For Artist of the Month, we are proud to feature Harriet Zabusky-Zand, a Savannah native whose lifelong dedication to art has taken her from sketching the streets of her hometown to exhibiting work internationally—and ultimately back home to Ardsley Park, where she now owns and operates Artworks on Harmon.

Harriet has had her gallery and studio on Harmon Street for the past two and a half years, creating a welcoming space where neighbors and visitors alike can experience her work firsthand. Though her artistic journey has taken her far beyond Savannah, her roots here run deep.

Her earliest art education began in childhood, accompanying her father on weekly sketching trips through Savannah’s historic streets and nearby fishing villages. Those early experiences shaped her lifelong connection to place, observation, and visual storytelling. As Harriet sought new forms of expression, she learned to weave and eventually moved to England, where she established a studio and exhibited her work while completing commissions for tapestries and rugs.

Over time, the flood of imagery she envisioned outpaced the slow, labor-intensive process of weaving, leading her to explore watercolor painting. Upon returning to the United States, Harriet committed fully to painting, earning a Diploma in Fine Arts from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Massachusetts College of Art. During this period, Abstract Expressionism became a major influence, allowing her to explore infinite space, luminous color, and landscape-inspired abstraction as expressions of her Buddhist beliefs. As Harriet explains, “Color is a thread that runs through all of my work.”

After nearly 30 years as a painter, Harriet’s artistic evolution led her to ceramics, a medium she has now worked in for more than 15 years. Her current focus is on one-of-a-kind crystalline-glazed ceramics—most recently, a striking series of crystalline-glazed table lamps that seamlessly blend beauty and function. Each piece reflects her mastery of material, patience in process, and intuitive use of color and form.

Throughout her career, Harriet has achieved numerous milestones, including residencies at the Vermont Studio Colony and the Millay Colony for the Arts. Her work has been represented in galleries over the years and acquired by notable collections such as the Mandarin Oriental in New York and the Sonnabend collection, along with hotels, corporations, and private collectors. Among her most meaningful bodies of work are the Faith Like Flowing Water and Envisioned Landscape painting collections, as well as her powerful portrait series Painted Ladies, which features drag queen and transsexual subjects. She is equally proud of her crystalline-glazed ceramics, particularly the lamps that unite artistry with everyday use.

Ardsley Park residents can support Harriet’s work by visiting her gallery, Artworks on Harmon, exploring her website at harrietzzart.com, or following her on Facebook and Instagram at @harrietzzart. She warmly welcomes the community’s support and invites neighbors to experience her art in person.

With a career defined by exploration, craftsmanship, and an unwavering commitment to creative expression, Harriet Zabusky-Zand continues to enrich Ardsley Park—and the wider art world—through her work.