Artists in Residence

Sasha Phillips is a Pittsburgh-based visual artist whose work explores memory and emotional renewal through a style she calls nostalgic realism. She strongly believes that art is a wonderful tool which can be used for wellness and healing, and for curating a space that nurtures resilience and well-being.  Drawing on connections that shape our inner lives, Sasha creates images that invite reflection and offer space for restoration. Sasha received her BFA in painting from Shepherd University, later completing her Master’s in painting studies with the University of Maryland, and a master’s in industrial and organizational psychology with Harvard University.  She founded Art Wellness Advocates, an initiative dedicated to helping individuals reconnect with creativity as a source of balance and healing.  Sasha is a practicing attorney focused on international trade and dispute resolutions; she earned her law degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

Elizabeth says about her art, “I have always been drawn to lighting; how it interacts with the world, and particularly how it plays off plants and nature. When the sun is shining through the leaves on a nice day, it is nearly impossible for me to resist capturing as many photos as I can. Beyond the depictions of nature, my work puts emphasis on place and its importance to me. I am painting scenes that I know personally and as I see them through my own atmospheric lens. I like to shift the focus around the composition to push the fuzziness or the unknown sense of the atmosphere. My work is photorealistic, but not at the same time. It can’t be captured by a camera.”

For Claire Hardy, painting goes beyond making a likeness of the subject. It is also about recording the sense of the place, the feel of the atmosphere, and the emotion the scene evokes. She works directly on the canvas, sculpting the paint to uncover the rightness of a composition and a harmony of colors. She is captivated by expressive color, descriptive brushwork, and soft edges.

Growing up in the former USSR and later graduating from Tashkent Medical Academy and Chatham University, Svetlana built her medical career in neurosurgical settings. She developed a deep interest in how the human brain heals and adapts, exploring the connections between science and art. This curiosity sparked her enduring passion for pysanky and for experimenting with new artistic techniques. She enjoys spending time with her family and grandson Julien, painting with friends, traveling, visiting museums, and cuddling with her cats, Fairy Tail and Santa Lucia—patient companions in her pursuit of beautiful eggshell art.

After 43 years as an electronics field technician for Hewlett-Packard and Agilent Technologies, Don began woodworking as a hobby during his retirement. Inspired by making wooden toys for his grandchildren, he began exploring the use of a lathe (a machine for shaping wood that turns the piece being worked on against changeable cutting tools). With his first finished bowl, he was hooked, falling in love with the technique of bowl making. He has since expanded his lathe toolkit, studied under other wood turners, and spends every day possible in his woodshop “puttering”.

Sandi Timbus is a mosaic artist who grew up in Romania and moved to USA in 1999. She started her work experience as a teacher, then worked in different positions at PNC Bank before becoming a full-time mosaic artist in 2019. She has trained with world acclaimed mosaic artists and made a name for herself in the international mosaic world and on the local art stage. Sandi lives with her family and her four pets in Allison Park, PA. Her hobbies include making jewelry from old broken china, traveling, and writing poetry.

Xandria Maurer has quickly gained recognition for her evocative, atmospheric paintings of the natural world that capture the raw emotion and enduring spirit of nature. Cherished by collectors worldwide, her work masterfully blends light, color, and texture to create immersive scenes filled with tranquility and nostalgia.  A transformative, stress-induced cardiac event ignited her passion for painting and deepened her appreciation for life’s fleeting moments. Drawing inspiration from real-world landscapes, her art stands as a timeless testament to the healing power of nature and of storytelling through art.

Julia Bright is a Boulder, Colorado-based oil painter inspired by the compositional clarity and light of the Old Masters. Her work in seascapes, landscapes and still lifes blends classical foundations with a contemporary approach to color and atmosphere.

Charlotte Reichman is an artist and designer. Over the course of many years, she has honed an artistic style that combines an eclectic sensibility with a modern aesthetic. Utilizing a multidisciplinary approach, she focuses on fine art, interior design, illustration, and jewelry design. She approaches all aspects of the visual world with an artistic point-of-view. Her work pivots from dreamlike ethereal paintings to complex jewelry designs inspired by high fashion.

Laurie Johnson is a multimedia artist specializing in portraiture and still life, known for work that blends classical painting traditions with expressive, contemporary storytelling. Working primarily in oil, she often incorporates mixed media elements such as gold leaf, handmade papers, and layered textures to create richly atmospheric compositions.

With no formal training in art, Kathy’s process is experimental. She says, “I’ve learned that I tend to break the rules because I don’t know them. Acrylics and oils—yes. Foam brushes and putty knives—why not? I believe that this perspective allows for a unique level of freedom and exploration in my work.”

Heidi Schwartz is an internationally recognized live event painter and the artist behind Paint Your Event. Known for her modern, impressionistic style, Heidi creates paintings in real time at weddings, corporate events, and cultural gatherings around the world, weaving together symbolism, atmosphere, and emotion into layered visual storytelling. Alongside her live event work, Heidi maintains an active studio practice creating original collections inspired by her travels, cityscapes, and layered emotional narratives. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, her work has been featured at luxury brands, major events, and philanthropic initiatives, capturing meaningful moments as timeless works of art.

Nicole Swift, a Kansas City, Missouri native, is a Maryland‑based painter whose emotionally driven, intuitive work seeks moments of peace and joy. Drawing inspiration from nature, music, and personal relationships, she has shaped her practice into a vehicle for connection, renewal, and healing. Working in acrylic, watercolor, and oil, she uses vibrant pigments and layered marks to reflect shared emotional landscapes.

Jeanne is a painter intrigued by color and light. Anything she looks at, she examines closely—seeing the lights and darks, the overall composition, and most importantly, the color. She visualizes the formulas in her mind to create the colors she observes. This sparks an ongoing dialogue between herself, the subject matter, and her medium. Her goal is to bring the joy she feels when experiencing the world’s colors onto the canvas before her.

Heather Greene is a textile artist, prop and interior stylist, and set designer. She began her career in New York City at the Issey Miyake boutique before transitioning into production, where she worked across film, documentary, and live performance with artists and institutions. Through these experiences, Greene developed a strong affinity for props and interiors, ultimately refining her focus to prop styling and design. Today, she applies her combined understanding of production, travel, fashion, art, and design to every project, creating sculptural, material-rich environments for interiors as well as still-life photography.

As an artist, Carolyn’s work serves as a visual diary that captures the intricate tapestry of familial bonds and the profound beauty of new beginnings. She uses oil paints and soft pastels to explore the themes of family, growth, and nostalgia, weaving them into visual narratives that resonate with both personal and universal significance. Her work is imbued with a sense of longing—a yearning to preserve the intimacy and connection afforded by our current proximity. In capturing the nostalgia of the present, Carolyn aims to evoke an emotional response that invites viewers to reflect on their own familial connections. It is my hope that through my art, others may find a renewed appreciation for the moments that define their lives and an enduring sense of connection to those they hold dear.

It is truly “catching the light” that intrigues Wendy most as an artist. We are all accustomed to the daily, unremarkable movement of light and shadow. There are extraordinary moments of illumination, however, that often pass us by.

She hopes to catch the light that others may not notice at a glance. Wendy celebrates those small moments using the rich colors of oil paint in contemporary representational artwork.

Hailing from Nashville, TN, Meredith Edmondson has dedicated over 20 years to the art of glass. She earned her BFA in glass from the Appalachian Center for Crafts and has both participated in and led numerous workshops and artist residencies across the country. Edmondson’s work celebrates the intricate dance between fused and blown glass techniques—an exploration rarely seen in the field. This fusion allows her to investigate the dynamic relationship between pattern and form, transforming each piece into a vibrant canvas for meticulously crafted colors and patterns.

Danny’s work largely expresses an exploration of color harmony and figurative expression.  Aesthetically, he works with pattern and surface from an interdisciplinary approach as a way of appropriating material matter into new forms of visual translation.

Yelena Lamm was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, where she received her formal art training from the N. K. Roerich Fine Arts School. Since 1995, she has lived in Pittsburgh, PA. Yelena paints primarily in oil. She is known for her portraits of pets and animals, in which she reflects on her subjects’ characters and personalities, as well as for her lively and colorful floral compositions. Yelena believes that beauty may save the world. Even if not, it undeniably makes it a better place. In her art, she strives for this beauty. Animals and flora play a significant role in her work, serving as vessels for meaning, symbolism, and emotions. Through her art, Yelena tries to tell stories imbued with depth, and often a healthy dose of humor.