Artists in Residence

For Claire Hardy, painting goes beyond making a likeness of the subject. It is also about recording the sense of the place, the feel of the atmosphere, and the emotion the scene evokes. She works directly on the canvas, sculpting the paint to uncover the rightness of a composition and a harmony of colors. She is captivated by expressive color, descriptive brushwork, and soft edges.

Originally from Vero Beach, Florida, Julia is an interdisciplinary artist drawn to light and atmospheric environments. Growing up surrounded by Florida’s landscapes, she fell in love with the way color and light shape the sky, ocean, and land. She studied fine art and physics at the University of Florida, blending both worlds to create paintings and immersive installations. When she’s not making art, she’s probably reading, playing piano, or diving into holography research.

With no training in art, my process is experimental. I break all the rules because I don’t know them. Acrylics and oils — yes! Foam brushes and even trowels and putty knives — why not? I use whatever I can find to create different effects.

Kadidja is an impressionistic landscape artist living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Whether created in En Plein Air or in her studio, each painting is a timestamp made to physically represent the loveliness and beauty in our world and the humans who influence it. She is delighted by the concept of creating visual expressions to evoke feelings of nostalgia, safety, peace, and belonging. Her art is inspired by places she has traveled to or dreams of visiting — the natural world and the humans who influence it. Through years of education and experience, Kadidja has combined her skills and knowledge of design, color theory, and the psychology of creativity to create pieces to maximize joy for both the maker and the viewer.

After 43 years as an electronics field technician for Hewlett-Packard and Agilent Technologies, Don began woodworking as a hobby during his retirement. Inspired by making wooden toys for his grandchildren, he began exploring the use of a lathe (a machine for shaping wood that turns the piece being worked on against changeable cutting tools). With his first finished bowl, he was hooked, falling in love with the technique of bowl-making. He has since expanded his lathe toolkit, studied under other wood turners, and spends every day possible in his woodshop “puttering.”

I have always been drawn to lighting; how it interacts with the world, and particularly, how it plays off plants and nature. When the sun is shining through the leaves on a nice day, it is nearly impossible for me to resist capturing as many photos as I can. Beyond the depictions of nature, my work emphasizes place and its importance to me. I am painting scenes that I know personally and as I see them through my own atmospheric lens. I like to shift the focus around the composition to push the fuzziness or the unknown sense of the atmosphere. My work is photorealistic but not at the same time. It can’t be captured by a camera.

Hailing from Nashville, Tennessee, Meredith Edmondson has dedicated over 20 years to the art of glass. She earned her BFA in glass from the Appalachian Center for Crafts and has participated in and led numerous workshops and artist residencies across the country. Edmondson’s work celebrates the intricate dance between fused and blown glass techniques — an exploration rarely seen in the field. This fusion allows her to investigate the dynamic relationship between pattern and form, transforming each piece into a vibrant canvas for meticulously crafted colors and patterns.

Stephanie Oplinger is a multi-disciplinary visual artist from western Pennsylvania, specializing in painting, printmaking, and sculptural works that explore themes and connections between narrative images, feminine power, and divine mysteries. Across various mediums, Oplinger crafts evocative images embodying the strength and resilience of femininity. Her printmaking work probes the societal expectations imposed on women, juxtaposed with the celebration of their inherent power. Drawing inspiration from the Pre-Raphaelites, her paintings evoke dreamlike scenes of human figures communing with nature and the cosmos. In her sculptural works, fashioned from fibers and recycled materials, she probes body image struggles experienced by women while her ceramic and metal creations evoke primal matriarchal symbols, echoing the timeless essence of feminine wisdom and resilience.

Danny’s work largely expresses an exploration of color harmony and figurative expression. Aesthetically, he works with pattern and surface from an interdisciplinary approach as a way of appropriating material matter into new forms of visual translation.

Carrie is a Pittsburgh native with a degree in communications from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. She is a full-time artist who makes radiant paintings inspired by nature. Carrie transitioned to her art career after working at local and national nonprofits serving vulnerable children. Her art can be found in private and public collections across the United States and abroad. She paints outdoors and in her studio in Columbus, Ohio. She says of her work, “It feels like a wondrous magic trick to make something out of nothing. I still find it amazing to capture a full human experience on a two-dimensional surface. I want to share my delight with the subject matter, the color, and the process with the viewer.”

Michelle Boerio loves to make art that connects people with the wonderful and sometimes overlooked parts of the natural world. This artist and educator from Columbus, Ohio, uses a range of watercolor, acrylic, oil paint, and collage to create vibrant images. These expressive paintings celebrate playfulness in making marks. Currently, she lives and works in central Ohio, where she divides her time between making art and teaching art with students of all ages.

Creating a visual experience is Ann’s inspiration for painting. It is not only the subject matter that intrigues her, but the play of shapes, colors, and light against one another. When painting flowers, Ann enjoys exploring texture, value, and movement across the canvas, trying to share her passion for flowers — not only for what they look like but also for how they make you feel. When painting figures, she attempts to capture the individuality of the subject she is painting to explore the push and pull of the figure as it relates to the environment.

Barbara Yerace has been a glass artist for over 40 years, operating a hot glass studio, in Erie, Pennsylvania. Over the last few years, she has turned her attention to the exploration of the Spirit of Animals and the lessons they bring us. The pieces created with glass beads are a culmination of research and love for the animals she studies. In this residency, she will focus on flameworking demos, creating unique and colorful glass beads.

It was at the age of 63 that Wendy Warner decided it was time to attain life’s dream. “I grew up enthralled by my grandfather’s art and calligraphy,” Wendy says. “I never understood how lines and shapes could jump off a surface and appear to come to life. Art has always fascinated me.” Originally from the Boston area and now from Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, Wendy works in oil, with a particular interest in both portraiture and plein air. Picking up the brushes and palette later in life has given Wendy a more mature perspective on her craft. She takes a patient and meticulous approach to painting, allowing her to produce her finest works.

Cynthia studied at Pratt in New York City, and received a degree in medical illustration from the University of Michigan. A winding career path led her to discover stone sculpture, which she chooses to do by hand using only hammer and chisels. For several years during the fall seasons, Cynthia was an artist in residence at Mt. Rushmore, working beneath the imposing, gigantic, and splendid stone portraits of four of our presidents. Recently, she participated in an adventurous artist residency aboard a ship, sailing through the waters of the Svalbard Archipelago near the Arctic Circle, north of Norway.

Cynthia is excited to be an artist in residence at Nemacolin, to be inspired, and to work and reflect the beauty of the mountains of western Pennsylvania in stone.

Yelena Lamm was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, where she received her formal art training from the N. K. Roerich Fine Arts School. Since 1995, she has lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Yelena paints primarily in oil. She is known for her portraits of pets and animals — in which she reflects on her subjects’ characters and personalities — as well as her lively and colorful floral compositions. Yelena believes that beauty may save the world. Even if not, it undeniably makes it a better place. In her art, she strives for this beauty. Animals and flora play a significant role in her work, serving as vessels for meaning, symbolism, and emotions. Through her art, Yelena tries to tell stories imbued with depth and often a healthy dose of humor.

Xandria Maurer has quickly gained recognition for her evocative, atmospheric landscapes that capture the raw emotion and enduring spirit of nature. Cherished by collectors worldwide, her work masterfully blends light, color, and texture to create immersive scenes filled with tranquility and nostalgia. A transformative, stress-induced cardiac event ignited her passion for painting and deepened her appreciation for life’s fleeting moments. Drawing inspiration from real-world landscapes, her art stands as a timeless testament to the healing power of nature and of storytelling through art.

Sarah is an artist based in Utopia Beach, specializing in screen-prints and etchings. Sarah’s work is a representation or a reflection of life experiences.  She says of her work, “My art documents a moment in time, it is a visual representation of my life experiences.”

As an artist, Carolyn’s work serves as a visual diary that captures the intricate tapestry of familial bonds and the profound beauty of new beginnings. She uses oil paints and soft pastels to explore the themes of family, growth, and nostalgia, weaving them into visual narratives that resonate with both personal and universal significance. Her work is imbued with a sense of longing — a yearning to preserve the intimacy and connection afforded by our current proximity. In capturing the nostalgia of the present, Carolyn aims to evoke an emotional response that invites viewers to reflect on their own familial connections. She says of her work, “It is my hope that through my art, others may find a renewed appreciation for the moments that define their lives and an enduring sense of connection to those they hold dear.”