Our Gallery Artists
Barbara Meikle
Barbara Meikle is an artist who paints the simple world outside of her door in Tesuque, New Mexico. Meikle has been an artist from childhood, sketching the horses she loved and took care of in order to ride. After earning a BA in painting and printmaking at the University of Denver and studying watercolor at Cambridge University in England, she returned to New Mexico in 1990 to pursue her dream of owning a gallery. Barbara Meikle’s bright and vibrant work includes horses elegantly in motion or the expression of whimsical donkey or the dynamic beauty of the Western landscape. Barbara’s artistic success has allowed her to give back to the animal community she loves by donating to equine rescues and animal shelters throughout the Southwest, including Equine Spirit Sanctuary in Taos and the New Mexico Wildlife Center in Española.
Randy O’Brien
A full time potter for over 20 years, Randy O'Brien began working with clay while he was a student at the University of California at Berkeley. Always an experimenter, he returned to art school in the mid 90's earning a BFA at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. While a student at Alfred, he focused on the development of special effect, low fire glazes. He began developing his current body of work in the year 2000. Inspired by the mineral formations, mudflats and lichens of southern Arizona he developed a three-dimensional glaze surface that mimics the aesthetic of a naturally occurring material. His glaze surface is composed mostly of volcanic ash and metallic oxides. All of his pieces are created with a passion and love of clay.
David Shanfeld
“I began the craft of hot glass in college as an elective. After graduating from the Columbus College of Art and Design in 1991 with a B.F.A., I had no expectations of working with glass again. However, in 1994, I wandered into Tesuque Glassworks and was intrigued by Charlie Miner’s glass castings. While asking for some helpful hints in casting, I was offered a job. This serendipitous opportunity has been an invaluable continuation of my education in both casting and glassblowing. When I work with glass, it is with a well-deserved respect for the material, coaxing the material to evoke what is already in its nature. I took a sabbatical from TGW for a few years to work with well-known glass artist Mary Shaffer. In 2002, I returned to Tesuque Glassworks and have since been working on glass casting and a cane working technique of glass blowing.” David lives north of Santa Fe, and continues his creative discoveries in glass. His colors and textures are unusual, and a perfect fit of southwestern feeling and artistic design that fits right in with our gallery.
Simone B. Silva
Growing up in Albuquerque, New Mexico allowed Simone the unique opportunity to experience a rich culture and the wonder of an expansive landscape. She always loved nature, mountain biking and catching lizards in the Sandia foothills and camping all over the state. She also received artistic education through high school but always enjoyed it as a passionate hobby. After getting a degree in Environmental Studies at Austin College in Texas, she moved back to New Mexico. Needing artistic fulfillment, she returned to work at Barbara Meikle Fine Art to pursue a creative career. Her appreciation for the arts was renewed with an introduction to plein air painting. She hopes to inspire others to environmental conservation and preservation through her studio and on-site oil paintings and is always on the lookout for the next inspirational vista.