INSTRUCTOR

Tracy Sherrill WNC nature artist who has participated in juried art shows spanning Blowing Rock, Banner Elk and numerous other venues. In 2025, she was an awarded a grant as an emerging artist through North Carolina Arts Council/Art Culture Catawba, and recipient of an Environmental Artist Residency at Wildacres.

She has been involved in book making since 2010. She has taught at Hart Square, Catawba Arts/SALT block and several venues in Banner Elk. While an attendant at John Campbell Folk Art School in 2024, Tracy created a Field Notebook to document her week of study in Field Botany and Foraged Teas. The book was requested and used as part of the classes display.

Her love of nature and art has taken years to develop spanning sketching/painting elements in nature to the study of flora and fauna. A quote to describe her is “a jack of all trades…” as she holds degrees in Zoology, Psychology and Masters in Social Work. She participated in Ironman USA, horse show jumping  and crowning victory as Queen of the Mountain in 2010 Grandfather Mountain Highland Games.

Come join Tracy at Wildacres to walk away not only with several pieces of unique art BUT gain a deeper understanding of trees and their leaves through book making.

No artistic skills are required as Tracy will coach you step-by-step to create these treasures pieces.

INSTRUCTOR

Michael White has been teaching art at Wildacres for over 20 years. He was born in 1964 in Campbell, California and raised in Rock Hill South Carolina. He started drawing at age 2 and was published age 10. He started his career at age 14 painting murals for churches and drawing courtroom sketches for the newspaper. At 17 he became the youngest portrait artist ever at Carowinds Amusement park and later that year used scholarships to begin his studies at the Ringling College Of Art in Sarasota Florida. Since then he’s worked for just about everyone, including Marvel Comics, Amoco Oil, Tropicana, the Orioles, Ritz Carlton and Delta Airlines. His work includes illustrations for album covers, magazines, children’s books, posters, game boards, t-shirts, and advertising campaigns. Additionally, Michael loves to travel and draw and paint the places he’s been. “I make my living as a commercial artist, but my passion for fine art is alive and well as I indulge myself, every chance I get”. Michael is very versatile and well rounded plus one of the funnest people you’ll ever meet. His moto is “if it’s not fun I’m not doing it“. Currently Michael does a variety of freelance art, including murals, cartoons, and commercial illustrations while also teaching advanced and beginner art classes to the elderly at a Sarasota retirement community. In his spare time he enjoys gardening, hiking, biking, and making cartoons.

INSTRUCTORS

Annette Sidner–Carlson began her career working for Feld Productions as a scenic artist in 1978. During the years of employment with this corporation she developed and utilized a variety of skills, giving her an abundance of hands-on experience building three dimensional theatre.

Annette worked 13 Ringling Brothers Circuses,12 Disney On Ice Shows as well as created props for Clown College and Siegfreid and Roy shows in Las Vegas. She was the Senior Staff Artist in 1993 before leaving the company to pursue further education.

Annette holds a BA from Eckerd College and an MFA from the University of South Florida. She has been a faculty member at the State College of Florida for the past 19 years, managing the Ceramics and Sculpture Departments on both the Bradenton and Venice campuses. She taught a variety of courses: Ceramics 1&2, Wheel Throwing 1&2, Three Dimensional Design and Sculpture 1&2. She retired from the Venice campus in May 2018.

Annette taught 18 years with Seth Barendse at Wildacres Retreat for Ringling College of Art and Design. They continue to team-teach the Clay Studio at Wildacres in the Summer and Fall secessions recently under directorship of the Redux Art Center of Charleston, South Carolina.

Annette Sidner has shown her art work in several Sarasota, Bradenton, and Venice Faculty shows, and has participated in local galleries in those cities. She attended a residency at Watershed Center for the Arts and is published in Lark Books 500 Figures In Clay Vol. 11. After retiring Annette moved to Winter Garden where she continues to produce work at her home studio and is a participating member of the Sobo Art Gallery.

Seth Barendse received his BFA from Oregon College of Art and Craft in 2011. During the past 25 years he has taught ceramics at two high schools, Booker High Schools Visual Performing Arts Program, and Sarasota High School, and worked on four different continuing and higher education school campuses, Ringling College of Art and Design, State College of Florida, Art Center of Manatee, and Penland School of Craft. Currently, Seth can be found on the Sarasota High School campus teaching students 3D Design and Ceramics. He also makes two annual trips to teach 3 workshops at Wildacres in Little Switzerland, NC, where he has had the pleasure of teaching for almost 20 years. His work has been exhibited in Florida, North Carolina, Colorado, Tennessee, Oregon, and California.

INSTRUCTOR

Michelle Held With over three decades of experience as a professional artist, Michelle brings a deep reverence for nature and storytelling. Over the past ten years, Michelle has traveled the plein air circuit, capturing fleeting light and the living pulse of the landscape in both paint and heart.

As a wildlife and plein air artist, her work is driven by a connection to place, whether in the hope of a misty morning sunrise or the golden hush before dusk. Michelle is an award–winning artist and so passionate about teaching and hosting workshops throughout the U.S., Ireland, Spain and Italy!! 

Beyond the brush, Michelle is guided by community and connection. Through plein air painting, and the deep bonds formed with artists, patrons, volunteers, and collectors, she invites open eyes and open hearts to see the landscape not just as it is….but as it is felt.

INSTRUCTOR

Greg Barnes received a BFA from Wake Forest University in 1985. He began painting full time following the 911 incident of 2001, when he realized “life is short”. He studied with Albert Handell and Scott Christensen early in his professional career. Currently he tours the country displaying his paintings in national art festivals, participating in plein air events, and teaching pastel and oil painting workshops. His work can also be found in Coconut Grove Gallery and Frame, Miami, FL, Karis Art Gallery, Hilton Head Island, SC, Oh Be Joyful Gallery, Crested Butte CO.

INSTRUCTOR

Brenda Roberts: Watercolor has been a creative passion of mine since high school. After years of taking classes and workshops, I began teaching a small beginner watercolor class in my home in 2023. What started as an eight-week course quickly grew into an ongoing weekly gathering, and I’ve since formed additional watercolor groups after moving from California to Minnesota.

I hold a BA in Music with an emphasis in piano performance, along with minors in Voice

and Psychology. Currently I work as a piano and watercolor instructor, and church

musician.

With more than 35 years of experience teaching and performing, I especially enjoy working with adult learners. I see myself as a coach—encouraging curiosity, confidence, and personal expression—rather than a traditional instructor. I’m organized, prepared, and enjoy finding creative ways to make concepts accessible and enjoyable.

I’ve attended the Wild Acres Art Retreat twice, in 2022 and 2025, and find the setting both

beautiful and deeply inspiring—a wonderful place to create, connect, and grow artistically.

INSTRUCTOR

Olivia Cramer is from Hilton Head Island, South Carolina and attended the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles where she was awarded Jewelry Designer of the Year in 2011. She has also taken classes at the Gemological Institute of America, Arrowmont School of Crafts, and Penland School of Crafts. Olivia currently works from her studio full time in Charleston, SC. 

INSTRUCTOR

Kari Waltz has been teaching art since 2003, and she started working in journals in 2016. She had no idea how painting small watercolor entries on a regular basis would impact her overall artistic journey. Kari primarily worked in oils and pastels in her studio and was not comfortable with plein air painting. She fell in love with the Water Brush (Pentel Large Aquash Brush), and the freedom this tool gave her was invigorating! It made creating on the go convenient, so she no longer had the excuse NOT to create.

Kari has witnessed how working from life will improve anyone’s work. Using her light-weight setup allowed her to paint on location without having to lug the traditional plein air painting setups that are often heavy and cumbersome. She takes her art with her everywhere, and she has learned to relax and play. 

Waltz’s larger studio work has been positively influenced by this practice because she has honed her observational and drawing skills. She recently returned from an art trip to Italy where she documented the entire trip. Kari treasures the collection of experiences that have been captured in her journals. 

She creates visual diaries. Of all the work she has completed over her lifetime, her journals are what her two daughters want. It’s a record of their mom in picture/word form.  Journals are personal: what was important to you, things you experienced, places you visited, quotes that spoke to your heart, and your journey.  If you take this journey with her, you will eventually find your own voice. You will be exposed to various ways to approach a scene, choices to contemplate, tools to use, and options to capture your personal story. 

If you have ever wanted to sit and capture the scene in front of you, be creative while traveling, learn to embrace your mistakes instead of being panicked by them, or just wanted to try something new, then this class is for you. In 2016, Kari was a novice when it came to watercolor, but she gave herself permission to learn without the pressure of perfection. Let Kari her journey with you. 

INSTRUCTOR

Katelyn Chapman received an MFA in Painting and Drawing from the University of Georgia in 2018 and a BFA with an emphasis in Drawing from Clemson University in 2014. Her work is largely inspired by her deeply rooted familial and rural ties to the American South and has been in both national and local group exhibitions and published internationally. Chapman is a three-time grantee of the prestigious Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant ('19, '21, & '24) and has been awarded residency fellowships to attend several artist residencies in the US and abroad. Most recently she was a Visiting Artist in Residence at The Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, SC. She exhibits her work regularly with Southside Gallery in Oxford, MS. Chapman currently lives and works in Charleston, SC where she paints from her home studio and leads workshops both online and regularly at Redux Contemporary Art Center.