artist profiles.
Cynthia
Colbert
A Desert Gem
Cynthia Guilfoyle is an artist and entrepreneur in every sense of the word. One may say it’s in her blood as she hails from a family filled with Artists, Writers and a successful business owning father with an entrepreneurial spirit that didn't quit.
Cynthia herself has been making jewelry since she was a child. What started out as a hobby with her mother morphed into a lucrative career making vintage jewelry. Her artistry has been featured on two separate occasions in Jewelry affair magazine because of her unique style and attention to detail. She uses only the finest of materials and ensures that each piece lives up to her standards. The beauty of her pieces are timeless and can be worn for formal events as well as everyday casual looks.
Her artistry and creativity isn’t limited to jewelry. She is also a published poet and was featured regularly over the course of two years on THRU Media’s online publication. An interview and sampling of her work can be found here.
Cynthia has been in Tucson Arizona for the last five years but spent most of her life in the Northwestern United States, Including Alaska where she lived and worked on fishing boats in her late teens and early twenties. She states that while the work was hard it was a great experience, but not one that she would care to revisit.
This artist's goals for the future include continuing to further her online jewelry making business, enjoying more reprieves from the Arizona sun in Canada and a soon to be published book of poetry.
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*From the Artist*
“The inspiration for my jewelry is always rooted in nature. I consider myself to be a self-taught naturalist, and I enjoy spending hours at a time in nature, sometimes taking photographs, sometimes just observing the natural world around me. Creating jewelry pieces using natural forms such as leaves, flowers and insects is such a joy for me. Whenever I am unable to spend time outdoors, I can be indoors making vintage-style, nature-inspired jewelry pieces while daydreaming about nature! I find the marriage of vintage and natural elements to be one that works amazingly well.”
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Corianna Klepac
A Painted Legacy
Hi! I’m Corianna Klepac:
I started making art as soon as I could hold a crayon. I was lucky enough to go to an arts magnet school in Palm Beach, Florida where I really honed my craft. I dabbled in printmaking, photography, bead work, tattooing, installation sculpture and philosophy. All of this led me to painting which is so fluid and forgiving. My parents are both artistic, my father is a master carpenter and my mother is a crafter and graphic designer. My sister is a writer and my brother is a guitarist in a band.
My husband and I are a blended family with 8 kids. I have 3 kids, he has 3 and we have twins adopted from Ethiopia. So at the moment we have 3 sixth graders. The youngest is 10 and the oldest 21. They are all old enough to entertain themselves and I have 7 hours a day to create while they’re at school. I actually love juggling housework, cooking, fitness and art. My art studio is right above where my youngest has his “gaming station.”
My husband is my rock, biggest inspiration and best friend. He owns a painting business, so we are both painters but he paints buildings. He’s a wonderful father and mentor to everyone who knows him. I know most people can’t say they have found their soulmate but I truly have.
I grew up in south Florida, we moved from Miami where I was born to Loxahatchee, where we lived off grid while my parents built our house. It was an amazing childhood full of golf carts, horseback riding, alligators and airboats. My parents sold our childhood home when I was a senior in high school and relocated to the mountains of NC where I live now near Asheville. The art scene here is amazing and I’ve painted a bunch of murals around town.
I’ve sold over 1500 original paintings worldwide and hope to be in art history books some day. I truly believe in legacy and what you leave behind can live on. Some of my paintings are personal to me but my joy comes from creating what I like to call “family heirlooms” for my collectors, paintings that are special for that family. You know, like if the house was on fire they would grab my original painting to save it.
-Corianna Klepac
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Mike Sweetman
Life Behind The Lens
Mike Sweetman was raised in midtown Manhattan on 48th street. Hell’s Kitchen, in the 70’s and 80’s, back when the neighborhood lived up to the name.
His love for photography began while participating in a five borough wide photo essay contest, a contest he ultimately won.
Life as it often does, led Mike down a different path and he began what turned out to be a 25 year long career in the culinary field. His dishes are no less artistic than his photography and his customers rave about his skills in French, Italian and Mexican cuisine.
While Mr. Sweetman still enjoys creating with food as his medium, photography remains his true passion and plays center stage in his life only coming second to his three children.
Mike states that when he looks through the camera it’s as if the world disappears and it’s just him and his subject, whether it be a live subject or him indulging in his love of street photography in his old stomping grounds.
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When he is working with people he prefers to "capture moments" as they happen allowing people to see his perspective on life and humanity. He enjoys playing with light and scouting out amazing locations that turn a shoot into something really special. When he’s not working with people he can be found taking photos for new businesses or helping others manage social media photography.
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Mike never has two days that are the same but one thing that is constant is his passion for breaking his own limits. No matter where you meet him, in the kitchen or behind the camera he will be sure to connect with you and you will leave having made a new friend.
Today, he can be found doing shoots all over the Tri-state area but, just like his work, he doesn't get hung up on boundaries. He can be reached via his website.