Artist Spotlight: Nicole Burris

Nicole Burris is a Lynchburg based ceramicist and Dawn Laurente Marfil is a writer from Manila, Philippines, but they are ultimately one and the same artist.

Nicole holds a BA in Literature from the University of Santo Tomas and an MA in Creative Writing from the University of the Philippines. She came to Lynchburg's art scene through Poetry Night Out at the Academy Center of the Arts in 2022 — and never left. These days you'll find her most Wednesday nights at May Carter Pottery Studio, learning what clay can do under Kim Clarke, Ted Batt, and Studio Director Anna Ellis.

Her sculptural work is an extension of her writing — stories and characters given form in clay.

“ It is my hope that by lifting an owl, a pussycat, a dance, a dragon, a doomed romance, and a tragic little fish from their pages, a new life can be breathed into them now that they’re more fleshed out, more corporeal. And that even if the stories that they came from are far from Lynchburg, love, whimsy, and some other little tragedies remain as universal connection between what you can see and what you can feel. — Nicole Dawn Burris

See her work now through July 26 in Mix It Up Media.

Countdown to the Lynchburg Art Festival!

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This year's Art Festival judge is Alex Grabiec, an artist and educator based in rural Virginia. His photography explores fatherhood, self-image, and the ways photographs shape narrative.

Alex earned his BFA from Longwood University in 2007 and his MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2016. His work has been shown at the New York Art Book Fair at MoMA PS1, the Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art, American University's Katzen Art Center, and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art.

He currently serves as curator of exhibitions at the Longwood Center for the Visual Arts, where he organizes both historic and contemporary shows. He also teaches in Longwood's Cormier Honors College for Citizen Leaders, weaving current exhibitions into his coursework through field trips and artist visits that explore voice, representation, and context.

Every piece entered in the festival will be considered for recognition, with awards totaling $6,000–$7,000+, including Best in Show.

Artist Registration is open until August 31st. Click below to register.

This August:

Coming in August: Petal & Place

Mark your calendar — Petal & Place opens Friday, August 7, with a free reception from 5–7:30 PM. Featuring the work of Meg Bruce, Julia Dean, Margaret Morris, and Kim VandeBogart, the show brings together floral studies and Virginia landscapes for a quiet, atmospheric look at nature, close up and far away.

On view August 7–30

The Lynchburg Art Club runs because of people who show up.

If you're the kind of person who likes to be genuinely useful — helping hang a show, staffing a festival, teaching what you know — you'll find your people here. Our members don't just attend. They build something together.

Memberships from $25/yr. Volunteers always welcome.