Donna Armstrong was a bookkeeper already planning her second (post-retirement) act, but her epiphany came when her Brazilian exchange student gave her an amethyst. A follow-up trip to Oro Preto, a Brazilian village in the heart of the gem trade, put Donna on her new path. Studying at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) she earned diplomas as a Color Stones Graduate, Diamonds Graduate, and a Graduate Gemologist; she also belongs to numerous metal guilds—and her work in reticulated silver is second to none. Her pieces are clean, simple, and eternally elegant, inspired by her pristine Idaho surroundings and showcasing some of the world’s most beautiful stones. Come to Third Thursday and hear Donna explain the intricacies of fusing metal, along with some secrets of the gem world…

As a high school student, Carolanne Stalteri fell in love with a ring she couldn’t possibly afford—so she taught herself how to make it. And with that, this classically trained pianist had found her passion—creating mixed metal, stunningly intricate jewelry. Carolanne’s work routinely encompasses multiple metals, three types of gold, and up to nine stones, not to mention Japanese techniques like Mokume Gane and Shibuichi. Each piece is a work of finely crafted art with striking individuality, making it a mention a showstopper to wear. Come to our first Third Thursday of the spring season, meet Carolanne, and take a closer look.

Mimi started her artistic life as a textile artist, specializing in pillows, custom baby blankets, and mixed-media wall sculptures made from myriad materials, including African mud cloth. Her recent turn to collage, however, has been a unqualified success; by applying acrylic paint to exotic papers, adding texture with stamps she carves herself, and stitching pieces together like quilts, she creates an astonishing depth of color and raises layering to, well, an art form.  
Come to our Third Thursday event to see Mimi in action.

These may look like woven baskets, but Rich Lopez's hand thrown, hand-carved ceramic sculptures hold up much better! Five decades ago, the California native of Spanish and Yaqui ancestry discovered the awesome power of clay—rendered even more powerful when it later saved him from alcoholism. But it was a fortuitous dream that caused him to rise at 3 am, pick up a steak knife and a grinder, and fashion the tool that has—literally—shaped all his baskets. Come to our first Third Thursday Art Night of 2024 and see how he does it! 

Born in Sedona, now boasting studios in Prescott and Cave Creek, Sarah Foster studied drama, music, and costume design, but has been making mixed metal jewelry for over two decades. She works in silver, gold, copper, and a variety of bronzes, blending in countless stones and textures, and creating airy, versatile, infinitely wearable pieces that have become her signature style. Come join us on Third Thursday Art Night, meet the artist, and see her latest work! 

Julie Hemer has been drawing, painting, sewing, and creating all her life; even as an English teacher with a music degree she ran a pencil-portrait side business. But the artistic polymath prefers her canvases three dimensional. Whether it’s sculpting, painting, drawing, wood-burning, or making mosaics on both her gourds and wall sculptures, her myriad techniques bring her mixed media work alive. Come learn some of her secrets at the second Third Thursday of the Carefree art season. 

Throughout her fifty-year career, the much-awarded watercolor and oil painter Jeanne Bonine has exhibited at numerous museums and was a long-time fixture at the Arizona Fine Art Expo. Her collectors span the globe. Other than taking a single oil painting class five decades ago, Jeanne is a self-taught painter, but her staggering technique makes her a local legend. No matter the medium, Jeanne uses vibrant colors and exacting fluidity to set florals aflame with light and energy. Come to our Third Thursday opener to see Jeanne in action.