Explore the work of our member artists — a diverse community of creatives inspired by one of the most beautiful corners of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Margie Bauer, a botanical and scientific illustrator, a “zendoodler”, a fabric artist and a teacher in watercolor, pen, and mixed media, works out of her studios in Cashiers, NC, and Coral Gables, Florida. She often studies her subjects by growing native plants at home that attract native creatures. From her grandparents' extensive gardens in Cincinnati, Ohio, to raising plants and animals as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zaire, to her 30-year international career as a diplomat reporting on and promoting agricultural products for the US Department of Agriculture, she has immersed herself in nature. She served as Agricultural Attaché at the US embassies in Indonesia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago.
In Western North Carolina, she has taught various art classes at the Highlands Biological Station, where she also volunteers. Her original artwork, giclees (museum quality prints), and cards can be found at more than 10 outlets in Highlands, Cashiers, Sylva, Lake Toxaway, Brevard, Flatrock and Asheville and she promotes her work at various regional art events.
Margie Bauer
Ann Holder
Ann Holder is a Professional Photo Realism Painter in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina. She, her husband Todd, and their energetic Britney Spaniel Maggie, couldn’t be happier to be Highlands residents. Ann has been creating something “artistic” all her life. She pursued a Studio Art Degree at Minnesota State University of Mankato. Over the years she has taught art classes and participated in art shows. She has painted hundreds of custom portraits, memorials, and bulbs for people across the US. Her artwork, as well a step by step tutorial, and an informative blog post have appeared in several of colored pencil master artist Ann Kullberg’s publications (Color Magazine), books, and website. Betsy Paul Properties, among other area businesses, has regularly used Ann’s artwork on their Christmas cards and fundraisers. Ann is currently putting together a body of work featuring many of the forest animals, landscapes and flora of this beautiful state of North Carolina. Her desire is to compile her work in book form with verses and words of inspiration to offer hope to those suffering through trials and loss.
The way that yarn holds onto color, with all the light and shadow and texture, is exciting for me. I feel there is an endless path to combining these colorful threads and weaving them into beautiful, functional cloth that can be worn and enjoyed every day. I create soft cotton shawls, scarves, and other wearable accessories from my own woven fabrics. My pieces are created using hand-painted warps for a vibrant and unique expression of my color palette. Color-blending, texture variety and functional design are my signature style.
Deborah Bryant
Art has been Peggy’s passion her whole life. She has been drawing and sketching as long as she can remember. At 16, she started painting and sold her 1st painting that year. At 18 she went to Europe to see firsthand the magnificent Artists that were displayed in the many Museums there. She spent 3 years sketching, traveling, visiting museums and living in Greece. She returned home and opened an art gallery/framing shop – selling her work as well as that of other artists. However, as the gallery flourished, she found little time to paint. She expanded to a 2nd gallery and then a 3rd selling major artists and enjoying the life of Gallery Director. When she retired and moved to the beautiful mountains of Western North Carolina she was once again free to indulge in her painting. Portraying wildlife became her passion. Through her art, she strives to make people aware of the diverse and unique character of the animal she is painting. Focusing on the eyes or “soul” of the animal she tries to convey his personality thereby giving people a chance to really relate to him. “Hopefully this will encourage people to treasure our wildlife and encourage them to actively work to protect it.”
Peggy Marra Golston
Leslie Jeffery was born in Jacksonville, FL and became aware of “art” at a young age painting with her grandmother, an accomplished oil painter. She studied painting, art history and constructive design at Florida State University and holds a B.S. in Art Education. Her paintings are widely exhibited and have received numerous awards. She is a member of NAWA (National Assn. of Women Artists) and NAWA-FL; a Signature Member of the International Society of Acrylic Painters (ISAP); The Florida Artists Group (FLAG) and numerous other art organizations. She is a Member and Past President of Las Damas de Arte, a Tampa based group of women who exhibit together and raise money for art scholarships. She was co-founder of Carolina Gallery of Fine Art, Highlands, NC and is a member of the Art League of Highlands-Cashiers. She currently splits her time between North Carolina and Florida with a studio in each location.
Leslie Jeffery
Zach Claxton, a self-taught painter, works exclusively in oils. His style may be best described as representational. His subject matter is varied - landscapes, waterscapes, people and wildlife, inspired by local scenery and from his travels around the country. Much of his work may be viewed on his web site, https://zachclaxtonart.com. Mr. Claxton is a member of Oil Painters of America, Fine Art Studio Online, and he currently serves on the Board of the Art League of Highlands-Cashiers.
Zach Claxton
Mariya Dunn
Born in the former USSR, Mariya Dunn moved to the United States in 1999, where she lived in Texas for 20 years until finally happily settling in the Blue Ridge mountains of North Carolina. Much of her inspiration comes from that surrounding natural beauty. In her youth, she attended 4 years of formal Art School with studies of Drawing, Watercolor, Sculpture and History of Arts. She was encouraged to continue with Academy of Arts, but at that time in the USSR, art was not considered as a “profession”. Instead, she attended and graduated medical school and became a physician. Mariya practiced in Odessa, Ukraine until immigrating to the United States. Here she enjoyed working as a clinical nurse, until retiring in 2020. Mariya has always been moved by the beauty of the world around us and sought to capture it through photography. Her retirement and move to stunningly beautiful North Carolina increased that fascination with nature and quickly transitioned to painting in oils. Mariya was fortunate to learn from masters like Mark Carder, Jo Ridge Kelly and many others. She is the sole owner/artist of Mariya Dunn Fine Art. Mariya enjoys working in different genres, but her main focus is on landscapes, especially those of the beautiful region in which she lives. She utilizes a multi-layering technique in her paintings. A member of the Highlands-Cashiers Fine Art Club, her paintings received First Place and Honorable Mention in the club’s 2023 Fall Colors show. She is also a member of the Bascom Center of Visual Arts where her works are presented at The Bascom Gallery in Highlands, North Carolina. As stated in her own words, “I love painting- trying to capture that elusive magic, which differs from photography. When I am one to one with nature, canvas and my own feelings, time stops and that’s how my art is born. I am my own biggest critic (after my always supportive husband, of course).”
Sue Gouse
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Sue Gouse has moved frequently throughout the United States, has also lived in Mexico, and finally settled in Lakewood Ranch, Florida. Much of her inspiration for her oil paintings come from her travels, with special emphasis on the coast and the mountains. Sue believes life, along with her ability to paint, is a gift from God, and her palette reflects her love of the world's beauty in vivid color. She enjoyed a long career in clinical nursing after graduating from Duke University. She is married to Dr. John Gouse, has raised five children, and is the proud grandmother of twelve, another source of painting subjects! After much creative work of all kinds, especially in home decorating (several of her homes have been featured in magazines), gardening, and sewing, Sue became an oil painter, studying under Velda Lovell, Cashiers, North Carolina. While she paints only in oil, she has many different styles. She has subsequently taken instruction from the late Marcos Blahove, Georgia; Paul Lucchasi, NYC; Bob Rohm, Texas; Julyan Davis, Asheville, NC; Joann Williams-Walker, Julie Hanson, Morgan Samuel Price and Egidio Antonaccio, all from Florida. Sue is the sole owner/artist of Sue Gouse Inspirations, and excited and sold her work at her gallery in Savannah’s City Market for 13 years. The book Two Please, Savannah Scenes and the September 2006 Laurel Magazine of Highlands, NC, and The Skinny all featured Sue's work on their covers. In 2013, Sue received Best of Show in a Merrill Lynch/LAA show. An honorable mention was awarded to Sue at the Savannah Garden Exposition 2006, she was awarded Second Prize in Savannah Art Association's juried show "Enlightened" in 2009. Jurors at the Charlotte Festival in the Park gave Sue a merit award in 2010 and an Honorable Mention in 2011. Her donated Hospice painting was juried into the Savannah Telfair's Jepson Museum show in 2010. She has been juried into several fine art shows, including "Open Art" at the Telfair Art Fair and the annual juried art show at The Bascom, Highlands, NC.
My photography is a visual journal of the world around me, focused on subjects that provide a sense of joy or have a soothing, calming effect. Captured with my camera and refined with my digital canvas, my vision is translated into tangible artistic expression. My images are an impression of my visual and emotional perceptions. Some may be easily recognizable while others will take on an energetic or abstract nature. An award-winning photographer, Ms. Greenglass's work has been exhibited nationally and in Asia. Gwen is a recipient of the prestigious Fuji Masterpiece Award in Photography and has been selected to exhibit in many national juried shows, including Camera USA. A resident of Bonita Springs, Florida and Highlands, North Carolina, Ms. Greenglass creates images locally and abroad.
Gwen Greenglass
Bistra Hristova is a Bulgarian-born photographer and artist who currently lives and creates in Asheville, North Carolina. Bistra's strong background in fine arts and her passion for the outdoors took her through several careers from wilderness trip leading and teaching to interior design/painting but all of those experiences finally culminated in her last most exciting vocation as a mixed media photographer and artisan. Bistra creates one-of-a-kind handcrafted photographs on salvaged wood and stone. The technique she uses is known as phototransfer or ink transfer. Bistra discovered the process online and has been perfecting it since 2016. She is the only photographer in North Carolina who exhibits this mixed media photography professionally.Bistra's phototransfers are absolutely unique and cannot be duplicated. These mixed media photographs never fade and thus have an heirloom quality to them and can be owned by many generations.
Bistra Hristova
Love your fate. Live with an attitude of gratitude, seeing the beauty in all aspects of your life. We are all on a path of physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual evolution. When we step back and reflect where we have been and where we are on our journey, pay attention to the beautiful tapestry of your life. Woven with the colorful threads of experience. Stay present. See, sense, listen to the wonderment of life around you. I was a child with a vivid imagination and incredible expressive talent to draw, to paint, to create. My talent-driven, risk-taking mentality, traveling down the road of self-evolution, always with a sense of helping others see beauty, sense compassion, hear the music of life. I continue to develop my painting skill with oils, and acrylics. Learning techniques and mediums of which I shall share. Pet portraits, buildings, woods, sky, rocks, wolves, chickens, birds, bears, rivers, creeks, oceans...subjects of life, the art is all around me. Allow my interpretations of my subjects to entertain you and portray a depth of feeling, captured in a moment in time. My art business has been designated as a "Trusted Art Seller" with The Art Storefronts Organization, which means you can shop with confidence, and know that I stand behind the quality and value of my products.
Christine Hyde
I work with liquefied acrylics and inks because I am inspired by the fluidity of water, both as a medium and by the transformative nature of this raw element. Water radiates a seamless blend of tranquility and vigor – the ever-changing dance between stillness and movement. It evokes childhood memories and a sense of calm. Multiple layers of translucent paint delicately suggest the graceful movement of water, each layer building upon the last to create depth and complexity. The dynamic flow and ever-changing nature of water evokes fluidity and rhythm in the artwork. This movement creates a sense of life and vitality. I started studying art after a 20 year business career with positions in New York, Rome and London. My husband and I moved from London to Charlotte NC in 2001 to raise our two boys. We are now full time residents in Cashiers.
Babara Jamuson
A South African born mixed media artist, Colleen Kastner is also a journalist and former psychotherapist who brings her love of stories into the complex layers of her paintings. Her work is a perpetual exploration of ideas, and a blend of risk-taking and adventure, linework in charcoal and graphite, a smorgasbord of paints and pigments, and collage elements of vintage hand-written letters, maps of local and faraway places, and eco-printing with materials foraged from forest and beach hikes. "When I paint, I’m thinking of the stories and history of the place or the person. I’m trying to capture the beauty that comes from complex people and places. So many intricate details and convoluted connections, joyous moments and times of incredible pain. Take a snapshot of that and you have something so incredibly deep and beautiful. That is the essence of what I’m trying to capture in my work. Something as strong and vulnerable as the people and stories I’m drawn to." Colleen works with charcoal, graphite, watercolor, inks and acrylic, stitching, cold wax and oil, pastels, various papers, collage and hot encaustic wax, and anything else she can get her hands on. She is constantly experimenting with something new and breaking traditional rules to create new and original works of art.
Colleen Kastner
Kim Mason
Kim Mason has been creating distinctive, hand-crafted jewelry for over 25 years. Working primarily with mixed metals such as silver, copper, stainless steel and vintage finds, her pieces blend organic textures with bold, modern design. Each work is made by hand, reflecting a deep appreciation for craftsmanship and the unique character of natural materials. Now retired from a 25 year, successful career in medical sales, Kim is fully devoted to her passion for jewelry making. Her latest collection, showcases one-of-a-kind pieces that celebrate the harmony of contrast, the beauty of imperfection, and the art of wearable design.
Annell L Metsker combines photography and painting to create images that evoke the soul of her subjects and portray mood and emotion visually. She has a portrait studio in Charlotte and an art studio in Cashiers, NC. She works in oil and oil and cold wax and encaustics to create abstracts, landscapes and still lifes. Her work can be seen at Whiteside Gallery and The Bascom Shop and www.annell.com.
Annell Metsker
Nancy Race
Nancy was introduced to painting through a casual art class with friends. As an interior designer, the study of color came naturally, but she was astonished by how much she loved abstract art and couldn’t get enough of it! In New York City, Nancy studied at the Art Student’s League and the National Academy of Art. She has worked with a number of artists including Cat Tesla, Julie Schumer, Adele Sypesteyn, and Nicholas Wilton, in his Art2Life Academy and Creative Visionary Program. She also just completed a workshop in Santa Fe with Gordon Studer, May 2024. Nancy is represented by Stellers Gallery and Missy’s Art & Pieces in Jacksonville, FL as well as MarketPlace Interiors in Nashville, Joan Anderson Interiors in Cashiers, NC, the General Store at Mountaintop Golf and Lake Club, and The Bascom Center for the Arts.She paints at the Urban Art Collective in Chamblee, GA and participates in 3 shows annually. She had a one-woman show at the Madison Artist’s Guild in August/September 2023 and is currently participating in a group show “altogether: intersections and pathways”at the Quinlan Visual Arts Center, for summer of 2024. Her collectors include individuals and corporations nationwide. Nancy also serves on the board of directors of The Bascom: Center for the Visual Arts. Nancy shares her time between Atlanta and her family farm in Cashiers, NC.
From elementary school, through high school at Christ Church Episcopal School, Craig Ragsdale was encouraged throughout his journey by art instructors who ignited his passion for art. This passion continued in college and led him to the extraordinary experience of traveling abroad for a semester in college to Florence, Italy, where he studied under renowned art restorer Lorenzo Casamenti. The knowledge and skill learned under Casamenti formed a foundation he continues to build on today; and, it remains one of his favorite lifetime experiences. Always wanting to learn and grow as an artist, Craig continues to refine his skills by regularly completing workshops under the direction of such artists as Mary Whyte, Betty Anglin Smith, Colin Page and Sarah Sedwick. Drawing from life, photographs, memory and imagination, his oil paintings are inspired by nature and the beauty of the natural world. For the last five years, Craig has had a studio inside Greenville Center for Creative Arts inside the historic Brandon Mill. When he’s not painting, Craig and his wife Melissa are busy raising their four children. You can see his latest work at art shows throughout North and South Carolina and on his website craigragsdale.com.
Craig Ragsdale
Martha Sutherland-Wright
The evolution of my interest in art was on hold for many years while I pursued a career in finance. Once I was able to slow down, I discovered and was drawn to ceramic art. As I immersed myself into this art form, I realized we are all a bit like clay—shaped by what we surround ourselves with, our environment, culture, nature, and the people who cross our paths. Past experiences in education, travel, parenting, life and everything in between have made it possible for me to explore this creative passion of clay and to develop inspired and distinctive work. I lean toward whimsy, and I am inspired by nature, flowers and animals.
Nancy Wahl
Nancy Wahl is predominately a landscape painter. She works in both oils and pastels. She is drawn to the play of light in a scene and the challenge of capturing not only the bright colors the light creates but the colors of the shadows as well. Painting intermittently since 2001, she began painting in earnest in 2015 when she retired from her “left brain” job. In the intervening years she has worked to improve her skills through workshops with Bob Tompkins, Roger Dale Brown, Stephanie Birdsall and persistence! Nancy is a member of the Transylvania Art Guild, the Appalachian Pastel Society and the Oil Painters of America (when she remembers to pay her dues). You can see her work locally at Natural Elements on Main Street in Brevard NC and on her website nancywahl.net or on Instagram at nancywahl7579.
Cath Connolly Hudson
Cath's works explore abstraction using Cold Wax and Oils. She is interested in the evolution of traditional figurative style and where it meets abstraction. Her exploration of untraditional materials and methods have led to a distinct abstract style. Her images become more about how to capture the essence and emotion in a space rather than depicting the reality. Cath also teaches courses at the Bascom in Highlands.
