Alissa Hansen, a resident of Wahoo Nebraska, grew up in Overland Park, Kansas. In 2004, she received her Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art, with an emphasis in drawing, from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. In May of 2005 she moved to Denver and quickly fell in love with the area. After 13 years in Colorado, Alissa made the decision to move to Nebraska, with her husband and children, to be closer to family after her mother’s dementia diagnosis.

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Though my artwork goes through phases, I always find myself returning to the themes of place and human connection. I am interested in people and their stories, whether it is a relative, whose life I know intimately, or a stranger passing by. I am constantly scanning and observing my surroundings. Much of my art is a personal record of these observations – filtered through my own eyes, emotions, and imagination, of course. By drawing and painting these moments of pause, I’m allowed to linger with them a bit longer. I like to allow the viewer to personally connect with my art, while leaving room in my work for them to create their own narrative about the subject.

https://www.alissahansen.com

Anna Stoysich is a potter and painter who was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, and now lives nearby in the Loess Hills of Malvern, Iowa. She graduated from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln in 2002 with a BFA and an emphasis in ceramics. She spent the following 14 years working in the United States and abroad. She was an artist in residence at the Archie Bray Foundation and Watershed, a studio assistant at Penland School of Craft and apprenticed to wood fired ceramicist, Chris Gustin, in South Dartmouth, MA. She also was a Montessori teacher in rural North Carolina and Mexico and later became a caretaker for her grandfather on the family farm in southwest Iowa.

https://annastoysich.com/

Aspen Polly Hansen, originally from Denver, has lived in Wahoo, Nebraska since 2019. Her favorite medium to work in is Prismacolor colored pencils, because of their bold color, smooth texture, and precision. She is inspired by realism and enjoys watching tutorials to learn techniques from other artists. She has received multiple commissions from people wanting portraits of their pets. Still in her teens, she is saving money for college with future plans to study art and archeology. She devotes hours each week to practicing and improving her drawing skills. “I love art” she says, “I have as long as I can remember. My mom is an artist, so naturally, I’ve grown up doing art and being creative. Art is a part of me and my life. If someone were to tell me to stop doing art, it would be like telling me to stop breathing. It brings me and others joy and that is why I love it.”

Aspen M. Laboy (they/them) is an interdisciplinary artist from Omaha, Nebraska working in poetry, glass sculpting, installation, and film photography. Exploring concepts of environmentalism, internal identity, and cultural heritage, they are influenced by nature, science, and philosophy. Aspen has three published books; “Spirit” (2017), “The Quiet Lion” (2018), and “I MATTER” (2022). They co-hosted the poetry workshop “Corner’s Space” at KANEKO and have performed poetry in various galleries. In 2023, several of their selected poems were aired on “Friday Live” with Nebraska Public Media through NPR. Their work has been exhibited at MoonRise Gallery, Fleabane Gallery, Goldsmith Silversmith, LUX Center for the Arts, Generator Space, Family of Things, and Union Street Gallery. Currently, Aspen is one of the selected artists for the Alternate Currents Cohort through Amplify Arts. In addition, they were awarded a scholarship for Penland School of Craft to attend in Summer of 2024.

I grew up on a farm outside of Malvern, Iowa. Graduated from college with a degree in art education with an emphasis in ceramics, painting, and drawing. I taught art at Papillion Junior High for thirty-eight years. I currently lead art workshops, make wheel thrown pottery, take photographs, garden, and make some art.

Art is everywhere. The images are already here. Painting is allowing the fleeting to become visible through color, technique, and style. Through creating we come to appreciate the richness and the possibilities of the images in a world that surrounds us.

I paint subjects that interest me and challenge what I think I know and see. I try to expand my skills by exploring media in and out of my comfort zone. I often say- “Why not?”

Bill Hoover’s art is a dynamic synthesis of both his interior and exterior worlds. Using oil paint, charcoal, graphite, and textures like sand, he builds up his paintings using shapes, colors both muted and bright, and texture till he arrives at a place that is fresh, unpredictable, and meditative.

His work is widely collected throughout the United States and is featured in many private collections.

http://billhooverart.com

My focus for my work revolves around my own innate desire to connect to the natural world. I focus on subjects in nature that I personally find beauty and calmness in. In 2020, like a lot of people, I started growing plants. What originally began as something that helped me deal with my anxiety, became a way of reconnecting to nature.

It started with some houseplants and led to trying outdoor gardening. Then I found the North American pitcher plant. There are a total of 66 species of carnivorous plants that grow in North America, in a wide variety of climates. Utricularia minor is one that can even be found in small pockets of wetlands in Nebraska. The North American pitcher plant Sarracenia is a genus dominant in many parts of the country. It has been so rewarding growing and experiencing these plants, it quickly became my favorite plant to grow. While not native to Nebraska, Sarracenia are a cold hardy perennial, Sarracenia purpurea can be found growing natively as far up north as Canada.

My current body of work is a focus on frogs and carnivorous plants, and their place in our ecosystems. Both frogs and carnivorous plants are considered indicator species, and their presence or absence in their respective ecosystems is representative of the health of those ecosystems. With the state of the world, global climate change and habitat loss has greatly impacted their native ecosystems, both species are suffering the consequences. Frogs in particular are very sensitive to changes in their ecosystems. Amphibians have a unique morphology that allows for nutrients to be delivered across their skin through transdermal uptake, and unfortunately due to this they are especially vulnerable to the increased rates of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, as well as chemical contaminants such as pesticides and herbicides. Carnivorous plants are most susceptible to habitat loss, as well as poaching. The species known as Darlingtonia California is endemic to California and Oregon, but due to human development they are now secluded to small ranges in those states. With my paintings I hope to inspire people to reflect on their ecological impact, and how our modern capitalist society has affected our natural ecosystems, as well as gain an appreciation for animals and plants they may not see in their everyday life.

Cherine Bishara lives in Omaha, NE. Born in Iowa City, she attended the University of Iowa and received a BFA with an emphases in ceramics, printmaking, and a certification in art education. Cherine has diverse life, work, and personal experience. Her art is a reflection of her processing of those experiences and whatever else may land outside of her head.

Chris Machian was born in the diverse, working class community of South Omaha in Nebraska. Rather than receiving an allowance, Machian managed a paper route at age 10, teaching him the value of hard work. The after-school job also launched Machian’s love affair with the news. As a child he often read more than just the comics in the Omaha World-Herald, where he would later become a staff photographer. He attended college at the University of Nebraska at Omaha where soon his work started appearing in USA Today and the Sporting News.

Later he earned Master’s degree from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and is a licensed drone pilot.

Now Machian’s word be seen in Sports Illustrated, the Washington Post and even the front page of the New York Times. His style is one of accurate representation with little disruption.

https://photo.machianphoto.com/

Omaha Nebraska Self portrait by Omaha World-Herald photographer Chris Machian at TD Ameritrade Park. CHRIS MACHIAN/THE WORLD-HERALD

A Nebraska Native who grew up in Omaha, Glenda has been surrounded by craftsman and artists since birth. Given a free moment she has always preferred to work with her hands, creating something that she and others could enjoy.

“I seem to eat, sleep and dream art. It’s a rare moment when I’m not contemplating my next painting or wearable art design. My mother used to tell me that I would wear out my hands”

Since her college years at the University of Nebraska, Glenda has worked in several styles and mediums. The creative process has seen her paintings evolve from photo realism to a mix of realism and a more painterly and expessive statements. By incorporating feathers and found objects, the viewer is able to bring their own interpretation and memories to her visual story. Her jewelry combines many bead techniques reminiscent of Native American influence.

“As time passes, I hope to share what I see as my spritual journey through the Nebraska landscape.”

Gregory is an abstract artist based in the Midwest. When possible, he loves to find discarded canvases and inject them with new life. His artistic journey began as an internal search for creative outlets, self-exploration, and fulfillment, which he found through the physical act of painting and the visual result of his actions.

Gregory’s art is a visual exploration of the interplay between space, texture, and movement. He uses the fluidity of paint, bold brushstrokes, dynamic forms, and an array of colors to create pieces that are both expansive and intimate, spontaneous, and intentional. He is fascinated by the way textures and shapes can transform a two-dimensional canvas into a three-dimensional world, evoking a sense of depth and complexity that seeks to draw the viewer in. When he’s not painting, you can find Gregory traveling with his wife or perfecting his amazing Detroit-style pizza recipe, which is his other passion and work of art.

https://www.gregorymatthewart.com/

J.J. Carroll graduated from Parsons School of Design.  He spent two decades working on animation for both television and film, later concentrating as the artist on licensed cellular phone video games. In 2005 a commercial project for Wendy’s that he produced won a London’s D&AD award. J.J. currently owns and operates CHOICE custom framing & gallery in Benson.

Within the sphere of nature, I create works of art in observation of our innate and sacred connection to it, a necessary bond for our humanity. My drawings are narratives with nature, I am the scribe recording my perspective of the stories relayed. Using plant and animal symbols such as the ginkgo leaf and turtle, universal and ancient symbols like the labyrinth and the heart shape, and sacred geometry such as the spiral of life, I design modern day totems within paintings, sculpture, jewelry, and clothing to have and also to wear as personal empowerment and inspirational healing tools which serve as reminders of, tethers to, our individual and collective place in the journey through this life.

Photography is an absolute passion; a window on the world through my eyes and others. It is hard to express the feelings of lying on the ground shooting upwards into and elephant’s eyes, or the glory of a brilliant field of canola dapples with shadows of sun and clouds. Wishing each photo is a meaning unique to each individual. Is photography the truth? The truth is how you see it.

I love photographing landscapes, but the beauty of flowers, the mystery of night, a person’s expression intrigue me as well. I hope you enjoy my photographs!

I enjoy combining my photography skills, education in graphics, and love of painting to create both traditional pieces and mixed-media digital works of art. Using all disciplines enables me to diversify my style. My first love will always be abstracts. I create these with more of a feeling rather than starting with a vision of the end result.  As I get older, I find myself leaning toward more of a modern style of work. The less complicated feel and composition, appeals to my “less is more” aesthetic.  I am an optimist and generally positive person. I focus on creating art that is colorful, has movement, light and uplifting. There’s enough darkness in the world, I choose “HAPPY”!

https://www.woitzelphotography.com/

I’m an artist currently located on the unceded land of the Umónhon & the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ in Nebraska.

I like to paint and draw with whatever materials I have on hand. Those usually include inks, acrylics, pastels, watercolors and spray paint on watercolor paper and canvas.

I also enjoy carving on wood and lino blocks to create original prints in my home studio.

My work is an expression of my combined anger at our nation, a love of the people and the land, and dreams of what kind of world I want my child to grow up in.

I’m a member of the Oglala Lakota Nation. I often use bison as a symbol of the Lakota spirit, the power of our endangered natural world, and a righteous, powerful force for what America should be. I regularly combine other traditional Native images, like the ones used by my grandfather Donald D. Ruleaux, with images of current issues facing indigenous peoples and the world today.

In addition to creating visual art, I’m also a classically trained actor. I received my MFA in Theatre from the University of Houston’s School of Theatre and Dance after I finished my BA in Theatre Performance at the Johnny Carson School of Theatre & Film at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

https://nathanielruleaux.com/

Peggy Krist has a talent for expressing the beauty occurring in our natural world that moves our senses to feel the interconnectedness we all share with the Earth and all within it. Whether it be a simple pair of cardinals gracing her backyard or a moonlit landscape of majestic mountains, Peggy captures the feeling of that moment so gracefully with her oils and canvas.

Hello, My name is Shannan Hejhal. I love being a local artist and showing my stuff at MoonRise Gallery. I’ve always been interested in art and writing. I hope you enjoy my work, and thanks.

Stephanie Sleeper has been a graphic artist for longer than she is willing to reveal. Think pre-Apple. With the encouragement of an artist friend and her husband Steve, she began painting in February of 2020.

Stephanie works in watercolor, acrylic, ink, as well as collage materials. Her artistic influences include Georgia O’Keeffe, Paul Klee, Nicholas Wilton, Louise Fletcher.

Stephanie and Steve have two daughters and three grandchildren. She is excited to be part of the MoonRise Family.

I was born in LeMars, Iowa, but have lived much of my life in Omaha, Nebraska. My pottery training began in the College of Art and Technology in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England.

Upon my return to the United States, I studied ceramics at Northwest Missouri State University under Russell Schmaljohn, then at the University of Nebraska at Omaha under Henry Serenco, graduating with a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts degree.

I entered a career in public education with the Omaha Public Schools and spent 30 years teaching, and in the administration of the school district. During this time, I continued my love of pottery, working and developing my skills, showing in national and regional shows and selling ware in retail outlets, craft shows and independently.

I currently work from my studio located in Omaha. This has allowed me to take in independent study students and to rent space for others to work in my studio. I have expanded my opportunities by traveling to enter into shows and sell my ware in Colorado, Iowa, and Nebraska.

https://crescentmoonpottery.com/