featured contributors

Cover Artist

Natalya Khorover creates art for earth’s sake and is spurred on by plastic pollution and overconsumption. She strives to use materials which would be condemned to the landfill and chooses to use the unusual techniques of stitching and sewing to bring her artwork to life. Khorover earned her BFA from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. Following careers in the New York City fashion and film industries, she embarked on her solo journey as a studio artist. Her work has been exhibited in Dairy Barn’s biennial Quilt National exhibition thrice, and Quilts=Art=Quilts at the Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center. Sharing her expertise by teaching and lecturing on mixed-media art techniques, the creative process and inspiration is her way of making sure art and craft is accessible to everyone. She has taught at Hudson Valley Fiber Art Workshops, Craft Napa Uncorked At Home, Create with Cloth Paper Scissors Retreats and at the Surface Design Association Conference: Community Ties.

Featured Artist

Sarah Verardo is a contemporary oil painter based in Providence, Rhode Island. Having grown up in coastal New England, the ocean has always been a familiar representation of home. After living in New York City for 14 years, Verardo returned to Rhode Island, connecting with the seaside New England environment in a different way as an adult. The idea of home, and in particular proximity to the ocean, changed from a pacifying comfort to become more of a spiritual and reflective touchstone. Through her work, Verardo pays homage to the role her environment has had in her personal evolution through both trying and celebratory times in her life. She graduated from Georgetown University with a BA in Government and, when not painting, works in digital marketing. She is an Exhibiting Artist at the Providence Art Club and an Elected Artist at the Art League of Rhode Island. Her work has been featured in juried exhibitions with the Art League of Rhode Island and the California Art League. Verardo’s work belongs to private collections within the United States and internationally.

Featured Poet

C.X. Turner (she/her) is a UK poet, mainly focused on writing short-form poems on a daily basis, and is published widely including recent and upcoming publication in Modern Haiku, Hedgerow, Frogpond, Seashores, Cattails, Otoroshi, Drifting Sands, Bones, and Kingfisher Journal. She enjoys working collaboratively with other poets and on solo projects, interspersed with long walks, oil pastel painting, and working as a registered Social Work Manager. She is part of the Wales Haiku Journal team and was a three-time Touchstone nominated poet in 2022. One of her haiku is currently on display on the streets of Washington D.C., selected as part of the Golden Triangle haiku contest. Connect with her on Twitter @lover__poetic or Instagram @love.rpoetic.