Biographies
Keith A. Douglas is the executive vice president for The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company. He graduated from the University of Virginia with a civil engineering degree but after constructing buildings on the UGA campus for 20+ years, and sending three kids through UGA, he feels more attached to UGA than UVA.
He first came to the UGA Marine Institute in 2008 to participate in Project Sapelo, a massive volunteer effort to mothball the old dormitory/admin building. Since that event he has organized an annual Whiting-Turner volunteer work weekend.
Keith has always painted. He enjoys painting coastal scenes from Florida to Maine. About 5 years ago he started taking an annual painting workshop with Bo Bartlett (from Columbus) that helped with his figurative work.
Ginger Goekjjan graduated from the University of Georgia earning a B.S and M.S. degree in biochemistry. She was employed at UGA as a research coordinator in the Plant Biology Department for twenty-two years and at the Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study for seven years before retiring in 2011. She is married to photographer Karekin Goekjian and they have two children. At the urging of her husband, Ginger took her first photograph in the fall of 2008 and this started a new and exciting chapter in her life. Ginger and Karekin live on Sapelo Island.
Sue Goldstein is professor of Geology and Marine Sciences at the University of Georgia. She has conducted research on Sapelo for more than three decades. Her photographs have been in exhibitions at the Atlanta Photography Group Gallery, UGA Circle Gallery, Lyndon House Arts Center, Atlanta Botanical Garden and OCAF.
Sue stated, “nature worked very hard to reclaim the Sapelo greenhouse after it was locked and virtually abandoned in the late 1980s. Trees grew through the roof and vines ran up the walls, suspending themselves from the ceiling. Nature’s wild attempt at reclamation masked the regular geometric frame of the greenhouse, reducing it to just a skeleton of its former days of grandeur. The early morning light in the greenhouse during this time created vistas that were stunning, but also haunting. I photographed the greenhouse over several years using a medium format camera and black and white film in an attempt to record the stillness of this nature under glass. I concluded this series of photographs once the greenhouse restoration project began in 2006.”
Jena Johnson was born in New Orleans, earned a Masters degree in entomology at Clemson University and has worked as an entomologist at the University of Florida, Clemson, the University of Wisconsin and currently, the University of Georgia. Much of her time behind the camera is spent photographing insects but she also enjoys capturing the beauty of other small plants and animals. Her photographs have been exhibited locally in Athens, GA and they have been published in several professional journals. Please visit her website at jenajohnson.zenfolio.com
Jena stated, “the photo donated to the Friends of the UGA Marine Institute auction was created after of a memorable weekend trip on Sapelo Island with friends. All of the items on this composite photograph were gathered during a walk on Nanny Goat Beach at low tide in 2015.”
Kathryn Kolb grew up in the rural countryside near Charlottesville, Virginia. After receiving a B.A. from Emory University in Atlanta, she worked as a free-lance photo-journalist in the late 1980’s and 1990’s. For the last 20 years, she has shifted her photographic focus to fine art images of natural landscape and landscape details. Her work is characterized by a distinctive blend of realism and abstraction.
Kathryn’s fine art photographs can be found in numerous private and institutional collections including those of the Georgia Museum in Athens, GA, the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, King & Spalding (Atlanta), Barg Coffin Lewis & Trapp LLP (San Francisco), Georgia Conservancy, Emory’s Goizueta Business School, Georgia Tech, and the City of Atlanta.
In addition to continuing her fine art work, Kathryn hosts photography workshops in partnership with The Third Eye Photographic Adventures and workshops (TheThirdEyePhoto.com), and directs the non-profit Eco-A (Ecoaddendum.org), where she leads educational naturalist walks from urban parks to Georgia wild lands, and assists educating homeowners in how to restore their yards to native natural environments. For more information see www.KathrynKolb.com.
Caroline Montague completed her graduate work in 1966 at the Instituto Allende, Mexico, with a MA in ceramics and her PhD Studio in 1976 at North Texas University, in Denton, Texas. Her paintings and sculptures have been exhibited locally and internationally in invitational, group and juried exhibitions. Commissions of her work include sculptures in Atlanta’s MARTA Brookhaven Station and Georgia Southern University.
Caroline stated, “this series of paintings is inspired by the structure and mysteries of the1920’s greenhouse that is now in renovation on Sapelo Island.The patina of time; rust, mold and moss on this crystal palace introduces organic edges, shapes and a play of hot/cool colors, some with iridescence. These new collage/paintings are made of Sapelo artifacts, pastel, acrylic, and digital images.”
Chatham Murray has been a painter in Athens, GA, for 30 years. Her work graces many homes and businesses in the Northeast Georgia area. Her website can be found at chathammurray.com
Barbara L. Price graduated from Michigan State with a degree in Social Work and a minor in Art. She comes from a talented family of artists. Her mother taught high school art and had her own children drawing as soon as they could hold a crayon. They also made clay figures, learned to weave, batik, draw, tie dye, sew, embroider, macramé, paint, make baskets, create art from junk piles and rocks. Her dad did woodworking and later learned to carve wood.
Barbara started working in stained glass about 15 years ago, mostly making things for love, rarely sell her work. She had been teaching stained glass for several years.
She stated, “I’ve always been awed by glass and the role it plays with light. Living on Sapelo Island, I’m inspired by the how water and light play together. A never-ending sunrise and sunset, repeats colors and often thrown in a surprisingly unique shade. Often similar, but always unique. I’ve lived in two old houses on Sapelo, both with original lead glass windows. I love to peer though old windows, absorbing the charm of the distorted, wavy glass. After years of working with this medium, I can now pick up a piece of glass, study it and allow it to speak to me. Glass is special, magical, fulfilling me and providing great pleasure.”
Barbara is also the Business Manager for the Marine Institute.
Mary Rugg is in love with color and fiber! She stated, “what began as a barter with a sheep farmer for a spinning wheel and floor loom in the late 70’s blossomed into a lifelong passion for weaving.” My approach to weaving is based on the interplay of color and texture of fibers to produce unique garments that are silky, lightweight and reflect my creative spirit.
She studied at SUNY Geneseo, with fiber artist, Jan Jackson, a close friend and mentor who inspired her to explore her own creative spirit, gain skill and confidence. A move to Athens, GA in ’84 sparked new opportunities when she discovered “The Weaver’s Web” shop owned by fiber artist, Erika Lewis.Twenty-three years of classes with Erika has brought continued mastery of the craft as well as inspiration exploring warp, weft and the age-old tradition of weaving.
Each of her scarves, shawls and wraps is handwoven on a Schact 8 harness floor loom or Rigid Heddle loom. Her work has been accepted into several local and regional juried shows, including, The Lyndon House, OCAF, Handweaver’s Guild of America, and the Chattahoochee Handweaver’s Guild
Wade Sheldon is a marine scientist at the University of Georgia with a passion for photographing the natural world, particularly the magical intersection of land, sea and air. He also pursues a wide range of other photography subjects and provides promotional and event photography services for schools, non-profit groups and scientific societies. Wade’s images have appeared in several juried shows at the Lyndon House and Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation as well as a variety of technical publications and regional magazines, including the UGA Research Reporter. More of Wade’s work can be viewed on his website at www.sheldonphoto.net.