Artist Profiles

Craig Ogden is a painter who creates from a place of deep emotion. He personifies the term “labor of love.” Ogden started putting brush to canvas again after a decade-long hiatus from art as a means to escape his daily routine. Pushing paints around a canvas again...

The analyst in Jessica Springman could co-exist and surface as her defining art style. The mother of two worked as a statistician and database programmer for some of the world’s largest media and market research firms before the artist in her really resurfaced. Local...

James E. Anderson retired from a 35- year career working in information technology at Herff Jones in 2012. That’s when he discovered the creek and rediscovered his artistic eye. Anderson had lived by Buffalo Creek for 34 years, but says he never saw it until God...

Artist Tori Weyers knew from the age of 3 that she wanted to be an artist, although she wasn’t sure exactly what that meant. Growing up, she would see shapes, creatures and patterns in the world around her and constantly point them out to her parents. This led Weyers...

John Cinnamon and Ann Craig-Cinnamon have spent three decades speaking into a microphone, sending their voices and travel experiences over the radio waves. Ann hosted morning shows at several area stations, while John did mid-days and mornings.John and Ann have...

Christine Merchent knows golf and she knows photography. Nearly a decade ago, Merchent took up the art of photography and hasn’t looked back. Her work has been featured in PGA Golf Magazine, The Smart Woman’s Guide to Style & Clothing, From Photographer to Gallery...

What makes fine art “fine”? Gold frames, precision-cut mats and kid gloves often come to mind when we hear the words “fine art,” and understandably so. Artists pour their heart, soul, money and energy into their work, which often culminates in a precious final...

Local artist, president and co-founder of the Equine Arts Guild, and former Nickel Plate Arts Studio Artist Jan Snyder will showcase a new collection of art in our Stephenson House gallery in August. Her exhibit, “Pathways,” will feature the results of her exploration...

The story of Ailithir O. McGill’s first book project shows how a community of artists can make dreams come true. After years of supporting others to persevere and create, Nickel Plate Arts’ own executive director decided it was her time. What started as one...

For artists, inspiration can come in many forms: light shining through a tree canopy, a grandfather’s rough hand or some breakthrough that comes in a dream. Lesley Haflich found her latest inspiration close to home in Noblesville, where she has lived since 1991. She...

Have you ever been moved to create your own original artwork? Megan Hutchins was, and she’s clearly nailing it. “I began creating nail art in the fall of 2013, when I was pregnant with our fifth child. I had an empty wall in my living room and I wanted to create a...

Krista Darrow has skyrocketed in her budding art career. After her first charity exhibition in 2016 with Agape, she developed her art skills to warrant winning the Emerging Artist of the Year award at the 2019 Nickel Plate Arts Gala (pictured). Darrow, a Fishers...

Melissa Bruhn excitedly debuted her first solo exhibit at Nickel Plate Arts in January 2020. Bruhn showcased a two-part theme, “Polarity.” This theme firstly highlighted the literally “polar” creatures who may no longer be with us in a few years, as their polar...

Simona Buna has been an artist all her life. Harkening back to her childhood, she remembers her house as smelling of turpentine and oils and being filled with her mother’s and father’s canvases. One day when she was thirteen, she picked up a canvas herself and painted...

Dan Howell’s clay work began when he was a boy, making sculptures on the creek banks near the source of the White River on his father’s farm in central Indiana. With encouragement from his high school art teacher, he continued his foray into clay. He first earned a...

Michael McGuire’s backstory as an artist is a poignant one. On October 10, 2015, Michael was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with Dural Venous Sinus Thrombosis, a very rare brain bleed. Two days later, he was rushed into emergency surgery to reduce severe swelling...

“I developed an interest in the visual arts at an early age. That interest grew and became more intense during my high school years and while pursuing a Bachelor’s in Art Education at Taylor University and a Masters in Art Education at Ball State University. With each...

John Dierdorf is the definition of modern impressionism. His abstract impressionist methods emerged as his preferred style and definition of work with the use of loose, spontaneous brushstrokes to capture the essence of a subject. Dierdorf says, “Spending time in the...

Shakila Garugu is a self-taught artist and art instructor who believes in the importance of self-expression. Although she utilized her left-brain talents to receive her masters in mathematics, she later was inspired to focus on her right-brain talents by her mother’s...

The luminous photography of Michael Jack concentrates on landscapes, architecture and automobiles. In each area he tries to draw the viewer into the scene. In landscape photography, his goal is to place the viewer into a position where they would enjoy standing,...

Sheldon is married to Betty, and both reside in Noblesville. Besides his busy psychotherapy practice and hours spent painting, Sheldon conducts a Shaman Circle and participates in various workshops and trainings in Shamanic healing and energy medicine. He is active in...

Belinda Short is a fabulously imaginative ‘mixed media’ artist who also creates sculptures, paintings, digital art, jewelry, resin art, textile art, and more. From papercraft to more traditional art forms, she is truly diverse in style and media. Short has even...