Val Schaefer began his art journey purely as a means of art therapy. A disabled combat veteran imprinted upon and humbled by the experience of war, he unexpectedly found peace in the workshop. This is where Val discovered a unique way of blurring the line between frame and art, making them one and the same. Instinctively he knew the grandeur nature of extensive ornamentation was the perfect fit. The broad range of details found in the unfinished wood satisfied Val's need for complexity and elegance.
Gayane Minasyan is a painter and collage artist whose prolific work focuses on showing the beauty of women and portraiture. She first turned to art to help relieve the stress and loneliness of disconnecting from social life, losing a dear friend and watching her native country of Armenia enter into a war, all during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and has quickly turned her work into a statement about the power of art to share messages of hope, faith and beauty.
I am a self-taught visual artist born and raised in Washington, DC and Maryland. My passion for art evolved in 2004 during a dark period in my life. My art reflects my soulful visions that involves the creative skills of PowerPoint drawings, shapes, typography and a mixture of acrylic texture combined to create one coherent piece.