The Artists

Gail Padgett and Roni Nehemias — Maryland, My Maryland Key

Maryland, My Maryland Key

Gail Padgett and Roni Nehemias have collaborated on many art projects throughout their 35 year friendship. Both retired elementary teachers, they now look for opportunities to bring joy and bright colors to all through painted objects and entertaining food sculptures, including the Baltimore Crabtown Project. From the beginning of Gail's 31 years of teaching until now, she was always trying to be both a teacher and an artist. She discovered that by working with 5-12 year olds, she was infused with curiosity, creativity, and spontaneity. As she explored various media, she was thus able to see through the eyes of a child. Now, she is able to focus more on her art. Although her background is in printmaking, she has always been drawn to expressing herself through textiles, such as weaving, batik, recycled fabrics and now wearable art. Her joy comes from seeing people touch, feel, and comment on her work.

As a child, Veronica enjoyed making art, so becoming an elementary art teacher allowed me to continue, with the added bonus of sharing the daily classroom excitement. She'd try new ways of using the same old media, experiment with unusual materials, and encouraging her students to do the same. The joy is in the thinking, the trying, the creating. Lately she has been building amusing temporary sculpture using food, plants, and other natural materials, as well as using colored pencils to playfully illustrate animals. She considers her artwork successful if it makes the viewer smile.