Regional Artists Spotlight Series – Round Two

For more than five decades, An Occasion for the Arts has celebrated creativity in all its forms, bringing artists and audiences together through one of Virginia’s longest-running arts festivals.

Creativity takes many forms, and every artist brings a unique way of seeing the world.

In this second installment of our Regional Artist Spotlight Series, we’re featuring another group of talented artists whose work reflects the breadth and diversity of our region’s creative community. Through different mediums, techniques, and perspectives, each artist offers an invitation to slow down, look closer, and experience something new.

Join us as we celebrate the artists whose creativity helps shape the cultural life of our region year-round.

Self-taught artist Becky Butler transforms pine needles and natural materials into intricate sculptural baskets. By turning everyday yard waste into handcrafted works of art, she highlights both the beauty of natural materials and the possibilities of creative reuse.

Her pieces celebrate craftsmanship, sustainability, and connection to place.

Celia Slater uses abstract photography and mixed media to uncover unexpected stories hidden within everyday scenes.

By layering photographs and blending shapes, textures, and shadows, she creates images that invite viewers to see familiar subjects in new ways.

Drawing on a background in photography, writing, and graphic design, Slater’s work explores perception, memory, and visual storytelling.

Ceramic artist Charlie Tefft finds endless inspiration in the natural world.

Combining functional pottery with detailed hand-painted imagery, he celebrates the beauty of animals and birds through carefully crafted forms.

Each piece balances utility with storytelling, bringing a sense of wonder to everyday objects.

Fiber artist Eileen Doughty explores landscape, wildlife, and the meaning of place through richly textured works.

Her signature thread sculptures use free-motion machine stitching to build dimension and movement, transforming thread into expressive lines and forms.

Her work highlights the unique possibilities of fiber as an artistic medium.

Williamsburg printmaker Elisabeth Rhyne creates clean, striking imagery through block printing and collage.

Inspired by her career in international development, her work distills ideas and experiences into clean compelling visual forms.

Her prints demonstrate how thoughtful composition and restraint can create impact.

Born in Shanghai and raised in Hong Kong before making her home in the United States, Elsie Tai brings a rich life experience to her painting practice.

Her work reflects a lifelong appreciation for art and observation, blending personal history with a joyful exploration of color, culture, and creativity.

Photographer Emily Cahoon captures the beauty of the natural world through images that reward careful observation.

Whether documenting wildlife, landscapes, or fleeting moments outdoors, her work reflects patience, curiosity, and a deep appreciation for the environment.

Genevieve creates vibrant landscape paintings that celebrate the beauty and value of the natural world.

Often incorporating gold leaf, her work elevates familiar scenes into luminous compositions.

In her works, she strives to “use color to enhance the places she explores – in a way that is both realistic depiction and fantastical.”

With formal training in France and Italy, Gulay Berryman brings an international perspective to her painting practice.

Her work reflects decades of artistic study, gallery leadership, and creative exploration.

Through her paintings, she shares a deep appreciation for beauty, craftsmanship, and cultural connection.

Norfolk artist Jalani Vickers creates drawings inspired by everyday life, personal style, and the people around him. Beginning with pencil sketches and often finished digitally, his work captures relatable moments with humor, confidence, and personality. Through expressive characters and familiar scenes, he offers a fresh perspective on contemporary life.

Joshua Solomon works in sculpture and glass, drawn to the energy, movement, and unpredictability of molten material.

His practice combines a love of carving, texture, and process with a fascination for transformation.

The resulting works celebrate both the physical properties of the medium and the artist’s hand.

Painter Karen E. Thuermer creates atmospheric landscapes that capture the ever-changing relationship between land, water, sky, and light.

Working with expressive brushwork and a nuanced palette, her work conveys mood and presence as it celebrates both the beauty and the unpredictability of the natural world.

For painter Linda Gerek, art begins with paying attention.

An avid hiker, kayaker, camper, and traveler, she is constantly drawn to landscapes and moments that spark an emotional response. Gerek describes her work as contemporary realism.

Light plays a central role in her practice, transforming ordinary places into memorable experiences and inviting viewers to discover their own connection to the landscape.

Using ink and mixed media, Michal Mahgerefteh creates intuitive abstract compositions inspired by the colors and energy of autumn.

Fluid forms, layered textures, and recurring circular motifs reflect themes of transformation, movement, and the cycles of nature.

Jewelry artist Rejane Pratelli creates intricate, texture-rich pieces that explore identity, vulnerability, and authenticity.

Working with a distinctly brutalist aesthetic, she embraces complexity and imperfection, creating jewelry that feels deeply personal.

Through jewelry that embraces imperfection rather than concealing it, Pratelli invites viewers to reflect on authenticity and the stories we carry beneath outward appearances.

Vonnie Whitworth has built a distinguished career around the expressive possibilities of watercolor.

Working across portraiture, interiors, landscapes, and still life, Whitworth captures presence and personality with a sensitivity to light, atmosphere, and emotion.

Thank you to the artists featured in this first installment of Regional Artists Spotlight, and thank you to everyone who took the time to explore their work.

We’ll be back soon with another group of artists. In the meantime, we invite you to learn more about An Occasion for the Arts and our annual festival each October.