Carol Ferony, of Defuniak Springs, Fla.

“Pastel is so intense, so I try to use rounded shapes to balance it out … because life is balance.”

Paul Germain, painter, of Midlothian, Va

“I’m interested in the balance between order and disorder … I’m always looking for the proper balance between the two ... I think painting is magical … I’m interested in it [painting] but I don’t understand it.”

Kina Crow, sculptor, of Allison Park Pa.

“I am so humbled by the experience of being alive and aware of my own existence, and I think that’s what inspires all art, that people are so struck by it [life], that they are inspired to create it.”

Andrew Zimmerman, photographer, of Arlington, Va.

“Most of my work is motivated by a desire to show people part of a landscape that is not looked at much … smaller more intimate parts of nature … the process is a large format camera; it lends itself to a slower more deliberate way of doing work.”

Gina Cochran, mixed media artist, of Burke, Va.

"Everyday life, the chaos of what we know as everyday … the neat little compartmentalized way we try to live life that doesn’t really work [inspires me]…”