Don Forrest
Medium: Photography
A native of Yates City and long-time resident in Elmwood IL, Don Forrest and his wife, Michelle, are the proud parents of two, accomplished daughters. He has been a Business Development Manager with Farnsworth Group (Architecture-Engineering firm), now in his 25th year. Taking photographs has become a compulsive avocation for about a decade…far more than a happy distraction but much less than a practiced profession.
Lori Luthy
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Lori received her M.F.A in Painting from Bradley University, where she is employed as Creative Director for the Admissions office. By day, she is a graphic designer – by night, a visual artist. Her paintings, drawings and mixed media artwork are created in Artsquared Studio, which allows her the freedom to create without the boundaries and restrictions that often come with job-related design.
Her preferred medium is oil, but she has worked with watercolor, acrylics, mixed media, paper mache, pastel, graphite, charcoal and clay/ceramics. She prefers bright colors and more object-oriented themes, and her styles range from gestural to detailed. The piece she submitted for Sky Art Peoria is a departure in subject matter from most of her recent works. Using the landscape of Central Illinois as inspiration, she has added brilliant colors in her interpretation of the rural farm scene.
Lori’s work has been accepted into a number of juried art shows, including: Women’s Work in Woodstock, Illinois, The Peoria Art Guild Nude Attitude Show, Best of Peoria at the Waynar Gallery in Chicago, Illinois, and Best of Bradley in Junction Gallery. She has won a number of awards including Best of Show in the Peoria Art Guild Members’ Show, 2018 and 2020, and Best of Show in opaque watercolor at ICC.
Jaci Musec
Medium: Fiber Arts
Jaci Musec is a Peoria based abstract artist. Jaci found a way to her art through a painful Infertility journey. Painting abstract became a self-healing tool and a catalyst for Musec. Her work conveys an emotional landscape, working with themes of mental health, infertility, self-actualization, female empowerment and more. As she began to find her language and voice as an artist, she explored new mediums. Currently Jaci creates abstract paintings, abstract embroidery and various combinations of those, in addition to poetry, letter writing, murals and singing. Her studio located in North Art Studios in Peoria, is home to her creative workshop PLAY!
Dan Nagel
Medium: Digital rendition of screen print
Daniel Nagel is a Graphic Designer and Screen Printer who lives and works in Peoria, Illinois. He attended Western Illinois University where he received his bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts in 2010. Shortly after graduation, Daniel moved to Dubai, UAE, where he was heavily influenced by his travels and the diverse cultural landscape. During his time in the Middle East, he was a resident artist at Tashkeel, an art facility established by Sheika Lateefa bint Maktoum. In 2018, he relocated to Peoria and began a residency at the Prairie Center for the Arts. He spent his residency creating screen prints that were inspired by his travels abroad. Daniel uses limited colors and balanced compositions to create light-hearted and graphically pleasing works which are accompanied by a range of depth and dynamic textures. Several of his works were chosen to be displayed at the newly opened Ronald McDonald House in Peoria, IL.
Eliza von Zerneck
Medium: Digital Painting
After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2019 with a BFA in illustration, Eliza von Zerneck returned to her hometown of Peoria to join the local art scene. For the past year, she’s been working as an artist in residence at the Prairie Center of the Arts, where she creates her multi-media illustrations for local clients. She hopes this image can honor the spirit of justice and pride that’s so prevalent in the Peoria community.