Art in August Artists for 2024

I am a longtime resident and member of the art community in Winchester. I am also a member of the Rising Star Quilters Guild of Lexington. I enjoy working on pictorial and modern quilts along with creating bowls and other three-dimensional quilted goods. 

Teri Coté is an artist of several mediums, from music to painting and many facets in between. She has been a visual artist since the age of three, when she remembers being in her mother’s art room. Both of her parents were and are great painters. Teri has shown her work at the Photo Creations art gallery in Medford, Oregon, and her work has been shown in Winchester at Rubini Art. Her jewelry line DRUM JEWELS has been worn by several musical celebrities, including Pink's drummer Mark Schulman and Zoro, the drummer who toured with Lenny Kravitz, Bobby Brown, and Phillip Bailey; custom DRUM JEWELS pieces have been acquired by Ray Benson from Asleep at the Wheel and David Cassidy. The line is available at Jackson Junge Art Gallery in Wicker Park, Chicago.

Teri's musical talents became evident very early when she created a drum set of her own from the kitchen with containers, wooden spoons as sticks and a Folgers coffee can as her throne. She got her first real drum set in seventh grade when she joined the drum corps. Teri has played professionally with many people around the globe; most notably, she was David Cassidy's drummer for 15 years, up to his passing in 2017. She also sings and plays guitar. Currently, she’s working on her own original music in a personal project and also in a duo with Berklee College Professor Jane Potter called JAMPROV.

Teri has been teaching drums for over 25 years. She teaches at 247Drums in downtown Winchester as well as online. Her artistic creations can be seen at her boutique at 5B Park Street in Winchester.

Diane Rubino Davies is a lifelong, multidisciplinary artist who finds relevance and beauty in the organic.
A native of Philadelphia, Diane studied Fashion Design at Moore College of Art & Design. After moving to New York City, she began a career in graphic design and art direction and worked at several national publications, including Good Housekeeping, American Baby, Mode and Seventeen. After moving to the Boston area and having children, she studied photography and began work as a freelance photojournalist for her local newspaper, the Winchester Star.

She was also a portrait photographer who valued idiosyncrasy and imperfection in her subjects, favoring their complex individuality over simple physical beauty.

During her time at Good Housekeeping she was responsible for the art direction and design of the food pages. Informed by this, she created a series titled “A Sweet Role”, during her time in the Photography Atelier 15 at the Griffin Museum. It portrays dessert as theater, taking center stage – as beautiful and dramatic as a main character.

I take my inspiration as an artist from the beauty of nature, gardens and flowers. This appreciation has encouraged my creative interests throughout life, which have included many pursuits over the years from charcoal drawing and calligraphy, to decorative arts, poetry and photography.

I received much of my training as an artist from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester and also studied drawing in Bath, England. More recently, I have expanded my repertoire by taking art classes in Naples, FL. I now work in pastels, acrylic mono-printing and fluid art, as well as photography—often focused on the florals and nature motifs that offer inspiration, whether here in Winchester or through my travels.

I have exhibited original pastels and acrylics at Winchester Public Library in a solo show, as well as the Winchester Artists Network’s member shows. In addition, my photographs have been featured by the Griffin Museum of Photography in exhibits at the Jenks Center and currently can be seen on the Town Common as part of the “Our Town” exhibit. My photo essays are frequently published in Stroll Winchester magazine.

My book The Year in Haiku: A Journey through the Seasons and their Holidays is a collection written in the ancient Japanese haiku tradition, inspired by 35 diverse holidays throughout the year. Photographs of Horn Pond and Lake Quannapowitt, as well as others from my many travels, complement the natural imagery of the haiku.

I am a poet, artist, and emeritus professor (Holy Cross College, Sociology), living in Winchester, Massachusetts.  I have long-term interests in place and landscape in American culture, concerns that often inform my visual art and poetry.

I have shared my drawings and paintings in exhibitions in Massachusetts and Florida, most recently at the Ann Smith Gallery at the Follen Unitarian Church in Lexington, Massachusetts and at a presentation at the Jenks Center in Winchester.  My poetry has been published in The Connecticut River Review, The Naugatuck River Review, The Healing Muse, The Unitarian Universalist World and other journals.   Much of my recent work seeks to combine word and image, exploring the varied ways that poetry and art may converse.

I'm inspired by naturally expressive drawing filled with pure color. My goal is to imbue the paintings with a sense of joy, surprises, and playfulness. I'm usually not making a statement or reaching for anything very intense. I'm simply saying, "This is a wonderful, amazing planet and I'd like to share how I see it."

Most of the work is painted with oil, a few with acrylic and watercolor and they're painted from life and/or imagination.

Mary painted her first floral still life about 15 years ago and hasn’t stopped picking up a brush and paints when a new bouquet enters her home or when walking by gardens. They engage her love of color and freshness.
 

Art quilts

In 2025–2026, Juliette Kopala will be a 12th grader at Winchester High School. While she enjoys spending time hanging out with her friends, her dogs, and her pet bunny, Pumpkin, she also loves art.

Juliette has experimented with different types of art forms since she was very young.  She currently studies painting using watercolor and gouache with her grandmother, Carolyn Latanision, in her studio classes.
Using polymer clay to make intricate imaginary creatures, Juliette creates jewelry, including delicate necklace designs, bracelets, earrings, keychains, and other accessories. Additionally, she loves to work with resin in a variety of ways. Sometimes she mixes polymer clay, resin, and jewelry to create her own unique charms and designs. While in school, she is working towards creating a small business on the side.

Carolyn Latanision works primarily in water media, exploring its unique challenges and possibilities.  She achieves an open, lively technique whether painting cityscapes or people, savoring rich dark textures, light, shadow, form, and the human spirit.  She continues to develop a series of paintings of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation plant in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, having grown up within a few blocks of the blast furnaces.

Latanision is an award-winning Signature Member of the American Watercolor Society, the National Watercolor Society, Allied Artists of America, New England Watercolor Society, Pennsylvania Watercolor Society, Philadelphia Watercolor Society, National Association of Women Artists, Rocky Mountain National Watercolor Society, Whiskey Painters of America, Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club in NYC, and an Elected Member of the American Artists Professional League, among other national affiliations. In the Boston area, she is designated a Copley Master in the Copley Society of Art and a Master Artist in the Cape Cod Art Center..

Her work is in more than 30 corporate collections and many private ones

She regularly teaches several watercolor classes in her Woburn studio September through May. Studio: 500 West Cummings Park, Suite 1050, Woburn MA 01801

I produce fine contemporary jewelry and other metal designs primarily in the precious metals of gold, silver, palladium, and platinum. These are often further defined with the addition of texturing, gemstones and other unique lapidary, or resin inlay. "Clean. Crisp. Geometric. Architectural. Subtle elegance." This is how my work is described by gallery and show customers and viewers, and by commission clients. Designing and fabricating engagement and wedding bands and other custom jewelry, often with people’s stones, is particularly meaningful to me and, of course, the clients. With a long career in education and national education policy, I have purposefully incorporated teaching as a significant facet of my current goldsmithing career.

Growing up, I always was mesmerized by sparkling gemstones and metals and I often incorporate something illuminating into my designs. Whether or not I intricately plan a jewelry piece in advance of producing it or just spontaneously fabricate one as I go along, the result is inevitably something that is unique with a contemporary flair that complements, rather than overwhelms, a wearer. When designing jewelry or other metal work, I always thing about whether I would wear it, use it, and/or display it. Anyone who knows me sees a reflection of me in what I design.

My creative brain has led me down many paths. As a child, I designed and sewed doll clothes. As an adult, I designed and sewed Halloween costumes, draperies, runway costumes, and faux painted people’s homes. My poems and illustrations contributed to three anthologies. My watercolor cards and prints are sold in conferences and stores. Locally, you can find them at Book Ends.

Recently, I moved into abstract acrylics using a Dutch Pour technique. I am very excited to hang my art in China Sky for the month of August. Please support local businesses by patronizing their restaurant. And while you’re there, check out my work.

Alex is the owner on Alessandro Salon in Winchester and an accomplished painter.

Jean Wallace is the Director of Art Education at Studio on the Common. She is an artist-educator with a passion for creating welcoming spaces where people can gather to share in the process of art making.

In her studio practice, Jean is focused on understanding and representing the human experience. She begins with an experience, theme, or concept, followed by time researching and exploring to discover the media and form best suited to express her ideas. A few of the media she has worked with include: photography; encaustic; oil painting; bookmaking; and mixed media.

The paintings highlighted for Art in August are small 6” x 6” oil paintings. For this series, Jean selects ordinary objects and elevates them by painting a traditional portrait using oil paint (cut flowers in a vintage milk glass hobnail vase handed down to her by her mother; the plastic owl that sits atop her partner's boat; or the small plastic rooster that lived in her childhood kitchen). The simplicity of the background allows the objects to be front and center — an invitation to recognize the importance of simple moments and everyday objects!

As a lifelong Winchester resident, I’ve been inspired by the beauty of nature and by our arts community. I have explored mixed media, ceramics, and printmaking, and currently focus on Japanese textile dyeing techniques, inspired by research in Kyoto. I’m grateful for the opportunities to exhibit, teach, and collaborate within our creative Winchester community.

In my youth, memorable art classes with WHS teachers Tracy and Walker and private lessons with Susie Vrotsos nurtured my love of art. I studied Art History at Tufts University and Studio Arts at the Museum School, focusing on printmaking and mixed media.

My interest in textiles began when I worked for the custom banner company Design Flag Company. After workshops at Haystack School of Crafts and with Kiranada Sterling Benjamin at Mass College of Art, I was inspired to research Japanese textile dyeing at Kyoto City University of Art (MFA).

I’ve been working with Japanese techniques such as rozome, katazome, shibori and indigo dyeing for over 20 years. My work includes traditional crafts, scrolls and kimono as well as large scale mixed media and public art installations.

My imagery and process are inspired by the power and wonder of each season. My practice of observing movement and change in nature is a form of meditation that heals and nourishes the soul. Through my art, I like sharing this experience by creating spaces where one can relax and reflect on the beauty of nature.

Through my photography, I share fleeting moments in nature that bring a sense of peace and reflection. My series of Windblown Waves captures my textiles fluttering in the breeze at Art Ramble in Concord and at the Winchester Artists Network tent at the Winchester Farmers’ Market.