Mason Owens’ paintings capture the subtle, transitory nature of everyday life, focusing on the intimate moments shared with friends and loved ones. His work, imbued with nostalgia, humor, and childlike curiosity, transports viewers into landscapes where ordinary scenes are transformed by the warmth of memory. Owens’ practice—now part of the "Land and Longing" virtual exhibition—combines egg tempera with a playful, experimental approach, translating the magic of these fleeting experiences into timeless pieces.

Jena Thomas’s thought-provoking work bridges the gap between human nature and the natural world. In the Land and Longing virtual exhibition, Thomas delves into how humanity idealizes nature and creates artificial environments, capturing the transient collision between the two. Through emotive abstractions and surreal landscapes, her work challenges us to reconsider how we relate to both the world around us and the marks we leave upon it. Discover more about her unique approach and thematic explorations in this featured artist profile.

Serena Perrone's work weaves together themes of dislocation, loss, and transformation through an exploration of landscape, natural phenomena, and the symbolism of material culture. Featured in the “Land and Longing” exhibition, Perrone’s multifaceted practice, which spans printmaking, sculpture, and photography, is a reflection on the deep emotional ties between place and memory. Her pieces evoke the poetic and metaphoric potential of the natural world, inviting viewers to contemplate the complex narratives of displacement and nostalgia.

Featured in Create! Magazine’s Land and Longing virtual exhibition, Kara Taylor’s richly layered works explore psychological depth, impermanence, and symbolism. Blending oil, photomontage, encaustic, and assemblage, Taylor channels personal and universal cycles of holding on and letting go—revealing an emotional landscape shaped by memory, nature, and shifting identities.

Cameron Bailey’s layered woodblock prints evoke the ephemeral nature of memory and landscape, blending traditional Japanese techniques with tonal atmospheres inspired by Western art history. As part of Land and Longing, Create! Magazine’s virtual exhibition, Bailey’s work explores how time, place, and emotion merge through color and impression.

Yuan Butler’s work embodies the intersection of cultural heritage and personal exploration, where abstraction meets figuration to evoke the power of mythology and nature. Featured in the Land and Longing virtual exhibition, Butler’s art delves into the mysteries of water and female forms, creating an immersive dialogue that invites viewers to reflect on the fluid myths of time and space. Her paintings offer a glimpse into her internal landscape, where intuition, nature, and identity converge in an ever-evolving, meditative practice.

In her hauntingly beautiful photography series "WAS IT JUST A DREAM?", Los Angeles artist T.B.H. layers moments from Southern California and Spain into accidental but evocative double exposures. Featured in the Land and Longing exhibition, her work invites reflection on memory, impermanence, and the transformative potential of mistakes. Through this dreamlike merging of time and place, T.B.H. challenges us to consider what it means to remember—and reimagine—the past.

In her feature for Land and Longing, Rainey Straus shares The Old Growth Project, a multidisciplinary body of work that merges technology, ecology, and ritual. Through LiDAR scans of California’s redwoods and embodied observation, Straus paints the presence of trees beyond human-centered narratives, inviting us to consider new ways of relating to the natural world. Her work unearths beauty and urgency in the forest’s voice, resonating with themes of loss, reciprocity, and reverence.

Sharon Wensel’s art invites us into moments of stillness, healing, and reflection through vibrant scenes inspired by the natural world. Following a return to painting later in life, her work now appears in Create! Magazine’s Land and Longing exhibition, celebrating the deep emotional resonance found in nature’s beauty.

Elisha Enfield’s evocative paintings draw from the rich history of human rituals, blending themes of fire, funerary rites, and remembrance. In her works, she examines how we navigate grief, celebrate life, and honor those who are no longer with us. Featured in the Land and Longing virtual exhibition, Enfield’s paintings invite viewers to reflect on the interplay of memory and myth in the human experience.

Brooklyn-born artist Nora Wiley-Schwartz blends personal memories with artistic exploration, focusing on nostalgia and domesticity in her paintings. With works that evoke a sense of quiet reflection, Wiley-Schwartz invites viewers to appreciate the beauty in everyday life. Featured in the "Land and Longing" exhibition, her latest work draws from landscapes tied to her childhood and artistic retreats, bridging the gap between urban life and natural environments.

Painter Gillian Wainwright shares insight into her latest body of work, created over four years within the ever-changing microcosm of her backyard. Influenced by light, season, and her love for working from life, Wainwright's paintings have shifted from realism to gestural abstraction. Now on view as part of the Land and Longing exhibition, her work speaks to the intimate connection between observation, memory, and place.

Natalie Dunham’s studio practice is grounded in process, precision, and a reverence for craftsmanship. Working primarily in three-dimensional material studies composed of accumulated geometric forms, Dunham draws inspiration from the gridded rural landscapes of her childhood in Lancaster, PA. Her work invites viewers to pause, reflect, and rediscover the extraordinary within the everyday.

Kendra Dandy’s vibrant artwork mixes humor and deep emotion, using the cheetah as a personal symbol of her feelings and experiences. Her playful, mood-driven creations challenge the conventions of self-expression, inviting viewers to connect with their own emotions. Featured in collaborations with major brands like Marc Jacobs and Vans, Kendra’s unique style blends vintage design, nature, and post-impressionist art, creating a dynamic conversation in every piece.

Gabrielle Preziose is a commercial and editorial fashion photographer based in NJ/NYC known for her striking, avant-garde aesthetic. Drawing influence from vintage fashion and surrealist art, Gabrielle brings a distinctive vision to her lifestyle, portrait, and product photography. Her work is a celebration of color, pattern, and emotion—crafted with a meticulous eye and a passion for storytelling.

Lisa Wright’s multimedia practice is rooted in resistance, reinvention, and the power of unexpected materials. Raised in Littleton, Colorado, Wright first felt the urgency of storytelling during the Columbine shooting—an experience that continues to inform her politically charged work. From tampons to birthday candles, her unconventional materials speak volumes, disrupting expectations and inviting viewers to reconsider what art can say and how it says it. Through sculpture, photography, printmaking, and collage, Wright crafts striking visual commentaries that provoke thought, spark dialogue, and challenge the dominant narrative.

Step into the imaginative world of Bella Wattles, a self-taught artist whose maximalist still life paintings transform everyday objects into playful, symbolic characters. Inspired by nostalgia, storytelling, and the drama of stage lighting, Wattles creates emotional vignettes that blur the line between the ordinary and the fantastical. Her compositions invite viewers to rediscover wonder in the unexpected.

Lauren E. Peters’ work delves into the performance and construction of identity through the lens of self-portraiture. Drawing from both historical and personal influences, her art explores gender, the notion of “costumes” as armor, and the complex navigation of self-definition. In this feature, we explore how Peters combines vibrant colors and rich symbolism to challenge traditional narratives and invite a new visual language that exists beyond societal binaries. Explore her journey and upcoming work in the issue 51 of Create! Magazine.

In her multifaceted works, Moyan Wang combines ceramics, painting, and sculpture to create powerful metaphors for unspoken stories tied to China's collective memory and the experience of diaspora. As an MFA student at UNC-Chapel Hill, Wang explores the intersections of personal and societal trauma, evoking a deep sense of history through rich, culturally significant materials. Her work speaks to themes of gender, immigration, surveillance, and the weight of silence, as she creates a layered narrative of resistance and resilience.

Reno-based artist Beck Baumann transforms sequins and recycled materials into whimsical sculptures rooted in childhood memories and creative freedom. Her work reimagines discarded objects as vessels of beauty and wonder, radiating color, joy, and unexpected charm.