Zachary Cross
of education in art history and photography. I have other projects underway, such as time-lapse photography, which could, in time, become my biggest focus. I see time-lapse as the perfect blend of landscape photography and filmmaking, which is still a really compelling area to me. TP: What has the partnership with AVA been like so far? Cross: Partnering with AVA is probably one of the best things that’s happened to me; the level to which they support artists is amazing. There have been so many opportunities already to get my name out and my work on display, as well as chances to meet other artists and get inspired.
AMBER DROSTE
(PAINTING: OIL/ACRYLIC) The Pulse: Paint for me a portrait of yourself as an artist and how you got interested in your medium. Amber Droste: For me, art is just an excuse to make things with my hands. I attended the Art Institute of Florence, in Italy, where I studied painting and fresco restoration. I received a degree
in Fine Arts and Art History from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY and received my Master’s Degree in Painting from Washington University in St. Louis. I started showing my work right out of graduate school while I was teaching painting and art history at Bay State University in Boston. As a young painter right out of school, I had enough education and knowledge about good art to know that I was falling short of my ambition. I abandoned painting for several years and concentrated on the craft of stained glass. I worked in studios in Boston and Colorado before opening my own stained glass studio, Soda Ash & Sand, four years ago. I love making stained glass and it satisfies my need to make things with my hands, but I recently found myself missing the creative and conceptual aspects of fine arts. TP: Where does your art fit in the current cultural landscape? Droste: This current body of work began in 2016, amidst what I viewed as a societal shift in America. Feeling disappointed and confused by the beliefs of so many in my own country, I CHATTANOOGAPULSE.COM • APRIL 19, 2018 • THE PULSE • 9