A Washington, D.C. native, I began working in kiln-formed and lampworked glass in 2002 and have studied with many acclaimed glass artists in the US and Europe. In 2005 I established Trilogy Glass Art to explore and create both functional and non-functional glass art. In 2010, seeking the opportunity to teach kiln-formed glass, I joined the Art Glass Center at Glen Echo as a Resident Artist. I am also a member of the National Capital Art Glass Guild  (NCAGG) and served as a director of the guild for several years. I have a never-ending interest in the material properties of glass and spend much of  my time experimenting and exploring its behavior and possibilities in my Maryland studio.

I’ve been making things my entire life. The need to create and construct has driven me since I could first hold a pencil or a hammer.  Art has saved me, frustrated me, broken my heart and glued it back together again. 

I was born in Micronesia, where I spent an entire 10 days complete with double rainbows, near-miss hurricanes, the constant sound of waves and people who named me for their own.  My childhood in Ann Arbor, Michigan instilled in me a love of nature and a need to be outdoors as much as possible. I’ve lived in several cities across the U.S. in the time since, attending Houston’s HSPVA (and thus not just surviving High School but even, occasionally, relishing it) and earning my BFA at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. 

After many relocations over the intervening years, I returned to Houston, drawn by my family and the incredibly diverse and empowering art community, and have built my home and studio here. 

Objects often transcend their functional roots to communicate with us through observation. My ceramic pieces are inspired by my travels and are the result of my response to those cultures and the environment.

I use a variety of stoneware and each type of clay comes with its unique personality and characteristics which allow me to respond to those properties. My interest in architecture, design and the Asian aesthetic are reflected in these hand-built, slab, and coil construction ceramic sculptures which are twice fired at about 2200 deg. F. The textured and patterned surfaces are the result of engraving, stamping, inlay and carving. Some pieces are burnished and gilded, while others have multiple applications of slips, stains and glazes. In my recent work I use mishima inlay, a centuries-old technique popularized in Korea. The form and surface of each piece are marked by my hand as well as the clay and the fire from the kiln.

Danielle Klebes lives and works at Wassaic Project in Wassaic, NY. Danielle has exhibited in notable galleries and museums throughout the United States, Europe, and Canada. These include Keeping Company (2023), a solo show at NARS Foundation in Brooklyn, NY, Midnight Adventure Club (2022), a solo show at AVA Gallery in Lebanon, NH, House Fire House Party (2020), a solo show at Installation Space in North Adams, MA, Aimless Pilgrimage (2020), a solo show at L’Atelier Silex Gallery in Trois- Rivières, Quebec, Canada, Fifty (2022), a group show at MoCA Jacksonville, Jacksonville, FL, Summer (2022), a group show at Galleri Christoffer Egelund in Copenhagen, Denmark, Portraiture Today (2021), a group show at the Springfield Museums, Springfield, MA, and Confluence of Tongues (2021), a group show at Grove Collective in London, UK. Danielle’s work has appeared on the cover of many publications including Cream City Review, Artscope Magazine, Studio Visit Magazine, Gertrude Press, and Prairie Schooner. Danielle received her MFA in Visual Arts from Lesley University College of Art and Design in Cambridge, MA, in 2017.

Matthew Terry is a Contemporary Photographer and graduate of the Academy of Art University, where he attained his BFA-Photography with a focus in Fine Art Photography in December of 2014. Currently located in Iowa/The Quad City area, Matthew picked up his first film camera in 2004 at age 16, and since has exhibited and sold work at galleries in Rome, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Colorado, Kansas City, Baltimore, and more. Additionally seeing work published both Nationally (Iowa, Vermont, New York, Atlanta) and Internationally (Italy, England)

Growing up in the Midwest, he long felt alienated in both a physical and mental sense. Lost within his surroundings he found photography, and through this medium he found a way to connect with other individuals who also felt a similar level of detachment.

Endlessly intrigued by the ability to capture and hold a distinct moment in time within a world constantly in motion, Matthew combines subjective perspective with universal appeal to create conceptual imagery that questions not only the identity of who we are, but also how we interact & relate to that which surrounds us.

Whether he’s capturing a landscape, architecture, or the human form, his work challenges the relation of inherent truths & fiction that occur in our existence.

Utilizing contrasting tones, and a distinctly deliberate perspective influenced by combining the conscious and subconscious as a means to question reality, Matthew showcases work which evokes a level of detachment subtle enough for most people to connect with. It is through this connection that Matthew proves on a perceptual level just how related we actually are.

Margaret Wiss (she/her) is a choreographer, educator, and performer. She was born and raised outside of Boston, MA. Growing up with two artists as parents, her creative practice embraces many disciplines. She trained at Lexington School of Ballet under Linda Dibona Brassel (Boston Ballet), Roseann Ridings (Boston Ballet) and Nadine Moody (Agnes DeMille). Wiss augmented her training at various summer programs including Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and Summer Stages Dance at Concord Academy, training under former members of Bill T. Jones & Arnie Zane’s Dance Company (Heidi Latsky, Andrea Woodes) and working with Adele Myers and Edisa Weeks while performing at Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art.

A graduate of Mount Holyoke College, magna cum laude, she received a Bachelor of Arts in Dance Kinesiology with high honors from the dance department. She was awarded the Dance Department Award for Important Choreographic and Performance Contributions. As a member of the Five College Dance Department, she performed at The Kennedy Center and worked with Pilobolus Dance Theater as well as choreographers Jennifer Hart and Kinsun Chan.

Wiss has her Master of Fine Arts in Dance with concentration in choreography from NYU Tisch Dance. As a choreographer, Wiss is interested in collaboration. She is currently studying the collaboration between choreographers and composers, an expansion upon her MFA thesis in dance. As a choreographer and under the name Wiss.co, she has presented work across the United States. She has choreographed for PDX Contemporary Ballet, North Atlantic Dance Theatre, The Harvard Ballet Company, and the DanceBARN Festival. She was an Artist in Residence on Islesford, Maine in 2019. With Colin Minigan, the composer she has been working with for five years, they continued developing an evening-length work premiering May 2020*. In the summer of 2022, she was an Arts and Science Resident for the Peaked Hill Trust and stayed in Ray Well’s Dune Shack on Cape Cod’s National Seashore developing a new dancefilm, landing, which premiered in 2023 with the other artists in residence.

She has taught for Mount Holyoke College and choreographed for the Five College Dance Department as well as at Tisch School for the Arts Dance Department. She recently graduated from Columbia University with a Doctor in Physical Therapy with honors. Dance medicine and science are integral to her pedagogy. She is a member of the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science. In 2018, she founded Xsection Film Festival, a Boston-based event sparking interdisciplinary collaboration between dance, science, and film. Wiss’ screendances have been selected for various film festivals.

In her bold, expressive paintings, fine artist Leslie Nolan tears down the barriers we all erect to mask our inner emotions, exposing hidden feelings. Based in Virginia near Washington, DC, Nolan has been creating and exhibiting in the USA and internationally since 1998. More than a way to capture a likeness, her expressive figurative work reflects an underlying concern with the human condition.

Distinguished by lively brushwork, vivid color, and texture, the paintings remain ambiguous and open to interpretation. A feeling of intimacy surges through each work. Viewers, imposing their own personal experiences on the emotionally rich imagery, respond individually and uniquely. The artist’s innovative paintings have been widely shown in the United States and abroad at museums, galleries, and art fairs, including Art Basel Miami Week, Los Angeles, New York City, Richmond, Washington DC, London and elsewhere. Leslie usually features acrylic paints in her work, but often uses house paint and other mixed media, too. Each piece is original and one of a kind.

Her artwork has been featured and reviewed in many magazines and newspapers, including the Washington Post, American Psychologist magazine, Elan magazine, American Art Collector magazine, and on the Public Broadcasting Service national journalism website Next Avenue, “Picturing Success.”

Born in Oregon, Leslie studied at the University of Madrid in Spain, has a BA from Portland State University and holds MS degrees from both the George Washington University and the National Defense University. Leslie had a distinguished career in national security here and abroad with the US Government. Since retirement from the US Department of State she has been a working artist at her Virginia studio. She is represented by Calloway Fine Art & Consulting in Washington DC’s prestigious Georgetown area.

Chantal Zakari is a Turkish-Levantine artist (and recent US citizen). Trained as a graphic designer she has been creating hyper narratives for the Web practically since its inception: I.D. was published on the Web in 1994. She collaborated on a Web journal, The Turk and The Jew, with her husband Mike Mandel and in 1998 they published the work as an artists’ book under the same title. In 2001 under the pseudonym “Show-n-tell,” she began a four-year-long performance and documentation of an adult Webcam community. She authored and designed the book webAffairs (Eighteen Publications, 2005).

Mandel and Zakari collaborated for 15 years on a body of work about the conflict between secularist culture and the Islamist movement in Turkey. Their journey, which began in 1997, has resulted in photographic images, video interviews, and public performances. In 2010 they published The State of Ata (Eighteen Publications) with exhibits in Izmir, Ankara, Atlanta, Boston and Baltimore.

The couple ran an election campaign as an activist performance in their home town in Massachusetts in order to protest Walmart’s attempt to move in. After a successful six-month battle, in the spring of 2012, Walmart decided to pull out.

Their latest book, They Came to Baghdad, was published in September 2012 and is currently on tour as part of the “Al-Mutannabi Street Starts Here” artists’ book collection.

Zakari is a full time faculty member at SMFA in Boston. She was an associate member of the Goat Island performance group (1995-2010) and is currently serving as a board member of Belmont World Film. She has had solo shows nationally and internationally.

Art is not a luxury—it’s an essential element of our existence. It chronicles history, preserves knowledge, and enlightens minds, shaping our cultural heritage and making it accessible to all. Art has the power to document the human experience, capturing the nuances of time, emotion, and identity. My work serves as a bridge between generations, safeguarding narratives and perspectives that are often overlooked in traditional art forms. Through my creative practice, I seek to illuminate these stories, ensuring they are not lost but instead celebrated, questioned, and passed down.

At the heart of my work is a deep commitment to the unification of communities. Art is a catalyst for meaningful dialogue, allowing us to examine history, culture, and their enduring impact on society. Through visual storytelling, I aim to challenge preconceived notions, encourage introspection, and foster a collective vision for the future. My pieces often explore themes of resilience, migration, and transformation—both personal and collective—using layered textures and striking contrasts to evoke a sense of movement and change.

My artistic journey delves deeply into the interplay between the Black diaspora and urban environments, investigating how identity is shaped by space, displacement, and cultural memory. Influenced by artists like Kara Walker and Jean-Michel Basquiat, I also draw from the rhythms of music, architecture, and daily life. Deconstruction and reassembly play a crucial role in my process, mirroring the ways in which we reconstruct our personal and communal histories.

Based in Baltimore, a city rich with history and vibrant culture, I find endless inspiration in its people, architecture, and energy. My work captures the spirit of Baltimore—the resilience of its communities, the beauty in its struggle, and the narratives that weave through its streets. Through my art, I strive to create spaces for reflection, connection, and a deeper understanding of the shared human experience, ensuring these stories endure for generations to come.

ALPHA Massaquoi Jr. is a Baltimore based artist that works primarily with large drawings made with charcoal and pastels. Alpha was born in West Africa, Liberia, as the youngest of four to an upper-middle-class family; his father worked as a florist for the United States embassy in Liberia, and his mother was a Fashion designer with a small charcoal business. At age fourteen, Alpha and his family moved to the U.S. seeking the “American dream” However, life wasn’t easy, the 2008 recession just happened, and racism and colorism were new challenges Alpha and his family had to face. He studied painting, drawing, and printmaking At Towson University, where he fell in love with charcoal as his primary medium. Private collectors have collected Alpha works. They have been a part of major group shows in the United States, which include Novo Legado & Black Creatives at The Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. Alpha has also had two solo shows: Black Noise and Led by The Holy Spirit, which has made him a well-sought-out artist in Baltimore City. He founded Hot Sauce Artist Collective, supporting artists and bridging the gap between the everyday person and the arts. Alpha is currently an MFA candidate at Tufts SMFA.

Michael Hower is a Central Pennsylvania photographer. He photographs history by portraying human objects and structures in modified environments now devoid of human activity. His artwork is part of a process that includes learning local history and lore, consultation of maps, and place-seeking journeys.

I am an artist living in the Baltimore area for about 20 years now. 

I earned an MFA at The University of Arizona in 2003 and a BFA at The University of North Carolina Asheville in 1999. I’ve had exhibits both regionally and nationally, and was recently published in New American Paintings, South, Issue 142. Additional achievements include being a semifinalist for the 2016 Sondheim Prize and receiving Individual Artist Grants in Painting by the Maryland State Arts Council in 2016 and 2019. 

John Chang dreams in many worlds and brings back remnants. In his new works, people come and go yet no one is seen. The migrators leave their shadows in the air and their marks on the sidewalks. Their words and echoes float through storms of sharp, black fragments flying in all directions.

Chang’s East/West identity enriches his memory and brings flashbacks from lives lived in many places. Born and raised in Shanghai, China. John Chang is an artist based in Southern California. John’s works have been widely exhibited, including, Alexander Brest Museum at Jacksonville University, Jacksonville, FL. 621 Gallery Tallahassee, FL., Fresh Paint Art Gallery, Culver City, CA. Rosemary Duffy Larson Gallery Broward College, Davie, Florida. Ormond Art Museum, Ormond Beach, FL. Chang’s work has been featured in diverse publications such as Pasadena Star News, KTLA, and Art In America, Art Ltd. John Chang’s work also collected DAE Advertising, Inc. San Francisco, San Diego International Airport, The Star Hotel, Sydney, Au. St. Regis Hotel (NY). National Taiwan Museum of Fine Art, Taiwan ROC and many private art collectors around world.

John Chang has an MFA in Visual Art from College of Art and Design at Lesley University. He also gained a B.A., School of Art and Design, Shanghai Institute of Technology Shanghai, China. He also studied with the well know artists Xu Bing and Judith Barry.

Jeff Repko creates assemblages that explore potential and possibilities through interactions of color and forms. Born in Pittsburgh, PA after deindustrialization, his work explores notions of industry and the stories he heard growing up. Never truly having experienced the industrial era in the Pittsburgh, he feels both a distance and closeness to it. His work is a personal attempt to experience and create the physical objects, optimism, and a sense of community. His practice evokes a sense of serious play as the sculptures and paintings use color to reinvigorate and turn these analog tools and machinery into playful toy-like assemblages. Artist and educator Jeff Repko earned his MFA in sculpture from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and BFA from Penn State. His work has been shown nationally in both gallery and public art environments.

I am a NYC/DC based multidisciplinary artist. I focus on creating work that addresses political and issues addressing women. In my art making, I create a positive uplifting message for girls and women from childhood to elderly to counter any negativity that society may create for us.