Meet the Artists
[artists listed alphabetically]
1. John Bennett
John Bennett’s medium is basically using Sterling Silver and semi-precious stones to design and create jewelry. The end products are bracelets, pendants, earrings, and bolos.
2. Dave Branch
Dave Branch, a woodworking veteran of 50+ years, pioneers innovative designs in high-end kaleidoscopes, spheres, wood threading, puzzles, and STEM challenges. His artist's ethos: Talent is unseen, genius is unimagined. Keep a childlike wonder, explore relentlessly, and embrace imperfection. Collaboration is key; adapt fearlessly. Avoid strict boundaries; grasp concepts over memorizing formulas to retain the magic of nature and divine laws.
3. Peter Brown
A famous photographer was once asked the secret to get some of his most well-known images. His response was, “You have to know where to stand.” With the experience of flying in a helicopter, legs hanging out the door, Peter Brown learned the perspective that you do not just have to stand in the right place—you can be above it. After visiting over a dozen countries, Peter finds joy in coming home and capturing images.
4. Tutti Burkett
Tutti Burkett creates sparkling and unusual art pieces made of resin, mica powder, crystals, and glitter. She uses a blow torch to make swirls on her canvas paintings, molds the resin to shape her bowls, and constructs her abstract designs using a mixture of resin and crystal.
5. Linda Caperton
Linda is a watercolor and fiber artist. She shows New Mexico landscapes in its color and architectural design in a representative and impressionistic style. She also hand-dyes silk chiffon, applying wool, more silk and yarn for a wet felting technique called nuno felting, shown in wearable art, ponchos, wraps, scarves and shawls.
tel: 575-802-3433
6. Lori Coleman and Bruce Williams
Tucked away on the side of the hill in Alto, NM, the couple Bruce Williams and Lori Coleman create the most unique stone creations on the market. They settled there full-time in 2018 and opened their facility/shop/gallery. Here, they bring the rocks they mined in Deming, NM, and Oregon to process into unique, unique works of art. Lori’s passion for rocks started many years ago in the fields of Mississippi, while Bruce was new to it in 2016 after meeting Lori. Bruce is a gifted engineer who has brought the facility into the 21st century with equipment advancements. During their days you can find them in the shop creating new lines of products. You can find it all there, from NM Wine Toppers, fire pit rocks, and intricate steel and stone sculptures.
Spanish Stirrup Rock Shop, LLC and SS Stone Gallery, 156 Hill Country Rd, Alto, NM 88312
Tel: 4769-400-7018(Bruce) ; 575-545-2814(Lori)
7. Kelvin Davis
Kelvin Davis, a potter and quilter, hails from Portales, New Mexico. He learned his craft under Mary Finneran at ENMU in the 80s, later refining his skills in Phoenix, Arizona. In 1990, he launched Clay House Studio, and in January 2023, he became the new owner of The Painted Pony. Kelvin's work now includes functional pottery, sculptures, and traditional quilting, showcasing his dedication to artistry.
8. Zoe De Negri
Gemstones are said to have their own particular energetic properties: protective, healing, calming and so on. Zoe feels it is interesting to set these stones and beads in appropriate shapes and designs and to feel the resulting energy of the piece.
tel: 575-336-7854 | e-mail: zoe2@windstream.net | web: www.zoedenegri.com
9. Lynn Eckman
At 7,000 feet in the high desert of Southeast New Mexico, Lynn Eckman’s studio sits neatly in the countryside, surrounded by mountains and only a few yards away from her home. Here she can allow herself to get lost in the details, colors, and natural shapes of each stone as she designs her jewelry. Accompanied only by the simplistic details of gold and silver, each piece brings its own unique fingerprint and echo of its time spent here on earth.
10. Lisa Frosch
Lisa Frosch creates abstract works of art that reflect a combination of color, shapes, and movement. Each acrylic, cold wax, or encaustic piece involves multiple layers of paint and wax, that give a sense of depth to her award winning paintings.
11. Linda Hand
Linda Hand is a native New Mexican whose love of art started at an early age when her Aunt Bernice, a professional artist, and her mother encouraged her to start painting. After that, she took art lessons from local artists and in school. She has learned that art can be a social activity but is often more fulfilling when created in solitude. Through the years, Linda has tried several different mediums, but her true love is watercolor. Much of the inspiration for Linda’s art comes from the Southwest. She loves nature and the wonderful scenery of the region. She also enjoys traveling, and many of the ideas behind her work are from visiting new places. Linda’s artistic goal is to invoke a response – whether a memory, a feeling, or a smile.
12. Deborah Harris
Deborah Harris, a local artist, enjoys the “quest” of capturing New Mexico light on canvas. No other place she has lived and painted has such intense, clear, warm colors! She is rewarded with many return patrons of her art, which she deeply appreciates!
13. Sandra Hatch
Sandra Hatch has lived in Ruidoso for the past 25 years, teaching school in Texas before taking a job with the Ruidoso schools. She has since become interested in batik and studied under Denise Dorn. This past year has offered her time to focus on her batik art. Her batik designs are based on her own photographs and are printed as wall hangings, blessing flags, and greeting cards.
Email: sandrahatch@yahoo.com
14. Sid Hilburn
Sid brings over 35 years of experience in multiple media to his design of jewelry. Working with his hands to create dimensional art has always been a passion. Each piece is handcrafted by Sid using a compilation of materials and therefore every one of the handcrafted items is unique and original.
15. Virginia Howell
Painting takes Virginia Howell to a place of peace and serenity. The entire process is medicine to her soul. “I Iove to remember places that produced what I call an “optic explosion” so I record them in paintings. These explosions typically include land, sea, or skies and a camera.” Virginia’s desire is to share the special emotions that stay with her long after the experience occurred. She does not wish to render exactness but to merely suggest the image that formed her memory, therefore loving an impressionistic approach. A nubby linen surface and palette knife are key elements in her process.
16. Sandra Martin
Sandra Martin lives in the historic district of Lincoln, New Mexico, where the seasons create beautiful changes in light and color for her subjects. The high peaks of nearby Sierra Blanca, rolling hills, blue skies, billowing clouds, crumbling adobe buildings, Longhorns, horses, deer, and sheep, are the reason she paints. “I would like to paint the way a bird sings” -Claude Monet
17. Judy Pekelsma
I am what I art. Art is the expression of self, and my art expresses my Celtic heritage and my love of Nature, physics, my love of creating beauty from raw materials (clay, paint, fiber), and my love for seeking spirituality from the Earth.
tel: 575-937-7459 | e-mail: Judy.Pekelsma@enmu.edu
18. Quinton Schmelzenbach
Quinton Schmelzenbach draws much of his glass art inspiration from the natural world, especially the desert mountains of southern New Mexico. Although he has worked with hot glass off and on since he was 11, Quinton began to pursue his art with a newfound passion after completing his enlistment in the Coast Guard and moving back home to the Sacramento Mountains.
19. Kay Smith
Kay Smith’s favorite subjects are animals and nature. Kay is busy creating with a direct daily painting style. Vibrant designs are the highlights of her oft-published award-winning watercolors. Her work makes people feel good. It won’t speak to everyone, but she hopes it will speak to you. Accomplishments include signature status with seven national watercolor societies.
Email: 1971ks@att.net Website: https://kaysmith.artspan.com
20. Deb Wight
Deb Wight knew she was an artist for as long as she can remember. Creative expression is not just a desire; it is her way of life. She is blessed to be a full-time artist. Her true technique and style came to life after many works in pastels, mosaics, photography, acrylic on canvas, and stained glass. All this study and honing her skills led her to combine two materials very few artists do, glass and copper. She adheres hand-cut art glass onto a field of textured and enhanced copper, and then through unique textures and patinas, she creates a stunning end result. She has taken off with this new media, forging her way to creative originality. Creating positive and uplifting art that delights people has always been her passion and her mission. Celebrating life and sharing joy with others is what you will experience when you meet her.
email: deb@debwightstudios.com
web: www.debwightstudios.com.
21. Sally Wimberly
Sally’s life passion is painting and drawing. Starting in watercolors, she has since expanded into acrylics, pastels, and mixed-media as well as watercolors. Painting from her own photographs, or “en Plein air,” her paintings are primarily representational/impressionism, some more loosely rendered than others. Her subjects are varied, and she loves the colors New Mexico has to offer. Her art can also be seen at Josie's Framery and Gallery in Ruidoso and the Ran La Roca Gallery in Lincoln, NM.
tel: 575-937-2806 | website: www.sallywimberlyart.com
