Sandra Lynn Gray
Outreach and Education Director, Goodwill, MAB, Boys and Girls Clubs Teacher
Sandra earned her BFA in studio art at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro In 1966 and almost immediately began painting stage scenery, “exhibiting” her work in theatres throughout the United Stated and abroad. Charlotte audiences have viewed her award-winning work at the Belk, the Booth, the McGlohan, the Duke, the Neighborhood, and most abundantly at the Children’s Theatre, where she was resident designer for fifteen years. She has also continued her oil painting in the studio, exhibiting and selling her work wherever she has lived.
“After painting “big” for so many years, I’ve found that reducing the practice of working fast and loose to a small canvas results in a different kind of theatricality. I’m still involved in the pictorial, and the fantasy of theatre—for children in particular—still plays an obvious role; but thematically I’m finding it exciting to capture certain soothing experiences in a daily routine: random poses in Freedom Park, a flutter of finches in my cone flowers, my brother’s sheep. Scattered images find fresh contexts: thistle and Queen Anne’s lace along Springdale Avenue show up in the foreground of a painting called Atherton Crossing amidst remembered images across the tracks from Dilworth.
“The new adventure for me as an artist is a foray into images with a flat rendering, using strong, unrealistic and unblended colors to unearth and celebrate the drama of the ordinary. Since each new painting is an exploration, it’s unlikely I’ll get stuck in the style; but this study has been instructive to me and I’m looking forward to the joy of new discoveries.”
Molly Partyka
Boys and Girls Clubs Instructor, Goodwill Instructor
Molly Broxterman Partyka grew up in Northern Kentucky and moved to Charlotte, NC in 1985. She studied Art @ UNCC and graduated in 1989. Throughout her studies, Molly experimented with a variety of art media from oil paints to watercolor, oil pastels to colored pencils, and printmaking to collage. Regardless of the art tools, “Color”, “Texture”, and “Sharing Ideas” became essential for Molly’s art. Ever since, she first took art lessons at the Cincinnati Art Museum at age 4, Molly knew making art and sharing ideas was a perfect fit.
Molly has work experience as a Graphic Designer, Set Designer, and an Art Teacher. The last 12 years, Molly worked as an Art Director and Designer in Textiles for such clients as Wal-Mart, Disney, and Fisher-Price. Today, she enjoys free-lancing in Art and Textiles, helping teach classes at Charlotte Art League, and creating new artwork.
Cindy Connelly
MAB Assistant Teacher
Cindy Connelly is a long time resident of Charlotte and for the past 2 years has been managing the Charlotte Art League’s studio rental program. She is currently Executive Board secretary and is working with Sandra Gray in providing art classes through the CAL Outreach program. While Cindy’s art medium of choice is digital photography, especially in the area of high dynamic range imaging, she also enjoys painting with her fingers and other abstractionist painting methods.
Shanti Marie
Life Drawing Coach
Wan Marsh
Mixed Media
Wan Marsh is an artist living and working in Charlotte North Carolina. Wan was born in Charlotte and has always lived there. Wan has studied collage at the Penland School of Craft in Penland North Carolina and attended the Governor’s School of NC studying Art. She has also studied privately with many nationally and internationally known artists. Her interest in art began at an early age. As a child she played alone and using her talent and Imagination created her own personal Art out of many ordinary cast off objects. She dreamed up new ways to use these things creating her own order. She is still doing this today. Wan looks at what others might consider trash and sees possibilities. Her Art is about recycling, repurposing and reinventing. Her work demonstrates skill and willingness to experiment using a variety of unconventional material. She does this out of a need to change things and revisit the past.
Caroline Starr Sandgren,
Water Based Oils
Caroline Sandgren began her involvement in art in 1967. Since then she has studied painting, drawing, sculpture, pottery, printmaking, and hand dyed silk fabric and clothing. She spent many years in the North Carolina Mountains but relocated to Charlotte in 1999 and is currently working in acrylic.
Caroline’s education and training in art includes such schools as, UNCA, Penland School in North Carolina, Arrowmont School of Crafts in Gatlinburg Tennessee, and Instituto Allende in Mexico. Her teaching experience covers many years in places like The Asheville Museum of Art, Serigraphy for the Alamance County Arts Council, several private workshops and several Middle School and summer art programs.
Her work has been collected by Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, First Union National Bank, Tow River Arts Council.
Carlleena Person
Acrylics
Carlleena Person was born with paint in her blood. Born in New Jersey and spending her teenage years in North Carolina her views of the world were influenced both by the north and the south. As a kid, she would spend hours drawing comics or cartoons on whatever she could find. While in school, her notes were more like small insights into the artist she would later become. She is an alumni of North Carolina State University in which she obtained her BA in Liberal Arts. She considers herself “self-taught” and finds inspirations in life and nature. Her influences are artist, poets, musicians such as Pollock, Kerouac, Coltrane, Jacob Lawrence, Langston Hughes, Hendrix and many others. Her greatest teachers are kids. When asked why, she states, “because kids are not afraid to try, they are not afraid to be free to create what is in their hearts. They are not afraid to color outside of the lines. Kids are the greatest natural artist until society forces rules and parameters on them.“ Her art speaks to both adults and kids because of its free use of line and color. Mistakes are welcomed and appreciated because they prove that imperfections can be beautiful. Her art is a vivid story of the world thru her eyes. She has been commissioned by numerous private collectors and has provided work to non-profit organizations. She continues to grow and give back by teaching kids and adults that painting is liberating if you just break down all the rules. Person’s work is currently on display in various locations along the east coast and Charlotte, NC. She is also bringing her work to large scale by doing murals throughout the city of Charlotte. Charles Horton Cooley once said, “An artist cannot fail; it is a success to be one.” At the end of the day, painting has consumed Carlleena as she passionately heads toward her future as a “non-starving” artist.
She currently teaches art/painting classes for various organizations as well as offers private one-on-one classes and is looking for more opportunities to share her knowledge with others. Feel free to contact her at savnacmuraldesigns@yahoo.com or 704.391.3698. Or visit her website www.savnac.wordpress.com.
