WEAVER FOUNDATION - Key Persons

Anne Hill was a native of Randolph County, North Carolina, and a 1955 graduate of Woman's College (UNC-Greensboro), where she earned a BFA in Art. Gregory Ivy, her mentor, is also included in the Weaver Art Collection. After graduating, she received her Master's Degree in Library Science from Columbia University. Throughout her career, she taught art to all ages. Hill's distinct artistic style was creating crosshatched pen and ink drawings that she would then stitch, or "tuck" so the work could be viewed from three angles. Each angle reveals three different images. The 2005 New York Times article "Nixon's Real Enforcer" featured a photograph of Nixon's secretary, Rose Mary Woods, which inspired Hill's work Susan, The Friar, and Rosemary's Blouse. The Friar, as in Friar Tuck, refers to Hill's signature "tucking" technique. Hill's art has been featured in numerous exhibitions including the North Carolina Museum of Art, Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA), Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences and the Green Hill Center for NC Art.

Bruce Shores studied at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where in 1981 he received his BFA in Painting and Printmaking, and an MFA in Painting with a minor in Art History in 1989. While there he studied with painting professor Andrew Martin, whom Shore credits as his greatest influence. Works by students of Martin have such an identifiable style, they have become known as the Greensboro School of Painting. Shores works in oils, painting bold landscapes and the indigenous architecture of the southeast, such as farmhouses, barns and neighborhoods. The scenes he paints are distinctly Carolinian. His approach to realist painting is based on careful observation coupled with the expressive possibilities inherent in paint. Shore's landscapes celebrate the language of color and brush mark with thick paint and rich hues. In this work, Sunset, his expansive sky is a rhythm of color. He describes his own work as "being about celebration an overflow of abundance received" In addition to selling through numerous galleries and exhibiting nationally, Shores has been a teacher for many years. He was a Visiting Professor of Art at Lenoir-Rhyne College in Hickory NC, and has taught drawing at Guilford Technical Community College, Sawtooth Center for Visual Arts, Lees-McCrea, High Point University, and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Chris Horney earned his BFA in painting and printmaking from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) in 1986. During his time at UNCG, he was a student of Andrew Martin, Peter Agostini, Walter Barker, Setsuya Kotani, Mark Gottsegen, John Maggio and Robert Gerhart, all of who are represented in the Weaver Collection. In 1997, after years of working in the screen-printing business, he realized that he had an affinity for working with wood. He turned his attention from painting to furniture making. Untitled is from earlier in Horney's career, when he experimented with various materials and techniques while he wrestled with questions of personal faith and belief. The mixed media piece combines splint wood, commonly used in chair caning, asphalt tar and acrylic paint. The caning comes together in the center to form a cross, the small ladder emerges from the dense pit of darkness towards the symbol that represents hope and redemption. Horney's company, Maker of Things, is based in Greensboro, though he sells original designs nationally through galleries and fine arts festivals. He has exhibited at Green Hill Center for NC Art, the Philadelphia Furniture and Furnishings Show, and Carolina Designer Craftsmen.

Janice Burns received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1985 and her Master of Fine Arts in 1987 from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). During the time she was working on her Master's degree, she was the graduate assistant to Bert Carpenter, then Director of the Weatherspoon Art Museum. In 1987, she also served as a curatorial assistant at the Weatherspoon. Burns has spent much of her career in the area of design. She had her own independent design studio in Greensboro, J. Burns Peeples Studio, where she developed products in home furnishings, dinnerware, and giftware. Her work has been included in numerous regional exhibitions, including Art on Paper at the Weatherspoon Art Museum, and multiple showings in the Winter Show at the Green Hill Center for North Carolina Art.

The mission of the Weaver Foundation is to help the Greater Greensboro community enhance and improve the quality of life and economic environment of its citizens while developing a sense of philanthropy, civic education and commitment in current and future generations of the founders' family.