SUPPORT VISUAL ART WITH GFAA
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Exquisite Corpse is a collaborative art game where each artist adds to a hidden section of a piece, creating a final artwork full of surprise, mystery, and dreamlike juxtapositions.
In this 72 hour Art-a-thon, each artist will have 24 hours to complete their section (with 3 sections/artists per piece!). Just like a marathon, you can sponsor your favorite artist—their fundraising page supports both them (30%) and GFAA’s nonprofit programs (70%). SCROLL DOWN TO VIEW ALL THE PARTICIPATING ARTISTS!
Eight large works will be unveiled HALLOWEEN NIGHT during Artwalk! The pieces will remain on view Oct 31–Nov 29 and auctioned through silent bidding, closing at the GFAA's MADE Art Market on Nov 29.
GFAA’s mission is to support artists through exhibitions, workshops, and inclusive programming. Together, we can make art thrive!
How to help:
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Donate: Every dollar counts.
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Share: Spread the word.
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Volunteer: Help with snacks and drinks for artists (email director@gainesvillefinearts.org).
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Thank you for powering our mission—your support makes all the difference!
SPONSOR your favorite artists:
Work #1
1. Lexi Braun
Website: braunsmetals.com
Instagram: @lexibraunart
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Lexi Braun is a musician and visual artist working in ink, watercolor, oils, and performance. Her work explores grief, tenderness and loss.
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1. Ursa Johnson
Website: ursarose.com
Instagram: @intracaster
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Ursa Johnson is an interdisciplinary artist currently based in Gainesville, Florida since earning their BFA at the University of Florida in 2024. Their ongoing body of work focuses on themes of queer self-actualization by means of body modification and the potential for catharsis in body horror. Through the use of mixed media and abstracted forms, it is left up to the viewer as to whether the work should be read as organic or synthetic. Symbols of body modification appear throughout their work to communicate the possibilities of a relatively accessible form of self-induced transition.​​​
1. April Burk Clark
Website: redbubble.com/people/aprilfoolbaby
Instagram: @april_fool_baby
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April Burk Clark (abc) lives in Archer, Florida. Tearing paper, splattering paint, and getting glue stuck to her fingers makes her very happy, as does rescuing “trash” to incorporate into her artwork. She loves learning and has attempted a variety of styles and mediums, but is most naturally drawn to whimsy through mixed media or assemblage. Many of her designs are available for purchase at: www.redbubble.com/people/aprilfoolbaby (cards, stickers, tee shirts, totes, magnets, etc.)​​​
Work #2
2. Avery OQuinn
Website: avesartcave.carrd.co
Instagram: @avesartcave
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Avery is a non binary Asian American artist and student with a passion for the monstrous and fantastical. They have been a member of the art community for more than a decade. In high school, their whimsical creature sculptures were featured in Best of Bay student exhibition, and in college, their sculptures were featured in the Amelia Center Gallery.​​​​
2. Charis Cochran
Instagram: @avec.charis
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Local artist Charis Cochran is a senior at the University of Florida getting her BFA in ceramics. In addition to working with ceramics, she also does photography, often blending the two mediums together. Born and raised in Gainesville, Charis’ perspective of art has been heavily influenced by this city, especially from all the public art and art programs this city has to offer. Charis likes to think that art is in everything. It isn’t just a medium, it’s a way of thinking and seeing. A way of keeping your mind active and engaged. Art is something we can’t loose. By supporting the GFAA as well as local artists, you don’t just help yourself grow, but an entire town.
Work #3
3. Daniel Horak
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My name is Daniel Horák.
I do art and music.
Work #4
4. Sarit Sela
Facebook: sarit.sela
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Sarit Sela is an architect, visual artist, and movement instructor whose work integrates design, creativity, and mindfulness. As Gainesville’s City Architect, she has led award-winning projects that create welcoming, sustainable, community-centered spaces. Her visual art—collage, drawing, painting, and mixed media—has been featured in juried and solo exhibitions, with Finding Center selected for BitBasel’s Art for Impact and set to launch aboard NASA’s Griffin-1 mission in December 2025. Founder of Nia Gainesville and creator of SloMo Movement & Meditation, Sela leads classes and retreats that connect body, mind, and spirit through movement, mindfulness, and imagination. ​​​
4. Heidi M. Stein
Facebook: mostcongenial
Instagram: @hart_studio33​​​
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My art is an exploration of play and self-discovery. Being inspired by everything I often think,
“Can I do that?”, then I try. By learning and trying on the styles of other makers and artists, my
own style continues to emerge. My art works are very personal and customized, they often
have imbedded messages or a story. I enjoy contrasts like serious things and fun things or
creepy things and cute things. I love to repurpose things and bring them new life. I am always
amazed when things come out in a way that is pleasing to me. It feels like a gift from the universe
and I feel grateful. I often get attached to my new creations, but I can let them go,
especially if they are a gift or a donation. I am so excited to participate in this event. The
dynamic energy of working independently on piece and working collaboratively to create a
whole excites me. I have never done anything like this before but was so attracted to the
playfulness of the event and the openness of GFAA to artists at all levels.
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4. Michelle Nagri
Website: mnagriphoto.com
Facebook: michellenagriphoto
Instagram: @mnagriphoto​​​​​​​
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Michelle is a Florida based artist working in paint and photography. She earned a B.S in Psychology at the University of Florida in 2010, but always felt pulled towards the arts. After graduating she began exploring different creative outlets while working to find her purpose in life. Oil paints captured her interest at first, but photography led her down a path of taking her art practice seriously.
Michelle communicates through mixed media using paint, photography and collage. Her art is about expressing feelings, telling stories and sharing beauty. Words and feelings are her wellsprings of inspiration. Through color, symbolism, and texture she weaves stories together in order to find unity within herself and the work.
Work #5
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5. Lisa Klug
Website: lkgraphics.org​​​​​​​
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Lisa Klug was born in Kansas City 64 years ago. She spent the first 15 years of her life in that lovely and cultured town before moving to Gainesville (for the first time) in 1977.
Like her older sister, Lisa attended the Ringling College of Art and Design in the early 1980's. After that, life had many lessons to teach, some difficult. But Lisa always kept learning and growing as a creative person.
She worked as a professional designer full time for many years. Now, after her fourth time moving back to Gainesville, she is a happy member of the GFAA and more productive than ever as an artist.
Lisa enjoys being with her husband and family, and nurturing her inner child with artistic expression.
5. Sylvia McIntyre-Crook
Website: sylviamcintyrecrook.net
I grew up in Austin, Texas. My mother was an artist so I was steeped in art.
Professionally, though, I renovated buildings. I started a business in Austin to buy, renovate,
and manage property. Later, I got a Masters in Architecture from the University of Texas. I
moved to Gainesvile in 1990 with my husband, who had gotten a teaching position in the
Department of Music at U.F., and our two young kids. I continued to do freelance architectural
design and an occasional renovation as I raised our kids. Once they took off into their
independence around 2005, I began to paint. I took an art course which helped wean me from
the technical drawings of architecture and helped me ‘see’. As any artist will tell you, North Central Florida is rich with inspiration. I did landscapes of Loblolly and San Felasco Hammock. I painted Sandhill Cranes in flight. I began to incorporate my wood working skills by cutting 1/4 “ plywood into the flying Sandhill shapes and paint those. Covid hit and allowed me to redirect my focus. I now create organic abstracts inspired by lichen, fungi and other microbes. Gainesville’s artists, places to show, art communities and lush natural environment have been a wonderful incubator for me to develop as an artist.
5. Stephanie Perez
Website: stephanieperez2018.wixsite.com/perez-artistry/projects-6
Instagram: @perez_artistry​​​​​​​
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Stephanie Perez is a visual artist based in Gainesville, FL, and a proud Florida native. She holds a BFA with a concentration in Painting and a minor in Sustainability Studies from UF. Her practice examines the broader implications of the Anthropocene, particularly how climate change shapes daily life and individual experience. She also explores the human condition in relation to environmental shifts, emphasizing the interconnectedness of all living things and the ways they continually influence one another.
Perez's artistic practice spans painting, photography, and mixed media, with a strong passion for oil painting. While narrative portraiture is her specialty, she enjoys exploring creative possibilities across various media.
Work #6
6. V. Shannon Sweeney
Instagram: @v.shannon.art
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V. Shannon is an art major at the University of Florida working in a variety of media. Some of her main mediums include photography ceramics, painting, graphite, printmaking, jewelry work, and fiber arts. Taking inspiration from the earth, Shannon's favorite materials to work with come from second hand sources. Her work reflects natural elements, often taking her source of meaning from various environmental issues. She finds fulfillment in repurposing odd or unusual objects that have been tossed to the side.
Shannon enjoys exploring and selling her photography prints. She hopes to pursue a career in concert photography, while incorporating sculpture, ceramics, tattooing, and printmaking into her journey. You can usually find her at the pottery wheel or listening to music.
6. Linda McVay
Website: lindamcvayart.com
Instagram: ​​​​​​​@linda_mcvay
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Linda McVay is a contemporary painter living in Gainesville,Florida. Her work reflects the changes over time from traditional flower paintings to biomorphic imagery inspired by her early career years as an illustrator in the fields of biology and medicine. Linda graduated with a BFA in painting from the University of Kansas, Lawrence in 1975. Her post graduate studies at the University of Kansas in the School of Medicine resulted in a certification in Electron Microscopy and 25 years as a Biomedical Illustrator in New York, LA and San Francisco. In 1995, a move with family to Palm Beach County Florida inspired a career change to painting original oils, teaching painting to adults and painting murals in private homes before moving to Gainesville in 2019.
6. Jasmine Laska
Website: sites.google.com/view/jasminelaska/home
Instagram: @theambivalentmindscape​​​​​​​
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Jasmine Laska is a multidisciplinary artist and educator whose work navigates the ambivalent mindscape, where perception, memory, and identity dissolve and reform. Her practice draws from surrealist traditions and performance art, creating crafted experiences that invite viewers and participants into a dialogue with their internal worlds. Influenced by Internal Family Systems and somatic psychology, Jasmine’s art seeks to surface the hidden, the exiled, and the fragmented in order to create space for integration, self-recognition, and healing.In both visual narratives and participatory works, she explores how art can access the internal parts of ourselves that are often overlooked and yet profoundly shape our experience.
Work #7
7. Mandy St. Peter
Instagram: @words_cant_express​​​​​​​
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Mandy St. Peter is a mixed-media artist and art educator based in Gainesville, Florida. Mandy graduated from the University of Florida with a B.A. in Studio Art in 2022. Her practice includes multiple mediums such as drawing, painting, printmaking, fiber arts, and digital design. Her practice explores the interconnectedness of identity, culture, and personal experience. Through her work, Mandy reflects on specific themes of resilience and vulnerability by recognizing how individual and collective experiences shape who we are, and how memory, emotion, and environment intertwine to influence personal and cultural narratives. She views artmaking and the process of creating just as critical as a final piece. Since 2022, she has taught middle and high school traditional and digital art, where her classroom philosophy mirrors her creative process by emphasizing inquiry, experimentation, and risk-taking. Through both her creative and educational practices, Mandy strives to inspire connection, authenticity, and the courage to create with purpose and meaning.
7. Cheryl Russell
Website: cherylrussellart.com
Facebook: CherylRussellArt
Instagram: @talula.crr​​​​​​​
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Art is my language, creativity is my voice.
I'm a disabled mom, wife, artist, and disability advocate who enjoys art as a source of creative therapy. As a self-taught artist who works in acrylics, a variety of mixed media, and miniatures, I challenge myself to be innovative in exploring ways to express emotions in my pieces. My unique, and sometimes in-your-face style, often captivates viewers and sparks a range of reactions.
7. Andrew Hix​​​​​​​
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Andrew Hix is a multi- and-mixed- media artist who loves to play and experiment, especially in collaboration. He grew up in Stuart, Florida, and moved to Gainesville to study literature at the University of Florida and later massage therapy at the Florida School of Massage.
Andrew enjoys exploring a wide variety of art forms. At UF Health Shands Arts in Medicine, he's a radio producer, writer and songwriter, storyteller, game master and designer, martial artist, and bodyworker. At home, he's also a mosaicist, painter, photographer, piano player, dancer, comedian, guitarist, and vocalist. Andrew gravitates to the surreal and expressive, making meaning and finding patterns from whatever emerges through improvisation, but he also tries to paint birds that look like real birds. He has been a fan of surrealist games like exquisite corpse since high school, and he's thrilled to be making his visual arts debut at the GFAA, where he recently helped to curate Continuum: Selective Works from Arts in Medicine.
Work #8
8. Ryan Griffin
Instagram: @ryansartisreallycool​​​​​​​
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I am a Jacksonville based artist currently working out of Gainesville. I attended art
schools K-12 and currently attend the University of Florida majoring in Criminology and
Anthropology. I focus my work particularly on portraiture and color theory. I like to
combine elements of creativity with science and process. My work is driven by
emotional choice and knowledge of the color wheel. Pieces are constructed through
multi-faceted processes and materials such as colored pencil, graphite, acrylic, and
colored ink. I look to consistently evolve my work and its subject matter as I move
through my day to day and take in inspiration from my experiences.
8. Brian Moody​​​​​​​
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Brian Moody is a native Floridian and an artist from birth. He grew up drawing on any flat surface he could get his hands on, and creating small sculptures with bits of wire and found objects in the small restaurant his family owned. He has been a teacher at PK Yonge DRS for 16 years, and has taught everything from elementary to a 10 year stent as the full-time fine arts instructor for eighth through 12th grade. He became enamored with sumi ink after attending multiple Sumi Ink Club presentations and community art events with its creators, Los Angeles-based artists Sarah Rara and Luke Fischbeck. He also works largely in cyanotype and precious metals. His style and imagery are a mix of realism, surrealism, abstraction, and whimsy.
8. Peter Senesac
Website: artforpetesake.com
Facebook: artforPetesake
Instagram: @artforpetesake​​​​​​​