Joseph Mahan

@jbeanz137

I’m a multidisciplinary artist who works with painting, drawing, and mixed media to explore emotion, identity, and the subconscious. My art mixes bold color, surreal imagery, and heavy texture because that’s the most honest way I know to communicate. A lot of my work comes from trying to make sense of what I feel—turning inner chaos into something visual. Through symbols like hearts, figures, creatures, and abstract landscapes, I build worlds that reflect my experiences and the emotions that shape me. Every piece is a part of me, raw and unfiltered.

Liana Cannon

@LianaCannon

I grew up in Cedar Park Texas and developed a foundation in traditional media as a student, then as a teacher's assistant at a local art studio. In my teen years I was gripped by the digital arts, and I went on to get my BFA in Interactive Design and Game Development from the Savannah College of Art and Design. I currently live in Waco with my husband and two cats, Aria and Bolero. Professionally, I now do 3D art for a startup game studio working on its first title, and in my personal art life, I still have a tremendous fondness for both traditional and digital painting. My favorite pastimes include video games (of course), Dungeons & Dragons, singing, and participating as a member of the Central Texas Watercolor Society.

Bradley Settles

@BradSettlesArt

Bradley Settles (b. 1983, United States) earned his M.F.A. in Painting from Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, GA in the fall of 2021. He also earned a B.F.A. in painting from Baylor University, 2007. He has exhibited throughout the United States. He has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions and has works in private collections along with works by Porfirio Salinas, R.D. Enright, and Julian Onderdonk. Settles is currently represented by Washington Gallery in Waco, Texas. Settles lives and works in Waco, Texas and his work is based in realism for the purpose of making connections between shared experiences.

Larsen&Talbert

@LarsenAndTalbert_Media

We are the husband and wife team of Michael Larsen and Tracy Talbert. In 1997, we married and launched Larsen&Talbert. We have been specializing in our unique brand of portraiture, lifestyle and fine art photography for editorial and advertising clients ever since. Our goals are always to solve problems, showcase brands, and deliver top-level imagery for our creative partners. We recently launched a motion component and are currently producing our first film.

Doreen Plott

@DoreenPlott

First up, 2003 The Redford Center in Sundance, Utah. Established by the Redford family to maintain the balance of art, nature and community. Honing my skill for wheel throwing, the week went by quickly. Comradery with other students in this beautiful mountain setting made the class work and practice an inspiring adventure. Back in Temple, TX 2005 I participated in a few classes with Randy Brodnax, the Raku King. Randy is published and is sought after in pottery exhibits across the states and internationally. His stories, quick wit and abilities to toss a leather hard vessel into a corner and have it land exactly as he wanted was astounding. Though interesting and exciting Raku is too close to the fire for my desires. Next was a two-week course at Homestead Heritage, outside of Waco. The Plow Shares program was taught by 3 talented artisans. The principles were specific for functional pieces that are sold in their stores on site. This was a disciplined class that taught the hand placement, proper sitting at the wheel to the final wood firing. Another two-week course at Arrowmont School of the Arts in Gatlinburg, TN was an on-campus, immersive program in 2009. With unlimited clay tools and studio time Master Potter, Bill Van Gilder shared tips, tricks and short cuts to achieve the perfect bowl, plate or platter. Tucked at the foot of the Great Smokey Mountains, this was a very satisfying holistic retreat. I began leaning towards porcelain as my clay base and signed up for a week at ldyllwild Arts Campus in the towering alpine forest of California' San Jacinto Mountains. Kate McDowell was the most interesting master potter. Using porcelain due to the luminous and ghostly appearance, she sculpts fragile, natural forms in a dying ecosystem. She would hand build a creature; bird, rabbit, fox then hollows out the main body like a taxidermist. This makes the sculpture lighter and easier to fire. Another master artist in porcelain was Jennifer McCurdy. A class in Steidel Fine Arts, Palm Beach, FL Taught me the fragility of her carved and altered forms. She uses translucent porcelain to produce wheel thrown vessels that go through a variety of hand manipulations that almost defy gravity. Her porcelain pieces have been in private collections, museums and graced the covers of distinguished publications. In 2017 I was able to give back some of what I had learned by teaching pottery classes at MCC in Waco where it all began in 2002. Unfortunately, the building on campus was scheduled for demolition and closed in 2019. I continue to develop my skills in pottery, mostly porcelain. My friends and I like to drink wine so I have created a line of wine goblets. My commissions include sets of wine goblets with chillers for weddings, vessel sinks and sculptures. My studio was built along a winding creek by the famous Mammoth Site in Waco, TX. So Mammoth Creek Pottery is where I work/play among the quiet oak trees and wild life.

Amanda Leshikar

@TheRealAmanda

I’m a proud Waco native and the owner of Artful Courage Treasures. Playfully identified as a Jane-of-all-trades whose a creative streak began at an early age. With no formal education in the arts, my training began with finger-painted turkeys, questionable Easy-Bake Oven concoctions, and crafty afternoons at my grandma’s. Even though I retired the finger-paints, the creative bug is still alive and kicking. A few years ago, I discovered my love for repurposing and giving previously loved items a second life. What started as an idea stirring in late 2022 quickly became Artful Courage Treasures. Giving old junk a second a life became art and a passion. Soon, I joined local makers at markets here in Waco, and it’s been nonstop ever since. While AC Treasures has evolved to focus primarily on vintage and antique wares, the heart behind it remains the same: helping beautiful things find new homes and keeping perfectly good pieces out of landfills. Every so often, I still add something with an extra “artful” touch – all part of honing my style around the idea of a thoughtfully curated life. Somewhere along the way, between sourcing vintage finds and curating collections, I stumbled upon an unexpected creative outlet – acting! In 2024, I landed my first voiceover role in a scripted podcast and immediately caught the bug. That opportunity rolled into another role for Season 2 the following year, and most recently, a supporting character role in an upcoming indie film. Acting was never on my radar, but collaborating with talented writers and production teams opened up an entirely new creative world for me. If you’re interested in collaborating or just love vintage treasures and creative ventures – let’s connect. You can find me on Instagram at @ArtfulCourageTreasures.

Andrea La Valleur-Purvis

@alavalleur

Andrea La Valleur-Purvis is an award-winning British-American sculptor creating abstract forms that explore themes of transformation. La Valleur-Purvis left a two decade freelance design practice to pursue art full-time, a pivotal transition that now shapes her unique perspective in today’s contemporary art landscape. Her work has been exhibited in the Marfa Invitational and outdoor installations in public spaces in Waco, Georgetown, and Cedar Park, Texas. Corporate Commissions are on view at AC Hotel Waco Downtown, Rapoport Academy, Startup Waco and City of Waco (I35&5th Street Exit Hwy Underpass) She was awarded the Artistic Merit Award from the Luxembourg Art Prize, The Art 100 VAA International Prize and has been featured in Glasstire, NRP Radio, Cohart’s Editorial Magazine among others.

RONNITA CARRIDINE

@DrDino

ARTIST EDUCATOR ACTIVIST

Desiree Foley

@desireefoley

Hi! I am a wife, mom, and performing artist with a deep love for musical theatre. A singer-dancer by training, I find great joy in bringing stories to life onstage while balancing my family and community.

Dave

@OldGuyRaconteur

I retired in 2012 after a 40+ year career in the collision repair business. During that time, I was a body technician, a painter, and a shop owner. I also wrote a novel and had a couple of regular columns in our local newspaper, the Round Rock Leader. I have been described, kindly, as being different. Part of the reason for this comes from my childhood. I was born in and spent a number of the years of my childhood in Germany. My mother was German, a war bride, and my father was American, a soldier. In 1966 my father retired from the military and we settled in Austin, Texas, a town where many locals struggle to keep things "weird". I graduated from High School in 1971 at the age of seventeen and immediately began my career in the body shop business. I finished school on a Thursday, and the next Monday, I was pushing a broom at Universal Body Shop in downtown Austin. I am married to the most amazing woman, Teri, and I have three wonderful, beautiful, accomplished, intelligent daughters. Additionally, I have five grandchildren who I think are among the most marvelous people in the world. Sooooo??? What makes me qualified to be an author? Well, I've traveled... A lot. Teri and I have been to all of the 50 United States of America, eight Canadian Provinces and Territories, 41 different countries in 5 different continents, as well as actually being one of the very few who have actually been to Chatterbox Montana. In 1999, I sold the body shop I was a half-owner of, Teri took a leave of absence from her work, we checked the kids out of school, bought a HUGE motorhome, and spent 15 months traveling across the United States, Canada, and Mexico (as well as taking a side trip to Europe) That is when I began writing my first novel. Other qualifications include a number of night school classes, not all technical, and a copy editor and managing editor at the Leader who were (are) brilliant, helpful and inspiring. In 1996, I got a Teacher's Certificate and taught a vocational class for the Round Rock Independent School District for three years. For my efforts, I was awarded the Partners In Education Partner of the Year Award in 1998. I was also involved in other civic causes, including being the first president of the Greater Williamson County United Way, being a two-time president of my Rotary Club, and serving on the Christie Center's BOD for 17 years. Other than that, I'm really not qualified.

Sarah Pick

@ArtBySNPick

Sarah Pick worked for a large manufacturing company for 17 years in an operations and logistics engineering role. As part of a dual career household, Sarah elected to stay home and raise her two children when schedules made a dual career household difficult. When she moved to Waco, TX in 2013, Sarah began painting watercolors and a whole new passion was discovered. She firmly believes that both sides of the brain engage when you create art; from the planning and organizing stage, to the free expression and creative quiet moments of painting, the artist uses every aspect of the brain to create art. Sarah appreciates the variety that the watercolor medium affords -- from soft velvety muted colors and hard bold lines. She particularly loves reflective light and shadows and how they shape objects in her paintings and brings their depth to life. She is interested in testing all sorts of styles, ranging from realistic botanicals and reflective glass to whimsical impressionism and the blooms of watercolor. Whether it is splatter or specifics, she loves to see values create an interest in the beholder.

James Ehlers

@jehlers928

James Ehlers was born and raised in Lake Charles, LA. He earned his MFA from the University of Florida and is a certified FEGA (Firearms Engravers Guild of America) Master Engraver. He joined Baylor University in the summer of 2024 to teach Two-Dimensional Design and Drawing. He previously worked at Emporia State University for 16 years where he served as Professor of Engraving Arts, Art Department Chair and Interim Dean of the School of Visual and Performing Arts. Since 2007, he has given numerous engraving workshops at various events including the Frogman’s Printmaking Workshop, IMPACT Printmaking Conferences (Dundee, Scotland and Bristol, England), MAPC (Minnesota), SGCI (Las Vegas) and universities around the country. He has participated in group exhibitions in Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, Poland, Portugal, Norway, Romania, The Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, and across the United States. MFA, University of Florida MA, Bradley University BA, McNeese State University