Chosen for Life's Fine Art Exhibit & Auction (10.11.18)

On Thursday, October 11th we will hold the juried Chosen for Life Fine Art Exhibit & Auction! This is our 2nd annual local show, with local artists, benefitting local foster and adoptive families. All guests' attendance and purchase of artwork supports the work CFLM is doing to equip our community to care well for orphaned and vulnerable children - giving guests a chance to be a part of sharing beauty in this community while adding beauty to their home!

Art will be for sale, beginning at $50. We will also have pieces available in our Silent Auction that will take place from 5:30-7:15pm as part of the VIP event. Live music from Emily Hearn and friends will be enjoyed throughout the night!

We encourage you to pre-pay for your admission by clicking here!

Many thanks to our 2018 Participating Artists which include:

Susan Abell - Visual art has always been an integral part of Susan’s life. Since formally retiring from a career as an elementary educator in 2014, this hobby has become a full time pursuit. From the mountains to the shore, Georgia’s varied topography motivates Susan to capture her impressions with a variety of water-based media.

Cecel Allee - Cecel Allee a self-taught artist originally from Apalachicola, FL. She is a 1990 graduate of the Terry Business School at UGA. She live’s in Athens with her husband of 27 years and has two kids Logan, 24 and George, 19. Painting is her passion and is a huge part of her life, she expressed that she considers herself super lucky have been an artist for over 20 years.

Amelia Allen - Amelia is a highly creative textile designer with a background in fine arts and textile history. She specializes in developing patterns to build narrative and strengthen brand identity. Amelia has 13 years of industry experience in trend research and art direction, and creating original patterns and graphics for home, ready-to-wear, and childrens clothing. She received her BFA in Fibers (Print Design focus) from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2004

Michelle Armas - Michelle has been painting and making things as long as she can remember. Her dad would supply her with endless paper, pencils, and paints and encourage her by teaching her how to use oil paints and pastels. Her mother is a talented seamstress and Michelle says that her mother taught her how to know when your piece is finally perfect. Michelle nods her creative head at her muggy Texas upbringing surrounded my her families vibrant Spanish culture. Michelle now lives in Atlanta with her daughter and husband.

Emily Berry - Emily is a pattern and textile designer working in Atlanta, GA. She is interested in the little areas where art and life intersect whether that's in a pillow, a plate or a greeting card. She is inspired to create designs that live with people everyday.

Hannah Betzel - Hannah works and resides in the charming Five Points neighborhood of Athens, Ga. Her light-filled gallery is housed within a 100 year old house at 1676 South Lumpkin St and is open by appointment and for an Open House once a month. All the painting happens in her home studio where she is free to make big messes and alternate between the roles of artist and mama as needed. A self-taught artist, Hannah has a passion for creating art that lifts the spirit and inspires others. She is a lover of fashion and interiors and is always searching for ways to incorporate art into everyday life.

Camden Bianco - Camden received her Bachelors of Fine Art in Painting in 2008 from Savannah College of Art and Design and a Masters in Counseling from Covenant Theological Seminary in 2014. Recent showings of her work have been at the St. Louis Artist Guild, Art St. Louis, as well as a collection of commissioned work on view at Juniper Restaurant, and write ups with the St. Louis River Front Times and Covenant Magazine. Camden's parents are both artists and fostered a love for drawing and painting early in her life. She was always particularly interested in drawing the human face and portraiture. Interest in narrative work grew largely during her seminary studies as a means of processing human story and the divine. She currently resides in Western Pennsylvania with her husband and infant son.

Katherine Brink - Katherine Bring is an artist born and raised in Marietta, Georgia where she currently lives with her husband, Edward. Katherine earned a degree in marketing with a minor in art from Georgia College and State University. Katherine’s love for art was inspired at a young age by her grandmother who taught her how to paint. Summer afternoons spent learning the basics of painting developed into a lifelong love for the medium.

Kaitie Bryant - Kaitie has been a professional photographer for 8 years, with a focus on wedding and art photography. She is a wife and mother of 2 boys, and has lived in Athens for over 15 years. Kaitie loves to explore the world through the lens of a camera and share beauty and truth through images.

Lucy Reiser Chapman - Lucy Reiser Chapman is an abstract impressionist painter based out of Brevard, North Carolina. Her work is influenced by the environment in which she paints including the scenery as well as relationships and experiences.

Sally Coenen

Abner Cope - Abner Cope holds a B.A. degree from Georgia Southern University (painting & printmaking) and a M.F.A. Degree from Eastern Michigan University (drawing). Abner retired after teaching 30 Years in the Art Department at Central State University In Wilberforce Ohio. Abner retired in 2010 and currently resides in Commerce, GA. He paints every day and he teaches portrait painting classes and workshops. Abner was featured in the International Artist Magazine (October/November 2015 issue).

Christina Dukes - Christina has always loved art. Whether it is one of God's beautiful sunsets, an artistic piece on the wall, or an amazingly designed building... she believes art inspires. Art can affect moods, lift heads, and certainly bring God glory. Her desire to paint ignited when she read Deuteronomy 6:9, "Write them (my commandments) on the door frames of your houses and on your gates." She knew she wanted our family's environment to be beautiful and, as her and her husband trained their children, they wanted His Words to be their hearts, minds, and all around. Painting is a perfect conduit for this type of inspiration, so she decided to paint His Word for their walls.

Natalie French - Natalie French is a self-taught artist. She first picked up a paint brush at the age of 31, when she was pregnant with her second daughter and in need of a creative outlet. She loves to create colorful, happy art that will bring a cheerful pop in to any living space. She has fun mixing genres- from watercolor florals to mixed media abstract art. She is a veterinarian, mother of two daughters and wife to a pizza maker! She and her family live in Athens, GA.

Paige Kalena Follmann - Paige is a professional artist known for her "figurative scenes" and striking use of color, pattern and shape. Her figurative painting style has been described as a modern and imaginative interpretation of classical work or “Matisse meets Picasso." Viewers tend to be drawn to Paige’s work because her subjects are stylized – she represents them in a non-realistic manner. Her work has both a whimsical and sophisticated feel, piquing the viewer's imagination.

Allison Geckeler - Allison Geckeler has worn many hats in the creative field. From starting a collaborative stationery company to trying her hand in commercial photography. She is now coming back to her roots in painting. Allison has always had a passion for color and texture and is currently experimenting with patterns and abstract renderings that create stories and evoke conversation. Allison was born and raised in Georgia. With roots in Smyrna, Macon, Athens, and now Atlanta, she couldn't imagine creating art anywhere else. She graduated from the University of Georgia in 2012 with a BFA in Fine Art Photography.

Jake Gee - Jake is a freelance photographer and filmmaker living in Athens, Ga

Carol Jeanne Hood - Carol Jeanne Hood is a local artist from Bishop Georgia. She enjoys utilizing a variety of mediums on both wood and canvas. Art works on wood are sealed and are “outdoor friendly” for year round use on porches. Currently her works are available at Southern Spa and Patio located in Watkinsville, Georgia.

Meghan Hudson - Meghan Hudson currently lives and works in Athens, Georgia but calls a little Northeast Georgia town in Franklin County home. Her family has instilled in her a love of laughter, God, good food, stories and things of the past. When she's not making, she's a mom, wife, teacher, and traveler. Her work is a reflection of the places, the people, and the experiences that have formed what she understands as self and home. Whether it's the exterior of a barn where she played on hay bales when she was younger with cousins, the shape of the stained glass windows in the country church she attended with family, or the tile floor pattern of an old trattoria in Rome where she and a friend shared pasta, her work depicts small, still frames of each of these experiences that have shaped her life.

Laura Hull - Laura is a glass and metal artist living in Marietta, GA

Danielle Hulsey - Danielle currently live in Athens, Georgia with her husband, Stephen, and their new puppy Ford. She graduated from the University of Georgia and started her post grad life as a HeadStart teacher for a few years before getting in to the creative field. She loves all Mexican food, she could eat chocolate after every meal even though now she has to get creative with dairy-free options, antique shopping and old wood are treasures, and being at the lake to watch the sunset is her absolute favorite place. She is beyond grateful that she has the opportunity to work with clients who allow her to be a part of such special times in their lives.

Trish Jones - Trish Jones is a self-taught artist currently living in the small town of Madison, Georgia. Trish has been painting for only a few years, recently finding the time and opportunity to pursue her passion as an artist. Beginning with a primary focus on scripture art, Trish’s painting style has retained a folk art vibe. Trish is keenly aware that God provides her with an artistic gift to share with others, while also providing unlimited inspiration through the beauty of the world He created.

Jackie Kirsche- Jackie grew up in Chattanooga, TN and received BFA degrees in drawing/painting and printmaking from the Lamar Dodd School of Art at the University of Georgia. Botanicals are a never-ending source of inspiration for her. So are places and buildings with a story. She works primarily in acrylic, though she uses drawing mediums, collage pieces and other mixed media as well. Jackie loves exploring pattern and texture as she creates. Painting is life-giving to her and her hope is to create a sense of joy and contentment within each of her works. There is so much beauty in this world to be found and celebrated.

Katherine Miller Knuth - Katherine Miller Knuth is an artist specializing in lively land and seascape acrylic paintings. Each summer and winter she returns to her hometown in Northern Michigan to be inspired by Leelanau County's pristine countryside and lakeshore as well as it's charming, historic villages. Currently, she resides in North Carolina with her husband, Robert, working from their sunny guest-room-turned-studio.

Mary Catherine Lowery - Mary Catherine Lowery is a Chattanooga based painter and designer. Her work focuses on textural conversations, exploring the dichotomy between light and dark to create depth and movement - seeking to translate an internal dialogue: what is felt and what is known. Her inspiration for new mediums and techniques stems from her background as a Textile Design Major at the University of Georgia. Mary Catherine currently works as a designer for Mannington Commercial

Katherine McCullough - Katie received her BFA in Painting from the University of Georgia in 2009, then went on to receive her MFA from Washington University in St. Louis in 2011. Her process-based abstract paintings and installations reflect on the hopeful materiality of the fleeting. Katie lives and works in Athens, GA.

Erin McIntosh - Erin McIntosh is an artist and educator living in Athens, Georgia. She is an assistant professor of Studio Art at the University of North Georgia on the Gainesville campus. Erin has been teaching in higher education since 2007. Prior to that, she taught art to elementary-aged children in the public school system, through Atlanta’s public art programs, and at the Georgia Museum of Art. She has taught multiple semesters in Cortona, Italy, on the University of Georgia’s Cortona, Italy, study abroad program. Erin’s studio practice is rooted in abstraction in water-based media. She actively exhibits her paintings in solo and group exhibitions regionally and nationally. Her paintings have been published in New American Paintings, The Georgia Review, and Create Magazine. She has had residencies at the Vermont Studio Center and Atlantic Center for the Arts. Erin’s work is represented by Gregg Irby Gallery in Atlanta and Weinberger Fine Art in Kansas City, MO.

Julie McKevitt - Julie Ann McKevitt is a visual artist in metro-Atlanta. She is particularly known for her large detailed flower paintings, her happy and bright images, and elegant event decor. Julie Ann brings whimsy and fun to canvas as well as non-traditional surfaces.

Karla Pruitt - Surface designer and painter Karla Pruitt creates repeat patterns for product development in the home, apparel and gift markets. Karla licenses her artwork to companies and works with them to design products such as; wallpaper, fabric, and greeting cards. She also works with freelance clients to make pattern collections to meet their specific needs and trend direction. Karla works from her home studio Athens, GA where she lives with her husband Joseph and baby daughter Lucie. Having grown up in Merritt Island, Florida, she harbors slight obsessions with bright corals, a slower pace of life, and the retro floral fabrics her great grandmother might have sold in her 1960's Miami upholstery shop.

Meredith Mejerle Rush - It wasn't an immediate transition from earning a BFA in Arts to pursuing art as a career. Meredith dabbled in various mediums and explored the floral design industry before making her way back to creating fine art. Using her knowledge and compositions gained through working with florals, delicate lines became the basis of her work. Throughout all of her work, creating an intimate and tactile experience has been a major component. Some work requires a nose to nose experience or a gentle brush along the edge of the paper thus aiding in the overall experience.

Katherine Schuber - Katherine lives in the wonderfully colorful and life filled town of Athens, Georgia. It has been home for the past four years with her husband who also doubles as her best friend. She started her pursuit of art when she first started asking if she could stay in from recess to color. Over the years she experimented with different types of paint mediums. Like many artists she chose a very non-traditional route for her life. After spending several years living overseas she returned to her hometown of Atlanta, Georgia to study under renowned portrait artist Chris di Domizio.

Britt Bass Turner - Atlanta native Britt Bass Turner is an abstract artist known for her playful paintings full of movement. She fell in love with color and design at a young age (by way of her interior designer mother) through immersing herself in fabric samples and color swatches. She is constantly refining her eye for aesthetics and design, and hopes to bring this sense of exploration and curiosity to her current work. Britt paints full-time in her Roswell, Georgia studio and her work graces public and private collections throughout the United States and abroad. She also calls the quiet, Southern town of Roswell her home, which she shares with her husband, Render, and their Boykin Spaniel, Birdie. She also most recently served as the Art Chair for Dwell with Dignity's Atlanta chapter.

Lulie Wallace - Majoring in Art at College of Charleston, Lulie started painting shortly after she graduated. Lulie wants her art to be a challenge, to hopefully evolve for the better, and she think it is a privilege to be in her studio and to be a part of creating something that she loves. Lulie really does think her paintings very much reflect who she is and what I'm attracted to in her everyday life. She is attracted to joyful, thoughtful people. She loves bright, vibrant colors and hope that the paintings that she creates have a timelessness about them and are passed down to daughters and granddaughters. Her and her husband Harrison live in Columbus, Georgia with their two daughters, Edy and Katherine.

Sarah Cowan White - Sarah is an artist and art educator living in Athens, Georgia. Her work aims to tell stories of comfort and discomfort in familiar, yet non-specific interior spaces. Creating these vignettes allows her to examine themes of daily habits, rituals, intimacy, and one's relationship with their environment. She enjoys weaving personal and universal narratives of nostalgia into her work. The balance between stasis and transition is also a common theme of exploration for her.

Catherine Whitis - Catherine Cox Whitis is a contemporary artist from Atlanta. Drawing inspiration from nature, she focuses on experimenting with abstraction of color and line. She received training in studio art and photography from the University of Georgia, and has returned to the studio after several years spent in advertising and starting her family.

Jill Wolfe - Jill is an accomplished painter of Interpretive Images, drawing on her love of the Western Carolina Mountains. Her background in Interior Design is foiundational in her palette choice, line work and imagery. She has shown throughout the SE United States and continues to wow a.her following with inventive approaches to painting and mixed media.

On Thursday, November 9th, 2017 we held the juried Chosen for Life Fine Art Exhibit: The Small Works Show! A local show, with local artists that drew our community together for a lovely evening out to purchase affordable artwork, all while raising funds to help Chosen for Life Ministries continue to meet the needs of orphaned and vulnerable children and the families caring for them throughout this community.