Connie Morris
She/Her
Connie is a Project Specialist at Simmons Bank, Downtown Columbia where she coordinates customer events, sponsorships/donations, as well as the Simmons First Foundation, which benefits our community’s youth.
"I’ve always been interested in art and creating things," she says. "Over the years, I’ve dabbled in canvas/acrylic painting (mostly abstract), but never really learned anything past the basics."
Connie's biggest passions are designing, creating, and selling baby teething rattles, toys, jewelry, and accessories out of natural beechwood and silicone. Her products are sold locally at Plume, and she's started creating super funky pieces (vases, balloon dogs, mirrors, lamps, mushrooms) using mirrored glass tiles and selling them in her “Dipped in Disco” Etsy shop!
Ramsay Wise, PhD
He/Him
Ramsay is Assistant Teaching Professor of Film Studies at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Working primarily in spray paint and acrylic, Wise’s paintings fit somewhere between abstraction and representation. He avoids proper paint brushes, paints only on canvases laid flat, and mixes mediums. He is motivated by an empty canvas, broad archetypal subjects such as landscapes and weather, and unconventional application techniques. His work has shown locally at the Columbia Art League, Sager Reeves Gallery, Teller’s Gallery and Bar, DogMaster Distillery, the George Caleb Bingham Gallery, Central Bank, and the Reynolds Journalism Institute. His work has shown regionally at The Frank and Billie Railton Gallery in The Etta and Joseph Miller Performing Arts Center in Jefferson City, the formerly Fayetteville Underground (now Art Ventures) in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Pierre Laclede Honors College at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, Leach Theatre in Castleman Hall on the campus of Missouri University of Science and Technology (MS&T) in Rolla, Art Saint Louis, and in Kansas City at the Underground Gallery, Vanessa Lacy Gallery, and Jones Gallery. Currently he has two paintings installed in Lowry Hall at Mizzou and one painting on permanent display in the Havener Center on the campus of MS&T.
Ramsay was spotlighted for his artwork in the Ovation section of The Columbia Daily Tribune in 2017 and his paintings can be seen in publications such as Mud Season Review, The Sonder Review, Prick of the Spindle, Foliate Oak Literary Magazine, Columbia Journal, 3Elements Review, The New England Review, Bellerive, Duende, and The New Territory.
Dustin Hawkins
He/Him
Dustin's full time job is a Video Production Strategist at Columbia College. On the side he does videography/photography work for both large corporations, small businesses and make indie films, under my Retro Hawk Productions organization.
"Access Arts is an example of what every community needs," he says. "A place where everyone's inner artist may be unlocked. No one should be denied the chance to dip their toe into the world of crafting, pottery, drawing, painting, building, etc. Many people don't even know what they are capable of until given the chance. Access Arts brings that opportunity to the people of all ages and circumstances. Helping an organization like this grow is a privilege and I'm excited to once again be a part of it."
