-On-Hudson. Once married and raising her two children, Nancy worked on commissions and taught pottery. In 2013 she and her husband moved to Ormond Beach where she works in her studio creating functional and sculptural art. Today Nancy is an active member of the Florida Women’s Arts Association and Beaux Arts of Central Florida.

Peggy Banks

gallery500.art/collections/peggy-banks

"My handmade paper mixed media assemblages are composed of abaca, a banana leaf fiber, and marbled papers, acrylic, beads and decorative wires mounted on copper which I organically patina. Each piece is unique and is inspired by the celebration of life. I strive to create joyful. colorful works that uplift our spirits and provide healing properties. I have been a working artist for over 38 years. I am a veteran of the art show circuit, which allowed me to travel and show in some of the top shows in the country winning numerous prizes including 4 Best in Show awards. Since retiring from the festival scene I have concentrated in showing in museums, art centers and galleries. Currently I am represented by Gallery 500 in Daytona Beach. Some of my proudest accomplishments have been included in several ART IN PUBLIC PLACES projects. My art can be found at The Daytona International Airport, Daytona One, Bert Fish Medical Center, The New Smyrna Beach Library, Port Orange Library, The Deland Court House, The Ronald MacDonald House in Orlando, Lincoln Center and The White House. I was blessed to teach all levels of art in the Volusia County School system for 23 years. I feel I learned as much from my students as they learned from me. In that role I led students, on multiple trips to Europe and Central America visiting famous cities such as Paris, Rome, Barcelona, and London to name but a few. Seeing famous masterpieces and Marvelous architecture impacted us in profound ways with many of those experiences reflected in my art."