Southeastern Institute for Women in Politics

The following artists' works were featured during the 2011 Leading Women Dinner Reception on April 1 at 701 Whaley Street. Most of the artwork was on sale and many of the artists were at the event to discuss their art. If you are still interested in purchasing an item or two, contact the artists at their websites (listed at the end of their bios) or email us to arrange contact with the artist. Click here to view examples of the featured artists' work and a few of the selections that will be on sale during this event.

Artist Biographies

Eileen Blyth
Eileen Blyth is a Columbia artist known for her paintings and assemblages of found objects. Originally from Charleston, she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of Charleston. She most recently exhibited new work in Art 5 Ways, a show with four other Columbia artists at Gallery 80808. Her studio is located in the Arcade Building at 1216 Washington Street. Eileen's work is represented by The Camilla Art Gallery in Hilton Head, South Carolina and can also be seen at www.eileenblyth.com.

Pat Callahan
Patricia Callahan comes to studio art from graphic design. She holds a B.F.A. in communication arts and design from Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond. Perhaps to balance her computer-based career, Callahan often works with a classical subject - the body - in traditional drawing media. She draws from life, striving to capture beauty and strength.

Callahan’s three-dimensional shadow boxes have unleashed the artist's propensity to collect feathers, rocks, and whatnots; and a love of wood, tools, and metal workings. Her constructions explore what the artist terms “burrs” - kernels of truth and deceit, perceptions and distortions, and unsettling beauty. The boxes exhibit a curious juxtaposition of found and created elements and are marked by restraint and balance. Learn more at her website: http://patcallahanartist.blogspot.com/
 
Heidi Darr-Hope
2011 Recipient of the Governor’s Award for Individual Artist
“My life is my art and my art is my life.  Overlapping experiences fold over and into each other - the mundane and the sacred:

my home, my husband, my son and his wife, my daughter, my garden, my unending stacks of books to read, my drawers of found objects and photographs, my nighttime dreams, my Movie Group, my dog Ziggy, my AMSA yoga & meditation practice, my grocery list, my BodyFit classes, my art and healing students, my love for scrumptious slow local food and delectable fine wine, my Circle of Dreams, my ever growing list of places to travel…my sincere desire to find the quiet within the roar…

My life and my art follow an intuitive path influenced by it all.   Having worked as a professional artist and teacher for over thirty years, my hands and eyes and soul are trying their best to absorb it all, striving to live within the magical realm where the outer world melds with the inner.”

To recognize outstanding achievement and contributions to the arts in South Carolina, the Arts Commission annually presents the Elizabeth O'Neill Verner Awards, the highest honor the state gives in the arts. These awards honor South Carolina arts organizations, patrons, artists, members of the business community, and government entities who maximize their roles as innovators, supporters and advocates of the arts.  In 1980, the Verner Awards took on a special significance with their designation as the official "Governor's Awards for the Arts."  Heidi Darr-Hope will receive this award from Governor Haley on May 5 at the Statehouse upon adjournment of the House of Representatives. The S.C. Arts Foundation will honor the recipients and the arts community at the South Carolina Arts Gala on Wednesday, May 4. The gala is a fundraiser supporting the programs of the S.C. Arts Commission. For more about the Verner Awards or the S.C. Arts Gala, call 803/734-8696.

Pat Gilmartin
Pat Gilmartin was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and before settling in Columbia, she lived in various places, from the southeast corner of the U.S. (West Palm Beach) to the southwest corner of Canada (Victoria, British Columbia). However, she moved to Columbia in 1984 to teach cartography at USC and has resided here ever since.

She always had an interest in art but never had the opportunity to really engage in it until about seven years ago when she took her first class in sculpture. She was hooked on it from the start and retired from her USC position so that she could devote full time to her sculpture. She has a studio at Vista Studios on Lady Street in Columbia where she can be found working almost every day. Her medium of choice is clay, but she has had select works cast in limited editions in bronze.

Pat's sculpture focuses primarily on the human face and body, where she aims to capture not only the physical characteristics of her subjects but also their interior spirit and personality. Her pieces are often infused with an air of ambiguity, allowing the viewer to project his or her own personal understanding into the work.

Susan Lenz
Susan Lenz describes herself as the daughter of German immigrants, a wife, mother, homeowner, business woman, an avid traveler, custom picture framer, taxpayer, non-practicing Catholic, a member of a few non-profit organizations, a college graduate, a blogger, and the “servant” to three adorable cats.  Yet, she is first and foremost, an artist.

Using needle and thread for self-expression, Susan works within the scope of an overall theme and toward a final, mixed media installation.  She stitches both by hand and machine but also indulges a passion for book arts and unique, 3D found art objects.  She has studied with several international artists and is regularly accepted into national juried exhibitions.  Her work has been presented in solo shows all over South Carolina and as far away as Texas.

Susan is represented by the Grovewood Gallery in Asheville, NC; the South Carolina Artisan Center in Walterboro, SC: and at Mouse House in Columbia, SC.  Learn more at her website: www.susanlenz.com

Cindy Saad
Primarily a self-taught artist, I began painting in the mid-eighties and have been creating jewelry for the past 16 years. My artistic endeavors continue to evolve as I enjoy the freedom of creating art in various mediums. Whether sculpting a necklace or painting on canvas, I like to work spontaneously, creating pieces that evoke the senses. Color and movement quide me as I work.

With jewelry, it is the visual excitement of the gem stone that draws me in initially because of its color, size, shape or texture. I have found that there is a rhythm to my method of wire sculpting as I wrap wire around each stone and intuitively work with it to make it the focus of the design. With beading, it is the freedom to combine various colors and shapes that motivate each piece similar to painting.

I feel very grateful to the Columbia community and particularly the arts community who have embraced me as an artist through the years. This support has been instrumental in motivating me to continue to grow as a muti-media artist. Learn more at her website: www.cindysaad.com

Kirkland Smith
Artwork from Kirkland Smith will be on display, but not for sale.
Kirkland Smith is a classical painter who follows the traditions of the old masters by painting figures and still lives from models. The subject in all her paintings is light- how it moves across the objects she is painting, revealing shape, form, and texture. Her paintings are now in private collections across the country. 

She has recently become involved in creating contemporary environmental artwork using non-recyclable materials and post-consumer waste to make 3-Dimensional paintings. Through her artwork, she hopes to give the message of the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling in a fun way.

Kirkland received a BA degree from the University of South Carolina in Studio Arts, concentrating on ceramics and sculpture. She also studied classical painting at the Studio Escalier in Southwestern France. She and her husband have 4 children. To learn more, visit her website: www.KirklandSmith.com.

Laura Spong
Columbia, South Carolina artist Laura Spong is among the state’s most prominent non-objective painters. In the past two years, Spong has further increased her reputation with four solo exhibitions, including a retrospective at the University of South Carolina’s McMaster Gallery. For her 2006 exhibition, Laura Spong at 80, Columbia’s If Art published a 32-page catalogue. In addition to the SC State Art Collection, Spong’s work was published recently by the Greenville County Museum of Art and the South Carolina State Museum. Three of her paintings also are in the Contemporary Carolina Collection, which was established in 2008 at the Medical University of South Carolina’s Ashley River Tower in Charleston.

Candy Yaghjian Waites
Candy Yaghjian Waites has enjoyed moving between the political world and the art world all her life. She has spent her entire career as an advocate for women finding their voices. In her art she focuses on drawing portraits and capturing people, especially children in poignant moments.

Candy recently served as Executive Director of the SC Gubernatorial Appointments Project with the goal of increasing the number of women in senior level positions in South Carolina government. Last year she retired as Director of Community Leadership Programs at The Leadership Institute, Columbia College after a total of 14 years. She also taught a course at Columbia College on SC Women Impacting Public Policy.

During the Hodges administration she served as the Director of the Division of Children’s Services. In 1988 Waites was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives and served for three terms. She was instrumental in the passage of legislation dealing with the reform of campaign finances and ethics policy. Prior to service in the House, she served on Richland County Council for 12 years beginning in1976. She has served on countless local and state boards and commissions and presently serves on the Palmetto Richland Board, Palmetto Health Board and Capital Senior Center Board.

Waites received her BA from Wheaton College, Norton, Mass. and her Master in Public Administration from the University of South Carolina. She has two adult daughters.

Ellen Emerson Yaghjian
Ellen holds a BFA in sculpture from the University of Georgia and an MMA in media from the University of South Carolina.  She began designing large scale sculptural copper fountains in Atlanta in 1991. Ellen began creating smaller copper sculpture when she moved to Columbia in 2000. Both her small and large scale pieces can be found in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

Ellen utilizes the dynamic qualities of copper to create her sculptures which focus on the meeting of emotion and movement. She creates sculptures of hammered copper that reflect and enhance their environment.

Ellen resides in Columbia, South Carolina with her husband and daughter. Learn more at her website: http://scfountain.com.