The town of Sugar Grove, North Carolina is a quiet oasis tucked away from the hustle and bustle of modernity where children spend their time frolicing through pastures with little more than their imaginations to rely on for entertainment. In this small Appalachian community, in the 1950s and 60s, a young Norma Murphy played and blossomed into the versatile and resourceful artist she has become.

Surrounded by flowering gardens and dreams of a life rich with tea parties and camaraderie, Norma began painting at a very young age. Her mother subscribed to art magazines through which she was exposed to renaissance artists like Boticelli and expressionists like Matisse that strongly influence her work to this day. Feminine subjects in her work became her friends and kept her company as a child, later becoming one of her signature motifs. “I paint women that I would want to be friends with,” she explained.

Fueled by the disarray of contemporary life, her creativity and imagination allow her to step outside of her surroundings to create joyous and peaceful works. “I want to extract myself from the chaos going on around me and zero in on creating an atmosphere that I would like to belong to.” Through a plethora of subjects and mediums, her work never fails to put a smile on the face of anyone who sees it. The scenarios she represents offer a lighthearted escape from the everyday that she hopes collectors can relate to and reflect on. Her use of playful colors and whimsical shapes reflect the sense of humor she consistently employs in her creative process, never taking herself too seriously. Norma’s harmony of composition sings to her quirky personal style.

As Norma and her work have evolved, she has become more interested in the process of creation than in the final product. “I’m trying to loosen up and relax because somewhere along the way it started to turn more into work than play.” Now she is pushing herself to step outside of the innate perfectionist urge to construct works that are more rhythmic and exciting to make. Getting back to the roots of why she began creating: “exaggerating my philosophy in life…self expression without having to actually say anything.” Through time, collectors can see a repetition of certain subjects and motifs in Norma’s work where she has used pieces from her own past as muses for new ideas.

In her upcoming exhibition, Norma’s focus is on the joys of Spring. The gallery will be exploding with vibrant florals and lounging ladies, there is no better person to push out the darkness of winter. While often inspired by natural elements, her renewed passion for the exploration of converging line and color is evident in her spirited still life collages as well as her gestural spontaneity in water color.

Archaeology has revealed pottery as one of the world’s oldest forms of craft with evidence found in every corner of the world. Originally developed for functionality, it has taken on many different uses and styles in its several thousand year evolution. Our ancestors needed these objects for everyday tasks from making meals to bathing their children. But even in the primitive years of the craft; the makers had an eye for design, often embellishing the vessels with incisions and engravings. These humble beginnings have inspired artists for generations.

Ronan Kyle Peterson has vastly departed from the traditional ornamentation of pottery but honors the medium through his use of earthenware, the first type of pottery ever made. Pre-colombian and African culture piqued his interest during his studies in anthropology and folklore where he encountered his first handmade pottery. At first glance, his designs are playful and whimsical in form and decoration but his main objectives lie in functionality and generosity. It was through his studies of world cultures he noticed this idea of generosity in form with the need to “feed a community…my surfaces can almost be generous to a fault though.” For some, his work can be a lot to visually take in but for others, the “visual feast” in his designs are a large part of the appeal. The painterly approach this potter takes with his work is both bold and refreshing. After a decade of minimalism dominating the popular art world, artists like Ronan who are unafraid to take risks and create things with a more niche appeal are a breath of fresh air. He mostly draws his inspiration from abstract painters and cartoonists rather than other potters. Growing up with a father that collected comic books, he was always attracted to the expressive outlines the illustrators employed. This has carried into his work where you will never see a harsh line - his forms and designs flow together much like the natural motifs that appear in his vibrant glazes. Ronan’s spirited pottery mimics his personal style and there is never a question about who the artist in the room is. This eccentricity is what has become his trademark. There was, however, a time he recalls pushing the envelope a bit too far, “I took it to the precipis and had almost too much going on so I took a few steps back because it got further and further away from being about the actual pot.” He was able to cultivate a happy medium where both the form and the glazes that adorn them harmonize in a way that is distinctly Ronan Peterson.

In his upcoming exhibition, Ronan will be featuring many recognizable works that we know and love as well as several experimental pieces that he is creating especially for the Art Cellar. Showstopping large works and even wall mounted pieces will be gracing the main gallery.