Festa Della Terra

Susan Brubaker Knapp

Fiber Artist, Author, Photographer

Susan Brubaker Knapp is a fiber artist, author, photographer, teacher, and host of “Quilting Arts TV,” which airs on many public TV stations across the U.S. Her work celebrates and documents the deep mysteries of the world that are to be experienced only by close inspection of the miraculous details of nature. Most of her art is realistic/representational in style, and starts with original photographs of the subjects, or her ink drawings based on them. She uses two primary techniques – wholecloth painting, and fused appliqué – and often heavily free-motion thread sketches the surface before quilting.

Mitchener Howell

Opera Singer

Mitchener Howell, a native of Durham, NC and a product of Durham Public Schools. graduated from Yale University, where he founded the Yale College Opera Company. He served many roles with this company, organizing and directing its well-received inaugural production, Handel's Giulio Cesare.

Howell then focused on performing, and had several notable successes during his tenure at Yale including the role of Astolf in Schubert's rarely performed opera Die Verschworenen, featured soloist on the Yale Glee Club's European tour, and the role of the Duke of Dunstable in Gilbert and Sullivan's farcical opera Patience. He participated in master classes with guest artists, including renowned baritone William Warfield, soprano Virginia Zeani, tenor Jerry Hadley, and opera and musical theater composer Adam Guettel.

In 2004 Howell had the honor of soloing for Richard Brodhead’s inauguration as president of Duke University. He went on to earn his master's degree from the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver in 2006, garnering praise for his interpretation of Fenton in Nicolai’s The Merry Wives of Windsor.

After graduation, Mitchener began performing roles with opera companies in the Triangle area. He has sung Bastian in Mozart’s Bastian and Bastianne, and a concert of Mozart operas for Capitol Opera Raleigh. Mr. Howell has also worked with Long Leaf Opera as Jazz in Blitzstein’s masterpiece, Regina, and covered the role of Ed in the premiere of Carter Chandler’s brooding, blues-infused opera, Strange Fruit.

Recent performances include the Vicar in Meredith College's (Raleigh) production of Britten’s sole comedic opera, Albert Herring (starring Metropolitan Opera soprano Claudia Waite), Alexis in The Sorcerer, Captain Fitzbattleaxe in Utopia, Ltd, and Ralph Rackstraw in the HMS Pinafore with the Durham Savoyards'. Mr. Howell has previously sung a co-recital with Jay Pierson for the Strobilus Chamber Music Series, and was excited to recently make an international debut as Don Ottavio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with the Young Artist Project in Italy. Mr. Howell’s performed his most recent recital entitled, “A Spring Awakening” (featuring music of Ravel, Grieg, Verdi and William Grant Still) with the St. Luke’s Artist Series.

Ronan Peterson

Nine Toes Pottery

Ronan Kyle Peterson grew up in Poplar, NC, a small community deep in the mountains of western North Carolina. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and in 1996 received a Bachelor of the Arts degree in Anthropology, with a minor in Folklore. He was a Core Fellow at Penland School of Crafts in 2000-2001, and has returned to Penland to teach Summer Session workshops. Currently, Ronan maintains Nine Toes Pottery, which produces highly decorative and functional earthenware vessels. His work has been featured in both Ceramics Monthly and Clay Times, and the books 500 Bowls and 500 Plates and Chargers. Recent exhibitions include solo shows at the Cedar Creek Gallery (NC) and Charlie Cummings Gallery (FL) and invitational shows at the Northern Clay Center as part of the American Pottery Festival 2020 and 2021, Akar Gallery Yunomi Invitational 2020, Worcester Center for Crafts in Worcester, MA, and the Carbondale Clay Center in Carbondale, CO.

R. Scott Horner

Abstract Painter

"My abstract paintings are guided by chance and accidental discovery. They embrace the chaos and regularity, the calm entropy that pushes and pulls the world around us. By methodically layering thick and thin skins of paint, old events are covered up, sometimes rediscovered through transparency or scratch-throughs. In this way, the art builds its own history, allowing the viewers to read into it many stories.

While I avoid direct representation, it is easy to see the landscape in much of my work. The natural world affects much of what I do. I often grab colors, forms and other influences from nature, but the marks I make are more reaction to that than representation. During the mark-making process, I discover unique and appealing aspects of the painting. I liken it to wandering the woods and discovering an interesting pattern in fallen branches or a newly-eroded creek bank, and wanting to share that experience with others. After much layering and editing, the result is a painting that sometimes surprises me in its uniqueness and beauty."

Natalia Favorsky

Artist

Natalia Favorsky is a local artist who lives and works in Chapel Hill. She was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia and moved to the USA in 2009. She graduated from Saint Petersburg State University of Culture and Art in 2005. Since her youth, she loved Art, loved to try different techniques, and draw illustrations. Before moving to North Carolina, she lived in Houston, Texas. There she studied at Glassell School of Art and participated in various exhibitions. Natalia’s favorite artists are Claude Monet, Salvador Dali and Van Gogh. She was especially interested in Van Gogh’s ink sketches, and from copying these drawings, her passion for Ink as an art media began. She also likes a combination of Ink and Watercolor, and enjoys creating painting using Acrylic.

Jay Cunningham, Rocky Kramm and Dave Smith

Knee Deep

KneeDeep is an acoustic trio that does mostly originals and some unique cover arrangements. Musically, our sound ranges from rootsy Americana to bluesy jazz – yeah, so basically everything! Our songs are carefully worked out with excellent guitar and bass parts and great 3-part vocal harmony.
If you’re not familiar with KneeDeep, click here to have a look at some of our YouTube videos at:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMrU7bHQoHkdZ1BD6D6p8Wi2gJGTCETrz

Personnel:
Dave Smith - guitar and vocals
Rocky Kramm - guitar and vocals
Jay Cunningham - bass and vocals

Charlotte Hord Smith

Artist

Charlotte Hord Smith is a Carrboro-based artist who creates one-of-a-kind fabric designs she sews onto handmade paper or onto small teabags. Each creation is unique and a little quirky. In order to share them with more people, she turns her favorite images into notecards and large format 5”x7” postcards.

Shelly Hehenberger

Artist

I have been a working and teaching artist since 1994 when I completed a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Painting from the University of Cincinnati. I have exhibited widely in the Carolinas since moving to the South in 2000. The various mediums I use include oil and cold wax medium on wood, acrylic mixed media on paper, and digitally created illustration. My work can be seen at Frank Gallery on Main Street in Carrboro, where I am an active member. I have been a teacher of Mixed Media and Photoshop at the ArtsCenter in Carrboro since 2024.

shellyhehenberger@gmail.com
Master of Fine Arts, University of Cincinnati, 1994
Batchelor of Fine Arts, Indiana University, 1990

David Hinkle

Artist

"My practice for the past 20 years has revolved around creating beautiful and functional outside spaces, structures and environments, while collaborating with some of the best designers, artisans, builders and plant professionals in the area.

I have always been a craftsman. As a kid I would build forts in the woods behind my house and carve small animals out of wood, creating worlds with my hands and my imagination. I also have  a love of sketching, drawing, and coloring. It is something I have always done. Later in High School in Western Pennsylvania I was introduced and trained in the art and discipline of drafting and mechanical drawing.  Many, many hours were spent at a drafting table honing the skills needed to draw complex and communicative drawings. My training as a Landscape Architect started after college when I worked on my masters degree at North Carolina State School of Design. A residential design-build studio with Will Hooker provided me with an introduction to Permaculture principles and techniques, along with strong residential design-build fundamentals. Will's studio, plus my involvement with the interdisciplinary student environmental design group ECOS LOGOS, pointed me down the path that I would follow for the next 25 years.  

My construction experience began while working for Will Alphin at Alphin Design Build (http://redesign.build) as I was finishing my graduate work at the School of Design. Will's attention to detail and passion for design build was an inspiration and a path that appealed to me and my senses. It was during this time that I  learned and honed the skills that I would use in my own design build practice. Plumb, level and square ( I added Patience ) became the basis for everything."

Barry Feiler

Barry Feiler studied art and architecture at Cornell University and is a high honors graduate of Rhode Island School of Design. He has shown his work in museums and galleries in Boston, Amsterdam and New York City.

Barry has worked as a mask maker for various dance groups, opera companies. rock n' roll bands, and theatre companies, including Bread and Puppet Theatre in northern Vermont and the Playmakers Theatre in Chapel Hill, NC.