Artist Biographies
Luke Adams - His earliest memories are of drawing and sketching the things around him. He remembers the colors vividly from his early childhood. Creative interests and activities have always been such a big part of Luke's life that it wasn't until he was much older that he saw them as part of life and not just everything that he was interested in.
He attended Mass College of Art and Design. Luke started first in the Design department and then later shifted gears and went in the Glass department. He had the opportunity to have some excellent teachers at Mass Art and was fortunate to have apprenticed for some successful artists as well even before he graduated. It made a big difference to see how professional artists worked. Luke began his business in 2001 as soon as he graduated. He felt it was important to get involved in glass right away as a profession and not get sidetracked by pursuing some other career. He started by renting time at other glass studios until he built up a consistent base of stores and galleries that would sell his work. Luke then built his current studio in Norwood, Massachusetts in 2006.
Marilyn Arsenault - In 1985, she started painting on canvas just as something new to try. Marilyn had no formal training and had never taken any art courses. She was actually quite surprised at the response she received. In 1993, her sister suggested she try painting on glass. What started as gifts for family and friends quickly became a business with many pieces in 3 stores in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
As with her previous paintings, Marilyn takes her inspiration from the beauty of nature found all around us and her love of gardening. Depending on the intricacy of the design, it takes anywhere between one to four hours per piece and no two pieces are exactly the same. Each piece is hand-painted, glazed and baked for an hour. Pieces should be gently hand washed and not left to soak.
Art Bodwell - He began to create and build things in childhood. This led to becoming a civil engineer, who spent a working life designing and building mostly institutional buildings. Along the way, Art built furniture for family use. Nearing retirement some thirteen years ago, he started woodturning and immediately focused on the craft of segmented woodturning. The idea of using segmenting and lamination opened an entire new world of creativity in wood. The final product can be anything the artist's imagination can produce and his/her skill can figure out how to build. Segmenting requires extensive design work and precise cutting and assembling or laminating to create a unique piece, which can contain dozens or thousands of individual pieces. His work involves using several types and colors of wood which make up the final product. The raw material is a combination of domestic hardwoods and exotics that lend unique color and generally grown in tropical environments.
Some pieces are functional, to be used and enjoyed, some are sculptural, to be displayed or hung for decorating pleasure. Each piece is different, and all the colors are the natural wood color. Segmenting woodturning is practiced by less than 5% of the worlds' woodturners, though
over the last fifteen - twenty years, it is becoming a growing art form. Own a segmented piece will put you in select company.
Linda Donoian - She is not only an artist, but the owner of The Discerning Kaleidoscope. Linda has had a passion for art as young as 8 years old. She went for some informal art lessons with a neighborhood friend on Monday evenings and enjoyed every moment of it. At that time, she created art using pastels with subject matter that was likeable to a young child, such as animals and children. When the instructor advised her to enter the Woodstock Art Fair, she was excited to participate. Linda remembers going with her dad and entered two pastel pieces, one of a baby tiger and the other of a puppy with a rose in its mouth (she still has both of them to this day). She was beyond surprised and thrilled when another father with a young daughter came by and offered to purchase the dog. Linda thought she was just showing her pieces and had no idea that someone might want to actually buy them. She politely declined; she wasn’t ready to part with any of her early masterpieces at that time. Linda did land up winning an honorable mention purple ribbon which she cherished.
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While her activity in creating art ebbed and flowed based on other responsibilities such as school, family, and work as an educator, she never lost her excitement for making and admiring art. As she got older and had some more available time, she went for more informal lessons and painted with acrylics and watercolors. Linda even opened a brick and mortar store about 10 years ago very similar to TDK. While it was quite popular and had over 55 local artists represented, the overhead was too expensive and she had to close shop. However, she never lost sight of her vision and dream and launched her online art store, The Discerning Kaleidoscope, in October of 2020. While she is very busy with the business, she is trying to make a concerted effort to carve out some time each week to work on her own art.
Victor Gartner - Almost forty years ago when living in Northern Maine, Victor began exploring art and creativity through watercolor painting and photography. After moving to Massachusetts, watercolor became his primary creative outlet and was an active member of the Greater Gardner League of Artists. Victor did his first scratch board etching seven years ago. From that time, most of Victor’s artwork has been scratch boards of people, buildings and science fiction themes. Although scratch board etchings are very time consuming, often requiring over 100 hours per board, Victor finds this work to be most gratifying. His work has won several awards at local art centers. He is currently a member of the International Society of Scratch Board Artists, The North Port Art Center, and the Visual Art Center of Punta Gorda, Florida
Leonard A. Haug - From his earliest years growing up in rural Illinois, he has had an interest in art, nature, and history. Leonard earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from North Central College in Naperville, Illinois with a major in fine arts and biology. A post graduate degree in business was subsequently added. His career with United Airlines, the Xerox Corporation, Digital Equipment, and United Technologies have given him and his wife, Carole, an opportunity to travel, live, and work in many parts of the world.
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Following Leonard's retirement in 2007, he opened his studio in Princeton, Massachusetts and have focused ever since on his lifelong interests. He is a member of multiple area art associations, including the Princeton Arts Society. He has exhibited widely throughout New England and his work has won numerous awards and recognitions in local, regional, and national exhibits and competitions.
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While Leonard works in all media, he particularly enjoys constructing "painting" of cut paper. His creations of paper mosaic and collage combine impressionism and realism. He especially enjoys creating pieces that convey a sense of joy and happiness.
Katherine Jasmine - Katherine lives in Myrtle Beach, SC, and has been a lover of all types of handwork, including needlepoint, crocheting, knitting, crewel, and quilting for her entire life. She was given a handmade bracelet by a friend and wanted to learn how to make one …from that point on she was hooked on jewelry making. Her designs use Swarovski crystals and pearls, sterling silver or 10K gold and semi-precious stones, such as onyx, jasper, jade, Larimar, amethyst, quartz, and many more. She also uses freshwater pearls and lampwork glass in her unique creations which range from woven pieces, Kumihimo, and strung
techniques for bracelets, necklaces, and earrings.
Katherine is a professional writer of marketing content for websites, blog articles, andnewsletters. She began her career as a writer and worked for educational publishers for more than 25 years in marketing and research before starting her home-based business in 2005.
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Having lived in New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts, Katherine now resides in Myrtle
Beach SC and Wells ME with her husband Dwight and Golden Retriever, Rosie O’Grady. Katherine has two daughters, LoriAnn and Debra and three grandchildren, Rachel, Alyssa,
and Zachary.
Heather Krasnov - Heather is a native New Englander and all her life she has had a passion for art. She supposes that has a lot to do with the fact that her mother is an artist and grew up watching the joy she felt while painting in the kitchen (with dinner on the stove).
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Heather graduated from West Boylston High School in Massachusetts, then Westfield State University with a BA in Art and Elementary Education. That led to a thirty-five year career as a public school art teacher and a Master's in Art Education from Assumption University.
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She has always been interested in recycling materials into art, whether it was for a classroom project with my middle school students or for me personally. She has used agate stones and sea glass from the beach. Heather loves creating something beautiful from "whatever," be it a piece of jewelry, wearable art, or a sculpture for the yard. Her work has been showcased in multiple venues throughout New England and in Florida, where she spends the winter. Various boutiques and independent shops have carried my designs. She has been selected to participate in fashion shows, juried art festivals, and art auctions for museums and local charities.
Sherit Levin - Sherit creates wearable art that expresses a woman's uniqueness with elegance by making luxurious, shimmering, devore (burnout) velvet that is hand dyed. The scarves and wraps can be worn with jeans or with a dress for a special occasion. Each piece is one-of-a-kind. The silk in the velvet fabric brings comfort with its softness. The patterns and motifs are inspired by beauty found in nature. The vibrant colors evoke positive moods and their combinations tell a story.
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She loves layering brush strokes of color on to a flat white surface. She focused on painting as a student at Rhode Island School of Design and found her true love.
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Her passion for accessories comes from the jewelry and scarves she would find in markets in Israel when visiting extended family, She would bring some back to Boston and choose a piece that matches her T-shirt to proudly wear to school.
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As a young artist, she moved to San Francisco and found making and selling crafts at Bay Area street fairs to be a very fun way to earn money to pay rent. With lovingly made, colorful accessories, Sherit can add a small amount of positive energy to the world. And a sense of peace can be felt in patterns found in the untouched natural world.
Hannah Lipper - Cosmos Pottery is a Massachusetts-based studio and design lab by Hannah, launched in 2021. Hannah’s pieces are inspired by clean lines and natural elements, and entirely handcrafted in her home studio in Central MA. She has been working with clay since she was little. She was introduced to wheel throwing at Bennington College in Vermont, and has since studied ceramics at both Bennington and the Worcester Center for Crafts in Worcester, MA. Additionally, Hannah holds an MPH from BU and enjoys integrating her love of public health and public service with ceramics.
Hannah creates wheel-thrown and hand-built pieces meant for wear. All of her work is food safe, dishwasher safe, and microwave safe unless otherwise specified. She prides herself on design and craftsmanship as well as on the utilitarianism of her pieces.
Diane Lyons - She and educator who is also a textile artist who lives in Holden, Massachusetts. Since Diane was a child, she has enjoyed creating unique embroidered and hand sewn gifts. Inspired by the birth of her children, Finn and Isabella, Diane created her Finbella label, which features classic children's clothing and accessories. Diane is also the technical editor for the Madrid- based clothing designer, Liesl Gibson.
Paula Monette Ethier - She is a graphic designer and former creative director of baystateparent magazine where she won numerous Regional and National awards. While recently retired she is in love with the idea of stepping away from the computer and creating her driftwood sailboats, especially because she gets to comb the beaches of Wells ME where she spends most of her time in the summer. Paula plans on experimenting with many other mediums in the near future so stay tuned.
Joan Moser - She has been basket weaving for over 20 years. Joan began weaving when she retired after nearly 40 years as a school teacher. Her daughter suggested she pick up a hobby and on a whim she took a
basket class. Soon after, she was training all over the country mastering her craft. She created Bay View
Baskets and began selling at local craft shows. Currently, Joan spends her winters in New Jersey weaving
and her summers in Maine selling her wares at the Kennebunk Artisan Market. Her baskets are distinctive because she dyes all her own reed and incorporates kitchen items, sea grass, and metal work into her designs. She is especially known for her antique rolling pin and potato masher baskets.
Joan splits her year between New Jersey and Maine with her husband, George, and her Russian
Tortoise, Ralph. In addition to her basket work, she enjoys traveling and spending time with her
grandchildren.
Debi Murray - Debi has loved working with her hands since she was 6 years old, sewing troll clothes with felt fabric. Growing up in the 60's and 70's provided opportunities to embroider and create macrame plant hangers. She was also influenced by her country lifestyle and her grandmother who was an accomplished seamstress and crafter.
As Debi got older, she started working retail and in hospitals to earn some money. She enjoyed school and playing both the piano and then the clarinet in her high school years. Debi's love for music is equal to her love for sewing even today!
While Debi began her business in 2015, she actually started sewing with fabric right after retiring from the Vermont Country store in 2006. She credits a friend, Pat, for encouraging her sewing talent. Debi began with making quilts and while she loved it, her passion for rope creations became her focus; she feels the possibilities are endless. She describes her fabric art as both country and coastal. Debi spends her summers in Maine and winters in Florida.
She has loads of fun selling at markets in both states. People are in awe of what clothesline rope and a little fabric can become, and she hopes TDK customers enjoy her art as much as others have!
Jane and Heather Rodman - These artists are the mother and daughter team behind H & J Creations. They started scrapbooking about 20 years ago and as time went on, they had quite a collection of paper remnants so they started making "scrap" cards. As time passed, they found themselves making more cards and doing less scrapbooking. The cards they make are designed and created in a basement craft room that also houses Jane's sewing machine along with an extensive collection of fabric just waiting to be made into her next quilt. Jane also knits so the craft room includes quite a collection of yarn. Heather brings her eye for color and design to all of their creations. Their work is inspired by the people and things that they love.
Sandra Riccio Holmes - She is an artistic quilt maker and a seamstress and has been sewing clothes, assorted fabric bags, quilts and quilted wall hangings for over 50 years. Sandra loves to design all her own quilts, quilted wall hangings as well as assorted fabric bags and has become a proficient pattern maker in the process. She is always seeking new sewing and quilting techniques to add to her repertoire and uses the sewing machine as well hand sewing and embroidery techniques to create her pieces. Sandra loves to work with color, especially complimentary color combinations. She also adores embellishing her creations with vintage buttons. Sandra loves to sew and her sewing & quilting studio is her happy place.
Jayne Sarkisian - She has been an art enthusiast her entire life, enjoying painting and drawing landscape, nature, and still life. She pursued her talent by completing two degrees in Fine Arts at Leicester Jr. College and The Worcester Art Museum. Jayne's love of art was put on the back burner to raise her children, to work in the insurance industry, and to obtain a Bachelor's Degree in Education. In 2014, Jayne returned to painting and started a part-time paint and sip business, "Wine Down Paint Up." She teaches acrylic painting and crafts to small private groups and to large groups raising money for charities such as Toys for Tots, PMC, Making Strides, Brady's Mission, Pawfect Life Rescue, North Brookfield Senior Class, and Cystic Fibrosis. With an early retirement in Jayne's near future, she plans to work full time at fine-tuning her painting skills, expanding her paint and sip business, and selling her artwork.
Vanesa Simmarano - Born and raised in Worcester, Massachusetts, Vanesa’s photography can best be described in three words: Simple. Urban. Elegant. Beginning with just a spark of curiosity to capture beautiful places and moments, her journey began on a simple Polaroid camera that grew to become one of her greatest passions. From portraits of nature to servicing local businesses with marketing and product imagery, Vanesa has shot a wide-range of genre. Some of the most common photography requests have been child and family portraiture, model portfolio development, brand maximization, corporate imagery, product photography and wedding/event photography. Vanesa is pleased to join The Discerning Kaleidoscope showcasing prints for the home or office. When not shooting, Vanesa is also a local Special Education Teacher.
Zeina Skaff Kahhale - She has been a committed artist for over 16 years. Ceramics, painting, encaustic, and stained glass are some of her passions to name a few. With a Bachelor in Arts (a major in Interior Design and minor in Graphic Design), Zeina is interested in the process and the exploration of the medium. "The more I experiment with color, the more I admire its powers..." Zeina's fascination with color and its impact on our psyche, is reflected in her work. She believes that art has a healing power as it taps into our unconscious being.
As a member of the Newton Art Association, Zeina participates in exhibits and private showings in the Greater Boston Area.
Joe K. Smith - Joe is a Massachusetts artist who is best known for his scratchboard works featuring trees and forests. His art connects his lifelong enjoyment of drawing with his career as a forester and conservationist. He began producing scratchboards in 2010, and they immediately earned rave reviews and awards. Joe is a member of the Copley Society of Art, The International Society of Scratchboard Artists (ISSA), the Gardner Area League of Artists, and the Rockport Art Association and Museum. Joe's work is mostly drawn from the varied landscapes of his beloved New England home. His finely detailed work captures the unique character and spirit of the wild places that exist all around us, but just out of sight.
Lucine Tegnazian - Lucine has loved music, reading, the arts and sciences since Childhood. Acquiring languages and knowledge was encouraged at the Armenian school she attended in Beirut. It made the transition to the global world at the United Nations Headquarters and life in New York smooth. After her retirement, for the past 7 years she has owned her digital services company.
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For Lucine, life has mostly been hectic and fast paced. Anytime she finds a little "ME" time, she gets creative. Even if it's just for 10 minutes. Her role models are her late multi-talented and creative maternal grandmother and parents. A variety of materials inspire her to create. The result is one of a kind and limited edition handmade gifts.
Jodi Tippett - Jodi started art therapy at Newton Wellesley Hospital, after treatment for cancer, close to 6 years ago. There, she realized that art can be fun, and an amazing creative outlet. She learned to quiet the critical judge, who had previously told her that whatever she did was never good enough. Around that same time, Jodi joined a writing group for cancer survivors, and has been attending that group ever since.
Jodi didn’t discover her love of fusing glass until around 5 years ago. She took an introductory 1 1/2 hour class in Waltham. She then attended every fused glass class she could find locally. She bought out someone’s kiln and glass on Craigslist, and set up shop in her basement. She learned through trial and error, and also took classes throughout the country.
Jodi makes jewelry (necklaces, rings, earrings, bracelets), bowls, plates, and art that hangs on the wall. She has sold her work at craft fairs and on Etsy. Much of her work has been donated to charity and low income essential workers.
Jodi is the proud mama of an elementary school teacher. She has had careers in software and as a school nurse. She is a longtime Lexington resident, living with her husband and their two Siberian cats.
Margaret Turner - Margaret was born and raised in Maine. Now she spends half her year in Maine and Arizona. She had a great profession as a hair stylist for over 25 years. Margaret has always been creative in sewing, painting, and anything else she dared to try. One day she thought it would be fun to make some beaded bookmarks. Margaret made so many that she decided to take them to my first craft show. Her bookmarks sold so well, and she had many requests for her to make jewelry like her book marks. She has now been making jewelry for 20 years, working with silver, leather, Swarovski crystals, semi precious stones, Kazuri beads, and ceramic beads. She enjoys making unique, one of a kind pieces. Additionally, Margaret also enjoy painting rocks and mosaic stones.
Vartus Varadian - Vartus is a graphic designer and art director by education who turned to Chinese Brush Painting as a means of meditation, and inspiration after her sudden diagnosis and subsequent treatments for cancer in 2009. A reoccurrence and lifesaving bone marrow transplant in 2010 has given her a new future and a lesson in the fragilities of life. This year marks 10 years since her transplant.
Vartus has worked for numerous advertising agencies and design studios in the Boston area. Her accomplishments in her field were celebrated with local, regional, and national awards and accolades. Her career offered many challenges, but nothing compared to the battle of fighting cancer.
Mark Waitkus - Mark remembers having a true passion for painting when he was only seven years old. Equally passionate about sports and nostalgia, he gathers inspiration from historic stadiums, legendary teams, and memorable moments in sports.
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Mark's expressive brush strokes and use of color bring his watercolors to life, providing a feeling of being a part of the nostalgia he recreates. He skillfully uses each and every stroke to present rich color and detail. His work has earned accolades with numerous clients including Major League Baseball, the Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, LA Dodgers, the Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Fame, the New England Sports Museum, and The Jimmy Fund.