Heidi Moller Somsen's exhibits can get messy. Performance has increasingly become a part of the sculptor's practice, and at recent shows she has used the clay for her sculptures in transformative ways -- molding it by slapping it against her body, or using her foot to smear a mound of it across the gallery floor, while the branches attached to her arms scrape and screech their way over the concrete. In her MFA final exhibit Grafted, at the Gittins Gallery through July 15, things are a bit neater; the only clay present has been fired, into figures of women and children with branches grafted on to their bodies. Jared Christensen stepped into Somsen's studio this month to see what her work space looks like.

John Hughes is an award-winning artist and teacher who has been painting the landscape both in and out of the studio since 1983. He maintains a studio in Taylorsville and teaches students in private workshops and in a course at Salt Lake Community College.

Sue Martin holds an M.A. in Theatre and has worked in public relations. As an artist, she works in watercolor, oil, and acrylic to capture Utah landscapes or the beauty of everyday objects in still life.

Shawn Rossiter, a native of Boston, grew up on the East Coast. He has degrees in English, French and Italian Literature. He dropped out of a Masters program in Contemporary Literature to pursue a career as an artist. He founded Artists of Utah in 2001 and is editor of its magazine, 15 Bytes.

Geoff Wichert has degrees in critical writing and creative nonfiction. He writes about art to settle the arguments going on in his head.