About Us

Anila Agha creates her works using processes that are associated with textile arts, like screen printing, wax, organic resists and embroidery. The embroidery is used as a drawing medium, connecting and bridging the gaps of the many layers that result from her explorations of concept and process. Anila’s current works are a series of drawings incorporating a combination of translucent and opaque effects on paper, through the use of the formal elements of form, color, and patterning. Anila was born and raised in Pakistan. She has a BFA from the National College of Arts, Lahore and an MFA from the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas.

Edward McCartney is an artist living and creating in Houston, Texas. His educational and work background is in interior design and space planning. For the past ten years, he has honed his craft as an art jeweler, and much of his work involves pushing the boundaries of body adornment and traditional ornament. Edward states, “When the narrative is requisite, I find expression in both small and large sculptural forms, often with the preciousness, detail, or vocabulary of the jeweler’s eye. I adore the transformation of materials and wish to provoke new ways of seeing, within myself and the viewer who participates in my work.” Edward is active within a community of artists, collectors, and galleries locally and nationally.

Bethany Rusen draws on a wide variety of interests, materials, theories, and personal histories to construct her mixed-media, site-responsive sculptural objects. Her work seeks to explore the visceral and emotional aspects of body experience.

Rusen graduated with a BFA from Tyler School of Art in 2003 and earned her MFA from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, in 2010. Her work has been exhibited nationally at a variety of venues, including Texas Tech University, Boston University and Concordia University in Minnesota. She is currently the ceramics studio technician at Main Line Art Center in Haverford, PA.  For more information, visit https://bethanyrusen.com.

www.geraldtobola.com

Gerald Tobola, a self-taught copper artist, specializes in the techniques of repoussé and chasing to create intricate and elaborate designs in functional home décor. Combining his woodworking skills with his copper designs, Gerald makes pieces reminiscent of the Arts and Crafts Movement, especially with his recent development of the design “Grasslands.” Using primarily Texas hardwoods–fallen pieces of mesquite and manzeeneeta root –Gerald celebrates the beauty of the flora and fauna he so admires. Gerald mixes and experiments with colorful acid patinas to create the perfect finishing effect for his pieces.

Having started his second career after 28 years in the corporate world, Gerald has created somewhat of a commotion in the world of metalworking during his transition from hobby metalworker to full-time artist. His tools are simple, yet his designs intricate, recognizable and unique. Gerald’s lamps are his signature, combining his love of woodworking with his long search for the perfect lampshade. Gerald began working with copper when looking for a shade for a lamp base he had made. Not able to locate the shade he had in mind, Gerald created his first lampshade in 2001. Tobola has since opened a studio/storefront in beautiful Round Top, Texas.

Frances Trotter earned a degree in Fine Arts specializing in Painting from the University of Houston. At HCCC, Frances was involved primarily in the Fiber Arts. She was the lead artist for the Craft Center’s Car Cozy, as seen in the Orange Show’s Art Car Parade in 2005 and 2006.