Stylized women with a cheeky look, inspired by comic books, anime and political cartoons, reflect a wicked sense of humor in Kim Ritter’s art quilts. Using innuendo to explore human emotions and social issues, her allegorical imagery is both narrative and conceptual, inviting multiple levels of interpretation. Kim holds City and Guild Certificates in Patchwork, Quilting, and Design from the London Institute of the Arts. She has art quilts in collections worldwide and her work has appeared in FiberArts Magazine, American Craft Magazine, Quilting Arts Magazine and FiberArts Design Book Six. Kim was also recently chosen one of 40 craft artists given the designation of “A Texas Original Artist” by the Texas Commission on the Arts. Kim lost her studio in Hurricane Ike in September, and HCCC was pleased to offer her a short-term residency through August 2009.

John Van Domelen was introduced to the lathe by his grandfather many years ago, John rediscovered the joy of handcrafting wood items. He uses the lathe as his primary tool, but his work is sometimes done off the lathe. John carves, burns, textures and dyes some pieces in order to further bring forth the beauty in the wood. He is a member of Gulf Coast Woodturners Association, American Association of Woodturners and the Wood Turning Center and has won numerous awards through the GCWA contests. He feels that his residency at HCCC will provide learning opportunities and the framework and structure to explore new ideas and push the envelope on what is considered woodturning.