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 Dave Flach - 3D Ceramics
Dave Flach and his wife began visiting Sarasota in 2012 and moved here permanently from Atlanta, Georgia, in 2017. Dave's passion for ceramic art bloomed post retirement, when in 2016 when his wife, Deborah, also a potter, asked him to buy her a kiln. It was during that exploration that Dave recognized the wonderful culmination of chemistry, physics, design, engineering, and tactile skills that is Ceramic Art. His craft begins with experiencing emotions and insight and giving them shape in clay.
Dave's formal training came from attending ceramics courses for several years at Chastain Art Center, Spruill Center for the Arts, and Abernathy Art Center, all in Atlanta. Still, he says, much of his skill was refined through self-development in the couple's pottery studio. On the second day of his first ceramic arts course, Dave's instructor told him, “Don’t even try to make a teapot; they’re too complicated for you right now.” Inspired by the challenge, Dave immediately went home and made four teapots, selling two.
Since then, Dave has enjoyed gallery representation here in Sarasota as well as in Park City, Utah. He has also competed, and won, in exhibitions around the state and across the country. Over the years, Dave has been a constant student, experimenting and learning new technique and form, always folding life experience into each new piece and series.
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 Janice Newman - Oils and Watercolors
Janice Newman is an artist and art educator from Rhode Island who moved to Sarasota, FL in 2016. Her undergraduate degree was in Art Education and her Masters degree from Lesley College was as a Specialist in Integrating the Arts, including dance, music, visual arts, poetry and theater. She taught for 40 years in both public and private schools, as well as colleges including the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design.
Janice is a prominent leader in the community who has served as President of the Association for Childhood Education International in RI, and on many boards and committees promoting the arts. She has served as President of Women Contemporary Artists, a regional organization of 150 artists in Florida and is a member of the National League of American Pen Women. Janice’s paintings are currently on display in a yearlong exhibition at Sarasota City Hall with Sarasota’s own Petticoat Painters, one of the oldest continually exhibiting groups of women artists in the U.S.
Janice is best known for her unique way of capturing light and color in her work. She has won multiple First Place awards and has exhibited nationally in galleries and museums. Her work is a testament to the power of creativity and self-expression in the skilled hands of an artist.
“Find the beauty.” I have always been a keen observer. I vividly remember taking in everything around me from a very young age, the sights, the sounds, the energy of life everywhere. As an artist today, I do the same, experiencing, exploring and imagining, until WHAM, I am stopped in my tracks by... something, an image, a moment in time. It might be the way the light just hit those rocks, the glitter of colors dancing on the water or the intricate textures of someone’s hair. It’s not really about the subject matter itself. I look for the beauty in the moment that makes me catch my breath, that gives me hope. And, then, I paint it.”
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 Diana de Avila - Digital & Augmented Reality Art
Diana is an autodidact polymath and digital artist whose work exists at the intersection of science, mathematics, and emotion. Her pieces explore the tension between chaos and control, the sacred and the cerebral, creating a dialogue between the natural world and the deeply personal. A former U.S. Army Military Police officer, her artistic journey began in the wake of a motorcycle accident, which led to a medical discharge. Years later, after a traumatic brain injury and the progression of multiple sclerosis, she developed acquired savant syndrome and synesthesia—neurodivergent experiences that dramatically altered her perception and unlocked a highly intuitive creative capacity.
Her artistic practice began with explorations in fractals, quantum geometry, and chaos theory, but has since evolved into an emotionally immersive body of conceptual work. Diana creates across digital media, embracing both structure and spontaneity, and uses abstraction to navigate themes of identity, trauma, and transformation.
As a participant in the Techspressionism movement, she views technology not just as a tool but as a collaborator. With over 2,000 works—including immersive augmented reality experiences—her art has been installed in public spaces such as Reagan National Airport, transforming environments into living conversations between form, memory, and myth.
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 Lenny Hoffman - NAMI Member - Oils & Watercolors
A NAMI member, Lenny has been making art since he was little, when his mom noticed his artistic skills when he was five. In high school he began studying art movements in the Twentieth Century, including Dada, Surrealism, and Expressionism, and imitated their styles, adding his own flavors. Lenny pursued non-artistic careers in adulthood, teaching history at the high school level but never stopped making art.
At 31, Lenny suffered a mental breakdown, which included a good deal of art, which was chaotic and wild but opened the door to more expression.
Since being in recovery, he has continued to make art because it reminds him that he is more than a label, mentally ill, but a real person. His current style is described by his wife as “Expressive Impressionism.”
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 Karen Arango - Multimedia Journalist & Photographer
Karen is a Sarasota-based multimedia journalist commissioned by several local and national magazines and organizations. These include the following: the San Francisco Chronicle, Your Observer, Sarasota Magazine, Community Foundation of Sarasota County, Manatee Community Foundation, Gulf Coast Community Foundation, United Way Suncoast, Goodwill Manasota, Ringling College of Art and Design, and others. Her work focuses on collaborating with nonprofits to create visual stories that promote awareness of the community's social needs.
Karen earned a Digital Journalism Master's degree from the University of South Florida, a Photography and Imaging Bachelor's degree from Ringling College of Art and Design, and a photography certificate from the International Center of Photography. Karen is mainly interested in adopting her visual skills to impact her community positively.
Arango's multimedia work has been published and recognized internationally. Her recent short documentary, “OKUTEEBA,” won six international film festival awards. Gulf Coast Community Foundation sponsored Karen's solo photography show at Art Center Sarasota entitled “Rearview Mirror / El Retrovisor,” which told stories of local Hispanic residents in Sarasota to promote awareness about mental health in the Hispanic community. Her video “Faces of Goodwill” won a Silver Telly Award, and her short film “Families Together / Familias Unidas” was selected for the Through Women's Eyes Film Festival and Sarasota Film Festival.
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