Studio Artists
Bower Center is home to working studios of local artists covering many disciplines from painting with oils, watercolors, acrylics, to mosaics, installation art, photography, stained glass, sculpture, torn paper collage, pottery, and more.
Most studios are open to the public during Bower Center hours of operation.
Susan Bradbury
Fine Art and Portraiture Artist
Susan Miller Bradbury, a fine art and portraiture artist, is a full time working artist and has had her artwork in several books as well as many top galleries up and down the East Coast. She has exhibited in many national juried events and has won Best in Show at several art events in the recent past. She has exhibited a solo event at the Bower Center and has been a featured artist at the The Gallery at 122 Main, Elkton, Maryland, Art Speaks gallery in Mathews, VA and Carolina Creations in New Bern, North Carolina. Other representation are the Little Gallery, LinDor Gallery, and Black Dog Salvage in Roanoke, VA.
She enjoys capturing the events of life and especially appreciates taking her memories captive and placing them on the canvas. Her love and inspiration for art came from her mother, Elizabeth Miller, who was a fabulous and well known watercolor artist. Susan’s unique style shows through her utilization of provocative lighting and/or expressive situations to capture the viewer’s heart with the use of acrylics and oils.
Susan graduated from Radford University with a BA in Graphic Arts as well as a minor in French. Later in life, she rediscovered a love for painting and went on to take classes from many well-known instructors such as Daniel Greene, Paul McCormack, Vera Dickerson, Lee Boynton and is currently studying under Stephen Bauman, Daniel Gearhart, Heather Sink and Jennifer Gennari. She has illustrated several published books and has won many awards for her art.
Aric Bryant
A native of Bedford County, Bryant is the youngest of three boys. He holds a B.S. from James Madison University where he studied Biology, a B. S. N. from Liberty University and currently works as an Emergency Room nurse at Bedford Memorial Hospital. His hobbies include music, and most recently drawing and painting. In addition to his drawing class at the Bower Center, he has taken oil painting, watercolors, and pastels in Lynchburg. And more recently, studied portraiture at Lynchburg Academy of Arts. Aric was the 2020 recipient of the Suzie Viemeister Emerging Artist Residency. Following his completion of his residency and solo exhibit, Aric joined the Bower Center family by moving into his own studio space.
Sally Carter
Virginia Dickens
Fine Art Photography, Mixed Media Art
Virginia Lee Dickens (a.k.a. FRATCH), born in 1963, is a photographer, artist, and graphic designer. She graduated in 1984 from the Ringling College of Art and Design. Her major was illustration. Directly after Ringling, she continued her studies in Advanced Portfolio at the School of Visual Arts, NYC.
Virginia began her professional career freelancing at several well known New York advertising firms and illustrationing for the publishing industry. In 1987 she established Visions Advertising, a firm with its roots in publishing. By 2006 the firm began specializing in Retail Technology. She packed up the paints and got down to the nitty gritty of computer generated design and marketing. Indeed, these were the skills which would lead to her photography passion and mixed media direction. “I loved the fact that I could combine so many of my skills to create unique and personal works of art,” says Virginia.
In 2009, a Near Death Experience (NDE) opened up a strong spiritual relationship with nature, human consciousness and her understanding of death and grief. While weed whacking in the yard, she disturbed a yellow jacket nest and was overcome by bee stings. The paramedics and her family were instrumental in saving her life. What the artist experienced that day soon became the underpinning of her latest creations.
Virginia creates her art by combining her photographs, paintings and sketches in Photoshop. The mixed media piece is then built up layer-by-layer, adding pieces of her photographs as she goes. Virginia says, “When I create my art, I fall away from myself... almost trance-like. I feel I am simply the conduit for some other intention.” These creations may have 60 layers or more and take 20 hours to complete.
Virginia prints her creations on many varied substrates, including canvas, metal and fine art paper in her studio. She assembles the frames and hand stretches her canvas works. Some canvas prints receive another round of painting with acrylics and gel mediums.
In 2015 Virginia sold her home of 18 years in Montville, NJ. She parted with most all of its contents and purchased a small motorhome. After spending the better part of 3 years exploring and photographing the United States and Canada, the artist has now settled down near her mom, in Bedford, VA. Virginia says she is looking forward to beginning the next chapter in her life and continuing to pursue her passions for making new friends and creating art in all forms.
Veronica Jackson
Interpretive Exhibit Designer, Content Developer, Visual Artist
Jackson’s visual art practice is comprised of 3D installations that critically examine and elucidate the visualization of gender and race in America by specifically focusing on the portrayal and perception of black women in popular media of their time.
Janie Mantooth
Painter, Stained Glass
What I like most about art is that it gives you an outlet for your creative mind, a world in which there are no hard and fast rules. I also like making art because it creates beauty and it inspires and elevates people. Heaven knows, we all need more beauty, elevation and inspiration in our lives! It feels good to me to be a part of something that does this for people.
Peggy Markham
Perri Mason
Watercolors
I love the challenge of painting with watercolors! Although I also work in acrylic and pencil, watercolors are my preferred medium. Painting allows me to take the chaos of the world and to slow it down. To focus on my subject matter and create how I see the subject using pigment and water is my personal form of meditation. Painting layer upon layer of watercolor glazes gives me the depth and light I see in my subject matter and enables me to share that vision with my audience.
Lori Stetson
Oils, Wire Sculpting "Wire Woods and other Whims"
My artistic talents developed right alongside this furred and feathered obsession and for thirty years I painted animal portraits. Stepping outside of my comfort zone in 2002 I began producing works from my head and heart and exploring new mediums. Wire sculpting, oil painting and the study of trees and water are all current areas of interest My work has been featured on the covers of an international veterinary magazine and homes across the country.
Dotti Stone
Mosaics
The timeless beauty and versatility of ancient mosaics and the ease with which it integrates into modern society is what attracted Stone to this medium. Creating mosaics and inspiring others to enjoy, appreciate and learn about this versatile art through exhibiting and teaching is her passion.
Andrea Wild
Emerging Artist
Pictured L to R: Katie Viemeister, Andrea Wild & Revelle Hamilton.
Andrea considers herself a multimedia artist as she cannot limit herself to one medium for a curiosity in another medium. Although she has participated in both structured art courses as well as recreational art classes, she considers herself auto-didactic. She has created hand-built and wheel thrown ceramics, mosaics, marionettes, crochet and knit various items, and paint in acrylics and more recently watercolor. Another passion of hers is gardening, mostly vegetables in fenced in areas as the deer frustratingly rearrange her landscape designs. With her actor/stage building husband she now also helps create stage sets and backdrops. In her stressful profession, she has found art to be a great tension reliever. Through museum visits, social media and art apps, she continues her art education on a daily basis. Even her office walls are covered with her watercolors.
She has created art works for charity, gifts, and as gift "commissions". As a BRMA member she sold one piece of mosaic art at a group show in a commercial gallery; learning how to set this up with an experienced artist such as Dotti Stone was very inspiring. She looks forward to learning more about how to set up exhibits for showing and selling art as a business. Using art as an educational tool and helping people to express themselves through art is her goal for the Emerging Artist Residency Program.