“Visual art, literature and music have always been important parts of my own creative expression,” says Elizabeth Nguyen-Espinoza. “But as a person who had experienced hardship as a child, I know that in order to be a fully creative person, our basic life needs have to be met - including good health. When I shared my ideas about starting a gallery as well as a foundation that would be part of making positive change in the lives of children, the artists in my community showed great interest and followed up with their support.”

Whether he is engraving inspired quotations onto the gleaming walls of a state capital, carving exquisite objects from marble for private gardens, or restoring historical statues that have succumbed to the forces of time, master stone carver Marcel Mächler’s craft requires patience and precision. “The physical intensity of carving stone is a real workout and the need to remain continually focused as the work proceeds is true mental exercise. No matter what your emotional state, you have to be totally present with the stone and the tools.” In an era when the traditional trades of maker-culture are fading, artist-craftsmen like Mächler seek to maintain a lived connection with the past. "Stone carving is perhaps the oldest of the arts. When I am working on a project I often think about all of the people who have come before me. Each of them had this special connection with stone." The relationship of a stone carver to his materials is one of deep devotion.

When it comes to light, we humans are not so different from the idiomatic moth. The energy for all living… Read More

Did you know April 6 kicks off Week of the Young Child? (Us neither.) We're celebrating our youth with a retrospective of some of our most whimsical, colorful projects--ones built for children.

While the traditional payment schedule of “50% down, 50% upon completion” still holds for many artists, for others this model no longer complements the division of labor for a commissioned work of art. We asked four artists to share the details of their payment schedules. Read More