Featured Artists
January 2022
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Coming Soon
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February 2022
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KATE CARPENTER
"Mrs. Kate" Carpenter is a folksinger, songwriter and storyteller who recently relocated to Grant County from Florida. A prolific songwriter, she has recorded 12 CD's and produced several children's music videos. Mrs. Kate engages her audience with puppetry and riveting storytelling as she sings her original songs, playing a bright blue acoustic guitar.
"My mission statement is simple," says Mrs. Kate. "I love to make people happy with my music." "Mrs. Kate" is an award-winning children's entertainer. Building character through folk music, her "Motivate with Mrs. Kate" show has inspired youngsters worldwide in over 600 schools and libraries. She also enjoys entertaining senior citizens and wowing festival audiences with her interactive shows. "Mrs. Kate" is delighted to call Marion her new home and has started writing Indiana songs and booking local performances. For more information, visit www.MrsKate.com or email her at [email protected] |
March 2022
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SAMANTHA WILLIAMS (A.K.A. SAMMY KAY)
Sammy Kay is a folk-pop singer-songwriter currently pursuing her music career in Nashville, Tennessee. Her music inspirations include Ingrid Michaelson, Ruston Kelly, and Taylor Swift. She is well-known in her home state of Indiana, where she has performed at numerous venues since the age of 11. Sammy recently graduated from Belmont University in Nashville, where she studied songwriting and music business. She is honored to have such a supportive community through Fusion Alliance.
Sammy is releasing her new EP titled ‘12th Avenue’ on March 11th across all music streaming platforms. It features her 3 latest singles, as well as the unheard title track “12th Avenue”. Her EP release full band show is being held at Cabana Taps in Nashville, TN March 11th @ 9:30pm. |
April 2022
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Kathy Gersdorff
Kathy Chaffin Gerstorff is an indie author, poet, and entrepreneur from Anderson, Indiana. Kathy loves Mounds State Park (MSP). She considers MSP the highlight of her hometown. She published a children’s book about MSP, wrote many poems about MSP, and is working on a historical fiction novel set at MSP. Other than a few years in Blackford County, Kathy has lived in Grant County since 1976. Kathy loves to write poetry for good causes. She has contributed to and published several anthologies to help support charities and projects, from national child abuse prevention campaigns to nature education and conservation. Kathy served on the Barton Rees Pogue Poetry Festival Committee and judged poetry competitions for five years. In addition to being a Fusion Arts Alliance member, Kathy is a member of the Alliance of Independent Authors and the Poetry Society of Indiana. Kathy is a lifelong student and is currently working towards a BA degree in Creative Writing at Colorado Christian University (CCU). She chose CCU because one of her favorite authors, Jerry B. Jenkins, created the curriculum. When Kathy is not writing, studying, or helping technophobic writers get published, she loves to read, hike at MSP, swim at the Y, spend quality time with family, take nature photos, and blow bubbles! To learn more about Kathy, writing, and indie publishing, visit writerkat.com. |
May 2022
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Coming Soon
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June 2022
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Coming Soon
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July 2022
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GARY REESE
I try to communicate a feeling or emotion, mine or someone elses. It can be positive or negative. Be it in a photo or in silver&stone. You have to feel it, it can't be taught in a classroom, though some claim it can. There is a part of you in what you create. If you know my work, you know me.
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August 2022
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Coming Soon
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September 2022
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Coming Soon
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October 2022
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Coming Soon
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November 2022
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Coming Soon
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December 2022
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Coming Soon
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January 2021
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Coming Soon
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February 2021
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Coming Soon
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March 2021
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Coming Soon
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April 2021
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Coming Soon
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May 2021
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Deb Geyer
QUILTER Artist Statement “I cannot count my day complete until needle, thread, and fabric meet.” I have loved sewing and textiles since I was a child. I earned a degree in Industrial Design from Purdue University and work in the museum field. Currently, I am director at The Quilters Hall of Fame in Marion, Indiana. This job is a sweet blending of two of my favorite academics, quilting and history. I often find my own art heavily influenced by the work of the honorees I am presenting on or by the work hanging in the museum at the time. |
June 2021
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Creative Arts Hearts Studio
ARTISTS |
July 2021
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Krissy Scchroder / AstroTide Photography
PHOTOGRAPHY Artist Statement Local Marion, IN based Artist, Krissy Schroeder, has been honing her skills in photography since 2018. She specializes in creative portraits, weddings, and landscape photography. She’s passionate about capturing the beauty of the world and aspires to make this her career. Krissy loves that capturing photos seems to make time stand still. She loves the art of photography because she can cherish those moments for years to come. Also, Krissy loves how photography allows her to meet and connect with people. She loves adventuring outdoors, spending time with her family, and binge watching her shows. She hopes her photography allows her to travel in the near future. |
August 2021
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Soprani Compani
Dr. Tammie Huntington, Dr. Lisa Moore, & Dr. Phoenix Park-Kim VOCALISTS Artist Statement Soprani Compagni was founded in 2010 by professors at Indiana Wesleyan University, Dr. Tammie Huntington, Dr. Lisa Moore, and Dr. Phoenix Park-Kim, to research and compile soprano duets from art song, opera and oratorio literature; to model soprano collaboration; and to commission new music for two sopranos and piano for the stage and studio. Soprani Compagni had their Carnegie Hall debut at Weill Recital Hall in 2012 and have performed and presented at numerous universities and concert venues, as well as national and international conferences in the United States, Argentina, South Korea, Hong Kong, China, and Sweden. Thanks to a grant received from the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, Soprani Compagni assembled a team of 12 award-winning composers for the purpose of commissioning new works themed around “Portraits of Women.” “Portraits of Women” is an expansion of soprano duet repertoire emphasizing the contributions of women in our society who have embraced their full worth and calling and have dared to change their world. The album is available on all streaming platforms, and in CD form through Amazon. Soprani Compagni will be celebrating their 10-year anniversary in a recital free and open to the public on September 25, 2021, at 5:00 p.m. in the Phillippe Performing Arts Center Auditorium on the campus of Indiana Wesleyan University. Follow the ensemble on Facebook or at sopranicompagni.com. In the 2021-22 season, Soprani Compagni offers:
Now Available!
Anthology of duets for 2 sopranos and piano, available on Amazon! |
September 2021
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Scott Hargrave
VISUAL ARTISTS Artist Statement: "SCOTT FREDERICK HARGRAVE attributes his lifelong creative flights of fancy and love of Fantasy to being born the son of two flyers. His mother was a private pilot who set his imagination soaring with childhood tales of 1930’s adventuress Amelia Earhart; Scott’s father was a WW2 B-25 bomber pilot whose tales of exotic Egypt, both of ancient Pharaohs’ ghost-haunted tombs and of his own adventures during wartime, sparked and shaped the dreams of all three of their sons. One became an archeologist, another is a writer and painter. Scott’s own imagination, and love for storytelling and illustration, was further nourished growing up in the Puerto Rico of the 1960’s -- “a Caribbean alternative-reality, where 400 year old Spanish Cathedrals lush and radiant with religious art and spiritual yearning co-existed with the Arecibo radio telescope’s "Search for Extra-terrestrial Intelligence" program … An island where shantytown mazes of colorfully-painted wooden shacks crowded together atop stilts over bioluminescent lagoons, or beneath towering Conquistador castle walls looking out across timeless centuries onto the Imperial Spanish gold fleets plundering Aztec Mexico ... English pirate attacks … and now the neon-bathed sin city scandals of rich tourist cruise ships of today.” “Borinquen, Isle of Enchantment” -- His young imagination was filled to overflowing with visions of misty mountain rainforests and vast underground caverns; soulful Latin-African salsa music rhythms pouring out from sunny park plazas and shady Old San Juan bars! Here were exotic island landscapes where by day the sun kissed beautiful surfer girls on the white beaches of El Rincon … and by night mysterious Chupacabra monsters were and are still believed to prowl the hills, and where mermaids surface to seduce uncautious swimmers out to drown beneath the twinkling stars. Such inspirations sow dreams that inevitably cry out from the soul to be made into Art … Scott’s current artistic endeavors strive to somehow explore these inspirations via his writing and illustrating SHORT FICTION STORIES, plus creating COMIX & GRAPHIC NOVELS (all available at https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Scott+Frederick+Hargrave&i=digital-text&ref=nb_sb_noss) … GLAMOUR & BOUDOIR PHOTOGRAPHY, PAINTING … and working on an illusive SCREENPLAY for his dream project of someday directing LOW BUDGET FILMS set during the wild and surreal era of 1967's hippy “Summer of Love '' … The FUSION ARTS ALLIANCE has already proven itself such an invaluable tool to bring our community of local artists together to further inspire our own creativity ... inside each of us and inside each other… and nourish future generations to respect and create ART!" |
October 2021
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GREG FIEBIG
PHOTOGRAPHER, DIRECTOR, & SCENIC DESIGN Greg Fiebig is sort of a jack of all trades and master of none when it comes to the arts. You may know him as the Executive Director for Hoosier Shakes here in Marion. Greg got his start in the performing arts all the way back in kindergarten as one of the billy goats in Three Billy Goats Gruff. He’s worked as an actor, director, technical director, scenic designer, producer, and executive director in educational (Southwest Baptist and Indiana Wesleyan Universities), community, and professional theatre. He has a passion for making the arts, in general, and theatre, more specifically, available to the public. According to Fiebig, “Art should be accessible to all regardless of anyone’s ability to pay.” Besides all things theatre, Greg has worked as a professional photographer and apprenticed under one of the most sought after wedding photographers in the nation at the time. He has taught photojournalism at the university level. One of his many mantras is, “You don’t NEED Photoshop! Learn to TAKE better pictures!” His favorite photo is one he took inside St. Bart’s Church in London, although he did end up using Photoshop to correct the alignment. It was one degree off from perfectly vertical. Greg served as founding executive director for Fusion Arts Alliance and was executive producer for the Fusion Artist Studio. |
November 2021
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JOHANNA GORMONG
Visual Artist Artist Statement: Born In Terre Haute, Indiana. The aim of Johanna's work is to create an environment where the viewer gets lost in the visual experience they are having with the color relationships in a paintings as well as with the narrative of the subject matter depicted in the painting. The blending of one color into the next is as much the focus of these paintings as the objects depicted in them. |
December 2021
January 2020
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Glen E. Devitt
PHOTOGRAPHY Glen is a freelance photographer with a unique personal style. He is currently one of our active members for Fusion Arts Alliance. His works are simply breathtaking and truly inspiring. He is so passionate about his photography and captures different subjects from landscapes to portraits and even local events here in the City of Marion and in Grant County as a whole. |
February 2020
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Jessica L. Baisden
FINE ART | FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER Artist Statement "I am both a film and digital photographer concentrating on portraiture and surreal imagery. My work is heavily influenced by abstraction and raw emotion. As a photographer, I can manipulate an image to draw far away from reality or recreate a moment or feeling using photographic surrealism. As an artist, feeling a personal connection with my work is of utmost importance. I am currently working on a personal series about my struggle with an 8 year addiction to heroine and methamphetamines in hopes of it being viewed by other recovering or current addicts. The prints shown in these two split series were photographed with a 4x5 camera and developed in the darkroom." |
March 2020
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Lila Chenal Milford
FINE ART | PAINTING Artist Profile Lila Milford studied art at the undergraduate level at St. Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana before attending graduate school in Florence, Italy for a year where she majored in drawing and oil painting. After moving to Marion, Indiana, Lila continued her education at Ball State University under Dr. Alice Nichols. She also attended various classes at the Fort Wayne Art School under the auspices of the Grant County Art Association. Among many other interests, particularly in the art world, Lila also travels extensively. She did a series of pencil sketches on Africa following a trip to Tanzania. |
April 2020
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Anne Maddox
FINE ART | PAINTING Artist Profile Born and raised in Kent England, Anne attended both Art School and Teaching College. After teaching for one year in England she applied to teach abroad, first in Nigeria, then the Bahamas. It was there that she began painting in watercolor, capturing the beautiful tropical seascapes and native village life, and left teaching after being contracted by a local gallery. Her first solo art show was a huge success and over the next four years her paintings were purchased by both locals and tourists who carried them back to Europe, England, Canada, the Caribbean, and from Florida to Alaska in the US, earning her a nomination for a Distinguished Citizens Award by the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce in 1987. Her local clients included several millionaires and a member of the British Royal family. In 1990 she moved to the United States to find a publisher for a book she had written and illustrated on the Wild Flowers of the Bahamas. While in Florida she worked with a couple of advertising agencies and taught water color classes. Her style varies from precise detail as seen in her botanical renderings and intricate Ecosystem paintings, to a looser somewhat abstract style where she pulls images from paint randomly splashed and poured on the paper relinquishing all control. Her subject matter is broad also, from florals to landscapes, barns to rusty vehicles; angelic beings to other mythical creatures. She is also the Artistic Director of the Creative Community in the City of Marion. |
May 2020
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Phyllis Ann Reuille Jackson
FINE ART | PAINTING Artist Profile In loving memory of Phyllis Ann Jackson, age 90 who passed away last April 6, 2020. She was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana on May 14, 1929 but was a long time resident of The City Marion, Grant County. She graduated from Southside High School in 1947. Phyllis worked at Indiana Bell for a short time after graduation then became a lifelong homemaker. She enjoyed having large flower garden and always had a pot of red geraniums on the front porch. She also maintained an extensive vegetable garden, canning a lot of the food she grew. While primarily a homemaker, she was employed at Lloyd’s Flowers Shop in Marion in later years. She studied art, quilting and knitting her entire life. She began oil painting in the 1970s and took classes in Marion. This was her only formal training, otherwise she was self-taught, seeking help from books and colleagues. She made friends with the group of women she met through these classes. When a teacher was not available, they met to paint and support each other’s efforts. This became an artist’s group that painted together for over 20 years. She and her group submitted work to regional art shows. Some of her work was displayed at the Indiana State Fair. . . . Fusion Arts Alliance would like to honor her and showcase some of her works! |
June 2020
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Barb Dixon
FINE ART | SCULPTURE / PAINTING Artist Profile "I have always enjoyed creating things. My grandmother used to make all kinds of things from what others would perceive as trash, and I was always fascinated that she could basically create something from nothing. As I grew older, I began experimenting with a variety of items, but I have a special love for beads and wire and began making jewelry when I was around 12 years old. As an adult, I have continued my passion for creativity, earning a degree in Art Education from Indiana Wesleyan in April of 2002 and began teaching art at St. Paul Catholic School in August of the same year. I also enjoy reading and work full time at the Marion Public Library but still love to draw, make stained glass panels, make jewelry, and create my little insect sculptures in my free time." |
July 2020
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Rod Crossman
FINE ART | PAINTING Artist Profile "My paintings are most often reflections and memories of personal experiences. I hope they add some joy and beauty to the world. I try to stay open to awe, wonder and unknowing. The things that make ourselves less important and everything/ everyone else more important. I was born in South Dakota, raised mostly in upstate New York but have spent my adult life in in Indiana. Over the years my jobs have included bailing hay, grocery carry out, life guard, factory work, high school teaching, university teaching, illustrator, artist. My fly fishing addiction has affected work, family and every aspect of life. mostly in good ways." - Rod Crossman Rod Crossman is an artist/educator . . . his major interest is centered in helping young artist/designers find a way to blur the lines between their art and life and in so doing discover how their art can make the world a better place for others. His art focuses on a pastiche of painting, printmaking, installation and object making which is focused on intercessory social design. His work has been featured in many of the most prominent museums and galleries including: Chicago Art Institute, Ward Museum, Smithsonian, High Museum, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Indiana State Museum, Academy Art Museum and New York Museum of Natural History. He loves to fly fish and spend time along trout streams and rivers. You can visit his website at: rodcrossman.com |
August 2020
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Don Artamas
FINE ART | PAINTING / MODERN SCULPTURE Artist Profile "Each painting of Don Artamas is a distillate after a searing process; a destination after a tortuous, feverish journey. It soothes the vexed spirit, with its sophisticated blend: - the deafening clamor of unbridled fervor - employing technique and style seemingly acquired thru the years from a school where the freedom lessons are taught in whispers and spoken only in the language of the soul; yet on the contrary, Don Artamas' work is focused and disciplined - and utterly graceful!."- Ides of Marsh Don Artamas is a Contemporary Abstract Artist, with an international upbringing, he is currently based in Marion, Indiana, USA and his works have been exhibited in various museums and galleries in Asia and USA. A student of the arts at an early age, Don Artamas has been painting professionally since 90's. His passion for the arts has gone a long way, after Ayala Museum in the Philippines launched his first solo exhibit in the '90's. His works, infused with emotion, imagination and ruminations on his life as an artist . . . represent innovative and artistic currents shaping the modern contemporary art in the global sphere. You can visit his website at: don-artamas.com |
September 2020
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Caas Carby
FINE ART AND GRAPHIC ARTS Artist Statement This series of prints were made between 2017-2019. What started as an accident with some left over dye splattered in a notebook, over the course of a few years turned into hundreds of inkblot experiments on paper. The majority of prints feature bilateral symmetry which often resemble forms and patterns of the natural world. When used as a kind of psychological tool we tend to experience pareidolia or “the tendency to perceive a specific, often meaningful image in a random or ambiguous visual pattern.” - Caas Carby |
October 2020
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Catherine Holland
FINE ARTS Artist Statement "In my eyes, art is a learning experience. Each time you create something, you learn something new, about yourself, the material, perhaps some fundamental law of physics. Either way, art is a tool to explore the universe. I use art to teach myself about the things I find interesting, such as anatomy, ecology, sustainability, geometry, and basic mechanics.” - Catherine Holland You can visit her website at: moss and matchsticks.com |
November 2020
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Avon Waters
FINE ARTS Artist Statement "My art transforms the atmosphere, vibrations, or harmony of design, that I feel in the world about me, into visual images. I try to paint the air around a thing more than the thing itself. Everything can be in harmony both visually and audibly. The Universe is said to create a near b-flat background tone. I seek to marry the rhythms of different music genres to the various vibrations of what I paint. My work starts often as abstract drawings based on a beat, riff, or instrument from a musical artist. My visual work is informed by my study of such artists as Charles Henry Fromuth, Edward Degas, Wolf Kahn, Henri Matisse, and Maurice Shapiro. My auditory influences include jazz artists like Cyrille Aimee, Wynton Marsalis, and Amy Winehouse as well as violinist like Lindsey Stirling, Vanessa Mae, and more.” - Avon Waters You can visit his website at: avonwaters.com |
December 2020
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Dillon Hamilton
FINE ARTS Artist Statement "Art. It's everything, and it's everywhere. There's quite a duality to it, as well. It's accidental, yet it's intentional. It's clever, yet it's obvious. It's internal, yet it's external. It's functional, yet it's ornate. It's for you, but it's for everyone. It's physical, and it's abstract. It is life, and it is death. Art can be a letter you write and never send, or it can be a letter you cc the world. It doesn't matter, but it's crucial. It is the edge and everything between. Art has been my sanctuary . . . it had saved my life.” - Dillon Hamilton (Pecos) 
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