I’ve always worked with children (public schools, running creative after school programs and summer camps, children’s mental health) and they are excellent teachers about the value of creativity and play. Adulting is hard and my favorite ways to recharge are by learning a new technique, imagining a design and creating a new piece and exploring new materials to include in my work. I’m drawn to color and unique natural stones that help to create little pieces of wearable art. A bonus is finding and reusing recycled or reclaimed items, like those at Scrappy Elephant in my process and my displays. You can find me at various markets in central VA and I’m thrilled to be part of the Artful Elephant from May-July.

Born in Scotland and now living in Charlottesville, I combine my love of animals and bright colors in my work. Using paint drips, splashes, and playful poses, I create a different take on animal portraits that generate excitement in both children and adults alike.

I still have art books from the Advertising Art & Design program at the State University of NY where I earned an Associate’s degree. AAD was an odd choice since I really had little idea of what it actually meant. I only knew I didn’t want to teach, be a nurse, or a secretary. Marriage was the goal back in the early 60s for most young women. Finally, after many different paths, I’ve been able to focus on watercolor painting. Now I own several newer books, I can watch YouTube tutorials, pay for online classes, or attend workshops in person. I even started an Etsy shop and hoping to design my own website next. I love the idea and philosophy of The Scrappy Elephant and happy to be a part of it. These Giclee prints of my original paintings are high-quality archival prints done on 100% cotton watercolor paper. Each print is unique because I add gold embellishments. They can be cropped/matted/framed in a number of ways to suit your taste but I hope they bring add beauty and enjoyment into your home.

Finn is a queer writer, creator, and assistant undertaker. They love storytelling and making art, which is always hauntingly whimsical. All of their art skills are self-taught and ever-improving! They incorporate elements of magic and macabre into all their work, along with methods of thrifting and upcycling. And while Finn loves making art for themselves as well as friends and family, they hope their pieces will find good homes around town too.

I'm a full-time healthcare manager and mother of two. I fell into art, quite by accident, while looking for an outlet to keep me busy when I can't sleep. I get most excited when I find ways to intertwine the different mediums and enjoy the fact there is always a new skill or technique to learn. My current favorite combination focuses on reducing waste by incorporating overflow paint peelings into resin jewelry. Every piece I create comes straight from my heart and is made with love. 

Jessica is a current environmental engineering PhD student at UVA and is passionate about protecting our planet. One way she takes time for herself outside the craziness of grad school is to craft and this past August, she taught herself the art of macrame. She quickly fell in love with this art and the meditative state that comes with tying knots. Over the past few months, she has been creating pieces for herself and her friends and recently began to sell her work as she realized others love this art as well. A majority of the beads she uses come from Scrappy. She is excited to share her work with you all in Scrappy!

Martha Pullen is a landscape artist based in Charlottesville, Virginia. She primarily paints with watercolor, but also enjoys acrylic, gouache, and pastel painting. Though she’s had a lifelong love of art, it wasn’t until 2022 that she first tried watercolor and immediately fell in love with the endless possibilities of the medium. Martha enjoys the unpredictability of watercolor and paints intuitively to create landscapes full of vivid colors and textures. She especially loves painting mountains and night skies and is endlessly inspired by the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia and the Green Mountains of her home state, Vermont. Her work reminds us that no matter how noisy or stressful the modern world may be, peace and beauty can always be found in nature. Martha currently works at UVA but would love to be a full-time artist someday! She recently started participating in local maker’s markets and has had her paintings included in exhibits at the Second Street Gallery and The Center at Belvedere. In addition to her website, you can find her work at the Crozet Artisan Depot, Hello Goodbye Records, and in the summer of 2024, at the Scrappy Elephant in Charlottesville!

For me, pottery is meditation in action where the act of creation is as important as the result. Pottery speaks to both permanence and impermanence simultaneously; Permanence in the transformation of the wet, pliable clay to stone. Impermanence in the repeated failures, glaze flaws and broken pots that inevitably precede the treasured successes. I work on the wheel, hand build with slabs, and form by coil and pinch. My work is contemporary, utilizing a muted color palette and often highlighting the textural contrast between glazed and unglazed areas. These objects are created with love and care. My hope is that the pieces you choose to purchase and take home will bring you joy for a lifetime.

I am the mindful warrior behind RANDOM ACTS OF T-SHIRTS, formally The Be initiative. All my life I have been attracted to the coolest t-shirts. I got my favorite t-shirt from a boardwalk shop in Virginia Beach when I was about 7 or 8. They took the image I chose, layed it face down on the finest muscle T I could find, lowered a heat press, and VIOLA! Magic happened that day. They lifted the press and my shirt was there, created right in front of me. In all of its glory, Miami Mice: two mice dressed like Sonny and Crocket from Miami Vice. I still have that t-shirt! So. These are MY T-shirts. I hand selected the colors, made custom inks, and curated a variety of mindful messages to screenprint. An amazing artist once told me, “When in doubt, use all the colors!” This statement affected me greatly. I decided the world needed more color. I decided the world needed more messages of kindness to attract, encourage, and empower kindness. Have a shirt. Wear a shirt. Start a conversation. Initiate an element of your own being to be kind to others and this beautiful planet we live on!