VAE Member

Matthew Wilson, Cary, NC

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https://www.bunnylever.io/

Clouds are the ultimate silent witnesses. They are the ephemeral architecture of our atmosphere, shifting in a constant state of becoming and dissolving. For over twenty years, my professional life has been dedicated to the science and soul of light. Sculpting light and atmosphere for some of the world’s most beloved cinematic stories. But in my personal practice, I step away from the collaborative noise of the studio to listen to a quieter, more ancient narrative: the "Sentinels."

These forms are more than just vapor and light. To me, they are metaphors for the fleeting nature of our own existence. Moments that are monumental and powerful, yet fragile and fleeting. Through the precise manipulation of volumetric data and the delicate layering of digital light, I aim to freeze these chaotic, beautiful moments into something permanent. To create a moment that feels like it is being revealed. Each piece is a study in preservation and discovery.

Dain Kim, Raleigh, NC

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www.dainkim.art @dain_art

Dain Kim is a painter whose work explores inner landscapes, emotional resonance, and the interconnectedness of living forms. Working intuitively, she creates compositions that function as visual meditations rather than fixed narratives.

Drawing from nature and symbolism, her paintings use organic forms, layered color, and recurring motifs to evoke a sense of energy and quiet harmony. Through her work, she reflects on themes of balance, renewal, and inner sanctuary.

Melinda Abrams, Raleigh, NC

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https://melindaabramsart.com @melinda_abrams_art

As an artist, my journey is a continuous exploration of movement, intention, and the transformative power of creativity. Grounded in the philosophy that art should evoke emotion and connection, my work embodies a deep desire to communicate through movement- both in the craft of painting and the experience of the viewer.


In 2025, I live by the guiding statement:


Prolific Shameless Love….Prolific Shameless Art
Prolific - May you be present and recognize abundance every day.
Shameless - May you let people see you, and what you care about.
Love - May you do what you love, say what you love, and share what you love. May you love others as they shamelessly share with you.


I make art as an act of presence, courage, and connection.


Prolific means I show up - again and again - to notice, to create, to trust that there is always more. More color, more truth, more beauty. The abundance isn’t in perfection; it’s in the practice.


Shameless means I let myself be seen. I reveal what matters to me, even when it’s messy, raw, or unresolved. I believe that when we create from what we love and share it honestly, we invite others to do the same.


Love is both the source and the offering. I make art to love the world better - to express joy, grief, wonder, and truth. To say: “This is what I care about. Do you feel it too?”


My work is an invitation: Be prolific. Be shameless. Love out loud.

Amber Knight, Durham, NC

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strangeworksdesignsbyamber.com

Amber Knight is a vibrant and imaginative 34-year-old artist who sees the world through a uniquely creative lens. Living with disabilities, she doesn’t just face daily challenges; she transforms them into bold, expressive, and deeply personal works of art.

Art has always been Amber’s way of expressing herself. Through bold visual storytelling, she shares pieces that are honest, emotional, and unapologetically unique. She showcases her work at local art shows, where it’s met with genuine appreciation from fellow artists and community members alike. These experiences continue to affirm her belief in art’s powerful ability to connect with people and spark inspiration.

In 2025, Amber launched her online store, Strange Works Designs, showcasing a diverse array of her original pieces—from vibrant, abstract compositions to darkly imaginative, fantasy-inspired creations. Through her art and entrepreneurial spirit, Amber is building a platform not just for herself, but for others to see the beauty of resilience and creativity that comes from embracing one's true self.

Garrett Love, Fuquay Varina, NC

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www.garrettloveart.com @garrett.love.art

I was born and raised in Western North Carolina. Growing up near the mountains instilled an adventurous spirit in me that led to a love of observing and creating. I learned that when creating I experienced a feeling of excitement and achievement through problem solving and the creative process.

I currently reside in Fuquay-Varina, NC and focus on making paintings of people, animals, places, and objects that interest me. Adventures in the outdoors and traveling back roads still give me inspiration for my work as well.

As an elementary educator, I hope to pass the excitement of creating and problem solving on to my students, so that they too may become lifelong makers.

I currently work in mixed media, acrylic, watercolor, gouache, and digital format. I can't wait to see where the process takes my work.

April Paige, Durham, NC

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www.AprilPaigeFineArt.com, @april_paige_fine_art

I’m a Cuban-American artist originally from Sarasota, FL, now creating and dreaming big from Durham, NC. My story is layered with color, culture, and my family roots in Ybor City, where my ancestors were cigar makers, lectors, musicians, and even beauty queens.

Rhythm, resilience, and expression are woven into who I am. In relaunch my fine art business (June 2025), I’m channeling that legacy into original paintings, commissions, curated prints, and a design-forward online shop. My work is rooted in culture and emotion - created to bring meaningful beauty, story, and soul into your home.

Jillian Goldberg, Cary, NC

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www.jilliangoldbergart.com, https://thesilverpaintbrushpodcast.substack.com, @jillzgoldberg on Instagram

Jillian Goldberg received a BA in Art Education at the University of Cape Town in 1969. She taught art at all levels for thirty years, opening seven after school art programs in the Charlotte and Triangle under licence to Monart. She founded and directed the GIfted and Talented Summer Camps at Queens University in Charlotte which ran for over twenty years serving thousands of young people from all over the Southeaseastern US. Since retiring she has painted professionally. She is currently the host of The Silver Paintbrush Podcast.

Patrizia Ferreira, Cary, NC

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www.patriziaferreira.com / @patriziaferreira

Patrizia’s work laboriously incorporates the debris of her surroundings namely, textiles and plastic, to create poetic pieces that speak of our society of over consumption, and the state of our environment. By giving life to otherwise inanimate materials, making something beautiful out of the discarded she invites the viewer to reflect upon the repercussions our actions cause on our planet. A native of Uruguay, being an immigrant and being a woman instruments in great part her work. Pieces appear fragmented, torn, frayed, depicting the obvious, inevitable passage of time. A piece made of many disconnected parts. An analogy for how she feels. Made of many broken, fragmented pieces – yet, strongly rooted, undeniably human.

Patrizia Ferreira received a bachelor’s degree in textile design from the Institute of Industrial Design in Montevideo, Uruguay and a Master of Science degree in textile design for prints from Philadelphia University (currently Thomas Jefferson University). She is the recipient of the 2024 Emerging Artist in Residence at Artspace, Raleigh, NC. She is an artist and educator living in Raleigh, NC.

Leslie Pruneau, Raleigh, NC

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https://www.colorvisiongallery.com/

Leslie Pruneau is a painter, assemblage artist, and art instructor with a 40-year career highlighted by national and international exhibitions, public lectures & critiques, and has served as a juror for numerable art competitions. After living in New York City and Berlin, Germany, she now maintains a full-time studio at Artspace in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina.

Delphine Peller, Raleigh, NC

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www.delphinepellerart.com @delphine_peller_art

Art is my opportunity to amplify what I see as beautiful in the world. The textures and layers in my compositions are my way of capturing and preserving the essence of a moment. Most of my work is inspired by my visits to parks and gardens.

I encourage the viewer to share my passion for looking beyond the ordinary and to make new discoveries every day.

Dawn Marie Rozzo, Raleigh, North Carolina

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https://dawnrozzo.com/ @dawnmarie.rozzo https://dawnmarierozzo.substack.com

I am a painter and collage artist. I am immersed in my garden and the local landscape. I have also long been interested in things that are hidden or altered by time. My art practice explores both these interests.

My observations call for spontaneous, gestural studies with the paintbrush or pencil, but are finalized through step-by-step processes. Painted over collage or canvas, my work hints at mystery, or incongruence while staying grounded in my love of the natural world.

Amy Friend, Wendell, NC

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www.amydraws.com

Amy Friend is a mixed media artist whose work explores the balance between freedom and rootedness. Using the red thread as a symbol, she creates visual metaphors of birds in graceful struggle — capturing the tension, discomfort, and beauty found in navigating life’s opposing forces.

Friend earned her B.F.A. from the Art Academy of Cincinnati and studied at the Studio Arts Center in Florence, Italy. Now based in North Carolina drawing inspiration from the region’s natural landscapes and creative community.

Friend’s practice blends traditional and experimental techniques, rooted in graphite drawing and incorporating acrylics, printmaking, and textiles. Influenced by time spent in nature — hiking, camping, and traveling — her work becomes a meditation on movement, memory, and transformation, where vulnerability and strengthquietly coexist..

Leatha Benvie Koefler, Raleigh, NC

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https://www.leathakoefler.com

Leatha Koefler’s studio practice centers on working with found materials. She builds sculptures and wall art from outdated technologies such as slides, VHS tapes, film, floppy disks, and other similar media.

The art she creates from film is deeply personal. Her great-grandmother Ella’s quilts—stitched together from scraps of clothing—carry the memory of the people who once wore those fabrics. Inspired by this tradition, Koefler now creates her own quilts and garments as art pieces, stitching together film and slides to preserve memories in a new visual form.

Koefler’s work inherently documents society’s transition from analog to digital. By combining elements from both eras, her art memorializes the once-significant images, data, and narratives stored on these obsolete technologies, transforming them into contemporary reflections of memory and change.

Aaron Zalonis, Raleigh, NC

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aaronzalonis.com | @azalonis

I draw and paint (mostly) ink on paper with both hands; straddling the worlds of frenzied comedy, science-fiction, hypnagogia, and quiet meditation.

Joanna Moody, Garner, NC

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www.joannamoody.com | @josabode

Joanna Moody is a teaching artist working in Raleigh, NC. Her subjects range from figurative to abstract while experimenting with a variety of mediums including collage, mixed media and printmaking. Joanna uses her art practice to promote closer investigation, understanding and discovery of her materials and to find meaning in the mundane. Her creative process is intended to communicate where the world of efficiency and words fail.

Caprice McNeill, Raleigh, NC

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https://capricemcneill.com/ | @caprice_mcneill_artist

Artist Statement

I create paintings that hold space—physically and emotionally. Drawing on the structure of courtyards and enclosed gardens, I explore the inner self through layered surfaces and openings I think of as breathing areas—sites of rest, contemplation, and protection. Flowers, whether abstract or representational, are my visual language. They draw viewers in with their beauty while also pointing to impermanence, vitality, and the complexity of emotion. Even in my most minimal pieces, floral forms guide color, shape, and tone. Their arrangement influences how the work is perceived and experienced. Each piece reflects the internal dialogue between what we choose to express and what we choose to keep within.

Bio

Caprice McNeill is a multidisciplinary artist based in North Carolina. She studied graphic design at the College of Design at NC State University, where she developed a strong foundation in composition and visual structure. A lifelong love of gardens—and their spatial logic, containment, and sensory richness—deeply informs her practice. Studying in Italy further refined her sensitivity to color and form. McNeill’s work explores interiority, sacred space, and emotional resonance through floral imagery and architectural reference.

Nida Zehra, Raleigh, NC

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www.nidazehra.com | @dairah_e_zindagi

I am a mixed media artist exploring the intersection of nostalgia, sadness, and hope. My practice is a spiritual excavation. I view every piece as a meditative prayer, peeling back layers of the self to reveal something raw and honest.

This process is rooted in a personal history of nonviolent resistance. Inspired by the hyper-realism of Giovanni Benzoni’s Veiled Rebecca, yet raised in a culture that discouraged image-making, I developed a practice that seeks to capture the subliminal details of the human experience. Through color and texture, I offer the viewer a moment of empathy and a reflection of our shared resilience.

Julie Dyer Holmes, Raleigh, NC

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https://www.juliedyerholmes.com | @juliedyerholmes2

Since 2021, Julie Dyer Holmes has camped, kayaked, hiked and painted along the east coast of the United States and Canada. Her inspiration includes the beaches of North Carolina, rugged coasts of New England and the boreal forests of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, Canada.

She seeks to capture the sights and sounds of nature in gouache paintings while on the road. As she paints outdoors, she navigates all the elements nature offers: ever changing light, atmosphere, sun, clouds, salty sea air, birds calling, wind, and more. Then, when she then returns to her studio in Raleigh, NC, she paints oil paintings inspired by these places. Her approach includes using the road trip paintings, photos, intuition, imagination and memory as her guide.

As the seasons change and summer moves to fall and winter, her painting practice changes too. She loves painting from imagination and in real life. What does that mean? When you visit her studio you will see paintings of clouds, woods, the ocean, leaves and more. You will also see still life paintings packed with references to her northern roots and deep grounding here in the south.

Her hope? To paint and show you the fleeting joy she feels as well as our connection to nature and each other.

Caitlin Cary, Raleigh, NC

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www.caitlincary.com | @caitlin_cary_art

Caitlin Cary is a Raleigh, NC-based, self-taught textile artist and musician known for her innovative and intricate sewn fabric collages, which she calls Needleprints. Cary works exclusively with repurposed fabrics, primarily cast-offs from the upholstery/interior design industry.

Cary’s work has been featured in Our State magazine, Walter magazine, and The News & Observer. Her work is widely collected, awarded, and exhibited in galleries, public spaces, and private collections in North Carolina and beyond. From August ’25 to Jan 2026, her piece “Death and Taxes” is on view at the North Carolina Museum of Art as part of the show “Then and There, Here and Now: Contemporary Visions of North Carolina."

“I love fabric for its sentimental power,” Cary says. “Fabric is comfort. It’s home. It’s the protection of clothing, and the softness of drapery and furniture. Moreover, it is a repository for amazing artistry; even fabric totally made by machine begins with the design ingenuity of artists. I love that in making my work, I am inherently ’in conversation’ with a huge number of fellow artists. When I depict the built environment in fabric, it automatically becomes softer, more dear, more relatable. I love the feeling that each piece becomes a part of the legacy of textile design, manufacture, and craft in North Carolina and beyond.”

In recent years, Cary has been experimenting with abstract forms and additional mediums, including encaustic wax, imported silks (a gift from the NC State School of Design), paper, film, and more.