Marianne van der Veer was born in the Netherlands.
She began her art training at the age of sixteen at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam. There she was taught everything from fine art painting, graphics and interior design. In the United States she attended Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles CA and received instruction in illustration.
As a portrait artist and muralist, she spent six years in the Emirates, four years in France and now lives and works in Laguna Beach, California.
Marianne’s work has been shown in locations around the world including Switzerland, France, the Middle East and throughout the United States.
www.mvanderveer.com
A former San Franciscan, Gretchen Schields moved her jewelry studio to Laguna Niguel in 2007 and was immediately juried into the prestigious Festival of Arts/Pageant of the Masters. For her most recent Festival exhibit, Gretchen showcased her jewelry in wall-hanging collector’s cases displayed as fine art, enhancing the viewer’s experience of the artist’s “hand” in her work.
Born in Japan, Gretchen spent a fairy tale childhood traveling the world and draws upon those experiences of exotic cultures to design her creations. Gretchen graduated from the Art Center College of Design, and was an award-winning fashion, editorial and advertising artist. Her enchanting pictures illustrated the popular children’s books created with novelist Amy Tan. Their collaboration resulted in the production of The Chinese Siamese Cat, which was adapted into the Emmy Award-winning animated children’s TV series Sagwa.
Having achieved these hallmarks of an illustration career, Gretchen decided to pursue her passion for decorative and ethnic art, and began creating her dramatic jewelry in 2000.
Gretchen Schields is a regular exhibitor at Laguna’s summer Art A Fair where she was voted “Best Jeweler”. She is represented by galleries in Park City Utah, and Oakland CA and maintains an extensive year-round collection of her jewelry designs and collector’s case-mounted work at Forest and Ocean Gallery in Laguna Beach.
www.gretchen-schields.com
