“I'm mccoy, songwriter, filmmaker & digital artist.

I’ve been in performing arts for 15+ years as a guitarist & vocalist, fronting 4 bands between austin tx & l.a. ca. In recent years I’ve more so taken on the role of audio engineer, producing over 200 tracks since 2016. In the fall of 2018, I started production on the musical documentary, National Parks & Recreation. The goal of this film is to expose the beauty of all 62 national parks, in turn spreading awareness for the sake of preservation.

Completion of this project will be a pioneering effort as no one has yet to document them all in a feature film. Furthermore, it’s completely D.I.Y.; the film, score & editing is entirely in my hands.

By the close of 2019, I've successfully documented 31 of 62 parks with plans to film the remainder in 2020. Following a target release in the spring of 2021, I aim to embark on a nationwide tour, performing a live score of the film in a theater setting.

Aside from song/film, a digital art business for which i’ve dubbed, topo-foto consumes what is left of my creative space. The artform combines vintage maps with photographs I've gathered from relative locations.

In short… a wild soul with passion for untouched creation in the art realm.”

Visit Alex McCoy's Website

Instagram

Etsy

An animator, illustrator, graphic designer and exhibiting artist with a BFA in Illustration from Western Carolina University and a BFA in Media Arts and Animation from the Art Institute of Atlanta, Baird Hoffmire has been working as a professional artist for over 20 years. His illustrations in Story Cove picture books and animated stories have been enjoyed by tens of thousands of children around the world.

“I've always found stories and storytelling fulfilling. I'm inspired by how social commentary and observations about the world we inhabit can be coded into symbols, both in obvious and subtle ways. My own work is often elements from memory, emotion, and old family photos combined with my influences from comic books, pop culture, and current events. By attempting to balance wit and humor with sensitive subject matter, I hope to weave a narrative that is accessible and evocative to the viewer.”

Besides painting, illustrating books and spending time with his family, Baird loves Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He resides in Charleston, South Carolina with his beautiful wife, Jane and his equally lovely daughters, Sadie and Harper. He also just happens to be the brother to our beloved HEART Founder, Farrah.

Visit Baird Hoffmire's Instagram

Becca’s work is driven by a fascination with natural history and preservation. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Illustration, she also attended the Missouri Taxidermy Institute where she fine-tuned her special knack and patience for taxidermy repair – from cleaning to complete mount renovations. She’s put her precision and passion for replicating textures and preserving animals into the creation of an array of museum displays.

Barnet appeared on Season 3 of NBC’s crafting competition series Making It hosted by Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman.

Visit Becca Barnet’s Website

Instagram

Post & Courier

“My name is Rebecca. I like to come to Open Hearts because my friends are here, and I enjoy painting and singing with them. My favorite thing to sing is “I’ll Fly Away.” I love animals, especially my dog. I also like to do puzzles and color.” - Becky

“Becky wakes up with the birds as they sing her name, and they are a constant inspiration for her art. She is always thinking of others and loves creating cards for her friends. She enjoys the music Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton and Johnny Cash.”⁠ - Open Hearts Art Center

Visit Open Hearts Art Center’s Instagram

Celeste Caldwell is an illustrator and mixed media artist based in Charleston, South Carolina. She graduated from College of Charleston in 2018 with a double major in Studio Arts and Art History. She is deeply inspired by folk art, southern craft traditions, and symbols of everyday life.

Visit Celeste Caldwell’s Website

Using witty, scathing sarcasm, Quashie’s art faces off against hard issues of culture, politics and race with a self-conscious awareness that often offends (or disturbs) black, white and other; he discriminates with equality and equanimity. Quashie is equal to the hard questions he raises, but often the issues are camouflaged in pop-culture imagery that confounds as well as derides the spectator. Quashie uses media-based methods to dissect and deconstruct stereotypical views of cultural relationships. This is precisely what makes his work so challenging not only to the average viewer, but to many art insiders as well.

Through the use of ‘positive’ social anger, Quashie uses his art to scrutinize the power bases of our social system, forcing us to examine our collective political perceptions. His point of view makes its mark by challenging us to be more thoughtful, expressive and more aware. With a fearless and blatant disregard for compromise, he confronts our favorite beliefs, and forces us to think about the roles we occupy in society. Recurrently controversial, his art, “…is as current as yesterday’s headlines, bold and brash like rap music…the equivalent of a three second sound byte; quick, easy and to the point.” (Dr. Leo Twiggs)

Visit Colin Quashie’s Website

Instagram

Post & Courier

Merging collage, paint, ink, screenprint and photo transfer, I'm currently making mixed-media pieces working underneath and on top of Mylar sheets. In my work, I cut up and transfer layers of altered magazine photos onto plastic, and combine the resulting colors, shapes and textures with hand painted and drawn imagery. My media and content have shifted and expanded over time, but at its core my work has always been an expression of my efforts to understand the nature of what we think of as "true" or "real".

I am obsessed with the commingling of the real and the fake, and I'm interested in the ways in which we respond to constant content.

Visit Dorothy Netherland's Website

Instagram

Charleston City Paper

“I have always created unconventional and unintentionally disturbing art but it has mostly been unconscious self-expression without intended meaning. I think as I am getting older that is changing. I'm becoming more comfortable creating art that may bother the viewer in a less abstract way and that has a ‘message’ in a more conventional sense. I feel my art is a healthy and engaging outlet for my dark, critical, stubborn, intolerant, and cynical nature.”

Farrah’s artistic endeavors have brought her through a variety of professions, from documentary filmmaker to goat cheesemaker, founder of HEART (of course!) and now running Rare Bird Farm in Madison County, NC.

Visit Rare Bird Farm Website

Instagram

Frank Ruopoli is a Graphic Designer and Illustrator. A native Charlestonian and creative powerhouse, Frank received his BFA from Savannah College of Art and Design. He serves as the Production Assistant for Rosewood Players and has worked for 30+ years as a graphic designer for various businesses, newspapers and agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for over 20 years.

Gerardo Leccese’s mixed media paintings incorporate bold colors, textures and depth, and each capture a moment in time featuring places we’ve been---or places we hope to one day visit. These multi-dimensional pieces beautifully combine interiors and architecture with his personal photography.

Each original is meticulously handcrafted by Gerardo. Gerardo was born in the Basilicata region of Italy and has called the Charleston area his home for over 20 years.

Visit Gerardo Leccese’s Website

If you like things that are unique and one of a kind, check out our next featured artist Honey McCrary! McCrary is a self taught artist whose work utilizes mostly recycled materials to create one of a kind glass on glass pieces of art. McCrarys work can be found in the Charleston City Market where she is a vendor, as well as @TempestCharleston, where she created a 700 sq ft instaltionall that covers the entire restaurant's ceiling.

Charleston Style and Design

John Black is a digital artist and comic enthusiast whose artwork has been seen at Comic Cons far and wide. His silver age inspired redraws of Marvel Cinematic Universe movie posters has garnered the attention of Hollywood bigwigs and been shared by the likes of Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn. His vibrant portraits of pop icons even caught the eye of none-other-than Ms. Janet Jackson herself. When he isn’t reimagining his favorite heroic characters and idols in new and unique scenarios, he’s bringing theatrical characters to life on stages all across Charleston. Voted Best Actor in Charleston in 2017 for Charleston City Paper’s Best of Charleston awards, John Black is a versatile performer, a stunner in musicals and dramas alike. If you’ve seen live theater in Charleston over the past 8 or so years, it is almost a certainty you’ve seen John on stage.

“A healthy obsession with surfing and a deep appreciation for the natural world are the drivers for Kate's series of zoomorphosed surfers, "Animal Shred." With an artistic mother leading her early understanding of painting and visual arts she has maintained a more or less realistic style in her work and she's finally okay with that. The series is here to remind us of our simpler selves and how any passion can take us to that state of being. She has recently branched out to include plants in her work because plants are the only reason we're alive today. Therefore they are very much a part of us being an animal and thinking like a plant could do us a lot of good. Enjoy!”

Visit Kate Barattini’s Website

Kate Ritchie is a mixed media artist who is constantly exploring new ways to create. For her collages and abstract paintings, she usually starts with a predetermined color palette but the rest of the composition organically forms along the way. Ritchie views creating art as a form of meditation and will often work on several pieces at once until each artwork comes together. She likes to think about the abstract forms in her paintings as existing in a 3 dimensional space and will often incorporate shadows, highlights, and layering shapes to convey this idea. Ritchie draws inspiration from nature and sacred geometry which is rendered through her use of vibrant color, pattern, and texture.

Visit Kate Ritchie's Website

Holy City Sinner

“Katherine is sensitive to the ways in which our natural environment shapes first-person experience. She is not only interested in the physical and aesthetic details of our surroundings, but our emotional response to their presence. Whether it be an idealized memory associated with a specific location or an instinctive reaction to a natural space, her work seeks to marry the physical and emotional forms of her environment.

Katherine Dunlap was born 1990 in Gainesville, Georgia. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Painting and Drawing from the University of Georgia in 2013 and currently has a home studio in Charleston, S.C.”

The youngest child of Aimee-Leigh Gemstone and Dr. Eli Gemstone, Kelvin (played by Adam Devine) serves as Gemstone Ministries' youth pastor. Previously only available for view by those lucky enough to see inside Mr. Gemstone's righteous home on the family compound, this piece is being made available for auction by the generosity of Rough House Pictures. Catch more of the Gemstone family's antics on season 2 of The Righteous Gemstones, premiering soon on HBO.The youngest child of Aimee-Leigh Gemstone and Dr. Eli Gemstone, Kelvin (played by Adam Devine) serves as Gemstone Ministries' youth pastor. Previously only available for view by those lucky enough to see inside Mr. Gemstone's righteous home on the family compound, this piece is being made available for auction by the generosity of Rough House Pictures. Catch more of the Gemstone family's antics on season 2 of The Righteous Gemstones, premiering soon on HBO.

Local designer Kimi Cole is the owner of Half Pint Designs. This shop stocks soft blankets, unique baby gifts, and mommy-and-me aprons in vibrant fabrics. All items may be personalized to create an extra special gift, and Half Pint Designs is happy to ship orders!

Kurtis Whitehead is an Advocate and Assistant Director at AccessAbility in Charleston.

I am an abstract artist.

I’ve always had a love and passion for creating. It wasn’t until 2019 on a back-packing trip through Asia and Australia that I decided to pursue art full time.

During my travels, I would spend my days studying strangers. I would quickly draw people in honest moments; reading on the subway, children playing in a park, a woman hanging up her laundry to dry. I realized how we are all connected to one another. We are all one.

I was inspired by our similarities. Less became more.

Through my work I hope to portray the feeling of connection to one another. My work is intended to be simplistic, imaginative and expressive. I use energetic and bold lines to channel my inspiration and thoughts found in everyday life.

I am currently working out of my studio in Charleston, South Carolina. I am constantly experimenting with new ideas through different mediums.

Visit Lauren Ridenour's Website

“Paint is my primary medium, ever-versatile in conveying the panorama of abstract sensations to allegorical narratives.

Many paintings are idea collages pieced together after wandering around in natural sciences, sociology, philosophy, mythology, anthropology, psychology, current events, etc.

Knowledge of world issues usually sparks anxiety.

My art process is a seesaw search for balance between information consumption and healthy peacefulness– Remembering beauty and art matter.”

Visit Lisa Shimko's Website

Press

Conveying breathtaking perspectives of space, earth, and deep sea is my life’s work, developed with leading experts in the fields of planetary science, coastal geology, and oceanography.

Whether photographing the coast from the open cockpit of my family’s vintage plane or painting plein air in the backwoods of national parks, each adventure is distilled into a moment of visual poetry in my studio. From five-story draped silk sculptures to intimate oils, the expansive interplay of vistas become meditative prayers for the planet.

Batik on silk, my signature medium for half a century, communicates messages of conservation and stewardship. Large-scale oils, my newest endeavor, seek to further protect sacred landscapes.

Aerial and satellite photography, maps, and charts inform explorations which reveal the complex patterns of our universe. The artworks have an elegant impact by virtue of scale, compelling design, and vibrant color.

www.maryedna.com

Longtime Charleston resident and artist Margaret Peery initially planned a career focused on objective numerals and factual data rather than such subjective elements as color and atmosphere. Even today her expansive paintings of Charleston’s urban landscape reflect her penchant for precision. Peery’s work is the subject of a new exhibition at the Greenville County Museum of Art.

Peery grew up in Jackson, North Carolina, and moved to Charleston, where she attended Ashley Hall. She graduated from Hollins College and earned her master of arts in mathematics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She worked as an actuary before beginning watercolor painting in 1981. Although Peery is largely self-taught, the artist took part in several workshops with Charleston-based artists, including West Fraser.

Using her mathematical skills, Peery constructs a detailed grid before drawing the landscape. She then layers watercolor washes on top of the drawing. Peery explores the atypical and less picturesque urban landscapes of Charleston and documents the rapidly developing and changing city. The exhibition at the GCMA includes 14 of Peery’s large-scale watercolors, including a panoramic triptych of the Holy City titled Power.

Peery is a member of the Georgia Watercolor Society, the Southern Watercolor Society, the Louisiana Watercolor Society, and the South Carolina Watermedia Society. Her work is included in the collections of the Greenville County Museum of Art and the Gibbes Museum of Art, among others.

Compulsively creative, I began my journey with art at age 10, in an oil painting class at the local rec. I have sewed and painted my way through life, inexplicably driven to always be making something. (Except dinner.) I’ve had formal training abroad, in Florence, Italy, and at the College of Charleston.

I paint what speaks to me. I paint canvas, furniture, murals; anything that will allow me to slather it with color. My style ranges from whimsical illustration to loosely realistic paintings of nature:

animals, land and waterscapes, and florals.

Through painting I’ve learned to face (some of) my fears. I’ve learned to listen to my instincts, and trust myself. I feel compelled to paint, and do so with the hope that it will bring as much joy to the viewer as it does to me in creating it.

Nick Kawczynski is an artist from Maryland but has called Charleston home since 2013. His work mostly involves original cartoon figures often telling narrative stories. He also creates graphic styled nautical themed designs using bright and energetic color palettes. He likes to explore different mediums to create his compositions, from watercolor paint to found recycled objects, his work is truly one of a kind. Kawczynski currently helps manage the Charleston City Market as well as Charleston Pedi Cab, all while creating bodies of work out of his home studio. ⁠

HEARTist Nicolás Lyford-Pike is a prolific, meticulous, and skilled artist with a love of constellations and all things cars. He has a deep cache of knowledge for star maps, and can draw the night sky from any date by memory. He’s also a catalogue of rim designs waiting to be put to paper. An invaluable member of the HEART studio, it is our pleasure to present a beautiful clashing of styles in this piece of artwork from Nico, produced over top the existing design on a donated canvas.

"My practice centers Disability and the intimate bond I have formed with my medical alert service dog. Created a week after my diagnosis of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Orthostatic Intolerance, and Fibromyalgia, this piece discusses the internal struggles I face as a young individual with invisible chronic illness. Through the making of this piece I aimed to come to terms with my new need for a mobility aid. The female is shown in a powerful pose with her cane proudly displayed in front of her - an example of the confidence I hope to eventually emulate when I use my own mobility aid. This ink painting was used as a study. After developing the whole composition, I later translated this image into a five foot acrylic painting." -Oaklee Thiele

In March 2020, Oaklee Thiele launched the My Dearest Friends Project, an archive of candid illustrations of stories, sentiments and emotions shared by the disability community confronted with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The crowd-sourced subject matter of the artwork is intended to unite the global disability community while at the same time documenting this moment in history and preserving our culture. Disabled people from around the world have been sharing submissions confronting the extreme marginalization, isolation and discrimination facing them because of the pandemic. Testimonials have been illustrated by Thiele in a black and white, candid, gestural sketch and posted on the My Dearest Friends Project Instagram. For Art Prize 2021, large scale physical installations were presented along the outside of the Grand Rapids Art Museum, symbolizing disability presence in public spaces, and its scale acting as an exaggerated, aesthetic counterbalance to the lack of disability presence in the real spaces of cities across the country. (via Art Prize)

Olivia Bonilla is a painter and sculptor born in Vermont. Bonilla received her BFA in painting, with a minor in sculpture from Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts. Bonilla continues to focus on unconventional materiality, an inventive approach to color theory within sculpture. Cement transforms into the soft and fluffy, resin to irresistible hard candy.

Rae Weekes is the Assistant Director for HEART Inclusive Arts Community. Rae was working with a group of adults with disabilities where Farrah Hoffmire volunteered teaching yoga. Rae joined Farrah in creating HEART. Rae wears many hats at HEART including managing the daily activities, coordinating volunteers, and getting hands on with the visual arts department. Rae is a dedicated and reliable friend to everyone at HEART. She is not afraid to jump in wherever needed and has everyone's best interest at heart. We all love having Rae's genuine heart guiding our day-to-day at HEART!

"I am an abstract and impressionist painter located at Slate Studios in the Cigar Factory in Charleston, South Carolina. Raised on the Gulf Coast, I was inspired and raised around the creative influence of my family’s art gallery, The Zoo Gallery. As one of many artistic minds in my family, I went on to receive a BFA from Auburn University. My artistic practice is a response to the colors, energies, textures, and composition of my life. I have created a lifestyle surrounding my work, thriving on the strength of women, the beauty of imperfection, and the harmony of mental and physical well-being of the figure. Through my work, I hope to invoke a connection for my viewers while representing the truest version of myself."

A native of Charleston, SC, Rebecca Hopkins is inspired by the ways that the natural and urban landscapes interact in her hometown. She seeks to depict the ways that the built environment of Charleston embodies and reflects the systems that unite, divide, and govern the lives of residents. To that end, her paintings include power lines, overpasses, trash cans, and the warped perspectives of her windshield and iPhone lens.

"Rick Sargent is owner of Sargent Illustration and Design, LLC and is proud to be an adjunct faculty at The Citadel where he teaches drawing and animation. Rick earned a Bachelor Degree in Art from the University of Georgia and a Master of Science degree in Medical Illustration from the Medical College of Georgia.⁠ ⁠ He has studied painting at the School of Visual Arts in New York and the Academy DuCret in New Jersey. His work is inspired by the symbolism and significance of everyday events. His major artistic influences are Rembrandt, Ingres, Millet, John Singer Sargent, and Bo Bartlett."⁠

Colorful and whimsical Charleston artist, inspired by nature, vibrant colors, and all things creative.

Born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina, Sally’s love for all things creative blossomed at a very early age. After planting her roots in Charleston, she graduated from the College of Charleston with a Bachelor of Science degree in International Business with a minor in International Studies, as well as a Bachelor of Arts degree in Arts Management with a minor in Studio Art. With an overflowing love for travel, she always seeks to discover new places, people, and experiences (near and far), which drives her main source of inspiration---her surroundings and emotional connection to the world.

Sally’s art is a form of journaling through her life’s journey, conveying moments of internal growth and aspiration through color, movement, and music, as well as her beloved interactions with nature. Each work is a story ceased in time, depicting an experience through her eclectic, energetic spirit, acknowledging the spark of madness or beauty encompassing her well-being. A signature in her style can be found in the boldness and vibrancy of her palettes in combination with a whimsical approach to her subjects and an abstract visual linguistic created through self-reflection. Ultimately, each work seeks to show the world through Sally’s sensitive, yet playful eye, allowing a balance of peace and chaos to coincide boundlessly.

This piece of art was hand picked from my chosen reservoir of heart felt paintings that most assuredly will showcase a dashingly brash display of pomp and circumstanciated evidence of a so called splash of non sardonically implemented seasonally seen colors that have been noted by not only the art world but by those that follow the ancient pre-biblical world of un ratioed mathematics to be considered a true measure of wall enhanced happiness."

“I am a resident of Charleston, SC having lived here for 20 years. I am committed to offering representations of what I see as the magic of nature. I feel called to do my best at stewarding the land and protecting sacred forests, waters and species. My art reflects my deep love and gratitude for the spirit of the natural world.”⁠

“As a painter, wellness enthusiast, and creator, I want to ask questions, simplify my life and share my discoveries with the world. For me, being an artist is a divine calling - one that I cannot escape no matter how many other paths I try to take. My paintings are expressions, visually processed emotions, questions, and moments or people striped away from anything but what is essential.“

"I grew up and currently live in Summerville South Carolina. I earned my Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1995, from the University of South Carolina in Art Education. In 2005, I received a Masters of Interdisciplinary Studies form Virginia Commonwealth University. During my coursework at VCU I studied textile dying and quilting. My thesis show consisted of several art quilts and Coptic bound books with hand dyed fabric. ⁠

In 2006 I moved back to Summerville and have taught art in Elementary, Middle and High School within Dorchester District Two Schools. In 2019 I had a quilt exhibited at Sacred Threads in Herndon Virginia. This quilt was picked to travel to several quilt shows throughout the United States for the next two years. While visiting Sacred Threads I learned about SAQA, Studio Art Quilters Association, and joined this group immediately. This group gave me an outlet to tell my son’s story of Autism and our family journey. I currently have 4 quilts and 1 virtual quilt in shows throughout the United States, SIB Self Injurious Behavior with Sacred Threads, two quilts in Eye Contact, Swing Please in Backyard escape, and ONE in The Edge (SAQA Virtual Gallery). Currently I am painting about quilts and quilting about paintings. In May my painting Transcendence through Autism WH 8/10 1848-1892 SN 8/10 1972- was accepted into Artfields. This is a trompe l'oeil painting/ quilting project board that lead to the quilt I am submitting to Pieces of the Past."

Steve Johnson is an Associate Professor of Art and Head of the Drawing Area at the College of Charleston, SC. Johnson received a Fulbright Fellowship to India where he taught drawing in a variety of collegiate and non-traditional settings. He has taught at Penland School of Crafts, Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop, NYC, and Steneby Skolan, Sweden. Recent Solo exhibitions include Blackburn 20/20 NYC, 111 Mina, San Francisco, and Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, Charleston as well as group international showings in Belgium, China, and India. Johnson's work is included in the collection of The Library of Congress.

"My mission is to preserve the treasures and bounty of Mother Nature by making people aware of climate change and global warming. My paintings are cautionary tales as part of a series called Global Warning. I paint abstracted versions of nature and landscapes. Many have captivating color schemes with an incongruent color added, symbolic of conflict. There are harsh marks and scars referencing the carbon footprint. There is something a bit off in the composition as if the landscapes are slipping into the sea. I am hoping that they serve as conversation starters. I lure the viewer in with a pretty picture then I can launch my tales and warnings. If we truly love this Earth, we must become better stewards. Awareness is always the first step. Art offers a gentle introduction to bigger issues."

"A love for drawing has been present in my life for as long as I can remember. I consider myself lucky to be able to incorporate what I love into what I do for a living. I pull inspiration for my art from both my humor and my heart. Some of my illustrations are observations on life, some are memories, and some are wishful thinking as to how animals might actually behave in the wild. When looking at my work, I hope the viewer sees something that relates to them or touches their heart. At the very least, my goal is to brings a smile to their face."

"I make my own stories of others' lives. I capture the movement of the world around me, with muted tones and a shock of color that could never really exist. I let my eyes go soft, and have people blur into a world they’ll never actually see."

Viktor is a 13 year old artist raised in Serbia until 2018 when his parents made the big step of moving to the U.S., where they now live in Florida. Viktor was diagnosed with autism at the age of 2, and by the age of 5 his parents began to take notice of his talent in art. Within a few years his technique developed even though he was self-taught and he started to express himself through his art. He hasn’t let his limitation in comprehension and verbal ability limit his artistic talent. His work with oil pastels has turned him into a master of nonverbal communication on social media.

He proves Autism is no barrier to creativity. He has the ability to focus on detail and he can understand how colors interact with each other.