Memphis Holiday 2021 Shopping Guide - The Gift of Art
Welcome back!! Here’s yet another round of Memphis-Only shopping guides to help all our Memphian friends shop local and support small! I’ve still got a handful of guides drafted (and incomplete so far - gulp!), but this one is for sure one of my favorites.
I’ll start by saying, this specific guide is really the heart of what sparked the idea to all the shopping guides in the first place.
I was introduced to most of these artists 4 years ago when I was making and selling felt flowers at local markets. It was that turning point in my creative life that sent me from total loner to feeling like I could tap into a community of creatives for inspiration, friendship and collabs! The felt flower era of Ellywise Studios was an odd one, but I’ll never begin to regret it - without knowing these amazing people and finding this entire Memphis world of art I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing!
As always, this is not a sponsored blog post - no links are affiliated. This shopping guide is purely created in the hopes of at least one potential customer finds a local maker/shop they hadn’t known before.
Maggie Russell
Maggie’s portraiture is colorful and beautiful. Modern and vibrant, one of Maggie’s pieces hanging on your wall is a statement - no doubt!
From her bio:
I live and work in Midtown Memphis, TN. I hold a BA from Hendrix College (2008) and an MFA from The Memphis College of Art (2011). My work can be found in public and private collections across the United States including Saint Jude Children's Hospital, Southside Gallery in Oxford, MS, and Cooper and Ellen Manning's home in New Orleans, LA.
Hillary Butler
Hillary’s color palette is absolutely stunning, ALWAYS. Her most recent collection features colorful “Free as Fishes” and it’s gorgeous!
From her bio:
I'm honored to have work on ABC’s hit show, Nashville, and have had the opportunity to show at Agora Gallery in New York. Several hit blogs have featured some HB work. Among these are Better Homes and Gardens, Domino, & Design Love Fest.
Grace Porter
Grace’s work is a beautiful mix between graphic illustration and a whimsical abstract feel. Her prints and collaborations (like this ornament with Paper and Clay this season) are amazing!
From her bio:
grace porter is a visual artist from and based in memphis, tn. porter has exhibited regionally since receiving her b.a. in art from rhodes college in 2015 and was a september 2020 artist in residence at stay home gallery and residency in paris, tn.
Amy Hartelust
Amy’s floral paintings are so beautiful - with the loose brush strokes and color palette, you know your wall is going be stunning!
From her bio:
I think this is the perfect anecdote for me as an artist and for my work; as it is so heavily influenced by my ongoing relationship with nature. I strive to capture the wonder and awe I felt seeing certain natural elements for the very first time. I also love creating images that marry women’s issues and experiences with the natural world. Take a minute to look around and thank you for supporting an artist working toward her dream.
Dorothy Collier
Queen of Maximalism, Dorothy creates vibrant art in so many forms. She’s pictured here with a wall mural commission (how cool???), but she also creates mixed media pieces, painting prints and so much more! If you’re itching for some pops of color, run don’t walk.
From her bio:
Mostly creating with oil paint, I paint with impressionistic strokes. Lately I've been diving into digital drawing that adorns prints, personalized stationery, tees, and more to bring smiles to your everyday.
Beth Winterburn
Beth’s abstract ink and acrylic is so thoughtful in execution. The large pieces are absolutely stunning - the use of composition and color is something at which she is PRO-STATUS.
From her bio:
She approaches her work as if it's a problem to solve: combining and contrasting elements with and against one another to create a cohesive yet dynamic piece. Beth's work is an exploration of contrast, tension and resolve. Methodical by nature, she challenges her own ideas of control by experimenting with materials, allowing them to behave as they naturally would, with subtle direction. Each completed piece represents an attempt to translate interpersonal dynamics into a legible story - one that invites the viewer to see his or her own story in it.
Chloe York
If there’s an award for layering patterns, Chloe wins. Hands-down, wins. Her large paintings are absolutely thrilling inch-to-inch. Her layering of form and patterns make for amazing art.
From her bio:
Abstract painter, Chloe York earned her BFA from Memphis College of Art in 2012. She has displayed her work in over 100 group and solo exhibitions throughout the mid-South and her solo exhibit, Decorators was named one of Memphis’s top ten visual art exhibits for 2013. She was awarded Best in Show at the 2021 Magic City Art Connection in Birmingham, AL and has created work for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Shelby Ash Brown
Shelby’s mixed media pieces and paintings are absolutely stunning. Her subtle color palette is the stuff of interior designers dreams. She takes the design of her work from concept in her “Moods” process all the way to completion in the install.
From her bio:
Shelby is a Memphis based artist focusing her paintings on the collaboration between sheer color and cutting, scrappy marks. Her milky, muddled abstracts bring peaceful sceneries and memories to the surface. Layering line carvings with intentional mark making, Shelby uses her favorite life memories to create places on canvas and paper.
Shelby Monteverde
Shelby’s work turns the everyday into absolute beauty. Her abstract, loose style of painting is lovely and her color palette choices are perfection! One of her previous collections “Crayons” is one of my absolute favorites!
From her bio:
Shelby sees the everyday details, objects, and people of her own life as colorful and significant. Passionate about composition and color relationships, she hopes to comfort and ground the viewer in a sense of familiar reality while dually creating a feeling of possibility and perspective. Loose, acrylic paintings are her favorite, most therapeutic way of cherishing the beautiful, fleeting moments of this life.
Whitney Winkler
Whitney’s mediums consists of watercolor, ink and mixed media but her concepts have an even wider range. Anywhere from beautiful abstracts to florals, she’s also got collections that feature really beautifully deep “mother and me” or organs with a bigger meaning - its difficult for me (the terrible writer) to really describe the depth of Whitney’s portfolio so I beg of you, check it out yourself!
From her bio:
Whitney is passionate about beauty and truth, and finds them to be unstoppable when paired. Her work embodies themes of the rootedness of home, elements of nature, and the intricacies of life's relationships. Whitney finds that art is a way to question and answer; express complexity of emotion, and settle into the raw creative process of discovery.
Natalie Coop
Natalie’s colorful commissions and prints are so wonderful! Her eye for color palettes is incredible. If you’re a Memphian and haven’t seen her Memphis prints, go check them out, pronto!
From her bio:
Artist behind Custom Art by Nat Coop LLC (4+ years) - the main focus of which is commissioned pet portraits, city collages, and local business connection.
Savannah Jewell
Savannah’s landscapes have a wonderfully brilliant abstract feel to them, but I believe it’s her color palette selections that really do it for me. The bright and airy feel is absolutely stunning for any room.
From her bio:
Her artistic expression has gone through many phases over the years resulting in a highly personal approach and perspective. She is never content with standing still and is always looking for her next travel inspiration to fuel her next painting series.