The Chatham Arts Council is investing in artists through our Meet This Artist (MTA) series, introducing you to 12 Chatham County artists each year in a big way. The fine folks at Hobbs Architects in downtown Pittsboro are powering our Meet This Artist series this year. Architecture is art, and the Hobbs crew values art in our community. So, take a look. Meet your very inspiring neighbors.
Art has always been a powerful force in the life of Randi Markowitz, but it’s here and now in Pittsboro that her creativity truly blooms. With a background in graphic design and a current focus on mixed media, she crafts vibrant, textured pieces. Her artwork is layered with affirmations and symbols of transformation like butterflies and circles, exuding positivity and joy. Randi is preparing for her debut in the annual Chatham Artists Guild Studio Tour in December and she’s excited to open her home studio and share her work with the community. For Randi, the future is about creating meaningful connections through art and inviting others to feel the energy and happiness that radiate from each original piece.

When did art first enter your life?
I think that I’ve always been creative. Even in fourth grade I made covers for book reports. I still have them, “Harriet the Spy” and other things I used to like to draw. That’s probably the earliest memory I have of being creative and drawing. In junior high and high school, I was always in the art department and did art club. It was just something that I gravitated towards. My dad was an accountant, but I was always more of an artistic type. Later, I went to school for design.
Where did you go to school?
Buffalo State College in New York. I had a bachelor’s degree in design, and I thought I would wind up in advertising, but I didn’t. I wound up in the garment industry for 14 years as a merchandiser for jeans, putting fabrics together and other things. Then I started over, working in TV news at MSNBC.
What brought you to North Carolina?
In 2007 I was married and lived in San Diego. My daughter Emma was born there, and it was very expensive to live in California. I missed the seasons and I missed my family. We picked something that was equidistant between New York and Florida. We saw–I don’t know what magazine it was–Cary had been voted number one place to live in America. We came down and visited, saw it, and decided to move here. My daughter was three and a half. We wanted her to have that cute, small town upbringing.

Who are your muses?
I love abstract paintings. Let’s see, who’s my favorite? There’s Alice Sheridan, Louise Fletcher, Jane Davies, and–I can’t remember all of them.
It was an accident that I wound up doing mixed media. I was interested in mixed media and art journaling. I had even paid for an online class with French creator Laly Mille, which I never took. But then Covid hit and we were all sitting at home with the spare time. My friend was having her 50th birthday, so I finally started taking the class and made her a collage as a gift. She loved it, and it was also a very meditative and calming practice for me.
I got obsessed. I had some old acrylic paints lying around. I began creating more, using nice paper, mixed media, acrylic, and all kinds of ephemera. I use butterfly stickers, leaves, and other things and I work in layers. If you took an X-ray of my paintings, you would see many, many different layers of things I’ve decided to paint over. I tend to paint flowers and circles into my work, and I include a lot of butterflies because it’s a symbol of transformation.
I put a lot of positivity into my paintings. There is so much negativity everywhere. It often starts out with writing positive affirmations on the first layer, things that people don’t see. Everything gives off energy. I want someone to look at my art and feel happy. The happy feelings you get from looking at old family photos are the same feelings I want people to experience when they buy my art and bring it into their homes.
I love that! Did you know there was a neurological study done that found that viewing original artwork in person elicited an emotional response 10 times stronger than viewing the same works in reproduction?
It’s true. I sell prints, but I also hope that people buy original artwork too. I don’t put glass over my paintings, so people can get up close and see the layers, feel the textures, and experience it differently than you would a print. I do try to capture in a print the nuances of the original, but I do believe that experiencing original work is just–
Just different.
It’s different, yes.
Don’t get me wrong, prints are great too! Above all, art should be accessible. Speaking of which, art enthusiasts will have a chance to see your work and purchase originals and prints during the Chatham Artists Guild Studio Tour, yes?
This is my first year as a member of the Chatham Artists Guild. I have a graphic design business called Belle Fleur Graphic Design, and so the Guild has also asked me to be a co-chair of the brochure committee that designs the brochure and makes sure everything is done correctly. I had wanted to be part of the Guild for a few years and wanted to participate in the Studio Tour. That’s the goal! And now I’m gearing up for my first tour. I’ll be opening my house, here in the studio and down in the dining room, for attendees. It’s a little bit nerve wracking, all the coordination and going through checklists. I don’t know, people might love what I do or they might not love what I do. I’m nervous but excited to share my art in person.

Then again, I’ve had my art in galleries. The new Hampton Inn & Suites at Chatham Park features my work along with other local artists, thanks to help from the Chatham Arts Council. Their whole theme was positivity and happiness. I want my art to bring joy. Art should bring joy. I believe art, in whatever medium, is always worth the investment if it can do that. Original art is not always cheap, but it’s a bit of creative joy that people can bring home with them .

I love walking into a home that has original art. It elevates the whole design and feeling of the home.
Everything has energy. That is why it’s important to me that my art exudes positive energy. It’s why I keep gravitating to flowers and butterflies.
Why are butterflies particularly significant for you as a symbol?
Yes. They represent the transformation I went through after divorce and breast cancer and challenges raising my daughter, Emma. To me, it’s about transforming into your true self. I believe that’s possible for everyone. It is a symbol of change and positivity. The circles you see represent completion. My birthday is the eighth, so I paint a lot of eights, like the infinity signs. So, you see, I have some symbolism in there, but it’s more about hidden nuance instead of an obvious representation.

Why do we need the arts in our lives?
We’re human beings. It’s very easy to get depressed. There’s so much going on in the world that’s not good, but I believe that artwork pulls out the positivity and the happiness in the world. What makes you happy? It could be graffiti or it could be going to the museums and seeing the masters. I would love, obviously, for people to purchase my art in some way, shape, or form. But what really makes me happy is to support the arts in every form. I think the world needs that outlet and they need that positivity to move through all the things that make us sad, angry, and fearful.
Randi Markowitz is Stop #35 in the CAG Studio Tour Brochure. Her studio will be open to the public Saturdays 10-5 and Sundays 12-5 on December 7-8 and December 14-15. Go by for a visit at 321 Windsong Dr in Pittsboro.
Beautiful interview. Gorgeous art. I will see you on the tour!