Board of Directors

The Fenix Arts Boad of Directors is a dedicated group of volunteers from both the arts community and local businesses who believe in the vision of an inclusive, integrated approach to the arts that encourages collaboration across disciplines and creates community connections.

Laurie Foster

She/Her

President

Laurie is a retired K-12 art teacher and mixed media artist. Since retirement she has focused her time and energy in her studio and in (her words) herding cats, first as a partner in the Fenix Fayetteville, LLC artist collective, then in transitioning the organization to the Visual and Performing Arts Center at Fenix, an arts education non-profit.

Shannon Dillard Mitchell

She/Her

Treasurer

Shannon is a professional art appraiser and art consultant. She has experience in managing corporate art collections, directing university gallery programs, and curating exhibitions. Shannon has a graduate degree in Arts Administration/Business Administration and has been a Fayetteville resident since 2000.

Kim Seaberg

She/Her

Secretary

Kim Seaberg lives in Fayetteville Arkansas since 1980. She has delved into all manner of artistic endeavors since a very young age. In the past several years she has focused on fused glass pieces and most recently the creation of jewelry combining  fine silver, fused glass and enameling.

Annie Edmondson

She/Her

Board Member

Annie Edmondson, a Fayetteville artist, has a BSE and MA in Education and a minor in art from the U of A .  She has been creating metal art for over 25 years.The challenge of welding different types of found scrap metal, along with the various shapes and textures allows her to create one-of-a-kind sculptures. Her weatherproof metal art is suitable for indoor or outdoor installation.

Rusted or brightly painted, these unique sculptures always have a story to tell.
As winner of two art competitions, Annie’s metal art sculptures are now a part of the Hot Springs,AR Sculpture Garden and the Botanical Garden of the Ozarks permanent collection in Fayetteville.

The NWA Land Trust commissioned her to create a piece for Wilson Springs.
One of her  recent commissioned pieces was to create a memorial sculpture for the Greg Smith River Trail in Fort Smith ,Arkansas. The Heron sculpture was completely  under water for several weeks during the recent Ft. Smith river flood of  2019 but it survived unscathed!

Annie, a certified art teacher, taught art at Immaculate Conception School in Fort Smith , Ar. for 5 years, and at various summer camps at the Fort Smith Art Center.

For 10 years Annie taught art to At Risk Youth (after school program)through the Fort Smith Art Center.

She also taught art classes at the Community Creative Center in Fayetteville where she was on the board of directors for 5 years. Annie is currently on the Board of Directors  at the Fenix Art gallery.

Pat Hennon

Board Member

During the 1960’s and early 70’s Pat worked with a group of artists in St. Louis, Mo. These first impressions, especially in oil painting and dance, were early seeds planted for a life time of growth in Pat’s creative process of expressionistic emotionality.  Pat’s background includes years of study of Carl Jung’s work in the symbolic realms which led to six  years of personal Jungian dream analysis. 

Susan Idlet

Board Member

My work has been described as “surreal folk art” which kind of fits! My medium is color pencil, and my art is all about clear, intense color. I receive inspiration from photographs and phrases/words. My pencils are often drawn to the humorous side. I love commissions – pets, people, anything!

Martha Guirl-Phillips

She/Her

Board Member

Martha Guirl-Phillips is a 3rd generation visual artist and a Fayetteville native. She has her BA in Art History from the University of Arkansas. Martha has been creating art and sharing it with this community for over 30 years.  She currently works at the U of A Libraries and enjoys being on a  lively and thriving campus. Her assemblages are made with skeletal, botanical, and found objects that she collects and places together to create emotive shadow boxes. Serving on the board of Fenix Arts is a way to help strengthen creative connection in the NWA community and support a space that feels safe, nurturing, and energizing.