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Artists in Residence
At Lee Street Studios
Studio One
Fashion Design & Illustration
thomasg.ruggiero@gmail.com
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Thomas Ruggiero
Thomas Ruggiero is an artist & fashion designer native to Lewisburg, WV. As a resident of Lee Street Studios, he crafts handmade one-of-a-kind garments and impasto ink fashion illustrations. In oil paint, he paint portraits and landscapes. Thomas's practice focuses on a marriage of modernity in design and traditional approaches in craft.
Studio Two
Fiber Arts Group
studiofiberarts@gmail.com
Susan Ernst
Susan was first introduced to handweaving in 1994 at the Augusta Heritage Festival at a Beginning Weaving Class. "I was surprised by how much, and how quickly the craft took hold of me." By 1997, Susan decided that handweaving would be her full time occupation. August 1997 marked the termination of her present employment and the onset of full time self-assigned work with textiles being the lens through which she saw everything.
Susan currently produces both woven and knit textiles for sale, teaches textile arts at Carnegie Hall, participates in the Arts in Education program in schools, design consults with Appalachian Baby Design and is a juried Tamarack Artist.
Studio Three
Bridal Boutique
Merryhillandco.com
Merry Hill & Co. Bridal Boutique is owned and operated by sisters Barbara and Cassie Ford. We offer gorgeous made to order Wedding Gowns, Lingerie, Accessories, and Jewelry. We are open by appointment only and all consultations are completely free and private.
Studio Five
Mixed media
Lory Van Buren
I am a native West Virginian. Without saying my age, I attended Lewisburg Junior High in what is now Lee Street Studios and my kid went to elementary school there for awhile, ha!
I am a pharmacist by trade and have always had a love for art and for making things.
Seeing the importance of the benefits that making things can have in people's life, my ultimate goal is to provide opportunities for not only myself but others to come together, create something beautiful, share and repair with the art of creative therapy if you will.
My love is for paper. I also greatly enjoy fiber arts (specifically needle felting) and sewing. I did a demonstration with Stampin Up products at Lee Street before Covid and found that it was a very shareable way to offer takeaways. Eventually I would like to build up classes into bigger makes like journals. For now tho, I would love to become consistent with class offerings by card making.
Studio Six
Fine art, Watercolor, & Woodturning
Margygreenart@gmail.com & Bjbrenneman@gmail.com
Jeanne Brenneman
Jeanne began painting in 1972. Moving to WV from PA in 1973, she continued to pursue her love of watercolor. She is a founding member of the Greenbrier Artists, a local group who have met regularly to paint in Greenbrier County, WV since 1974, and a signature member of the West Virginia Watercolor Society.
She has shown work in local, state, and national juried exhibitions, and has often won awards. She has done commissioned work for numerous corporations and individuals. One of her paintings hangs in the permanent collection of the Alma Byrd Gallery at the University of Charleston, WV. She paints and teaches watercolor classes at her home studio in Lewisburg, where she lives with her husband, Bruce.
Studio Nine
Jewelry design and production, Oil painting, Mixed media
Grobinskillern@gmail.com, 304-647-0747 (Sara McDonald & Co), Sheanew.com
Shea Newton
Shea Newton specializes in custom jewelry design and manufacturing. In 2008, Shea received a BFA in Metals/Jewelry/CAD-CAM from the Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University. After graduation, Shea began working in downtown Philadelphia on the historic Jewelers' Row. After relocating to wild and wonderful West Virginia, she combined her years of experience working with multiple jewelry manufacturers to establish her brand of designs.
When designing, Shea uses the CAD software Matrix Gemvision to create three-dimensional jewelry models. These models are 3D printed in wax, then cast in metal. To satisfy her love of hands-on work, she balances her time between computer design and hand fabricating at her jeweler's bench. Lee Street Studios serve as Shea's design studio and office to discuss custom jewelry design with clients.
Shea now lives on her family homestead, Rainbow Farm, with her husband and their two children. When she is not designing, you can often find her tackling farm chores, putting up hay, or tending to the garden.
Shea's work is available for purchase at her online store www.sheanew.com, where you can also start your journey into the custom design process.
Follow her on Instagram and Facebook @sheanewjewelry to stay up to date on her latest designs.
Studio Ten
Jumping Branch Clayworks
Seanoconnell1154@gmail.com
Sean O'Connell
Sean O’Connell creates objects of beauty, function, integrity, and spirit. Using a unique vocabulary of impressed and incised markings on raw clay, he composes distinctive expressive statements. Sean is an observer of life. His range of influences include African and Pre Columbian cultures as well as contemporary ceramic artists. “The only rules for working clay are time, gravity and fire…The rest is up to us.”
Studio Eleven
Photography Collective
ewagee7@gmail.com, hello@marlynmcclendon.com
Erica Agee Photography
I'm Erica, owner of Erica Agee Photography. Based out of Lewisburg, WV, I am a wife and mom to four beautiful kids who are growing up too quickly. I love everyday moments and I especially love knowing I can help keep those moments alive for years to come for others. I am always eager to grow and learn new things for my clients. To describe my style of shooting I would say it is a mix between candid and light direction. I love color and capturing the feel of the day. The more I photograph, the more I appreciate the in-between moments. I love the outdoors and using what beauty WV has to offer, but I now share a studio space right close to downtown Lewisburg with a fellow photographer who is a dear friend. This gives the wonderful option to shoot indoors or have a consultation/gallery reveal. If you have a special place in mind for your session that represents who you are, I would love to make that happen! If not, we will discuss together of the perfect location for you.
Studio Twelve
Yoga & Wellness
Ginkgo Yoga and Wellness
Studio Twelve is proudly the home of local yoga, massage, and meditation.
Visit gingkoyogawellness.com for more.
Studio Thirteen
Interior Design, Lifestyle Coaching, Fine Art
philippa@phillipparadon.com, 716-860-3531 / ergerard775@gmail.com, 304-646-1367
Elyse Gerard
I began painting at the "Ridgewood School of Art" when I was 10 years old. Encouraged by my mother who is a fine painter in her own right, I learned the basics of chiaroscuro painting in oils. I attended for 4 years on awards and scholarships. I continued learning more conceptual practices at Bard College, graduating in 1983.
Deferring to the need for food and shelter, I began a career on Wall Street and spent 18 years as a business analyst, painting only portrait commissions until I moved to West Virginia in 2001.
Greenbrier County, WV is spectacularly beautiful and inspired me to begin my first landscape paintings in 2003 and have been the commissioned portrait artist for the Masters of Golf series of portraits For the Greenbrier Sporting Club in White Sulphur Springs, WV. “
Studio Fourteen
Fine Art
studiojorn.com
Jorn Mork
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Studio Sixteen
Florist
trueheartflowerfarm@gmail.com
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Alaina Hower of True Heart Flower Farm, moved to the mountains of Monroe County, West Virginia. When she was 3 years old to live in a tiny tar paper shack with her parents, her dog and a couple of kitties. Growing things and creating art have been a major part of her life since a very early age and now, Hower has a small but thriving one woman floral design business. Utilizing seasonal local flowers and
wild materials alongside blooms shipped from around the country, Hower creates stunning and unique bouquets year round. Rounding out her repertoire, Hower offers floral design packages for weddings and events and creates evergreen wreaths near the Christmas holidays decorated with a variety of driedflowers, pinecones and other wild bits. "I plan to use my studio at Lee Street as an outlet to connectwith other creatives and continue to host small workshops to reach a wide audience of flower and nature enthusiasts," Hower reports. She resides in Greenbrier County with her dog, a couple of kitties and the love of her life who makes all her wildest flower growing dreams come true. "We recently erected a small greenhouse in our backyard and I'm so excited to grow more at home," Hower says. Find more information about True Heart Flower Farm on Alaina's Instagram & Facebook pages. For details
about wedding bookings please email her at trueheartflowerfarm@gmail.com - Check back for more
information about monthly floral offerings, flower arranging workshops and all things blooms from
Alaina at True Heart.
Studio Eighteen
Woodturning
Garycubfan426@gmail.com
West Virginia Woodturners Association
The West Virginia Woodturners Association was formed in Lewisburg to educate both woodturners and the public in the art and craft of woodturning. Building from a few skilled tuners, we have attracted and trained many creative members, and produced a wide range of turned wood pieces.
We encourage others to join our woodturning association and join us in our activities in creating artwork from fallen trees. We are proud to see our turned wooden objects of today become tomorrow's heritage and history.
When you get right down to it, we just enjoy woodturning! Our purpose is to have fun learning to do it better and teaching others woodturning.