Judith

@Judith

Raised in a farm community in Minnesota, Judith became a registered nurse and later a professional artist holding a BFA and MA degree. She enters shows, participates in community art events and spends time frequently in her art studio at Ground Floor Artists in Surprise, AZ.

Carol Levin

@levin.carol

Originally from New York City, New York.A connection with photography began in high school with the very first photography class assignment; to construct a Box Camera and then afterwards take a photograph with it. To be an artist was always my dream from the age of seven, but to be a cartoonist. Other paths lead me instead to becoming a graphic designer. I worked in the Advertising field for over 25 years from Designer, Art Director, Creative Director and then my own Design Studio. Through the process of photographing various single images, my goal is to capture and recreate these images by fusing them together graphically and to present them in a new light. The inspiration and challenge always is to constantly observe and photograph objects, people and places, to reconstruct them and to create a unique piece of art for others to enjoy.

Sarah Simmerman

@SarahSimmerman

Sarah Simmerman is an abstract artist based in Surprise, AZ. She grew up in Northern Virginia and has called Arizona home for the past 15 years. In 2004, Sarah graduated with a BFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design, with a major in Graphic Design. Now, her art acts as a bridge between the conscious and subconscious; a window into her inner world, a chronicle of battles fought and transformed. Through her art, Sarah shares her quest for growth, understanding, and mental well-being. Beyond the studio, Sarah actively contributes to the local arts community. She serves on the Board of Directors at Ground Floor Artists, a non-profit championing the arts in the West Valley. Her work has garnered recognition, showcased in rotating exhibitions across Phoenix and finding homes in private collections nationwide.

Etty Yanai

@ETTY

Etty started drawing at an early age and was introduced to watercolors in her teens. Etty immigrated to the USA over 50 years ago. While living in California she went to school at the historic Hollywood Art Center, but art took a back seat to raising a family and work in finance. She has lived in AZ for 16 years now and found more time to paint after retiring. “Creating art is part of my soul and I can’t imagine life without it. I need to create like I need air to breathe”, said Etty. “My preferred medium is oil, but due to the fumes and raising children, for many years I used water colors as well as colored pencils, charcoal, ink and Digital Art” “I get inspired by many things in life and find beauty everywhere. I find that the process of painting is not only therapeutic for me but addictive in a weird way. If I am not painting, then I am day dreaming or actually dreaming of painting!”

Debra Goley

@Debra_Goley_Art

Art is Debra’s language. She is an award-winning international and inspirational artist. She lives in the West Valley of Phoenix and is also an art instructor for all ages and abilities every day of the week. Her work in fiber is an exciting extension of her portfolio, adding depth to her work. Her technique involves layering 3-5 fiber panels for cutting through and revealing the background. Her life’s work is a continued exploration which has its roots in a life lived overseas, architectural degree and the experience of a multicultural community. She enjoys drawing with her needle once a work has been designed and collaged using recycled materials and hand dyed fabrics.

Rita Chester

@rdcjla

Rita Chester is a fiber artist based in Surprise, Arizona, working primarily in felting to create textural works that blur the line between painting and sculpture. Guided by process, she builds surfaces with wool and other natural fibers, layering colour and form to evoke landscapes, florals, and abstract art . Her work has been exhibited across Arizona, including as a featured artist in Sustainable, an exhibition at the West Valley Arts Council (April 2025). She has also been a member of On the Edge Gallery in Scottsdale and Fountain Hills Artists Gallery in Fountain Hills. Rita’s practice continues to grow through exhibitions, collaborations, and community engagement, drawing audiences into the tactile love of fiber.

Miki

@miki

Starting as a weaver, I switched to marbling silk and paper for many years. My next chapter included printmaking. After a 4 year hiatus of caring for my mother I am now experimenting in ink, bookbinding and earth pigments.

Erik Jacobson

@ENJ_Artistry

I’ve never been one to talk about myself—friends can attest to that—but my journey as a photographer is a story I’m ready to share. It began in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago, where I’d doodle as a quiet Midwestern kid to keep busy for my mom. In high school, my dad handed me his old Minolta SLR camera, and everything shifted the first time I stood in a darkroom, the sharp scent of chemicals in the air, watching an image emerge like smoke on the paper. Photography became my way to blend everything I loved about art—drawing, painting, sculpture—into one medium. After earning my bachelor degree in photography, I moved to the Northwest suburbs of Phoenix, where the desert’s stark beauty inspired me to dig deeper. Working as a bartender for years, I honed my craft on the side, capturing the world’s hidden stories through my lens. My photography centers on three subjects—People, Places, and Things—each a window into what makes us tick. With People, I explore our relationships with ourselves, each other, and our surroundings, capturing the chaotic ballet of modern life—like a fleeting glance in a crowded bar that carries a story of the depth and rhythm of human connection. Places is my visual journey through our habitation of the physical world, where the harmony and conflict between the story of humanity and nature play out—a person walking past a flower growing from the sidewalk under a scorching sun, or a city skyline cooling off during a desert sunset, reflecting the wonder and the beauty I’ve always seen in art. Things uncovers what we leave behind, from objects we create to escape reality to those that silently tell our stories, whispering history’s lessons and showing how we live and interpret our world. I carry forward the methodologies of traditional photography, editing with the same principles I learned early on, while living in a digital age. My approach aims for a raw, natural style that feels like you’re standing there with me, whether in the desert or a studio, always pausing to notice the details others might miss. For me, photography is about finding clarity in chaos, whether I’m capturing a stranger’s shadow on cracked earth or light fracturing through a dusty window. My art is my way to slow down and uncover beauty in the overlooked, a journey that is my own—but for those who choose to come along for the ride… Welcome to my vision: a world of hidden beauty with quiet details and clarity in the chaos, for those who pause to see it too.

Jeanmarie Simpson

@JeanmarieSimpson

Jeanmarie Simpson is an American theatre artist whose work centers women who challenge power structures—political, religious, and psychological. Her solo and ensemble plays often explore grief, justice, memory, and resistance, using theatrical language that blurs the sacred and the personal. She is best known for A Single Woman, a two-hander about Jeannette Rankin that premiered Off-Broadway at The Culture Project, was filmed with Judd Nelson and the voices of Martin Sheen and Patricia Arquette (featuring music by Joni Mitchell), and ultimately toured to 53 countries across five continents. The piece earned “Best Theatrical Surprise” from Sacramento News & Review and was presented at CalArts, where she was a Surdna Distinguished Guest Artist. Other performance highlights include The Road to Mecca, directed by Zakes Mokae, and Shakespeare’s Will by Vern Thiessen, directed by Leonard Nimoy. Her original works include Coming In Hot (in which she portrayed 19 military women), HERETIC – the Mary Dyer Story, and The Jewish Question, which received Honorable Mention from the Jewish Plays Project. Her recent plays deepen her turn toward spiritually-inflected and memory-haunted work: Even Unto Death, a six-character passion drama through the eyes of Joan of Arc’s mother Ghosts of the Gilded Stage, a theatrical meditation on mortality and legacy Lear: A Solo Adaptation, which reimagines the king’s last moments as a hallucinatory unraveling Her work has been supported by six Sierra Arts Foundation, twelve Nevada Arts Council, and multiple National Endowment for the Arts Theatre grants. In 2022, she was awarded a Living History Foundation grant for Bambino Mio – Bright Little Flame, about Maria Montessori. She served as a panelist for the NEA’s 2023 Theatre Grants for Arts Projects. She is Founding Artistic Director of Arizona Theatre Matters, a member of the Dramatists Guild of America, and retired from the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, Actors’ Equity Association, and SAG-AFTRA. Jeanmarie writes from a threshold space—between faith and disillusion, between fire and silence—where the ghosts of history ask to be heard.

Kim

@KimWalkerArt

Kim Walker is an internationally recognized artist, mother of four, grandmother of nine, and loving wife. Kim's son Robby began attending community college in 1992 at age 9. While transporting him to and from college, Kim decided to attend classes herself. She became the first person in her family to receive a degree - a B.F.A. in Painting from Arizona State University - and had the unique experience of taking some classes with her son. Robby completed a PhD in Computer Science. With great pride and joy she refers to this experience as a magical part of her journey. Since then, Kim has developed a unique style of painting that incorporates pressed flowers and natural elements. During her degree program she absorbed the many offerings of her instructors and is very grateful for that experience. Kim always knew, however, that she wanted to find her own voice in her art. Beginning in December of 1999, in an attempt to assuage her grief over the untimely death of her mother, Kim took almost daily walks. “One day while resting on a mountain trail a breeze wrapped around me and it felt like a hug. I looked up and all around and it became crystal clear that nature reflects not just beauty but also hope and inspiration and healing as well as many metaphoric lessons that can touch all of our lives in profound and limitless ways. We are all warmed by the same sun and held by the same gravity. I knew I wanted to share these feelings as well as the actual botanicals with the world. I stopped many times on my walk home that day and picked up random botanic elements not knowing how, but still knowing these elements would become part of my art.” Kim continues to evolve her processes of the inclusion of actual botanicals in her art, each day making new discoveries in her studio. She also writes an original poem for each painting to further express her reverent gratitude for the gifts of nature. Kim's art is represented in galleries and juried and invitational exhibits nationwide and is included in private, corporate, and municipal collections all over the world.

Tiffany Heath

@surREALart

I am an Artist and a high school Art teacher. I received my degree in Art Education and a minor in Art History from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2005. I completed my masters in Education from Walden University in 2026. I teach all media in visual arts and encourage students to make their artwork meaningful to them by fostering connections in the art community and advocating for the arts.

Linda Cummings

@Linleeart

I began painting 3 years ago. Watercolor was my first indeavor, but soon branched out into acrylics, resin, mixed media and encaustics. I do a wide variety of genre including greeting cards, jewelry, encaustic paints and clay bowls. I have so much fun creating different items and experimenting with mediums. Hope you enjoy.