Resident Artists
Sheela Becton
Sheela Becton (Instagram)
Barn Studio, 2nd floor, https://www.sheelacreates.com/
Sheela Becton is a mixed media artist, a survivor and storyteller whose work explores the quiet strength of the feminine spirit and resilience, the healing rhythm of nature, and the ancestral wisdom woven into everyday life.
After facing cancer, she returned to her creative path not just to make art—but to reclaim joy and meaning. Each piece she creates is both a whisper and a roar: a reminder that beauty can bloom from broken ground.
Sheela had her first solo Exhibit in 2022 and since then has been juried into various group exhibits in and around Maryland. Sheela’s painting Golden Forest won second place in people’s choice awards at the First Friday gallery and she was also nominated for Baltimore magazine readers poll in the Visual Arts space.
In 2021 her painting “Love” was featured on the cover of Hope Collected, an anthology celebrating the best of Dragonfly entries since its inception in 2014. Sheela is honored to be one of the 30 women Artists published in the Studio Visit Book (2023) by Arts to Hearts Project a Global Media publication.
Susana M. Garten
Susana Garten
Studio inside the Museum (at the end of the administrative hallway, to the left of the WondeRoom doorway), susanagarten.com
Susana M. Garten, a vitreous enamels, metals, and mixed media artist, lives and works in the greater Olney area and maintains a studio at Sandy Spring Museum. Exhibiting for over 30 years, she has been a member of the Enamelists Gallery at the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, Virginia, a Resident Artist at Rockville Arts Place, a participant in fine arts and craft fairs, and an instructor at Glen Echo Park. She exhibits her work locally and all across the United States and in Canada.
Lisa Hazell
Lisa Hazell
Studio inside the WondeRoom
Lisa Hazell is a multidisciplinary artist exploring identity, ancestry, and creative expression through sensory experiences, contemplative practices, and African American genealogical research. Her work centers Black voices and fosters collective reflection, healing, and empowerment. Hazell's practice is guided by a passion for storytelling and cultural preservation, aiming to inspire, empower, and honor the histories and experiences of Black communities.
Her studio at Sandy Spring Museum serves as a space where visitors can engage with her ongoing project, Paperdoll Journal Ancestry. This longitudinal project has been evolving for over twenty years, with an online presence through a blog since 2015. In 2025, it expanded into a studio space to fully picture and exhibit her work.
For more about Lisa’s work and other projects, visit LisaHazell.com
Geri Smith
Geri Smith
Barn studio, 1st floor
Geri is a teacher, textile artist, and lifelong sewist residing in Brookeville, Maryland. She holds a Bachelor's of Science in Textile Science and is a Certified Nature Therapy Guide and yoga teacher. Hand sewing is an important part of Geri's mindfulness practice, and she finds its rhythmic nature to be calming to the nervous system. Geri draws inspiration from nature and aims for a zero-waste textile practice, creating mostly with natural fiber repurposed and scrap materials. Her interests include visible mending, surface design, textile restoration, clothing redesign, art quilting, and adaptive clothing design. She particularly enjoys creating unique garments entirely by hand and teaching sewing and textile arts to children and adults.
To learn more about the textile classes currently forming, please email Geri at: MindfulStitchTA@gmail.com
Robin Ziek
Robin Ziek
Pottery studio
Robin Ziek began working with clay in college as an apprentice with a Danish potter. After a long career in history and architecture, she is very glad to come back to clay. Her work involves a combination of wheel and hand-built techniques.
Jean Fletcher
Jean Fletcher
Pottery studio
Jean Fletcher was an economics professor at Gettysburg College from 1983-2014 and is now a professor emerita. One summer, on a whim, she took a ceramics class and found her true passion. Jean’s work emphasizes the synthesis of modern shapes and natural or traditional designs.