Explore Carolina DeSanctis' FAST DOLL: vintage tattoo flash-inspired hand-stitched patches, custom clothing, and accessories. Her eco-conscious, cruelty-free shop offers crafted patches, hats, key chains, and more, all masterfully created by Carolina herself. Stitching the Past into the Present: an interview with a great gal who owns and operates FAST DOLL. An interview feature with USC Alumnus, Caroline DeSanctis, artist and owner of Fast Doll, "hand embroidery inspired by the golden age of North American traditional tattoo and other iconic vintage imagery. Above, Caroline DeSanctis, owner of FAST DOLL Hand Embroidery, Charleston, SC. Photo by Michelle Hart, Palmetto Snapshots, Charleston, SC. Palmetto Snapshots Q & A with Caroline DeSantis Introduction: Based on her original drawings and unique designs, owner and operator of FAST DOLL Caroline DeSanctis creates 100% hand-stitched patches, custom clothing & accessories influenced by the tattoo flash of the 1940s & 1950s. All embroidery and designs are drawn and stitched by Ms. DeSanctis. Most designs you see here are original to the shop unless otherwise noted (i.e., the Sailor Jerry designs and some custom commissioned work). The cost of her hand embroidered patches range from $20.00 - $125.00. Her shop additionally features hats, pennant, key chains, tattoo passes and custom orders. All patches are cruelty-free: made from eco-felt, which is made from recycled plastic bottles, and 100% cotton embroidery floss. Let's catch up with Caroline and find out more about her unique shop and business. Above, an example of some of Caroline's custom work. Hand-dyed, hand-stitched & hand-drawn patch flash sheets prior to being framed. Commission Inquiries Dawn Hunter: When and where did you establish FAST DOLL? Caroline DeSanctis: I started Fast Doll in 2015 when I still lived in Atlanta, Georgia. Back then it was still known as Fast Doll Fine Vintage, and I was exclusively selling vintage clothing from the 1920s-1960s online. When I first started I was still working full-time for MAC Cosmetics and was selling vintage on the side after clocking out at MAC every day. I resigned at MAC in April 2016 and I remember as I was leaving the counter that day my phone was buzzing with orders from Etsy, and I remember smiling, and thinking that I had made the right decision to leave. Hand-dyed, hand-stitched & hand-drawn framed "patch flash sheets."™ Dawn Hunter: Has the business always focused on hand embroidery? If not, how did that evolve? Caroline DeSanctis: It was exclusively vintage clothing & accessories for almost 3 years, until I taught myself how to embroider by hand and eventually evolving that into the current style of the things I make today. I remember stitching the first thing, which was the words Fast Doll on the back of one of my denim vest, and then thinking “oh no, I’m already addicted to this“. I started to post my creations on social media and there was immediate interest. They started to sell more and more and eventually became more popular than any other vintage items that I was selling. I got so busy during the holiday season of 2019 that it became the only thing I had time to do, and I officially stopped selling vintage clothing and renamed the company to simply ‘Fast Doll’. And I’ve been stitching full-time ever since. Above, Caroline DeSanctis, owner of FAST DOLL Hand Embroidery, Charleston, SC. Photo by Michelle Hart, Palmetto Snapshots, Charleston, SC. Dawn Hunter: When did you locate to Charleston? Caroline DeSanctis: I moved to Charleston in August 2020 in the middle of the pandemic! I got here and got straight to work and tried not to miss a beat. I think I took off maybe one full day to unpack when I moved, but that was it, haha. Dawn Hunter: How do you come up with ideas for designs? What is your inspiration? Caroline DeSanctis: I draw inspiration from a lot of vintage 1940s and 1950s iconography, ephemera, magazines, illustrations and tattoos from that era of American history. They had bold black lines and were limited to only a few colors — these designs translate so well to embroidery and look very clean and satisfying when they’re done. I also love pinup art and often make things that represent or remind me of vintage glamour and aesthetics. Dawn Hunter: What is your most popular design? Caroline DeSanctis: I think my most popular designs are any of the flowers that I do, any of the skulls, and the ‘Mama Tried’ patches & trucker hats, haha. The imagery in this work was taken directly from a Sailor Jerry sheet of flash featuring an eagle. This is not one of Caroline's designs. The embroidery is straight-up satin stitching. The eagle is embroidered with white, red, and dark & yellow gold embroidery floss. Flag is sewn with deep navy blue, white, red, gold and brown embroidery floss. Flowers are sewn with mustard yellow, green and black embroidery floss. Images are sewn to an off-white piece of sturdy felt that are then sewn on top of a black piece of felt with black embroidery floss (creating a border) and trimmed to fit. Since each patch is handmade, there may be slight, minor differences and no two patches will be 100% alike. If you'd like a different color scheme for your patch, feel free to make a custom request. Please allow additional processing time for custom requests. Hand-embroidered, hand-sewn and hand-cut black and off-white felt patch. The patch flash sheet features pointy-tipped daggers with a hearts detail and dots details. Image is sewn to an off-white piece of sturdy felt that is then sewn on top of a black piece of felt with off-white embroidery floss (creating a border) and trimmed to fit. Classic & timeless traditional-style rose that looks good on everything. Hand-embroidered, hand-sewn and hand-cut felt patches in 4 different color schemes. Patch features a traditional-tattoo-style rose with three leaves. Great for a leather or denim jacket / vest. Felt Pennants Dawn Hunter: Where can people buy your work? Caroline DeSanctis: My work is always available online at my website — Fastdoll.com — and you can also commission a custom piece from me there as well. I also sell items on my Instagram feed from time to time — @fast.doll. I do lots of local handmade & vintage markets regularly in the Park Circle and North Charleston area. I also have pieces available at The Station, which is located locally in Park Circle. In case you forgot — The boots stay on! ‘The Boots Stay On’ felt pennant featured in two different color ways. • 100% hand-stitched & hand-assembled (no machine!) • Each measure 12” x 6” Fast Doll Web Site

Explore Diana Farfán's whimsical ceramic sculpture, who often offers social commentary in her art. Learn about her impactful community role in our interview. To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key. Artist Spotlight: Diana Farfán "My advocacy is something that I learned to use as I felt the need to implement strategies that elevate my Latino community and educate others about us." Featured in this section is a portrait of Diana Farfán in her studio taken by Will Cooks. A native of Bogotá, Colombia, our artist spotlight Diana Farfán's lifelong affinity for ceramic sculpture was sparked by pre-Hispanic figures and colonial architecture. After finishing her BFA at Universidad Nacional de Colombia in 1999, Diana expanded her horizons, gaining new perspectives at universities in Alaska and Taiwan. In 2010, she added an MFA from the University of South Carolina to her academic credentials. Now settled in the heart of Greenville, South Carolina, Diana expertly juggles multiple roles. She's not just a sculptor but also an instructor and a passionate advocate for Latino artists. From orchestrating art exhibitions to drafting strategic plans, she's got a lot on her plate but manages it all with aplomb. Known statewide for her community involvement, she's a Liberty Fellowship alumna and Aspen Global Leadership Network member. Diana's work, noted for its whimsical, thought-provoking figures, has received multiple accolades, including the Best in Show at the South Carolina State Museum's 30th Anniversary Juried Exhibition in 2018 and the First Place Award at the 2015 Pickens County Museum Artists Exhibition. Her installations, such as "The Dream Life of Broken Toys" and "The Toy Republic," revealed biting social and political commentary through seemingly innocent toys and puppets. Linthead by Diana Farfán Q & A with Diana Farfán Dawn Hunter: Diana, your work often features dolls, puppets, and toys with deep, meaningful narratives hidden beneath their playful exteriors. What initially inspired you to choose these forms as a medium for your social and political commentary? Diana Farfán: Since I can remember, anthropo-zoomorphic forms have come out of my mind and hands easily. At an early age, I perceived that I could create my stories and that my body was always available for anatomical references. I enjoyed making fabric and paper puppets that embodied my characters and staging short plays to parody family and friend situations. Bogota, where I grew up, experienced many social conflicts due to the civil war and the anti-narco battle in Colombia, so it was usual to hear hostile descriptions of violent events broadcast on the news. I remember playing with my toys, dramatizing scenes from those disturbances while giving a sense of the national and world chaos in those years with my playful characters. Years later, after finishing my BFA, I worked as an art teacher in public schools in Bogotá, Colombia, and I came across the reality of many children who came from families displaced from the countryside to the city, fleeing from social conflicts derived from those wars I used to hear from the radio. This experience redirected my gaze toward the issue of manipulation when observing these young lives in vulnerable conditions. In 2002, I began to develop a visual proposal based on marionettes, puppets, and ceramic dolls that served me well to exemplify the theme of reverie, innocence, and control. Consecutively my work was expanding in a more human-nature sense. In a capitalist and consumerist system, in which everyone is manipulated but also manipulative, we play the game of action and reaction, give and take, pull and push, victim and victimized. We are part of a social fabric with invisible strings that connect us. When our purposes are positive and collective, we are constructive and grow. When our goals are ambitious and selfish, sadly, we become destructive and obstructive. Although my social and political commentaries hold desperation and sadness, I intentionally leave traces to find light and hope in my sculptures. 1+1=3 by Diana Farfán Detail of Linthead by Diana Farfán Dawn Hunter: You've truly made a mark on the Latino arts community through your art and your advocacy work. Can you recall a specific moment when you felt your contributions really made a difference? Why does that memory stand out to you? Diana Farfán: In 2012 I joined Palmetto Luna Arts' Board of Directors, an organization based in Columbia, SC, whose mission is to foster an understanding of the Hispanic/Latino culture by promoting artistic creation and providing opportunities for cultural expression for the community in the state. It was my first experience working for a non-profit, and I needed a clear path to advocate for my community, but eventually, things started working well. I learned about cultural agency and how to use art as a tool to open dialogues among diverse groups. For example, we, Latinos, are often stereotyped as loud, colorful, party people who eat tacos, beans, and rice; and wear flower-printed clothes, braided hair, long mustaches, and sombreros. However, we are much more than that. There are 20 countries and 14 territories in Latin America, each with specific idiosyncrasies and a vast diversity of body looks, ideologies, traditions, folklore, heritage, and cultural expressions. To illustrate that, here are two examples. In 2016, 12 Greenville-area Hispano-Latino artists from 8 countries participated in Feeling Latino, an art exhibition held at the Metropolitan Arts Council whose purpose was the celebration of the different nationalities sharing the same language and territory. The opening night was a great hit, and the gallery was utterly packed with Latinos and people from elsewhere exchanging experiences regarding cultures, art, and life. Another successful event was Ecos (Echoes), conceived by The Citadel Oral History Program and orchestrated by PLA. In 2018, a group of nineteen artists from SC was tasked with listening to real stories of immigrants told by their protagonists to create artwork based on their interpretations. The creation process took approximately ten months, and every artist was asked to report the progress of their works before submitting the final pieces. I witnessed how the commotional stories profoundly touched every artist. I was surprised at the chain effect when the artists' relatives, friends, colleagues, etc., got engaged with the processes and felt identified by the works' narratives. The Columbia Arts Museum's Community Gallery was the first space to host Ecos, and once again, the opening reception was a big turnout. It was the first time for several of the attendees to visit a museum that day. It was significant for the artists' families, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc., to feel proud of their heritage and, most importantly, included in such an important art institution. Ecos was planned as a tour exhibition for two years, but until 2021 it was visiting cities in other states, including NC and OH. My advocacy is something that I learned to use as I felt the need to implement strategies that elevate my Latino community and educate others about us. Linthead Installation by Diana Farfán in the Mill District, Columbia, SC Dawn Hunter: Your body of work is quite diverse, ranging from your earlier creations to your recent series "Bread and Circus". How would you describe the evolution of your art and what has influenced this journey? Diana Farfán: My first pieces, during the last years of my undergraduate program, were based on my interpretation of Bogota's citizens and our way of navigating a chaotic society. Aesthetically, my ceramic pieces evoked armatures and shields, as if human bodies were unearthed or hidden and protected by an impenetrable breastplate. They were large-scale with an industrial look and earthy colors, possessing a nostalgic urban presence. Then, while I worked as an art teacher for the public school system in my hometown, my ceramic production was based on my student's lives. I used babies and child-like shapes to make them articulated puppets and marionettes, joined with rusty nuts and bolts, hung from strings with movable armatures, conveying a fragile but resilient look. I wanted these ceramic bodies to communicate control, manipulation, and hope. I felt the need to speak about my home country's social and political situation, Colombia, which also reflected what was happening globally. During my graduate program, I intended to communicate my thoughts more efficiently, playfully, and poetically with casted shadows, soundtracks, built stages, and display devices such as rusty metallic swings, stools, and sandboxes made from found steel machinery or disposed of wooden components. My original puppet style branched into many toys that gained a dramatic and powerful dimension, narrating childhood innocence and the intrinsic and complex possibilities of adulthood in politics, religion, and education. The meaning of toys as objects or channels of entertainment, training, and learning is what I felt compelled to use. More recently, the human anatomy I used in my figures comes back and forth. I create specific anatomical measurements for my characters depending on the story I want to pursue, where the use of the body ranges from the classic cannon to abstract and conceptual representations. My latest ceramic production involves my concerns about the human relationship with animals and the environment and my preoccupation with overpopulation and our unstoppable consumerism. Pursuit of Happiness by Diana Farfán Dawn Hunter: Your artwork is absolutely unique and full of character. I'm curious, what does your creative journey look like? How does an idea in your mind transform into one of your distinctive sculptures? Diana Farfán: Before I start a body of work, an installation, or a singular piece, the content and physicality are the elements I define first. I enjoy exploring techniques, materials, and styles and combining different approaches to create my figures. My daily experiences are the portals to stimulate my mind, create projects, transform clay into shapes, and adjust my figures. I find inspiration in occurring that enables me intellectually and emotionally. The stories of the people around me, news of my home country, international affairs, art, a song, a movie, a conversation, a memory, and many other subjects touch my soul. For instance, my love for animals led me to volunteer for the Greenville Animal Shelter in 2019. Still, I learned quickly about the sad side of inhumane animal treatment in my area, in SC, and beyond, such as unregulated animal breeding for profit and the cruel dog and cock fights. I needed to educate myself and the kids on animal issues to prevent animal injustice in my community. That journey taught me about a particular field called Humane Education, which is an action-oriented field of study that draws connections between human rights, animal protection, and environmental sustainability. I got excited to know that HE is taught as a subject and curriculum in various US states, but unfortunately, not in SC. So, I decided to use my two preferred art mediums, ceramic sculpture, and education, to address my concerns and advocate for the voiceless. My recent body of work -Conversation Starters, Constellations, and Pursuit of Happiness- is oriented to speak out about humans' scary impact on nature, the environment, and all living creatures. I need to externalize my concerns because it burns inside if I don’t do it. Dawn Hunter: You've been recognized with several awards and exhibited at numerous prestigious venues. What would you consider your proudest moment as an artist so far and why? Diana Farfán: To be recognized is something I don't think about. However, when I achieve a goal, an award, or any accomplishment, I take it as an opportunity to grow, educate others on ceramic art, and practice to be humble. Perhaps my proudest moment achieved as an artist was my MFA graduation day because my parents flew from Bogota, Colombia, and my sisters with in-laws came from far to celebrate with me. My family and husband, all my most loyal supporters, felt my graduate degree was a mutual effort. They knew how challenging it was for me to successfully culminate three years of an academic program as an international student when I had to improve my English, develop a cohesive body of work, cultivate relationships, learn how to navigate a new city, and adjust to the American culture, all together at "the speed of light." Diana Farfán's Website dianafarfan.com Share this interview! Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link Artist: Diana Farán| LOCATION: Greenville, SC Title: The Last Kiss. 2023 Competition Year. The Last Kiss by Diana Farfán

Explore South Carolina Sunshine's vibrant features: 'Outdoors' for landscapes, 'Culture' for heritage and arts, 'Studio Visit' into Dawn Hunter's artistry, 'Dish with Darcy' for culinary joys, and 'SC People' celebrating our residents. This is your gateway to the beautiful state of South Carolina! Featured Sections Greetings, friends - let us help you find the best that South Carolina has to offer! Welcome to South Carolina Sunshine's Featured Sections, where we celebrate the vibrant and diverse facets of our beautiful state! Our mission is to immerse you in the unique charm and warmth that South Carolina has to offer, showcasing the richness of our community, the arts, and our natural environment. Our SC People section puts the spotlight on the inspiring individuals who make South Carolina truly special. From community leaders to local heroes, we share their compelling stories and celebrate their achievements, showcasing the unique personalities that bring our state to life. Within the Outdoors section we guide you through the breathtaking landscapes, parks, and recreational activities that make South Carolina an outdoor lover's paradise. Discover hidden gems and reconnect with nature as you explore the Palmetto State's scenic wonders. Tailored and curated, our Culture section takes a deep dive, exploring the heart and soul of South Carolina's heritage, arts, and traditions. We focus on contemporary art exhibitions; however, we also feature local festivals and stories that highlight our region's history. We aim to weave a cultural tapestry that defines our state's identity. Dish with Darcy is your go-to source for mouthwatering culinary adventures! Join our resident foodie, Darcy, as she uncovers the best eateries, local recipes, and gastronomic delights that South Carolina has to offer, providing a delicious taste of our regional cuisine. Lastly, i n Studio Visit, we take you behind the scenes for an intimate glimpse into the workspaces and creative processes of South Carolina artist and USC professor, Dawn Hunter. Learn about her inspirations, techniques, and the stories that shape Dawn's artistic journey. At South Carolina Sunshine, we believe that every feature is a main course, while our columns, departments, and spotlights provide a delightful assortment of appetizers, sides, and desserts to complement your reading experience. We invite you to explore our Featured Sections and indulge in the diverse flavors of South Carolina. Enjoy! About Experience South Carolina! - the inspiration behind our website, we are fueled by the remarkable talents and accomplishments of individuals in the Palmetto state. With a unique blend of art, science, and community service, we've crafted a vision for a site that transcends the ordinary. Browse our online webzine that celebrates and explores the exceptional people, enchanting culture and natural beauty of South Carolina. Learn More SC People Dawn Hunter's SC People section for South Carolina Sunshine™ provides exclusive interviews bi-monthly with notable individuals contributing significantly to their communities throughout the state. From community and business leaders to creatives, each story sheds light on South Carolina's rich diversity and evolving culture. Stay tuned for our following lineup featuring inspiring conversations with engaging artists, entrepreneurs, and educators shaping our present and mapping our future lives. Left, Caroline DeSantis of Fast Doll. Learn More Outdoors South Carolina Sunshine™ | Outdoors section is your resource for exploring the stunning landscapes , hiking trails, and outdoor activities in South Carolina. We have organized a collection of must-see places and exciting things to do. Embark on unforgettable adventures and create cherished memories as you experience the natural beauty and charm of South Carolina's great outdoors. Learn More Culture Welcome to South Carolina Sunshine™, your ultimate guide to the vibrant cultural events that make the Palmetto State shine. Our specially catalogued content features an array of exceptional happenings across South Carolina, ensuring you stay informed and inspired. Immerse yourself in the rich tapestry of our state's culture and discover events that capture the essence of South Carolina Sunshine™. Learn More Dish with Darcy Join Darcy, Dawn Hunter's vivacious daughter, as she embarks on mouthwatering culinary adventures throughout the Palmetto State. Accompanied by friends, local talent, and a passion for food, Darcy showcases South Carolina's diverse and delectable cuisine. Embrace Darcy's motto, "food prepared is meant to be shared," and savor the scrumptious flavors of our beloved region with Dish with Darcy™. Learn More Studio Visit Join artist Dawn Hunter for a Studio Visit. Here you'll journey through her creative world. Explore a captivating photo essays and "Tumblr" page that showcases her past, present, and future projects, reflecting the depth and diversity of her artistic endeavors and gain a unique insight into the creative process of this talented South Carolinian artist Learn More

Join Dish with Darcy as we embark on a delicious adventure with Universal Yums! Each month we sample international snack boxes filled with sweet treats, savory delights, drinks, chips, and candies. Explore our reviews and favorites from the tasty Baltic and Thailand boxes, and discover how you can enjoy snack surprises delivered right to your door! Darcy's Universal Yums Experience Visit different cultures through a mystery snack box, written by Darcy Phelps. Hi and welcome back to Dish with Darcy! Today, we’re trying something new—something called Universal Yums . Universal Yums is a subscription service that sends you a box full of delicious snacks from all over the world every month. The box’s theme (or country) changes monthly, along with the snacks. There are different box options to choose from—we went with the Super Yum Box, which costs $500 for a full year. This tier includes something sweet, something savory, a chip, a drink, and some sort of candy. The Baltic Box This is a new experiment for Dish with Darcy, and so far, it’s been a fantastic experience—the food is really tasty! Universal Yums is a fun way to get a little surprise delivered to your door every month with just a few clicks. The link will be down below so you can sign up and enjoy the same great experience. The Baltic Box Our first box featured snacks from the Baltics. Everything was delicious! My personal favorites were: Grandma’s Legendary Wafer Cake Jellyssimo Blackcurrant & Melon Jellies Barbariss Karastusjook Barberry Soda The only miss for me was the Lentil Snack Maple Bacon Chips—not my thing. Overall, I’d rate this box an 8.5/10. “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Lao Tzu The Thailand Box The Thailand Box Welcome back to Dish With Darcy! As you know, we’re shaking things up with Universal Yums, and this month’s box was all about Thailand. I was pleasantly surprised by how many sweets were included—though my mom was a little skeptical since she prefers savory snacks. Here’s what stood out to me: Liked: Tasto Salt & Sour Chips Sour Punk Spaghettio Soft Candy Green Tea Matcha Crème Coated Coco Biscuit Sticks Suthera Thai Coconut Rolls with Honey Cinnamon Not for me: Hi Tempura Seaweed Chicken Larb Mongu Mongu Pink Guava Flavored Drink with Coconut Jelly Bits Jack N’ Jill Fun-O Cookies & Cream Final ratings? My mom gave it a 7.5, while I’d say 8/10. Can’t wait to see (and taste!) what next month’s box brings! Final thoughts: We're having so much fun exploring global snacks through Universal Yums, and we hope you've enjoyed joining our journey. Every box brings new surprises and flavors from around the world, making snack-time an exciting adventure each month. Be sure to follow along here at Dish with Darcy as we continue to share our favorite finds (and even some of the misses!). Click the link below if you'd like to start your own snack discovery—and let us know which box you try first! Happy snacking!

South Carolina Sunshine Presents: Celebrating the Artistic Accomplishments of Marius Valdes – Award-Winning Illustrator, Renowned Public Art Muralist, and Author of Bird Break. South Carolina Sunshine is honored to feature Award Winning ZOO Valdes Illustrator, recognized public art muralist, and author of Bird Break, Marius Valdes. Marius Valdes is an artist currently based in Columbia, South Carolina. He is a Professor in Studio Art concentrating on Design and Illustration at The University of South Carolina. He lives in Forest Acres, South Carolina with his wife Beth and daughter Emma. Valdes' artwork has been exhibited and published in throughout the United States and Europe. His work has been featured in several books about contemporary graphic design and illustration. Design publications such as Graphic Design USA, HOW, Print, Communication Arts, Creative Boom, Creative Quarterly, STEP, and industry competitions including American Illustration, World Illustration Awards, AIGA InShow, AIGA SEED Awards, and The South Carolina Advertising Federation Addy Awards have recognized Valdes' work. In 2017, Valdes completed a one year residency as the inaugural visual Artist-in-Residence at the award-winning and innovative Richland Library. In 2020, he completed a series of commissioned artworks and murals for MUSC's Children's Hospital located in Charleston, SC. Above, Dogs and Frogs sketchbook drawing by Marius Valdes. Q & A with Marius Valdes Dawn Hunter: Why did you become a Graphic Designer/Illustrator? Do you consider yourself both, or do you consider yourself an illustrator? Marius Valdes: I started college as a Psychology major and took an art class (my1st art class ever) as an “easy” elective. What I found was that I could sit in a 3-hour drawing class and never lose interest, but a 50-minute Psychology class was torture. I was a little worried about telling my father I wanted to be an art major (since I had no training) but he told me to go for it. He talked to a colleague at his job that was in the marketing department, and he suggested I look at Advertising. I joined the Ad Club at the College of Charleston and won an internship with a local designer named Gil Shuler. I spent the whole summer in Gil’s design studio and knew that design was what I wanted to go to school for. Once I learned what illustration was, that became my real passion. These days, I have resolved myself to the fact that I am an educator 1st, artist second (because I can make art whenever I want), and I do illustration for clients when I have the time and there is interest. I love design but running a design business while teaching full time is very difficult to do properly. I use a lot of my design training in my art though from technical skills to aesthetics of my minimalist and colorful style. Marius Valdes mural installation at the reception area of the MUSC Children's Hospital, Charleston, South Carolina. Above, a commissioned painting for MUSC Children's Hospital by Marius Valdes. Dawn Hunter: This year you provided the illustrations for Columbia’s Vista Lights event. Is this the first year you collaborated on the event’s promotion? Or have you collaborated on it before? Marius Valdes: Several years ago, I was approached by Vista Lights to do some new art for them. I created a huge library of art for them, and they have used various elements from that collection over the last three years. I believe there is interest in creating a new look next year and I look forward to that. It truly makes my day to see my characters on banners, billboards, and beer cups! I was stuck in traffic on I-26 when I saw my reindeer pop up on a digital billboard. It instantly put me in a good mood. Above, and example of one of Mairus Valdes' illustrations for Vista Lights, Columbia, SC. Dawn Hunter: What are the most important skills for an illustrator? Marius Valdes: Conceptual ideas and a visual language that is your own. The technical side of it whether it be computers, software, etc. is just a tool. You need to know some of those things to produce a professional level of artwork but if you don’t have a good idea or a style that is your own, you might not make work that is that interesting to produce and that will show in the work. People are drawn to something that has a bit of personality and that comes from an illustrator who has found their voice in their image making. Dawn Hunter: You are known as Zoo Valdes, and you create many illustrations that feature animal characters. How did you get started on that path? Marius Valdes: When I first started making art, I was trying to do portraits of people and I am terrible at it. Making characters that are animals and creatures is a little more forgiving when it comes to stylizing and simplifying them. Plus, I truly love animals and am quite fascinated by them. I could watch animal reels on Instagram for hours. (Sometimes I do). Also, I originally came up with Zoo Valdes because I figured it would be easier to spell than Marius Valdes. Zoovaldes.com just sounded more memorable. I have had numerous calls over the years from people calling to see if I could bring animals to their kid’s birthday party. Dawn Hunter: Where do you find your inspiration and how do you research a project? Marius Valdes: I love books and magazines and comics. If I see an illustration in any of them that I like, I immediately try to find them online and learn more about them. I literally tear things out of magazines weekly and tape them into my sketchbooks. It might be a New Yorker cartoon or a cool photograph of a rock star. It might not necessarily be of something that I would make art of myself, but it makes me want to be creative. In the last few years I have become a bit obsessed with comic book covers. I love the art, the type, the colors, and collectability aspect. I can’t make art like that, but it makes me want to make my own art. So, I have these types of things hanging in my office to inspire me daily. Researching a project is very important because it often gives you the clues to figuring out what you will make for the client. In doing a mural for The MUSC Children’s Hospital, it was very important to meet the hospital workers, see the space, and understand how my art could be used to make the hospital a better place for their patients. Dawn Hunter: Who is your favorite artist? Marius Valdes: William Steig was a cartoonist and children’s book illustrator. He created Shrek! I love his drawings more than any other artist I have seen. Charles Schultz (Peanuts), Bill Watterson (Calvin and Hobbes) and Jack Kirby (Marvel comics) are close behind. The last contemporary artist exhibition I saw that literally knocked me back in awe was by a painter named David Bates and his exhibition called “The Katrina Portraits”. He literally paints the way I wanted to when I took my 1st art class. One of many mural walls created by Marius Valdes at the Richland County Public Library, Columbia, South Carolina. Dawn Hunter: You have a few mural projects in South Carolina. Where are the locations? Marius Valdes: MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital has several. Sumter Gallery of Art. Richland Library Teen and Children’s Room. West Ashley in Charleston, SC off Savannah Highway. AC Moore Elementary Library. Satchel Ford Elementary Cafeteria. I have a solo exhibition at the Koger Center in November 2023 so I am thinking hard about how I can make that my best show ever. Dawn Hunter: How did those opportunities come about? Marius Valdes: I have made a lot of art since 2000 and people come across it and think “oh, this would be perfect for us”. So, it usually starts with an email from someone who has just seen my art and wants to discuss a project. The 1st big mural I did was for Richland Library, and it helps potential clients to see what my work looks like in a real environment. So doing larger installations is a newer medium for me but I love it. It’s so rewarding that people let me transform a space for them with my characters. I take it very seriously because I know it will be in their space for a long time. Dawn Hunter: What piece of advice would you give your younger self? Marius Valdes: Make more work but be patient about your career. I graduated college and wanted to be a famous artist on day one. I was restless and impatient to have my work be seen. I was not ready to do client work. I needed to find my own voice and that took a few years and a few hundred paintings. 24 years later, I am still figuring it out! But perhaps most important, do what comes natural to you and don’t compare yourself to others even though it’s really hard not to. Visiting Artist, Marius Valdes with attendees of his Secret Species solo exhibition at Miami University. Visit Marius' website, click on the underlined link below Marius Valdes | ZOO Valdes

Interviews with important people in South Carolina, plus outdoor activities, cultural events and Dawn Hunter's art on Dawn Hunter | South Carolina Sunshine. Walk for Peace, photo by Perry McLeod This winter, a group of Buddhist monks traveling on foot from Texas to Washington, D.C. passed through South Carolina as part of a 2,300-mile Walk for Peace. Botany Bay Heritage Preserve, Bleak Hall, Ice House Edisto, South Carolina Sunrise at the Beach Bulls Island, South Carolina Walk for Peace, photo by Perry McLeod This winter, a group of Buddhist monks traveling on foot from Texas to Washington, D.C. passed through South Carolina as part of a 2,300-mile Walk for Peace. 1/11 Interviews, features, and discoveries across South Carolina Dawn Hunter Art ® | South Carolina Sunshine™ is a lifestyle webzine dedicated to promoting all things South Carolina and is part of the Dawn Hunter Art ® boutique web network. This website is a collaborative project of visual artist and Fulbright Scholar Dawn Hunter and her daughter, Darcy. Together, they learn about and explore the state's vibrant culture, discover its hidden gems, and learn about the great people who make up its communities. There is a particular focus on events that extend beyond local communities by featuring "happenings" with regional, national, and international connections. They feature an online listing of outdoor activities in South Carolina. For the culture enthusiast , they regularly publish photo essays of art exhibitions. Dawn Hunter Art ® | South Carolina Sunshine™ provides curated content with a unique and intimate look into what makes the state special. Along the way, Dawn is committed to sharing her creative life and process with others in the Studio Visit section. Facebook X (Twitter) WhatsApp LinkedIn Pinterest Copy link New Interview! Meet Udorji Oji, emerging artist, currently studying Biological Sciences and Art Studio at the University of South Carolina. Known for his striking colored pencil work, Oji blends realism with conceptual exploration, drawing inspiration from both academic training and personal history. A recent participant in major exhibitions like the SVAD Juried Art Exhibition and Artista Vista: Rooted, he is now focused on expanding his portfolio and revisiting the conceptual themes that first sparked his passion. Click Here to Read the Full Interview! New Studio Visit On a recent trip to Atlanta, Dawn Hunter filled her sketchbook with studies of Kim Chong Hak’s luminous paintings at the High Museum, lively portraits at Politan Row and vibrant landscapes of the Atlanta Botanical Garden. These drawings capture both the vitality of art and the quiet presence of everyday life. Click Here to see more drawings from the trip! Featured Sections About Experience South Carolina! - the inspiration behind our website, we are fueled by the remarkable talents and accomplishments of individuals in the Palmetto state. With a unique blend of art, science, and community service, we've crafted a vision for a site that transcends the ordinary. Browse our online webzine that celebrates and explores the exceptional people, enchanting culture and natural beauty of South Carolina. Go to About SC People Dawn Hunter's SC People section for South Carolina Sunshine™ provides exclusive interviews with notable individuals contributing significantly to their communities throughout the state. From community and business leaders to creatives, each story sheds light on South Carolina's rich diversity and evolving culture. Stay tuned for our following lineup featuring inspiring conversations with engaging artists, entrepreneurs, and educators shaping our present and mapping our future lives. In this photo, Nakisa Abdollahbeigi at her exhibition opening, Carry On. Go to SC People Outdoors South Carolina Sunshine™ | Outdoors section is your resource for exploring the stunning landscapes, hiking trails, and outdoor activities in South Carolina. We have organized a collection of must-see places and exciting things to do. Embark on unforgettable adventures and create cherished memories as you experience the natural beauty and charm of South Carolina's great outdoors. Go to Outdoors Culture Welcome to South Carolina Sunshine™, your ultimate guide to the vibrant cultural events that make the Palmetto State shine. Our specially catalogued content features an array of exceptional happenings across South Carolina, ensuring you stay informed and inspired. Immerse yourself in the rich tapestry of our state's culture and discover events that capture the essence of South Carolina Sunshine™. Go to Culture Dish with Darcy Join Darcy, Dawn Hunter's vivacious daughter, as she embarks on mouthwatering culinary adventures throughout the Palmetto State. Accompanied by friends, local talent, and a passion for food, Darcy showcases South Carolina's diverse and delectable cuisine. Embrace Darcy's motto, "food prepared is meant to be shared," and savor the scrumptious flavors of our beloved region with Dish with Darcy™. Go to Dish with Darcy Studio Visit Join artist Dawn Hunter for a Studio Visit. Here you'll journey through her creative world. Explore a captivating photo essays and "Tumblr" page that showcases her past, present, and future projects, reflecting the depth and diversity of her artistic endeavors and gain a unique insight into the creative process of this talented South Carolinian artist Go to Studio Visit Events Calendar - Get your 'SC Daily Sip' Unearth South Carolina's hidden gems with 'SC Daily Sip', your curated events compass to the state's best food, art, concerts, and more - click to start exploring today! Take Me There Get Outside! Explore Congaree Discover the Congaree National Park , a host to a diversity of plant and animal wild life. It is one of largest preserved stretch of old growth bottomland hardwood forest in the southeastern United States. The floodplain is revitalized by the waters of the Congaree and Wateree Rivers, which deliver essential nutrients and sediments. This natural process fosters a rich ecosystem and sustains the impressive national and state champion trees found within the park. Experience Botany Bay Heritage Preserve Explore the untamed natural beauty of Botany Bay Heritage Preserve which spans 4,600 acres on Edisto Island. The maritime forest and tidal creek of this Lowcountry beach allow visitors to see weathered trees that resemble natural sculptures rising from the sand. The coastal sanctuary provides walking trails and is home to some of South Carolina's diverse wildlife comprised of more than 100 bird species. This hidden gem, is rich with cultural and ecological heritage and is just a scenic drive from Charleston. Escape to Bulls Island Bulls Island stands as the largest of four barrier islands within the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, remaining remarkably untouched and pristine. Established in 1932, this refuge is dedicated to safeguarding wildlife and their habitats across its expansive 5,000-acre expanse. Bulls Island boasts a flourishing maritime forest enriched by a variety of fresh and brackish water impoundments, alongside a picturesque beachfront. Extensive networks of roads and trails crisscross the island, providing abundant chances for hiking and wildlife observation. Brought to you by artist Dawn Hunter as featured in . . . crazyhorse/ swamp pink CIRCULATING NOW

Darcy creates cupcakes for her teachers, using limited edition Dolly Parton frosting. This gesture showcases her creativity, love for Dolly Parton, and gratitude. Soft Serve Vanilla Ice Cream PHOTO ESSAY BY DAWN HUNTER AND DARCY PHELPS, NOVEMBER 19, 2022 We are so excited to get a new ice cream maker, and we went for a reasonably priced model created by the brand Tasty. There were a range of colors to choose from, and we were able to select one that suited Darcy's style. She promptly decorated it with a sticker created by one of her favorite YouTubers and a source of her inspiration for Dish with Darcy™, Moriah Elizabeth. We watch her creative YouTube channel every Friday together. "Nobody has everything and everyone has something” - Moriah Elizabeth Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream Darcy has been trying to make ice cream in a plastic bag for the past few weeks. The results were less than she desired even after shaking the mixture in salted ice. Since tackling ice cream from scratch and minimal technology had been frustrating, we decided to go for a recommended ice cream mix. The mix we found, Junket Ice Cream mix, was simple to follow and only required a few ingredients that we already had in our kitchen. After a few trial and errors, we finally had a delicious and smooth soft serve ice cream that we could enjoy! tasty.co Moriah Elizabeth Junket Desserts Unique History Ice cream's origins can be traced back to ancient China. Its appearance can be traced to Italy through Marco Polo and then to France with Catherine de Medici. Eventually, it made its way to the US through Thomas Jefferson. European ice creams appeared in Italy during the 1600s and eventually became popular throughout Europe by the mid-century. This is recorded in letters, journals, and records from Paris, Florence, Naples, and Spain. "I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!" - Howard Johnson History continued: Ice cream reached America with European settlers and was served by the first lady of colonial Maryland as early as 1744. George Washington bought a mechanical ice cream maker for Mount Vernon in 1784. Thomas Jefferson, who developed a taste for French-style ice cream while in Paris, served it at the executive mansion at least six times and wrote ten recipes, including one for vanilla ice cream with egg yolks. By the late 19th century, ice cream had become a popular treat in America. In 1874, the ice cream soda was invented, and by 1881, the sundae made its debut. The waffle cone stole the show at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, while Popsicles were patented in 1923. Both Dairy Queen and Carvel claim to have created soft-serve ice cream in the mid-1930s, and frozen yogurt hit the scene in the 1970s. Junket Vanilla Ice Cream Recipe 3 Junket® Rennet Tablets 2 tablespoons cold water 3 cups whole milk 2 cups heavy whipping cream 1 cup sugar 4 tsp vanilla Dissolve Junket® Rennet Tablets in cold water by crushing. Set aside. Combine remaining ingredients in saucepan. Heat while stirring to lukewarm (110º F). Remove from stove. Add dissolved tablets. Stir a few seconds and pour immediately into freezer can. Let set at room temperature until firm and cool. When mixture is set, place container into the ice cream freezer and follow manufacturer’s instructions. Begin churning until it is frozen.

Darcy creates cupcakes for her teachers, using limited edition Dolly Parton frosting. This gesture showcases her creativity, love for Dolly Parton, and gratitude. Inspiration from Patz Fowle PHOTO ESSAY BY DAWN HUNTER AND DARCY PHELPS, 9-7-2022 During our most recent Lake City excursion, Darcy and I went to the Onward and Upward exhibition at the Jones-Carter Gallery. The show featured artwork by Patz Fowle (1954-2021) and Mike Fowle. We were taken and awe-struck by the artwork, which led to an impulse buy of Patz Fowle's whimsical and exquisite clay work Every Artist...Has a Story. The piece is comprised of hand sculpted stoneware, porcelain, oxides, underglaze, stains, and luster. The ceramic work contains references to famous works of art by artists like Dali, Picasso, and Munch, and seminal readings of Art History. The tactile surfaces rival the painted surface qualities of The Isenheim Altarpiece by Matthias Grünewald (1512–1516) and inspired Darcy's cookie bake off! “It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done.” ― Vincent Van Gogh Who was Patz Fowle? Born 1954 Ringgold, Georgia Died 2021 EDUCATION Parsons School of Design, New York City, New York Adelphi University, Garden City, New York Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, Georgia Patz Fowle was renowned for her illustrative, handmade ceramic sculptures, which were glazed with bright low-fire colors. Her works often featured anthropomorphic animals, such as zoo animals taking a taxi or a fish walking to work with a briefcase. She developed unique sculptural techniques, known as the "Patz Process Ceramic Technique," which were recognized by the American Ceramic Society and featured in art textbooks. In collaboration with her husband, Mike Fowle, she created large-scale metal public art sculptures. Jones Carter Gallery Patz Fowle Mike Fowle Patz Fowle's work inspires a cookie bake-off. The best location for this artwork in our house? The kitchen table, of course. Our meal times are now rich with discussions about art, history, and Patz's work. There are so many layers of references in the artwork. What a wonderful gift for our home! The work served as inspiration for Darcy's and Eva's sleepover cookie bake-off this past weekend. The greatest challenge? The icing and cookie cutters could not translate the fine detail of the elephant. All photos by Dawn Hunter, click on the photos to activate a slideshow. “I dream my painting and I paint my dream.” ― Vincent Willem van Gogh Pat Fowle Public Collections American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, California Big Bleu Birdnanna, public art sculpture, commissioned by city of Florence, South Carolina Dr. Ronald E. McNair Life History Center, Lake City, South Carolina McLeod Regional Medical Center/ McLeod Family Medicine Center, Florence, South Carolina Recipe: Sugar Cookies Ingredients: 3 cups sifted flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 2/3 cup shortening 1 cup sugar 2 eggs (well beaten) 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/4 cup of milk Directions: Mix and sift flour, baking powder, and salt. Cream shortening, add sugar slowly, and cream until fluffy. Stir in well-beaten eggs and vanilla extract. Add sifted dry ingredients with the milk. Blend well and chill. Roll 1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured board. Cut cookies into desired shapes. Bake at 375°F for 10-12 minutes.

Conversation: Exploring Art, Life, and Education with Sara Schneckloth, Nakisa Abdollahbeigi, and Stephanie Allen – Insights into their Artistic Journey, Experiences at the University of South Carolina, Teaching Perspectives, and Post-Graduation Pathways. Welcome to CONVERSATION, interviews with Sara Schneckloth, Nakisa Abdollahbeigi and Stephanie Allen. SARA SCHNECKLOTH is passionate about teaching. Her excellence in the classroom was recognized this past spring when she was awarded USC's prestigious Michael J. Mungo Teaching Award - for the second time during the past ten years! The first was for her undergraduate teaching and the second was for her Graduate teaching. Professor Sara Schneckloth has been teaching at UofSC since 2007. She has a reputation among the student population as a great motivator who is prone to incorporating the unexpected and innovation in the art classroom experience. Students find her classes exciting, rigorous, and rewarding. South Carolina Sunshine has interviewed Sara and two of her recently graduated students: undergraduate Stephanie Allen and MFA graduate Nakisa Abdollahbeigi. Image above, by artist and UofSC professor, Sara Schneckloth from her Topographies series: Earth pigments, graphite, colored pencil, wax on Yupo, 2021. Dawn Hunter: Teaching is a great passion of yours. How did you become interested in teaching? Sara Schneckloth: It is indeed a driving passion! I had the pleasure of teaching for the first time in Cape Town, South Africa at the Community Arts Project from 2000-2002, where I discovered how grounding and satisfying it is to be in a studio classroom with people who are focused, engaged, and motivated – it has grown and expanded ever since, whether at the University of Wisconsin as a grad student and instructor, and here at Carolina since 2007. Dawn Hunter: You have won two Mungo teaching awards, one for undergraduate teaching and one for graduate teaching, what are your perceptions of similarities and differences among those student populations? Sara Schneckloth: Our students all bring different levels of experience into the classroom, and I believe it’s important to meet people at whatever level they are starting. In any level of drawing course, we engage with the questions, techniques, and processes that can help bridge the gap between what they aspire to create and a growing bank of skills and resources they have at their disposal. Like many of us teaching studio art courses to undergraduates, SVAD classes attract both art majors and students from across the university who are keen to bring artmaking into their lives – it’s these interdisciplinary conversations that can really take an undergraduate project in exciting directions, as students look to combine their other academic interests and cares with drawing. SVAD graduate students bring a host of life experiences with them as they engage in three years of creative and academic study and studio work, and I am perpetually inspired by the strides these artists and scholars take in bringing their creative visions to light while in the MFA program and beyond. Above: Sara Schneckloth working at her summer studio in New Mexico. Photo by Megan Clark. Dawn Hunter: When you pursued your MFA at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, at the time, did you envision teaching becoming such a big part of your life and studio practice? Sara Schneckloth: I did, if only because of recognizing early on the excitement and joy I feel when working with a group of inspiring and motivated students – that dynamic energy, the flow of ideas, the deep immersion in creative process – all of it elevates my overall approach to making artwork. There is a cyclical flow between what happens in my studio and what happens in the classroom – each feeds and inspires the other and I honestly and simply love working with people as they bring a vision to light. Dawn Hunter: Describe your teaching style. Sara Schneckloth: My approach to teaching combines rigorous attention to a range of traditional and contemporary drawing methodologies, encouragement of self-discovery, and active engagement in peer critique. I believe that every student brings a unique set of personal experiences to the university environment, and that one of my roles is to support undergraduate and graduate students in investigating and translating those diverse experiences into meaningful works of art, through drawing, writing, and speaking, becoming artists who move fluidly between ideas and images. From teaching to mentoring and advising, I work with graduate students to build solid technical skills in visual artmaking, confidence with materials and processes, and a critical and incisive language for talking about their work and the work of others. Students move forward with a better understanding of themselves as thoughtful practitioners they learn to ask questions of their artwork, each other, and of the enterprise of art making as it manifests across disciplines. In my career at UofSC, I am dedicated to training a generation of artists, scholars, and future educators who embody principles of open exploration and expression of ideas, and care for the aesthetic dimensions of being in the world. Dawn Hunter to Nakisa Abdollahbeigi: How or why did you decide to work with Sara Schneckloth as your mentor? Nakisa Abdollahbeigi: Professor Schneckloth is a very kind and supportive person—also highly professional and experienced in studio art with main focus on Drawing. Since Drawing is my primary major, I have decided to work with Professor Schneckloth as my thesis mentor. Dawn Hunter to Stephanie Allen: How or why did you decide to work with Sara Schneckloth as your mentor? Stephanie Allen: I've worked closely with Sara since I was a sophomore. Even before I had asked her to be my thesis director, she had mentored me more than any other professor I had worked with. She understands my goals as an artist, knows my range of skills and where to push me. Choosing her just made sense. She was always willing to go above and beyond to support me and I am so indescribably grateful for how she's helped shape my undergraduate experience. Above, image from Nakisa Abdollahbeigi's MFA thesis exhibition, Carry On. Dawn Hunter to Sara Schneckloth: How does teaching a class or working one-on-one with a student in a classroom setting manifest differently from mentoring a long-term project? Sara Schneckloth: When working with any student on a project, long- or short-term, my hope is that they allow their thinking and processes to be fluid and evolve. That evolution can take on many forms, whether in how they approach the act of seeing, the drawing techniques and materials they use, or how they invent new conceptual challenges and questions for themselves. Being able to work with a student over an extended period of time is so rewarding, as often the project will go through a period of radical reinvention, as the person goes deeper into what is really motivating them to make the work. It’s that blend of discovery and excitement that can propel a project to even greater success, with momentum to keep making more work going forward. One of many mural walls created by Marius Valdes at the Richland County Public Library, Columbia, South Carolina. Dawn Hunter to Nakisa Abdollahbeigi: What qualities did Sara bring to the relationship that helped you progress your thesis in the right direction? Nakisa Abdollahbeigi: One of the most important qualities I admire in Professor Schneckloth is her organized and detail-oriented personality. As my thesis mentor, she played a key role in helping me coordinate committee meetings routinely and provided excellent mentorship for developing the idea, implementation, and management of my thesis project. She also evaluated my performance in the program and provided thoughtful feedback on each step of my project to help me complete it with the best quality. Dawn Hunter to Stephanie Allen: What qualities did Sara bring to the relationship that helped you progress your thesis in the right direction? Stephanie Allen: Sara has a knack for finding the most interesting and unconventional mediums and surfaces. I knew she would be a great resource to have when working on a project that required unusual materials. I wasn't sure what the pieces would be made of or how they would be hung, and she provided resources that allowed the project to look professional while staying within budget. She has a great eye for abstraction. This show features some of my very first exclusively abstract pieces that would not have been conceptualized without her guidance on materials, abstraction, and the intuitive mark. Sara has worked with similar interview-based projects before— she knew where to look for weak spots in interviewing ethics and how to create successful visual narratives. While I technically have a drawing concentration, Sara has a very expansive definition of what a "drawing" is. I knew that this perspective would give me the creative freedom to work however I needed to and would allow me to take an untraditional approach to drawing. Above, Strive, a mixed media drawing by Stephanie Allen. Below, Stephanie Allen's BFA thesis exhibition titled, In My Skin, Her Skin. Both photos by Stephanie Allen. Image above, by artist and UofSC professor, Sara Schneckloth from her Topographies series: Earth pigments, graphite, colored pencil, wax on Yupo, 2021. Dawn Hunter to Stephanie Allen: Your thesis exhibition is a personal and biographical (of you and others) show. What did you want the viewers to learn, understand or experience from the show? Stephanie Allen: The ways in which the spoken word and the creation of art can lead to a larger understanding of self was deeply considered in the creation of this project: by understanding other queer stories, I could more clearly engage with my own. This exhibition is an artistic investigation of queer femininity and body image. As our bodies and identities are so deeply intertwined, this project explores the way in which the body and presentation create and structure perceptions of queerness, gender, and beauty. Each portrait represents a queer woman or non-binary person that I interviewed, directly rendering their appearance and abstractly interpreting their relationship with their body and queer identity. This project aims to visually record the feeling of being seen and one’s developing knowledge of their identity. Specifically, by realistically showing a variety of different body types that all relate to queerness and femininity in some way, we may expand our presupposed notions about the body enforcing identity. Additionally, despite these varying appearances of the body, the throughlines of body insecurity, navigating queer expression, and learning self-love unify these differences to reinforce the idea that the person is so much more than the body. Understanding that the body is art and art is the person is a key component of my work. In extending our definition of art to include the body, we can shift out of a sense of moralizing critique to one of understanding, appreciation, and respect for both the self and others. Dawn Hunter to Nakisa Abdollahbeigi: Your thesis exhibition, Carry On, was a personal/autobiographical show. What did you want the viewers to learn, understand or experience from the show? Nakisa Abdollahbeigi: One of the most important aspects of my thesis exhibitio n was to help the viewers feel and communicate with the emotional challenges immigrants face during and after immigration. Most importantly, I aimed to show them how feelings of living far away from loved ones, like parents, siblings, best childhood friends, and family members can have personal and emotional impacts on an immigrant’s life. Another aspect was to show how the sense of disconnection from the original culture, language, memorable moments, and nostalgic places in life can affect an immigrant’s personal identity. Lastly, my goal was to reflect on challenges that immigrants experience after moving to a new country such as adapting to a different culture and learning a new language. Above, image from Nakisa Abdollahbeigi's MFA thesis exhibition, Carry On. Below, Nakisa (center) with guests at her exhibition opening. Above, image from Nakisa Abdollahbeigi's MFA thesis exhibition, Carry On. Below, Nakisa (center) with guests at her exhibition opening. Dawn Hunter to Stephanie Allen: The work is created in layers, and each piece is a complete experience on its own, but the entire show works as an installation. Was that intentional, or did it synchronize in the installation process? Was that intentional when creating the works for the show? How did the choices in the installation evolve? Stephanie Allen: These pieces are what I have come to describe as "floating collages." The question of materials was something that long haunted me in the beginning stages of this project. More specifically, the question of how to hang said materials was one of the biggest early challenges that I faced. I was set on the pieces being larger than life and knew that the show had to function in layers. I wanted to have a layer that realistically described the body, and another layer to describe the person's relationship with their body femininity, and queer identity. This made it difficult for traditional materials (canvas, board, frames, etc.) to practically function. Acetate was light but durable, and had the transparent quality that I wanted. Ultimately, the installation came together because it had to. Once I had created the pieces, they needed to go up however would work. Based on the advice of Sara Schneckloth and my second reader, Brent Dedas, I used magnets and metal plates to hang the drawings. I wanted the pieces to invade the viewers' space, have intricate cast shadows, and have distinctly separate layers (i.e. I didn't want them stacked flatly on top of each other). The choices I made for installation then followed these requirements that I had established for myself. Above, BFA Thesis exhibition, In My Skin, Her Skin, by Stephanie Allen. Photo by Dawn Hunter Below, closing reception for In My Skin, Her Skin. Photo by Rachel Kaiser. Dawn Hunter to Stephanie Allen: You selected unconventional drawing materials for the works, and the figures are larger than life in scale. Why did you decide to use unconventional materials, and what was the process that led to the large-scale figures? Stephanie Allen: A big part of the show was subverting the expectation that the body dictates identity and expression. It was the perceived difference between these two things —body and identity— that I wanted to focus on. Because the two exist in different spheres, I wanted the visual representations of each aspect of the subject to have separate spaces on the piece. Yet, because they are combined to create one person, they had to exist within a singular composition. I didn't want to create separate pieces (one about the body of the subject and one about the identity of the subject) because that would strip the body of personhood and the person of body. Our identities and bodies are deeply and personally intertwined, so the notion of a floating collage seemed like an interesting challenge that fit my thematic goals. I wanted the pieces to command attention— these drawings are about real people and their stories, so they deserve to be on a scale that appropriately describes the complexity of queer identity. Dawn Hunter to Nakisa Abdollahbeigi: There was an installation piece in the show, Memories in My Carry On. However, one could argue that the entire show is an installation with sub or "mini" structures within it - like, Family Album or the diptych Family Tree. Was that intentional when designing the show? How did the choices in the installation evolve? Nakisa Abdollahbeigi: The central idea for my exhibition was developed based upon the concept of immigration and its challenges. The components of the show were designed to reflect on different aspects of this main concept with the goal to show how personal, cultural, and emotional challenges play a critical role in an immigrant’s life. The most challenging part for setting up the exhibition was the installation of the "Memories in My Carry On" as the central component. This theme was designed by wrapping a suitcase – as a symbol of immigration – in red straps inside a wooden box and visually connecting it with photos of family, moments, and nostalgic places printed on fabric. To develop the idea for this theme, I played around with the sub-components and changed their order and composition several times. The empty space between photo installations on the wall and the suitcase on the floor was filled with red-strap loops hanging from the ceiling. This latter component was designed to create an obstacle and make it difficult for the viewers to walk in the space between components with the goal to symbolize challenges that immigrants experience during and after their transition to a new life. Above, Stephanie Allen's mixed media drawing titled Skin. Photo by Dawn Hunter. Dawn Hunter to Stephanie Allen: How did your work evolve and change while at UofSC? Stephanie Allen: The biggest change that came to my work was increasing degrees of abstraction. I was almost afraid of working abstractly when I first came to Carolina I felt that I had to "prove" my ability to work realistically before delving into the abstract. This then resulted in an interesting combination of realism and abstraction: I love creating weird abstract shapes and images that functioned realistically within their compositions without being directly representational. This project was in some ways far more representational than I have worked in a long time but is simultaneously one of the most abstract series I've done. I honestly see myself continuing to spiral into more abstract territories. My work has consistently focused on feminine and queer identity while at Carolina, and I am interested in expanding and diversifying this thematic base that I've established. Dawn Hunter to Nakisa Abdollahbeigi: How did your work evolve and change while at UofSC? Nakisa Abdollahbeigi: Studying art at UofSC was my first experience with an American educational institute after my immigration to the United States. At the beginning, I found it very different from my experience with an educational institute in my home country, Iran. I gradually adapted myself to the new environment and learned many new things about the art, culture, and language by taking different courses and working on studio art projects for my classes and the MFA thesis. The SVAD program has given me the chance to interact with amazing students and work with inspirational professors and artists who showed me how to think and work creatively and supported me along the way. In my program, I became familiar with a wide range of materials and learned many new techniques for creating art and these skills will be critical for my collaboration with other artists and exploring new things in my future career. Above, Nakisa Abdollahbeigi at the opening of her MFA thesis exhibition, Carry On. Below, detail of an installation piece. Dawn Hunter to Nakisa Abdollahbeigi: What are your future plans? Nakisa Abdollahbeigi: Personally, I enjoy working in academic environments and continuously exploring and learning from other people’s work. I also highly value teaching and am enthusiastic about having the chance to share my experience with students. As an immigrant artist with Iranian background, my plan is to continue working on projects that can help raise awareness about and promote appreciation for cross-cultural values and differences. I believe this is one possible way artists can contribute to building bridges between people from different personal, social, and cultural backgrounds. Dawn Hunter to Stephanie Allen: What are your future plans? Stephanie Allen: I majored in English and studio art while at UofSC and truly enjoyed both subjects. Right now, my career is aligning more closely with my English degree. This summer I am attending NYU's Summer Publishing Institute and I plan to pursue a career in publishing from there. However, as I'm always looking for ways to combine my passions, I am certainly keeping an eye out for publishers of illustrated books and art-based magazines. I plan on continuing my artistic practice regardless of my career path and hope to ultimately find my way back to grad school. Dawn Hunter to Sara Schneckloth: You have initiated a lot of opportunities for teaching, outreach, and community engagement. Do you have plans to develop other teaching initiatives? - like in NM, is that a program/residency you aim to grow? Sara Schneckloth: The studio work I do in the summer in New Mexico is a central part of my overall creative research, and working out here in this remote and rural location is a point of ongoing inspiration and challenge. It’s exciting for me to be able to share the kind of work I do out here with others, and I am interested in growing that in the years ahead, but slowly and with care. I just hosted a small in-person gathering for six artists keen to integrate natural materials into their practices we gathered local clay and ground it into pigments, hiked though the San Juan Basin badlands gathering visual inspiration, and created drawings to connect mark to landscape. The act of uniting material to place is one that can be revelatory, and I hope to create more opportunities to do that with others in the years to come. Dawn Hunter to Sara Schneckloth: What surprises you the most about teaching? or, What event did you experience in education that gave you the biggest surprise? Sara Schneckloth: I think I’m most surprised by how new it always feels every semester, with the rush of jumping in to a full stream of potential, and being a part of such personal exploration, development, and growth. I am grateful for being a part of hundreds of people’s creative processes over the past twenty plus years of teaching, and look forward to many more. Sara Schneckloth, final thoughts on teaching: I would say my teaching style closely mirrors how I work in the studio – I’m driven by an ethic of play and experimentation, curiosity, and a willingness to hold things lightly throughout the process, even/especially when things don’t unfold as planned. By engaging in a blend of close observation, traditional drawing approaches, and experimenting with diverse materials and processes, my hope is for students to make discoveries about their own investment in creating images and artworks, and find satisfaction in process and image alike. Learn more about Sara by visiting her website link below. saraschneckloth.com

Dive into 'Dish with Darcy' as we explore a tasty Sour Cream & Cream Cheese Dip recipe. Quick, creamy, and perfectly tangy, this recipe is great for tweens aiming to boost their cooking skills. Join Darcy, and whip up some culinary magic in minutes! Darcy's Special Sour Cream Dip In the newest "Dish with Darcy" feature, Darcy is whipping up something seriously cool! She's mixed up a super yummy dip using sour cream and cream cheese. Darcy has put a lot of thought into this recipe. She meticulously wrote it out, shopped for the ingredients and set up the kitchen. But don't worry, she didn't forget to have some fun! In her kitchen, cooking isn't only about being serious and exact; it's about enjoying every moment. “Cooking is like painting or writing a song. Just as there are only so many notes or colors, there are only so many flavors—it’s how you combine them that sets you apart.” – Wolfgang Puck Ingredients Sour Cre am: T he star of this recipe. The secret to an ultra-creamy dip with a kick of tanginess. If you prefer, you can replace some or all of the sour cream with Greek yogurt. Be mindful though, this swap will lend the dip a slightly tangier edge. Cream Cheese: Ensure it's at room temperature for effortless blending with the rest of the components. If you've accidentally left it in the fridge, a quick 30-second trip to the microwave can save the day. Just don't forget to remove the packaging beforehand. Mayonnaise: This ingredient works wonderfully to soften the sour cream's tang while lending an additional layer of creaminess to the dip. Green Onions & Herbs: We use fresh green onions, parsley, and dill in this recipe, however not everyone is a fan of fresh dill, so it is encouraged to always select your favorite herbs when making it. Salt & Pepper: These staple seasonings are used to enhance the flavors. Adjust them according to your personal preference. Instructions Blend the Components: Begin by assembling all of your ingredients in amounts that you prefer in the reservoir of a food processor. Pulse the machine until the ingredients are thoroughly combined and smooth. Refrigerate: After achieving a consistent mix, transfer the blend to a suitable container. Allow it to cool and set in the refrigerator for a minimum of 30 minutes to enhance the flavors. Serve and Savor: When ready, serve this delightful cream cheese dip along with a colorful array of freshly chopped veggies, chips, crackers or pita bread - Darcy's favorite. Some great choices include carrots, celery, tomatoes, cucumber, cauliflower, and sliced bell peppers. Enjoy your homemade dip at your leisure! “You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces, just good food from fresh ingredients.” – Julia Child And that's a wrap on the latest feature of "Dish with Darcy!" This is the place where exploring the culinary world becomes a thrilling adventure. Whether it's creating scrumptious cupcakes to show your friends or teac hers how much you appreciate them or exploring traditional Southern recipes like fluffy biscuits and crispy baked chicken, Darcy makes sure you're always invited into her kitchen to share in the fun of cooking. Darcy's super yummy, tangy, and creamy dip is sure to make your taste buds party! Stay tuned for more cooking fun on "Dish with Darcy!"

"Dive into Ella Marushchenko's world, where art meets science in detailed scientific illustrations influencing academia and inspiring students. Her work and candid social media presence serve as a testament that personal goals are within reach." Scientific Inspiration, an interview with Sasha and Ella Marushchenko of Ella Maru Studio, Charleston, SC. Ella Marushchenko and her scientific illustrations inspire me. When Darcy and I set out to make South Carolina Sunshine a serious endeavor, we reached out to the Ella Maru Studio to see if they would be willing to be interviewed for a feature in our SC People section. They replied "yes" within twenty minutes of receiving our email. I was thrilled by their generosity. I have followed Ella Marushchenko's career as a scientific illustrator, often incorporating images of the Ella Maru Studio into my Color and Composition syllabus. UofSC students are in awe of the visualizations of chemistry, nano, and biological concepts coupled with the compelling artistic expression of the subjects. They are inspired by Ella's career path, particularly drawn to her social media accounts, where she is authentic about who she is and sometimes shares challenges that she overcame in her youth. Which, for them, is relatable and makes them realize that their goals are obtainable. Sasha and Ella Marushchenko in KUDU Coffee and Craft Beer, Charleston, SC. Photo by Dawn Hunter South Carolina Sunshine is honored to feature Sasha and Ella Marushchenko, the co-founders and owners of Ella Maru Studio located in Charleston, SC. The business specializes in Scientific design and animation. Artistic Background Ella was born and raised in Ufa, Russia. Art has always been part of her life. Her grandmother was an artist, and her mother, who also has artistic talent, always supported her creativity. She received excellent training while she assisted the famous Russian painter, the late Sergey Krasnov, and his assistant Vera Asanbaeva for eight years. While training with Krasnov and Asanbaeva she learned the importance of observation and honed this skill. Above, painting by Sergey Krasnov. After completing her apprenticeship, she earned her Master's degree in art from Bashkir State Pedagogical University, Ufa, Russia. She eventually moved to the Czech Republic and began to explore many different art forms like ceramics, textiles, and watercolor, but she focused primarily on interior and fashion design. She fully expected to pursue a profession in interior design upon arriving in the United States however, she met Dr. Sergiy Minko, who insisted that she create an illustration for an article he planned to publish in the prestigious peer-reviewed journal Advanced Functional Materials. Her image was selected for the cover of the journal. Above, artwork by Vera Asanbaeva. Ella Maru Studio Other scientists recognized her ability to summarize their content with the well-designed components (texture, lighting, and color) of her images, and she received more requests for work. Sasha and Ella Marushchenko founded Ella Maru Studio to meet the demand. Sasha, who holds a Ph.D. in chemistry, organized a business plan so that Ella's creativity and scientific illustrations could flourish. In the beginning, it was just the two of them, but Ella Maru Studio has grown and now employs eight people. Their team is a combination of Ph.D. scientists and professionally trained artists from the top universities throughout the United States. In each commission they implement Ph.D. level scientific insight with top art design talent to create engaging scientific images and animations. Her illustrations have been selected as cover art for numerous scientific journals, which include: Nature, Nature Physics, Nature Materials, NatureNanotechnology, Cell, Nanoletters, Angewandte Chemie, and JACS. Sasha and Ella have teamed up for other endeavors outside of Ella Maru Studio in the Charleston area. An example is the conservation of eagles and other wildlife in the low country. Recently, an eagle's nest was threatened by new construction. Sasha is passionate about eagle conservation, so during the peaceful, organized protests against disrupting the eagle's home, they created a painting to put at the site for public display. Through their creativity for conservation, anyone who passed by could be educated regarding dynamics in the region that are threatening to wildlife and endangered species. Ella also continues to develop and is devoted to her personal artistic practice. Occasionally, she accepts special commissions, like the painting featured below. It was a work created for Ella's friend. The painting took three months, and it depicts in rich colors and fine detail the Russian fairytale Lukomorye. Ella's Lukomorye painting is as fascinating and as full of wonderment as her scientific illustrations. We don't know about you, but South Carolina Sunshine is looking forward to the next cover produced by Ella Maru Studio! Ella Marushchenko with her painting about the Russian fairytale "Lukomorye." Follow the link below and visit the Maru Studio website. There you will find lots of examples of her scientific illustration and animated work. Ella Maru Studio

Dawn Hunter's travel drawings from Atlanta capture moments at the High Museum and Midtown’s Politan Row. From studies of Kim Chong Hak’s vibrant canvases to portraits of everyday encounters, my sketchbook practice transforms observation into lasting form. To play, press and hold the enter key. To stop, release the enter key. Travel Drawings: Midtown, Atlanta by Dawn Hunter “I love the seasons—spring, summer, autumn, winter. I love them for what they are and for the idea they evoke, that of permanent change. They embody life, renewal, energy." by Kim Chong Hak I brought my sketchbook with me on my recent trip to Atlanta in order to practice life drawing. I engaged in the process at various locations including the High Museum of Art, the Politan Row at Colony Square and the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Travel drawing functions as an artistic practice which helps me both create art and grasp the meaning of my experiences. Drawing serves as my method to observe the world while I slow down and convert brief experiences into enduring artistic creations no matter where I am. High Museum of Art At the High Museum of Art, I sketched two works by South Korean painter Kim Chong Hak—Autumn (2023) and Pandemonium (2018).These large-scale acrylic paintings are part of the Kim Chong Hak Foundation’s collection and were included in Kim Chong Hak: Painter of Seoraksan, the artist’s first U.S. museum exhibition (April 11–November 2, 2025). Kim’s work, is vibrant and features floral and mountain imagery. It resonates deeply with me.His ability to sustain a sense of childlike wonder while rendering nature with expressive intensity creates a dialogue between immediacy and permanence. My sketches of his work became a study not only in line and form but also in the way perception shifts when responding to another artist’s vision. Title: detail of Pandemonium, 2018, by Kim Chong Hak, Acrylic on canvas Courtesy of the artist and the Kim Chong Hak Foundation Title: sketch of Kim Chong Hak's detail of Pandemonium by Dawn Hunter, color pencil, marker and pen on paper, 11" x 17" Drawing in the City Outside the museum, I turned to the city itself. At Politan Row at Colony Square, a food hall and bar in Midtown near the High Museum, I immersed myself in drawing the people who were around me. The space is elegant and casual, and it is a setting that attracts visitors out for the evening, decompressing from work and even wedding parties. The crowded environment lent itself to caricature-like drawings that captured gesture and expression. Among these sketches, one subject stood out: Kree, a young pregnant nursing student on a staycation with her boyfriend. I was struck by her presence, which was restful, grounded, and contemplative amid the busy scene. My portrait of her became a more sustained drawing, balancing spontaneity with careful observation. Title: sketch of guests at Politan Row at Colony Square, Midtown, Atlanta by Dawn Hunter, marker and pen on paper, 11" x 14" Politan Row Community The caricature drawings made at Politan Row in Atlanta showcase the dynamic nature of people who gather in this active social environment. I use quick layered lines to create expressive drawings that focus on capturing gestures and personality traits instead of exact details. The drawings showcase both the natural observation process and the active communal environment through their range of detailed work from basic impressions to fully realized portraits. The collection of drawings presents a dynamic visual documentation of people who interact with each other while showing their unique characteristics. Title: Portrait of Brandon by Dawn Hunter, pen and ink on paper, 11" x 14" Title: Portrait of Kree by Dawn Hunter, pen and ink on paper, 11" x 14" Title: sketch of guests at Politan Row at Colony Square, Midtown, Atlanta by Dawn Hunter, marker and pen on paper, 11" x 14" Title: sketch of guests at Politan Row at Colony Square, Midtown, Atlanta by Dawn Hunter, marker and pen on paper, 11" x 14" Title: sketch of Kim Chong Hak's detail of Autumn by Dawn Hunter, color pencil, marker and pen on paper, 11" x 17" Off the Wall and into the World My drawings of the Atlanta Botanical Garden present an energetic and interactive interpretation of nature which draws inspiration from Kim Chong Hak's dense and rhythmic compositions of his paintings on display at the High Museum. In my sketches I aim to depict the garden's thick vegetation with lines and colors to represent the vibrant plant life. The drawings follow Kim Chong Hak's expressive and action oriented painting and drawing style by emphasizing tempo, movement and abundance of a densely packed landscape. Title: Atlanta Botanical Garden 1, by Dawn Hunter, marker and pen on paper, 11" x 17" Title: Japanese Garden, Atlanta Botanical Garden, by Dawn Hunter, marker and pen on paper, 11" x 17" Process and Purpose My sketchbook practice is rooted in perceptual drawing. The practice of this type of focused observation activates both emotional and intellectual mental operations. Through direct observation of life I establish a dynamic relationship with the artistic elements of line, shape, value, texture, space, color and form. The process provides more than visual study. Through drawing people can focus their minds while developing their spatial reasoning abilities and their skills in working with proportions and gestures. The steady observation of my hand movement across the page creates a meditative state which helps me reduce my anxiety and stress while creating a connection with my environment. Through travel drawing I transform the present moment into lasting marks which transcend the current instant as I draw both Kim Chong Hak's whimsically rich paintings, the people in a crowded food hall or the rich landscape of the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Title: Atlanta Botanical Garden 2, by Dawn Hunter, marker and pen on paper, 11" x 17"