Please join us in welcoming Laura C. Martin and Sharon Coogle to The Blue Ridge Mountains Arts Association’s Art Center at our opening reception on Saturday, September 5th, 2026, from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Refreshments will be served, and the evening offers a perfect opportunity to mingle with fellow art lovers and community members in celebration of creativity and connection.

We look forward to seeing you there!

The Art Center is pleased to welcome Laura C. Martin and Sharon Coogle as our fourth-quarter Artists in Residence. Bringing together botanical art, natural history, calligraphy, and the traditions of the handmade book, this exhibition explores the ways nature can be observed, interpreted, and preserved through both image and language.

Laura C. Martin is a botanist, author, and botanical artist whose career has been devoted to the plants and landscapes of the Southeast. A graduate of the University of Georgia with additional training in botanical art and illustration from the New York Botanical Garden, Martin has published 26 books and written extensively about native plants, gardening, and Southern natural history. Her work combines scientific observation with storytelling and a deep concern for the preservation of rare and endangered plant life.

Sharon Coogle is an accomplished calligrapher, illustrator, book artist, and educator who has worked professionally in lettering arts since 1981. Her practice incorporates traditional calligraphy, gilding, botanical ornamentation, miniature painting, bookmaking, and illuminated manuscript techniques. Drawing inspiration from literature, nature, and historic decorative arts, Coogle transforms written language into richly crafted visual compositions.

Together, Martin and Coogle invite viewers to consider the enduring relationship between the natural world and the written word. Their work celebrates careful observation, traditional craftsmanship, and the beauty found in preserving both plants and stories.

The exhibition opens September 5, with an opening reception that evening from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., and will remain on view through December 22 at The Art Center.