Roll Call: The 2014 Starving Artists

We had a great response to our Call for Artists this year. Thanks to each and every artist who applied. The Starving Artist Committee was thoroughly impressed with the originality, dedication, aspirations and talents of the applicants.

The decision was tough but we are extremely excited to present to you the official list of astonishing Featured Artists and Spotlighted Artists.

2014 Featured Starving Artists

Gail Baxter

Bead Woven Jewelry, Ornaments and Key Chains

Nadia Brown

Oil on Canvas

Heather Bryant

Watercolors

Nate Chambers

Wood Carving

Katherine Crouse

Oil on Canvas

Sasha Egorova

Oil on Canvas

Lisa Ingram

Pottery

Gorg & Mindy Hubenthal- The Hook & Hammer

Custom Wood  Work, Furniture and Crochet/Knit Jewelry

Stephanie Kipfer

Jewelry and Sewn Accessories

Tobias Layman

Ceramics

Jane Lowery- Hoot Owl Creations

Crochet Wire Jewelry

June Manis

Lampwork Glass

Adam Sikes

Cigar Box Guitars

Ryan Smith

Photography

Erin Spangler

Pottery

Noel Thomas

Glasswork

Rex Treadaway

Metalwork

Phil Ward

Turned Wood

Spotlighted Artists*

Gena Flanigen

Photography

Brandi Gossett

Paintings

Jackie Milster

Pottery

Rome Art Coterie
Various Medias

by Melissa Harvil

Susanne Schuepbach

Jewelry

(Photo forthcoming)

*Additional Artists in this category to be announced by February 28th

Check back at our blog soon for a more in depth look at these artists and their work. For some, this will be their first show in Rome, Georgia, and for some, this is their third time participating in the Starving Artist Expo. We certainly have a beautiful variety of work to showcase from these artists so clear your calendar for Saturday, March 29th!

Let's Make Something Happen

This event started with a mission. It is a mission to feed. Feed the passionate. Feed the hungry. Feed the homeless, the forgotten and the lost.

We are called the Starving Artists. But let me say that no one that has participated in the show in the past has missed a meal lately. Our name jokingly refers to the stereotypical artist that is so broke they eat Ramen noodles, sleep on a mattress on the floor and ride the bus because they have no car. But, in America, if you are lucky enough to purchase art supplies, you are typically well fed and well dressed.

The Starving Starving Artists.

But that is not true for everyone.

So, while the first part of our mission is to connect the artist to the marketplace, the second part of our goal is to feed the hungry.

Local and abroad.

Locally, we have collected canned goods at our event and donated these to Impact Church to feed the homeless and to the Restoration Center that helps people transition back into the world after being released from prison. Both of these groups of people often have the fewest resources to work with to survive or make a place for themselves in the world. The food is collected from those who attend our show and put in the hands of those who need and appreciate it most right here in Rome, Ga.

To extend aid abroad, we support an organization called Next Generation Nepal.  This non-profit

group was founded to rescue trafficked children in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Some of these children are orphans and some have been separated from their parents through a veiled kidnapping scheme. NGN runs multiple orphanages in Nepal for children rescued from illegal orphanages and other terrible living situations where children are fed very little, hidden in small dark rooms, made to pan handle in the streets and given little or no medical attention. Many suffer from malnutrition. Some do not survive. NGN also works to reconnect and return kidnapped children to their parents. The Starving Artist Expo has supported this organization since 2013 through donations from our patrons. Proceeds from the 2014 event will continue to support this organization through sales of the book Little Princes and proceeds from sales of Spotlighted Artist's work.

Read more about the book written by NGN's founder here:
http://momastery.com/blog/2013/01/11/book-numero-uno/

All this is to say that this event is more than an art show. It's about making things happen. Making someone's dream to be an artist come true. Helping someone who has been released from prison get back on their feet and make a new start. And helping little tiny feet find their way home to their parents all the way over in Nepal.

So save the date, grab some canned goods each time you go to the grocery store and order Little Princes off amazon.

And you can make some great things happen by coming to an Art Show.