I’m slowly emerging from self-imposed isolation as a maker the last few years and remembering that one reason I moved to Asheville was to be around so many inspiring artists. Yet I so rarely leave my studio nest to go meet them and see their work. And I so rarely spend time admiring the art of makers I love and talking about it. In the excitement of making new things of my own, I forgot that art-making and art-viewing is best enjoyed as a community, where we all encourage each other to keep making and trying new things and seeing things from a different perspective. I’m getting better about being part of Asheville’s art happenings and keeping up with artists even beyond our tiny city limits.

With that in mind, here are the artists that are most inspiring me right now:

Ida Floreak  I met Ida at school when I’d wander into the Illustration department at RISD. I loved her work then with all her classical still lives in progress. It’s so wonderful to follow where her work has gone. Making classical icon paintings out of everyday nature objects like a dried leaf or a broken egg shell. I am saving up to purchase one of her bug paintings someday soon.

Susanne Suflanda Konig Suflanda’s portrait tattoos are whimsical without being cutesy, and her images of hands are clearly Victorian inspired, but she makes them modern and distinctly her own.

Grainne Morton Even though Grainne has been making things for twenty years, I just found out about her this year. She was at the American Craft Council show in the Scotland section and I almost screamed when I saw her booth because it was so good. She is my favorite jeweler at the moment because she is making work like nobody else’s but it’s still really wearable. She is truly a master of this balance, along with looking timeless yet modern, fancy yet also a little kitschy.

Dan Dicaprio One piece was featured in the Penland Craft School catalog and I was in love. His insanely sculptural jewelry pieces look like alien creatures to me, but also very inviting and good-natured. Looking at his work reminds me to go bigger and more inventive when I’m feeling small and boring.

Elsa Mora She is probably my favorite living artist because she is so insanely productive. Whenever I take the time to look at what she’s up to, she has made a whole new body of work. She makes me want to get out art supplies right this very minute and just make something.