“My tipping point occurred when I met my high school mentor and art teacher, Mr. Worthington. He presented art, and the value of dedicating oneself to a rigorous discipline, as a portal to understanding and engaging a myriad of intersections that bond, unite, and transcend experience and awareness. In other words, Worthington could routinely present Rembrandt or Cezanne, link one or the other to the athleticism of the Olympics, and bundle it all into a poem by Dylan Thomas. He presented art as this all-inclusive arena of understanding and self actualization. I signed the dotted line and went all in.”

“I grew up in an artistic household. My mother is a stained glass artist, and my parents ran a stained glass business throughout my growing up. As a result, I've always has a special appreciation for the interaction of line and shape and the intersection of geometric and organic forms. Color and light and how they are manipulated have also always keenly interested me. I don't know that there has very been a time when others didn't refer to me as an artist, so I suppose the answer is always. I try to instill that same mindset into my students. If you are creating, you are an artist!”

Angela Wilson is a playwright and director and the founder The Angel Wing Project (AWP), a non-profit theatre company with a mission to “positively impact our community by providing uplifting, entertaining shows and events to inspire appreciation for and participation in the arts.” Since 2017, AWP has been a resident theatre company at CAC, bringing important shows such as ‘Tears of the Soul,’ Angela’s original play voted “Festival Favorite” at the DC Black Theatre and Arts Festival in 2019, and August Wilson’s ‘Fences.’ to the stage.

I painted my first watercolor piece of a family of elephants to display in my son's room when he was an infant. That's when I knew I wanted to create more art. I dabbled in watercolor a few times a year, usually in the spring, taking a year off every now and then. Last fall, interest really took off when I took a break as a classroom teacher.

Austin Bell is a Glen Burnie resident, sales rep, Dad and what I like to call an accidental artist. One day, his fiancé shared her love for live edge river tables, so Austin decided to purchase one for her. Then he saw the enormous price tag and decided to learn how to do it himself! Since then, Austin has dedicated his weekends to his side-gig, Bell Woodworking Products. His IG description reads “Building dream furniture, one piece at a time.” Here’s his story: