meet the artists

  • Joshua August

    I am an aspiring artist from Cincinnati. My love of art stems from many ideas flooding my head, so art helps me channel those ideas out. As a Christian, I see my art as a way to express Biblical concepts and ideas. My primary form of art is mixed media. I also enjoy working with colored pencil as it creates a distinct texture. I would describe my work as a cross between abstract, crafty, and a touch of folk-art.

    When not working on art, I can be seen spending time with family, reading the Bible, cooking, swimming, watching hot-air balloons, working, and watching television shows.

  • Lauren Barker

    Lauren is a 31 year old artist currently in the “I am Boundless” Spire Arts program. She enjoys anything indoraptor, from the latest Jurassic Park series. She watches the movies, plays the games, and draws as many as she can on any medium: clothes, canvas, and paper. She thinks they are awesome! She loves doing art because it’s been something she was good at when she was little. She is always exploring new mediums and hopes to grow her portfolio as much as possible.

  • Blake Blackburn

    I love to make art because it expresses my feelings. In addition to creating art, I enjoy racing cars. What I think makes me awesome is that I am a friendly and relaxed person. Creating and sharing art with others is my passion.

  • Timothy Blackwell

    My favorite hobbies are creating art, reading books and spending time online. I love making art because I feel inspired by the world around me. Some things I would like people to know about me is that I am smart, talented, and kind. I have been drawing since I could hold a pen, and what makes me special is my desire to inspire others through my work.

  • Curtis Bowers

    Rrraaahhhh! Don’t be scared. That is a happy growl that says, “My name is Curtis, but my friends call me Curt Dawg!” I’m a 10 year old non-verbal boy with Autism, so I don’t communicate with words some might understand, but I’ve been told I have the best laugh and smile. Communication might be tough at times for me, but my laughs, growls, hoots, and my talker help me to make sure I’m heard and understood! I love Pixar movies (tie between Dory and Buzz), Youtube kids silly songs, swings, trampolines, spinning chairs, squeezes, tickles, Ranch Cheese-It Grooves, and candy (especially jelly-beans and Skittles). Hoot Tah! That’s Curt Dawg for ‘Glad you like my art and thanks for being kind to kids like myself!’

  • Evan Bowers

    Hi Boys and Girls! Evan Bowers here! You may know me from my show “Evan the Boy.” I’m a 12 year old boy who is a big fan of Cheese Pizza (brought to you by Pizza Hut) and Cheese Burgers (brought to you by McDonald’s). My love of art comes from animated movies, particularly Pixar movies (Toy Story 3 is my fave!) and drawing dinosaurs (T.Rexes are the best!). When not doodling cartoons and comics, making my Evan the Boy series, and going to school I like Nintendo games (Mario Voice: Here we go!) and Roller Coasters (King’s Island’s Diamondback is the best Hypercoaster.) Thanks for believing in me and those like me. Our future is bright!

  • Bennett Breckenridge

    I love my family, watching for CSX Trains, playing Legos, Mario, Mickey Mouse and being outside. Art is fun because I can get messy. My favorite food is cheese pizza with pineapples. I am proud of family and my heart shirt.

  • Michael Bumblauskas

    Hi my name is Michael. I Live in Roswell, Georgia. I belong to a program called Just People, an independent living program for people with disabilities.

    Ever since I was young, art has been a huge part of me. It has helped me in so many different ways learning and coping with struggles. Art is a really healthy therapeutic way to help express myself and be creative. I also found it to be a good way to meet friends since its hard at times to meet friends and have relationships. Being able to meet and work with other artist is nice. I enjoy doing many forms of art including sketching, carving, sculpting, music, and mixed media.

    Besides art, I enjoy playing hockey and visiting friends and family. I hope everyone enjoys my art.

  • Michelle Chaffins

    Michelle is a 28 year old local Dayton Artist who inspires to create beautiful realistic works of art. She has been painting for years and has built up quiet the portfolio. She enjoys illustrating flowers and famous country singers like Dolly Parton and Billy Ray Cyrus. She has been in several art programs like "We Care Arts," and "I Am Boundless-Spire Arts." She hopes to continue to make art, and one day sell it in her own store.

  • Jarret Day

    My name is Jarret Day and I love to draw. I like watching Animes and Marvel movies (Spiderman is my favorite) and reading graphic novels. In my spare time, I walk and play with my dog, Roxy, and rollerblade.

  • Asher, Emmaline, & Calista Donham

    Asher is 8. He loves the movie Cars, going outside, and is an ace at claw machines. He likes to go to the park to look for salamanders and frogs. He loves ferrets too. Asher is also a big music fan. He is very funny and wants to be a comedian.

    Emmaline is 7. She loves rules and regulations. Her favorite thing is to brush her teeth every day for exactly two minutes. She likes the musical Six and enjoys singing lyrics. She loves dogs and spends her day drawing them. She’s the artist in the family and can’t wait to take art classes at the museum.

    Calista is also 7. She lives the mariner lifestyle. She loves all things aquatic. She loves jellyfish very much. Specifically, a moon jellyfish because it doesn’t sting. She is very gifted at math. A fun fact about her is that she’s really good at rhyming.

  • Caleb Douglass

    I have a degree in Graphic Design and worked for five years in print media. I am passionate about art. I have gained a lot of visual influences from places I have traveled, including China, New Zealand, and Latin America. I grew up in a homeschool family of three brothers and a sister adopted from China, which meant we had plenty of opportunities to travel. I hope whoever finds what I create to be inspirational.

  • Gabe Hund

    Gabriel "Gabe" Hund is in the 9th grade at Dublin Coffman High School where he serves on the Yearbook team and is the co-founder of the Pokémon club. Gabe is a prolific artist and in 2017 he was selected as an Accessible Expressions Ohio Artist winning 1st place Youth Artist in the State of Ohio for his piece "Chicken Elmo." Again, in 2023, Gabe won 1st place Youth Artist for his piece “Dancing Grave Ravers”. His art often portrays vivid snapshots of the colorful, animated movies that are playing in his head. Gabe is an avid collector of many things, including Plush Birds, Baby Beethoven Bears, and Grave Raver Dancing Statues. When Gabe is not collecting, producing and creating, he enjoys "chillaxing", swimming, listening to music and spending time with a few good friends, his brother Lev and beloved dog JJ.

  • Madi Karr

    I'm autistic. I'm 18 years old. My pronouns are they/she and nonbinary. I love watching cartoons to heal my inner child. Art is my outlet. I use it to express myself, cope with trauma, calm myself down, or pick myself up on a rough day. At the moment, I am going through a depressive episode and find it hard to make time to do what I love. However, I am not going to give up. I refuse to lose this battle; I refuse to let my depression take my life away from me. In my free time, I enjoy reading and collecting books/manga! At the moment, my favorite series are SPY X FAMILY, Demon Slayer, Heaven's Official Blessing, and I can keep going, but I'm going to stop there :)

  • Andrea Kontras

    I am an artist and creative entrepreneur working out of Goodwill Art Studio. I like making art because it makes me feel special and a sense of accomplishment. My skills include needlepoint, painting, sales, and getting things done. My favorite hobbies are cross-stitching and crocheting. I am awesome because I exhibit and sell my art at craft fairs!

  • Michael McCartney

    Michael enjoys playing video games, playing guitar and making movies. His favorite foods are cheese pizza, cookies and cheese quesadillas. Michael has enjoyed art and drawing from a very young age. He would love to go to college in the future and study animation. He is a very easy going and happy which makes him awesome!

  • Colin McCreary

    Colin is 12 years old and has a younger brother and sister. Colin likes Papa John's cheese pizza and McDonald's plain cheeseburgers. He joined the middle school band this year and loves learning how to play percussion. He likes going to musicals and Beatle tribute band concerts. Colin has always loved the alphabet and his favorite show is Wheel of Fortune. He can't wait to show off his Wheel inspired art!

  • Mila Mitchell

    Mila Mitchell is a 19-year-old artist from Columbus. She enjoys character design work and is a newly commissioned artist at The Awesome Company. She enjoys solitude. Mila delights in drinking coffee, and creating art.

  • Lacy Moore

    I am a 20-year-old autistic girl who loves being creative. I like watching movies and tv shows, drawing, and making jewelry. I love traveling and visiting new places. One of my favorite places to visit is Disney World. I also really like theater. I have been doing it for 12 years now. One of my favorite musicals is Newsies.

  • Venkat Sai Senthil

    Venkat loves to draw in paper and iPad. He like to eat Andy’s ice cream cone. He loves to swim. He likes to listen music and doodling in iPad. His smile is so infectious.

  • Finn Stephen

    Finn thinks building Lego sets, taking them apart, then rebuilding them into some kind of robot is awesome! He loves to swim and his favorite color is green. He likes to draw so he can show other people his art and tell them the story behind each one.

  • Brenna Stratton

    I love making art because it is a creative outlet for my active imagination. I absolutely love drawing. I have been drawing ever since I was very young and continue to draw because it is something I am passionate about. My other hobbies are reading, writing, going on nature walks, collecting gemstones, acting, volunteering, photography, singing and dancing. I am currently in college to get my Associates Degree in Studio Art, because I always dreamed of using my hobby and talent in the work field ever since I was little and hope to become a character designer because I absolutely love coming up with character designs and drawing them. I have a huge variety of special interests and I love talking about them because my special interests mean a lot to me, they make me happy and I love buying things related to my special interests such as clothing, figures, plushies and more.

  • Alexis Waite

    I'm 22 years old and I'm from Utah. I currently go to a school geared to support kids with autism. My hobbies include drawing and creating custom digital artwork. My favorite is drawing Sonic The Hedgehog fan art. I also enjoy watching movies and reading comics.