I am an artist based in Nebraska! My passion as a painter is to capture rural life with light and color, and show others the beauty in the simple. I graduated in 2017 with a BA in Art from Hillsdale College, and have since pursued a career as an artist.

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While my main mediums are oil and watercolor, I also enjoy acrylic, charcoal, and graphite. My goal is to call attention to the beauty and dignity of God’s creation, and ultimately I hope that my art brings others joy and peace.

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Besides art, my other passions are cooking, chilling with my dog Oakley, and anything outdoorsy!

Painting and crafting in her grandma’s sewing room is one of Desiree’s earliest and favorite memories. Following in her grandma’s and mother’s footsteps, Desiree has always been busy creating art. From jewelry making to re-purposing to painting, she describes most of her art as whimsical and eclectic. She especially enjoys experimenting with acrylic paint on canvas, wood, and glass.

Desiree also loves to help others tap into their artistic side. She has led paint parties and classes for all ages and ability levels. Groups of friends, coworkers, and 4-H club members have all ended up successful artists under Desiree’s step-by-step guidance.

Originally from Northern California, Desiree now calls Aurora, Nebraska home. She and her husband, Phil, enjoy camping, fishing, live music, making barn quilts, and traveling.

Judy paints vibrant abstract mixed media pieces.

Kelsey Pralle Gooder grew up on a small farm near Wymore Nebraska which continues to influence her work today. You will find the influence of farm animals, farm machinery/equipment, and farm life in her body of work.

She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education with an Emphasis in Art K-12 and currently works as a K-12 Art Educator at Heartland Public School in Henderson, Nebraska. Because of her work as an educator she dabbles in many different mediums in teaching students what art has to offer and what they are working on in the classroom can affect what she is working on in her own studio. Her favorite mediums to work in are acrylics, watercolors, and pastels.

She is passionate about sharing her love and joy for art with her students and with those who enjoy it! She looks at her ability as a gift given from God to which He deserves all the glory. 

For each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s grace. -1 Peter 4:10

Tanya Grosshans is a small town Artist from Aurora, Nebraska. She is a wife, and mother to four wonderful children.  She uses acrylic in most of her creations on canvas, finding inspiration from the Midwest landscapes and farmsteads she’s known since childhood.  Old buildings, windmills, and cattle often find their way into her artwork, though she’s willing to branch out into just about any subject her clients request.
 
Tanya has always wanted to find a way to continue her passion for painting.  Even in elementary school, art was the highlight of her day. After finishing high school, getting married and starting a family, artistry was put on hold, though she found ways to express her creativity throughout her home and in gifts she made for friends and family.  Now that her children are  all in school, she can devote more time to her art.  Her pieces are often displayed at the local boutique, in Jim’s Usave pharmacy, and exhibited at local events.  She also attended The Cattlemans Ball in 2018.  
 
Tanya views each day as a blessing from God.  She is grateful for every moment, either with her family or in her home studio.  She gives all credit to her Creator for,” He has made everything beautiful in its own time.”  Ecclesiastes 3:11  
 
You can find her on Facebook at The Country Canvas and also purchase her work at thecountrycanvas.com.

Kate Laing (Lionheart Canyon Studio) is a weaver and collage artist. The great outdoors and our National Parks wildly inspire her work. She is drawn to the red rocks of the American Southwest's wilderness, and the forested areas of our Nebraska landscapes — and traits of both inspirations can be found in her woven and collage work. 

Kate is currently based in Omaha with her heeler rescue pup (and studio buddy), Sage Biscuit. She attended both the Minneapolis College of Art & Design and Hastings College (BA Studio Art, 2016); and has been featured in various publications, podcasts and gift guides. Hiking, kayaking and thrifting/exploring local businesses are some favorite pastimes.

To view additional fiber and collage works, please visit lionheartcanyonstudio.com — or explore my Instagram corner at @lionheartcanyonstudio.

D&M Stained Glass work with glass, lead came, copper foil and solder. They enjoy making small stained glass pieces like Sun-catchers. Hanging them in your home gives pops of color to rooms as well as showing what interests you might have.

Anna Marie Steffenson is an international artist who grew up half in the Middle East and half on her family farm in Nebraska, 50 miles east of Aurora.  She has developed a new watercolor technique called Rashatain that allows her to push the physical limitations within that medium.  Anna Marie specializes in watercolor and bilingual calligraphy.  Her body of work focuses on bridging cultures. 

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Anna Marie’s work is found in private, public, corporate, and religious collections throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.  You can find her work at AnnaMarieSteffenson.com

Simple, sculptural and peaceful describes the BeNt Shadows art. Light and shadows transform throughout the day allowing the art to be ever changing.

Cindy McClellan is from Aurora, Nebraska. She has been showing art in galleries since 1995. Her primary focus is on simple shapes.

"BeNt . . . it all started with an artist challenge to paint on bent canvases. I used bendy plywood as the structure. Since I am more of a sculptor than painter, I was not sure what my bent artwork would be. I built the background and late at night, I was moving 20 foot sticks of steel rod over the top of the bent wood background and wow . . . bent shadows! The shadows cascaded across the piece and I was fascinated by the line and shapes, thus the concept of Bent Shadows was born." — Cindy McClellan

The pieces are influenced by simple lines and shadows found in everyday objects. In a sometimes over stimulating world, BeNt Shadows art gives you moments of a peaceful pause for your eyes to relax.

My name is Rhonda Bruggeman. I am the artist behind the scenes of Rhonda's Bits of Glass in Papillion, Nebraska. I work from my home studio full time as a glass artist. I have art in 3 area co-op galleries. I work with glass in many forms, including powdered glass, frits, sheet glass, molton glass called vitrigraph, as well as non fusible glass creating mosaics and garden stones. I began working with glass in 1999. I began as a self taught stained glass and mosaic artist. I stopped for awhile and began working with fused glass full time in 2015. I am constantly learning new techniques to offer a wide variety of styles. I do accept commission work from time to time. I participate in several local art and craft shows to support local causes, as well as juried shows.

A designer and artist living near Lincoln, Nebraska, Danielle holds a BFA from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. She is a member of the Mid America Print Council, Lincoln Artists' Guild, and Association of Nebraska Art Clubs. She exhibits her work locally and regionally, and her work has been recognized with multiple awards. In 2019, in a competition coordinated by the Nebraska Arts Council, her work was chosen for Nebraska's first Support the Arts license plate. Her work was selected for the 2018 BFF Banner Art Project.

Danielle works mostly in linocut relief prints. With thoughtful and purposeful execution, bold lines, and solid shapes, her printmaking style is heavily influenced by her experience and background in graphic design.

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She is interested in conservation and science-informed artwork. Her work explores the natural environment, landscapes, and wildlife of the Great Plains. She aims to inspire viewers to investigate the subjects of her work and discover a deeper appreciation for the natural world.​

My name is Marjorie Troyer. I graduated with a degree in graphic design from Wayne State College. I do some graphic design work if asked (like logos, brochures, etc.), but I found myself having more fun playing around in photoshop. I like painting with pictures. Digital art for me has a fantasy element because my imagination is endless. I love layering photos and making whole new images. I make and tweak filters and add endless layers upon layers like brush strokes until I get the image I want. I have been selling my art for over 10 years and I am excited to be a member of Cottonwood Gallery and Arts!

As a native Nebraskan my photography is deeply rooted in Nebraska’s native prairies, river basins, wildlife, plants and insects. Living in Aurora keeps me close to many of those wild places and things that I have a passion to photograph and learn about. Photography allows me to tell stories visually.

Everyday there is something new to explore and a new way to see our world. My goal is not to limit myself to a single genre of photography. I hope my Instagram gallery backs that up. If you follow me you will find a few examples of my short nature videos and time lapse photography. It keeps life exciting. I am currently working on projects to take me down a more creative vein of fine art photography. 

I plan to keep a wide offering of photos and a series of photo cards available at Cottonwood Gallery.

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Follow me on Instagram: @bfbinstailey

Gene is an avid landscape and weather photographer who dabbles in a bit of wildlife and astrophotography. During the months of April, May and June, if there is a severe storm in the area, Gene is likely to be nearby capturing pictures and video. Later in summer, he often embarks on a trip to New Mexico and Arizona to photograph the lightning-rich storms of the southwest desert monsoon in the midst of stunning landscapes. An autumn excursion to one of the US National Parks to photograph colorful landscapes is usually on his schedule as well.

Currently living in western Kansas, Gene was raised on a farm in York County, NE where his love of the weather and open landscapes of the US Central Plains began and grew. His interest in photography began while he was a high school student and has transitioned from black and white film photography into the intriguing world of capturing and processing digital images. He usually has his camera equipment with him wherever he goes because he knows God's good creation is filled with beautiful surprises.

Gene has lived in the African nation of Botswana where he initially served as a bush pilot, providing transport to remote locations for church and mission personnel as well as doctors and other medical professionals. He later worked as a theological extension educator among Botswana's rural indigenous churches. Since returning to the USA he has been a pastor in rural congregations in Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma. In addition to his photography hobby, Gene enjoys travel, fishing and bird-watching.

Mikayla Thiessen grew up in Beatrice Nebraska. She began to enroll in art classes in high school, and soon found her love for the world of pastels. After discovering the medium of pastels, she has never looked back, and it is now her favorite medium to use in her art room. She loves taking a simple subject and transforming it into a loose abstract art piece filled with color. Her favorite pieces to create are live subjects inspired by Nebraska’s culture that comes to life through her pastels.

Besides art, Mikayla is currently attending Bryan Health College in Lincoln Ne to pursue a bachelor’s degree in medical diagnostic sonography. She loves to spend time with her husband, being outside, and enjoys a good movie night.  

Cynthia Uden grew up in the small town of Hastings, Nebraska. Her childhood was spent working with horses, swimming, and doing the things other kids do. Upon graduation from the local high school, she studied abroad in Brazil as an exchange student. 

Upon returning to the states, she returned to her hometown of Hastings where she enrolled and completed her BA from Hastings College. She also worked several years as a compositor at the local newspaper. Drawing and painting interested her and she took several classes at UNL in Lincoln, NE. Soon after, she was accepted to the Printmaking Department at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago and received the Heldman Scholarship. After a year she returned to Hastings, but eventually rented a studio in the Burkholder Project in Lincoln. 

Ms. Uden spends part of her time employed at a retail store and enjoys her remaining time traveling and browsing museums and galleries. Nearer to home, she enjoys trying out new recipes and gardening. 

Nebraska is mainly agriculture and the taste of art is mainly for the realistic; therefore her subject matter is usually realistic leaving behind the fantasy works she created while in art school. At this time she does not have dark room facilities but rather spends time painting and drawing and working with color. 

She is a member of the local art club and has work at Red Path Gallery in Seward, NE. Her online websites include Allartwork.net and Saatchiart.com. She would enjoy hearing from you at cindykuden@hotmail.com

Jerene received her BS in Art Education from Chadron State College (Chadron, Nebraska) in 1976 and an endorsement in Elementary Education in 1980. In May of 2014, she retired from teaching all levels of Art after 25 years at Albion/Boone Central Public School in Albion, NE and her first 3 years at Potter Public School in Potter, NE. 

One of her highlights of teaching was being awarded the Nebraska Art Teacher of the Year Award in 2010. In 2020, Jerene received the Roscoe Shields Award for her continuing support of the Visual Arts in Nebraska. It is the highest award given by the Nebraska Art Teacher Association.

She has exhibited pottery and fused glass at the Association of Nebraska Art Clubs yearly since 1982, winning various awards. She also exhibited at the Nebraska Art Teachers Association, Blue Cat Gallery in Wayne, NE, Studio K Gallery in Grand Island, NE and the Octagon Center for the Arts in Ames, Iowa. She was juried into Impact, a group of 25 artists from Nebraska who exhibit their work locally, nationally, and internationally. Jerene is a cooperative member of Red Path Gallery in Seward, NE.