The Artists
Joe Rosshirt
Joe Rosshirt graduated from the Maine College of Art with a BFA in Illustration and is the founder of FortHouse Studios. As an illustrator focusing on children’s media, Rosshirt pursues a daily mission to 'Make Happy Happen'.
LK Weiss
LK is a designer and illustrator based in Portland, Maine. Her main squeeze is designing brand identities, but her side piece is drawing photo-realistic wildlife. She has illustrated hundreds of biologically accurate species for Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Maine Audubon, and Maine State Museum.
Molly Frantzen
Molly is a Maine based artist with a focus on watercolor and acrylic paintings, prints & cards. Molly's works feature vivid color and loose, organic form using acrylic, watercolor and gouache. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Colgate University with a focus on Studio Art, and has studied at MECA as well. She sources inspiration from natural light, the outdoors, animals, food and people. To Molly, being an artist means finding the beauty in everything.
Laurel Averill
Laurel Averill was born and raised in the coast of Maine. She grew up with a creative family and was always encouraged to try new forms of artistic expression. Silk Painting became a passion for her about 15 years ago and has blossomed into a fulfilling career. She currently resides in Edgecomb with her husband and two children.
Amy Keller
Through fourteen years as a commercial photographer, I developed a deep understanding of composition, light, and visual storytelling. After discovering encaustic painting, I have spent the past eighteen years experimenting and refining a distinctive technique that blends my painted paper cuts with the luminous qualities of the wax. My work is whimsical and rooted in storytelling, inviting viewers into imaginative, layered worlds where narrative and texture come together in unexpected ways.
Hana Firestone
Hana Firestone is a freelance illustrator and designer. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration from Maine College of Art in Portland, Maine. She is greatly inspired by nostalgic memories of childhood books and enjoys collecting greenery from the beautiful outdoors of Maine. Her work also explores pattern making and often consists of pastel colors with quirky line work and sometimes cut paper. When Hana is not drawing she is browsing art galleries, working at her local hospital, enjoying a cup of coffee and spending time with her 8 birds and family!
Sarah Steedman
Sarah Steedman is an artist living and working in Portland ME. Like her grandmother and mother, she is always making something creative with her hands. She has a BA in studio arts and has had rewarding jobs in organic gardening and in early childhood education. which have informed her artwork. Three years ago she decided to become a full time artist.
Jeanelle Demers
Jeanelle is a fine artist and graphic designer based in Portland, Maine. Her creative journey is marked by a passion for exploring the outdoors, which deeply influences her work. Specializing in acrylic paint, watercolor, and ink, Jeanelle blends these mediums on canvas and paper, pushing the boundaries of traditional art through innovative techniques and constant experimentation.
Peggy Clark Lumpkins
Peggy Clark Lumpkins has been a painter all her life. She moved to Maine in 1987 and built a huge garden to grow her flora subjects in. Half her work are flowers. both garden and wild, and the other half are Mainescapes. A lot of her work features clouds. She works in the slow process of oil glazes, which give her depth and rich colors.
Marguerite Alpert
I am a lifelong gardener and have lived in Wethersfield, Connecticut for most of my life. I have spent many years with my hands in the soil, watching the marvel of the plant cycle – from seed, to flower, to fruiting plant. I have been making art out of pressed plants for over 35 years, using five beautiful handmade wooden presses by my husband. I started The Flowered Press in 2021. My artwork comes from plants that I have grown from seeds, harvested from generous friend’s gardens, and collected by roadsides throughout the northeast. I often deconstruct plants into their component parts to reveal shapes and colors that are not always evident with the fresh, whole plant which contributes interesting design elements to my compositions. My original artwork is available for purchase and I also take commissions and offer pressed botanical art workshops. If you are interested, please contact me at info@thefloweredpress.com Several of my pressed botanical art designs have been selected for national juried art exhibitions and solo exhibitions throughout New England.