- Chibuzo Amajor
- Ruda Anderson
- Henry Aschner
- Sue Baadsgaard
- Jasna Boudard
- Jim Brightwell
- Eliana Campbell
- Amaris Castillo
- Cecelia Feld
- Abel Garcia
- Jay Gardner
- Christian Ita
- Brock Kingsley
- Solomon Mahlatini
- Sabeen Mansoori
- Roberta Masciarelli
- Ann Louise McCann
- Brenda McKinney
- Lin Medlin
- Martina Noble
- Ken O’Toole
- Reyna Ramirez
- John Reed
- Janie Stidham
- Shayna Sutton
- Ron Taylor Crouch
- Marin Tisdale
- Michelle Torres
- JoMerra Watson
- Kameron Walker
- Daniel Williams
- David Witherspoon
- Donna Zarbin- Byrne
Chibuzo Amajor
“The Healing Process” – Acrylic painting
This piece is about understanding your own pain & the pain of others.
My art is a representation of personal emotions and thoughts which are expressed in an abstract manner. My art tells a story of personal life experiences. It also encapsulates experiences throughout the global black diaspora.
I use my art as a means of expression. I find my voice through my art. One of the objectives of my art is to inspire & influence others. I aim to make an impact through my art.
Instagram: Amajor Arts
Ruda Anderson
“Arboreal Fantasy” – Mixed media paper, fabric and acrylic on canvas
Ruda Anderson’s paintings are collages using acrylic paint and fabric. Portions of fabric are cut out then reconstructed then combined on canvas with acrylic paint. The artist also uses hand dyed fabric in the paintings.
“I follow the colors and the motion of a particular piece of fabric and recreate that feeling with the paint application on the canvas. The fabric pieces and paint are then comingled creating a complete new design tension and balance, yet still in conversation with the original fabric. It becomes a little like fitting together the pieces of a puzzle.”
214-280-7178
Henry Aschner
“Armondo” – Millefiori polymer clay sculptureThe Mongrel Koi
“There’s a mongrel koi in there. It’s the most dangerous of all goldfish” ~ Deuce Bigalow
Home has always been in the north Texas area where I live, work, play and share a studio with my wife, social director, and high school sweetheart, Judy. Our suburban home is more of a rural country farm, with our koi pond, lots of koi, our cats – Samwise (aka Sam) and Maybelline, and a flock of bantam chickens.
Many years ago, I came across some polymer clay sculptures in an art gallery, and I was blown away by the color, pattern, and detail of the figures. I started working with this medium back then and have been obsessed by polymer clay (fimo) ever since. As a self-taught artist, I have developed my own personal style and technique, after much practice and study of the contemporary master sculptors I most admire. This is a life-long learning process, and my style is ever evolving.
Drawing my inspiration from animals, colors and patterns in nature, my process starts with a traditional clay sculpture, and after firing the figure I then apply the polymer clay design mosaic. Next is finalizing the sculpture, fire again (occasionally multiple times), then go through a 10-12 step sanding and buffing process – all by hand and up to a 12,000 grit. (Yep, 12,000 – not a typo)
I primarily work with the millefiori technique. Millefiori (Italian for “thousand flowers”), also known as caning, is an old glassworks technique arranging different colored glass rods to make an image, heated, and stretched, then sliced for a repeatable pattern. The properties of polymer clay work well with this technique. Imagine oil painting in 3-D.
Henry Aschner at The Mongrel Koi henry@mongrelkoi.com
Sue Baadsgaard
“Fresh Cut Flowers – Wool applique quilt – embellished with embroidery
I must admit that I am a “fiber-holic” – that is, I love fibers of all kinds. I fell in love with quilting many years ago when I decided to make a baby quilt for a good friend and my obsession with fabrics was ignited and continued to grow over the years. After hand sewing an untold number of traditional quilts and inundating my family with homemade goodies, I decided to take a different direction and spent some years developing my knitting, nuno felting and weaving skills. I then discovered the unique quilts designed by Sue Spargo and was hooked. As demonstrated with this wall hanging, her mixture of utilizing hand-dyed wool, accented with cotton and velvet, and embellished with embroidery creates a colorful, three-dimensional piece of art. Building on this method, I have enjoyed working on many of Sue’s creation and branching out with my own designs.
Please direct any questions about my work to suebaads@sbcglobal.net
Jasna Boudard
My artist practice explores visual nuances of movement, light, and space, focusing on the female body and its manifestations. My work is often diaristic, revealing the experiential and interactive process of creation. I work intuitively by engaging and reacting to lived moments and use the camera and other mediums to produce “dream-like” reality. I frequently feature performers, capturing their bodies in motion and highlighting the beauty of flow. This practice has led me to transform my visual work into movement-based immersive experiences.
“Ma” – Video
“Ma” is a video installation piece dedicated to my mother, exploring how the passage of time affects movement. The silhouettes of two South Asian dancers of different generations, Rita Nezami and Naqiya Choonawala, were recorded and presented through shadow dance (a meaningful memory that I grew up with). This original footage was then projected onto a maze of sarees, draped in a gallery space to create an immersive environment. The audience of the installation experienced these ethereal dancers layered into the space, transitioning from youth to old age. As the visitors walked through the installation, they witnessed their own shadows moving alongside the dancers, creating a dynamic visual conversation between those present and absent.
“Ardh, Mai, Nar, Hawa” – Video
“Ardh (earth), Mai (water), Nar (fire), Hawa (air)” is a video series exploring the four elements through bellydance. In this collaboration with dancer Laila Kharrat and musician Mosheer Antar, the elements of earth, water, fire, and air were transformed into kaleidoscopes as an homage to Islamic geometric art. Through intentional styling, choreographed dance, and adapted music, each element’s unique energy and visual quality is represented through four different videos. The captivating and fragmented imagery serves as its own piece as well as projection material for live performances, where the dancer is immersed in her own image.
www.jasna-boudard.com
jasna@jasna-boudard.com
Instagram: @jasnaboudard
Jim Brightwell
“Mesh #11” – Cast concrete/ wall hung sculpture
In 2011, at the age of 54, I built Northrock Studios at my home in Caddo Mills, Texas, and began to make art. At that time, I was working full time in the construction business, and I worked in my studio as time allowed. In 2020 I left the construction business and devoted myself fulltime to art. Having spent the previous forty years in construction, it felt natural to adapt its materials and techniques for my art. I am not a formally trained or educated artist. While I have spent fifty years looking at and thinking about art, my abilities, and skills in creating my pieces are firmly grounded in the utilitarian occupation of construction.
When I built my studio and began making art, I worked with materials I was most familiar with: concrete, steel, glass, wood, etc. I was particularly interested in working with concrete as the main structure of my pieces. I wanted to combine the format of painting with the depth and texture of sculpture. After initially working only the exposed surfaces of my pieces I very quickly flipped the process and began casting the concrete into molds, with the molds creating the finished surfaces. I have recently expanded my range of materials by working with soil to create hybrid adobe and casting it into molds as well. I have also added organic materials like salvaged vines, wood, leaves, etc. to these pieces to maintain their naturally sourced theme. While the ingredients change from piece to piece, the basic format stays constant. Only creating wall hung sculptures by casting various materials is limiting and creates the narrow path I’m exploring, but it allows me to focus on that path and I’m always finding new results along the way.
I’m an artist because it’s the best use of my time I have left on the planet. In my studio, working, for myself is an inherently solitary pursuit and I’m not really thinking about my relationship to others. However, I am happy afterwards when my work resonates with people when they experience it and I know I have a role to play, the same as other artists as they have illuminated and influenced me. Every day I am grateful that I am able travel down this road and create.
469-540-6102
jimbrightwell.com
Instagram: @jimbrightwell
Facebook: Art of Jim Brightwell
Tyra Burks
“Fragile and Bruised” – Ceramic art
The slow process of coil building is both time consuming and messy– often requiring me to trust my own abilities in making something beautiful out of the ugly mess of coils being patched together. Allowing the clay to guide me into creating a vessel which reflects my needs. Frequently reimagining the end-product of the project and removing and reattaching pieces as time goes on. This process reflects my journey of listening to myself and allowing my inner desires to guide me through my messy and prolonged journey of healing and learning/unlearning. Exploration of myself and my mind, reflections of my experiences and determining what my truth are, all influence the nature of my work.
Eliana Campbell
“All These Thoughts” – Silver gelatin bleach
Starting in middle school, the grasp of depression and anxiety became extremely prominent in my life from a buildup of personal problems. As I grew up, I noticed that many people around me had a similar experience and having someone to relate to or talk to made a significant impact in their life as well as mine. Therefore, my image collection encapsulates my experience and will hopefully help others in the future to be able to come forward and talk about their mental health. As well, I hope that the takeaway from this would be to educate and help others take care of themselves as well as others in their communities.
(817) 690-9299
Instagram: @pictures_with_eliana
Amaris Castillo
“Driving Myself Insane” – Mixed media of watercolor, alcohol marker, color pencil, and adhesive stickers
Growing up, I always wanted to be an artist, whenever there was a chance for me to draw I took it. Crayons, markers, cheap little Roseart sets that never fully worked because everything was dried out by the time I opened it. Anything I could get my hands on and had color I wanted to draw and make it my own. Now that I’m older and have my own money to spend on art supplies I can create to my heart’s content. Still using my childlike fascination of color and stickers I’ve mixed in my own use of watercolor, gouache, acrylic, ink, and alcohol markers to make more adult themes but still keeping my inner child happy. Not seeing many artists of Latin decent; and women at that as well, growing up I decided to become my own.
This piece on view is a piece dedicated to myself and my 25th birthday. When I was 13, I drew a self-portrait of who I believed I was going to become, and it had me with 2 children and a house. I always thought that 25 was the magic number where you’re supposed to have everything figured out, career, house, marriage, kids, and a 401k. Now at 25 I can say 13-year-old me was dreaming way too big, as I am the farthest from that currently. As my 25th birthday approached I put myself into a spiral and kept comparing myself to my friends and others that I knew that were the same age and lived up to everything 13-year-old me thought I would become. Therefore, the idea for this piece came to mind, because I was driving myself insane with the thought of not living up to younger me’s idea of who I am now.
Email: castilloamarisart@gmail.com
Instagram: castillo_amaris
Cecelia Feld
“Grab Bag” – Monotype, sun print, photo collage
Chasing The Unexpected
No preconceived idea. That’s how I begin. I gather bits and pieces from my visual experiences and bump them up against each other. My work, in printmaking, painting and collage is about exploring relationships. There are references in my work to the textures, colors, lines, and shapes of my encounters in the real world. The layered or intersecting shapes, the punctuations or expanses of color, the character of a line; these order the picture plane which is my playing field. The resulting abstract images may or may not allude to natural forms.
The relationship of visual components in my work is similar to what happens in jazz. There are themes and variations, repetitive devices, tension and release, harmony, and disharmony. There is a lot of improvisation. The results are unexpected. I might have some idea of the general direction but, like jazz, there can be many twists and turns along the way before a work is completed. The result is often the impetus for the next part of my art- making journey.
My collagraph and monotype prints frequently become the basis for the collages. They may be background or foreground and provide texture and color, which play off against other kinds of found paper in the collage. Prints are often “repurposed” and cut, as are my photographs. Sometimes, an acrylic painting on paper is the foundation for a newly created collage.
Recent collages are constructed on marbled paper which I have made using the Suminagashi marbling technique.
A current project is adding Haiku, a form of Japanese poetry, in pencil and collage on suminagashi marbled paper. The Haikus are original, sent by friends for the project.
My studios are my refuge, whether in the midst of the hustle and bustle of Dallas or the tranquility of my N. Texas farm. Travel, at home and abroad, fuels my imagination. I channel the sights, sounds, order, and chaos into works on canvas and paper.
Serendipity is the hallmark of my work. I love the unpredictability of working with paint, paper, ink, and plate.
214-923-8175
Abel Garcia
“Goons Squad” – Mixed media
Dallas based artist, Abel Garcia, has been disrupting the art world for over ten years. His urban style marries graffiti-inspired elements and traditional art concepts. He uses a unique layering technique on his large-scale paintings, murals and live artwork with mediums such as acrylic paint, graffiti markers and spray paint. His over-the-top energy and love of color comes through in each piece. In fact, he has coined the phrase, “Why sleep when you can paint?” Clients such as Dallas Cowboys players Emmitt Smith and Jay Novacek, “Air Jordan” designer, Justin Taylor, The Dallas Mavericks, FC Dallas, Toyota Connect, Jack Daniels, professional boxer, Austin Trout, and many more have pieces of Abel’s work. As a favorite of several interior designers, Abel’s paintings can be found in luxury high rises from Dallas to Austin such as Plaza Saltio and 12 Cowboys Way. His murals can be viewed in Irving, Austin, and several neighborhoods in DFW and he has shown in Dallas, Austin, Atlanta, Las Cruces, and New York City. He was named Austin’s “Visual Artist of the Year” in 2013. Abel gives back to his Dallas, Texas community, his hometown of Las Cruces, New Mexico and to several charity and non-profit organizations such as The Warren Center, The Birthday Party Project, Operation Rock the Troops, The John Paul Taylor Center, Jardin de los Niños, the Tortugas Pueblo Indians, the Dona Ana Arts Council and many more. Abel has recently expanded in to clothing and shoe design and is respected in the fashion industry. He loves to share his passion for art and life through his works!
Do you own an Abel Garcia original?
214-425-5780
Jay Gardner
“Green Bottle with Leaves” – High-fire stoneware
Jay strives to bridge the gap between purely functional pottery and works of art. To that end, his work has evolved to embody simple, clean forms with carved surface designs and satin-matte glazes. His inspiration comes from the Arts and Crafts Movement and the work of Mark Hewitt, Virginia Marsh and the legacy of Bernard Leach. Jay’s work has been featured in shows at the Yellowstone Art Museum in Billings, MT, the River Oaks Arts Center in Alexandria, LA, the Worcester Center For Crafts in Worcester, MA, the Kansas City Stockyards Gallery in Kansas City, MO and Cape Fear Studios in Fayetteville, North Carolina among others. Jay’s pottery can be seen on Facebook, Instagram and at his website www.gardnerpottery.com.
Christian Ita
“[femininity A…]” – Digital art print
This piece is a depiction of the inner soul finding peace by accepting and embracing the feminine side within. Find your peace, by any means necessary.
Phone: 281-814-7250
Instagram: cloud.parade
Brock Kingsley
“Darkness Visible” – Photography
Words have meaning until they don’t. Language is not static. It shifts and moves and evolves. It bends backwards, folding again and again. It runs away and returns home with new stories to tell. What happens when language is piled on top of language is piled on top of language? When language is blurred and smudged, when the words are smeared and opaque and black like a charcoal drawing, meaning is obliterated—at least for a moment—and we are left with images.
Words having meaning until we don’t know what to say. Language fails us or hides from us. We can see and hear, but we are quiet. Wittgenstein: “…and whereof one cannot speak thereof one must be silent.” What can’t be said can’t be said. Nevertheless, without language we can still read images, can’t we?
Words have meaning until they are nothing but text. Words underneath words underneath words become images of language destroyed. Yet these images still communicate. When language is removed, a new language steps in and shows us how to read the absence. The words no longer mean what they did, but they will never be meaningless.
Brock Kingsley is a writer, artist, educator, and critic. He holds an MFA in creative writing from The Ohio State University. His words and images can be found in such publications as The Chicago Review of Books, Epiphany, Fifth Wednesday Journal, Paste Magazine, Waxwing, and elsewhere.
www.brockkingsley.com
(614) 805-3113
Solomon Mahlatini
“A CRY, A SMILE, A DANCE” – Mixed media
IDENTITY in its multi-facets (Sexuality, Religion, Gender, Diaspora, Immigrant, etc.), is a dominant and recurring motif in my bodies of work. Highlighting inequities and struggles in marginalized communities too.
I believe life is tragedy but also filled with enough joys to create an equilibrium, which is why my work tends to depict entropy, or juxtapositions of decay and vibrant lively colors/images. In terms of aesthetic, I find myself influenced by the works of Wangechi Mutu, Titus Kaphar, Nick Cave, Kehinde Wiley, Francis Bacon, and Frida Kahlo. My desired medium is oil/acrylic on non-traditional mediums like leather, metal, fabric, and glass.
I work mainly on large life size paintings and installations, with the desire to be bold and make a statement to my audience. I am fond of bright colors which further help translate my emotions. I enthuse in being a contemporary voice for ostracized individuals, particularly those from the diaspora. I aim to recreate a fresh narrative for Africans in the diaspora; to echo our experiences as POC, our challenges, and tribulations. I want the viewer to leave my work with a renewed sense of self and purpose, and to find intention in the way they live.
Instagram: @solomonmahlatini
Sabeen Mansoori
“Ingrained” – Acrylic on canvas
“Then your hearts became hardened after that, being like stones or even harder. For indeed, there are stones from which rivers burst forth, and there are some of them that split open, and water comes out, and there are some of them that fall down for fear of Allah. And Allah is not unaware of what you do.”
(Quran 2:74)
These are the words ingrained into the rocks and entwined into the flowing waters.
The words are always there. Sometimes they are my own, and sometimes from the Quran. In every situation, every conversation, even within my own thoughts they swirl around endlessly before my eyes waiting to be captured. They are always relevant. I am never able to fathom tangents. If a tangent disturbs my spiral of thoughts, I immediately pin it down to the context to retrieve the sense of order in my Universe.
I want to share the words with the world, but I want them to be felt with all the emotions that I experience. The translucency of watercolors and the versatility of acrylics provide the perfect mediums to crystallize my thoughts on paper and canvas; fluid and transparent, able to convey layers of meaning. I enjoy working with bright, vivid hues composed in a balanced and visually pleasing manner. My paintings have a post-Impressionistic emphasis on movement and symbolism while being deeply rooted in my spiritual and religious tradition. I draw inspiration from the works of Pakistani icons like Sadequain and Ismail Gulgee. The Quranic script is interlaced within my paintings providing the viewer the opportunity to see the world how I see it – interspersed with a sacred script in all of its majesty. My paintings depict life captured and captioned by the words of the Quran.
Instagram @ihsaanaart
904-599-0333
Roberta Masciarelli
“Radio Gaga” – Mixed media
This piece is about a song which became a video in the 80s based on a movie created in 1925.
The song is RadioGaga by Queen. When the video was made, they (most specifically Fred Mercury) used some footage from Metropolis by Fritz Lang, the first sci-fi movie, created in 1925. The original footage is fantastic—a German impressionist movie—and the video, released in the 80s, Radio Gaga, is superb as well.
When I started creating this art, I had a lot of technical problems on how to do it. But the music kept coming to my mind like a mantra.
I created the antique look for fitting into that Metropolis look. The diagrams at the front and the mirror ball used came as inspiration from the beautiful sci-fi robot from the movie.
So here it is, Radio Gaga.
214 830 9817
https://www.instagram.com/robertamasciarelliart/
https://www.facebook.com/RobertaMasciarelliArt/
Ann Louise McCann
“Wisteria” – Oil painting
Ann McCann of Dallas creates oil and watercolor paintings that capture memories of good times, travel, and the beauty of the landscape. Her collectors say the same thing- her paintings remind them of special places they have visited or important people in their lives, especially mothers. Ann likes to paint flowers, with bright colors that make the heart sing.
Much of Ann’s painting over the last 20 years has been plein air work in Venice, Tuscany, Paris, Provence, Spain, Scotland, and Israel. She has painted in the lavender fields of Provence, by Monet’s water lily pond, along the canals of Venice, under the windmills of La Mancha and in the wilds of Isle of Skye.
214-908-8378
https://www.facebook.com/ann.mccann.58
https://www.instagram.com/ann.mccann
Brenda McKinney
“Coral Reef Yellow Blue” – Alcohol ink on yupo paper
Coral Reef Yellow Blue is part of a series of alcohol ink drawings that were inspired from my visit to the ocean where I snorkeled among the coral reefs. The deep blues and green hues resemble the clear ocean waters with splashes of red, yellow, and orange depicting the sea life that moves along the currents of constantly moving waters.
214-505-7013
brenda@stargazergallery.com
Instagram: mckinney.brenda1
Lin Medlin
“East of the Rainbow Trail” – Oil on linen
My landscapes are emphatically devoid of any humans and are pervaded by a contemplative stillness. But where have all the people gone? Are they coming back? And what are we to make of the quietude?
Painting of landscapes can be both an expression of philosophical concepts and a reflection of the inner state of the artist. These works make an argument about the nature of today’s world and our present reality. We live, for the most part, in places filled with clamoring humanity, ever rushing forward. One way to comment on this reality is to conjure on canvas worlds wherein the opposite reigns: an absence of fellow humans, an insistent stillness. In these paintings movement has been caught in a particular instant. Yet paradoxically, the same paintings communicate the flow of natural processes such as the movement of clouds and wind over water, and in place of humans, vibrant spirits of saturated color haunt these vistas, giving them both motion and a harmonious beauty.
The element of frozen time in these paintings seeks to imply a paused narration. We are shown the kind of enthralling places many human souls long for, and we can tell something has been happening there, and we feel more will happen.
Even if viewers do not consciously absorb the full intended message at a conscious level, I hope that through presenting the striking color relationships of these scenes I will communicate at some level a sense of the desirability of a better relationship between humans and the natural world, one allowing for a contemplation and fuller realization of nature’s beauty and the place of humanity in it.
www.linmedlin.com
Martina Noble
“If Walls Could Talk” – Vintage wallpaper and cheesecloth, photos.
Featuring Brooch “Queen Bee”.
Part of “Subliminal Surprises,” a series exploring how adorning (aka decorating) ourselves and our homes interact and collaborate to tell the stories of our lives, of history. “Modern Love” is showing at the South Dallas Cultural Center during ART214, and two other pieces, “Flower Power” and “No Trespassing” are on exhibit in New Orleans.
Jewelry, personal adornment, is one of the oldest art forms (fig leaf, anyone?), and I enjoy the challenge of creating wearable art, heirlooms to be passed on. As a classically trained goldsmith, I design and fabricate jewelry, using silver, gold, gemstones and found objects, working out of an old cotton warehouse in downtown Sherman.
My rather circuitous career path has taken me from Germany to Austin College (BA, Political Science), Johns Hopkins University (MA, International Relations & Economics), and Revere Academy of Jewelry (Master Jeweler) ~ while living in Germany, France, Italy, and Texas, the East and West Coasts of the US. Throw in two amazing sons, a less amazing divorce, an amazing BF, and supportive friends, clients, and mentors – my life in a nutshell. Gratitude.
www.MartinaNoble.com
IG: @noblejewelery https://www.instagram.com/noblejewelery/
FB: Martina Noble https://www.facebook.com/martinanoblefinejewelry
Ken O’Toole
“Chameleon” – Paper, ink, acrylic cube
Chameleon is part of a larger body of work which reflects my impressions of how all things are connected. They are the result of folding my thoughts together within a limited space, capturing both light and shadow in the process.
They also speak to me of how inner beauty cannot be hidden, and the fragile, yet persistent nature of life.
817-456-9452
Reyna Ramirez
“Mi Viejo” – Mixed media on paper
This piece is about migration, separation, and cultural identity and is focused on the experiences of my father who first migrated to the United States from Jalisco, Mexico in the late 1970s. Individuals who migrate experience multiple stresses as they adjust to a new culture, changes in identity, and concept of self. Apart from leaving everything he knew behind, when my father first arrived, he only had 5 cents to his name. He was determined to make life work because he wanted to be able to give my family and I a better life.
This multimedia piece contains scans of a love note my mother wrote to him while they were apart from each other, a photograph of my father in his early 20s jumping in mid-air off a cliff, as well as hidden details such as strands of hair and fingerprints. It also includes a coffee-stained map of Jalisco and a more recent watercolor portraiture of my father. In the top left corner is an embroidered phrase that reads: “Viejo, mi Querido Viejo,” translating to Olm Man, my Dear Old Man,” a phrase directly taken from a ballad sung by Piero where he tributes his own father.
Instagram @_reynaramirez
Ramirez.reyna214@gmail.com
John Reed
“Jar 17” – Ceramic
My work explores the use of clay, form, texture, pattern, color, and surface, as well as firing and glazing techniques that bring their own music to the creative dance.
Encouraged to “find my own voice,” I have discovered that my “voice” is one of exploration, the “what if” where change is the only constant and mistakes are the forerunners of success. It is my desire to provide others with a touch of the same pleasure as I get from creating simple but elegant pieces of art.
225 266-0747
reed-john@att.net
Janie Stidham
“True Colors” – Reclaimed textiles
My work explores contemporary color, pattern, line, and shape. Through the use of reclaimed, organic, and hand-dyed textiles I explore patterns created by surface texture, weaves, faded colors, worn elements, and distressed materials. Once I have designed, pieced, and stitched together the materials I pull them taut over the canvas, creating a painted-like image rich with texture and contemporary in design.
instagram: @jane_time
Shayna Sutton
“She Got Her Game From a Woman” – Sculpture
To rise to one’s full potential, we must first recognize the amassed identity that we share with generations before us, generations now, and those yet to come. Art has always been a way for me to connect to the unapologetic woman deep within me. My artwork focuses on the critical view towards women of color, African diaspora, cultural identity, historical and environmental preservation within African American culture. Through visual arts, I can express the hidden qualities of my spirit and share my vision. It benefits my womanhood by allowing me to direct my narrative and interpretation of the world around me. I aspire to educate myself, my daughter, and our society that representation matters within the arts.
shayna.anyahss@gmail.com
IG: @shayna.anyahss
www.shaynaanyahs.com
Ron Taylor Crouch
“Puzzle” – Acrylic on canvas
I was born in Fort Worth and have been making art for as long as I can remember. My initial introduction to art was via the funny papers and comic books, which I would laboriously copy and make up my own adventures. One of my mother’s uncles was an accomplished amateur painter so when I showed an early interest in art, my family encouraged my efforts.
Perhaps because of my early interest in comics, I’ve always been intrigued by narrative. I see my work as loose pages out of a book where the viewer finishes the story. I don’t have a set way I want the story to be completed — in fact if it has only one ending it hardly seems worth looking at a second time. As creator, I may be the first viewer, but I’m not the only viewer.
Over the years I’ve used narrative elements to explore issues like the nature of relationships, community, and our personal environments – especially that psychological space we all construct for ourselves. While concerned with narrative, at its heart my work has always been about the joy of playing with the language of art—focusing on howthe tale is told, not what the tale is about. In the heat of the creative moment, it’s easy to lose track of that.
At its core, art is a spiritual journey. This journey is one of discovering what is most important to us. And so I find myself exploring the everyday and mundane parts of my life, painting the people I know and love, and the space we all share.
Marin Tisdale
“Waves” – Embroidery
My artwork is based on exploring and pushing my boundaries through embroidery. There is a common presence of nature in my work due to the fluidity and variety that can be found within it, especially through color, stitching, and composition.
With each project, I work with new concepts and techniques, experimenting with the fabric, blending, color choosing process, layering of hoops, etc. I am able to further elaborate on it in a multitude of other pieces, exploring that approach more in depth. This allows me to deepen my knowledge of embroidery, assisting my process in future pieces.
Contact Information:
email- mtizz2005@icloud.com
Michelle Torres
“Triste Recuerdo”- Acrylic painting
The series “The Arborist” was inspired to commemorate a former lover who was unjustly deported many years ago. As a young artist at the time, it broke me to begin talking about these issues within the undocumented community and Latino community. The series in the beginning was a complete emotional response to my pain, although it is not the first time something of this sort happened to me. But this event that occurred in my life pushed me to talk about it.
My work focuses on exploring the issues and obstacles found within the Latino community, specifically undocumented immigrants, and even more specifically arborists. My objective is to deconstruct the stereotypes placed on this community by the current political climate. Through my investigation I hope to show the perseverance found in their work ethic.
As a first generation Mexican-American I have unique connection with the individuals that I am focusing on. Triste recuerdo is about the last memories I have of him. My concept is to humanize, understand, empower, and give a voice to the voiceless.
Instagram: theblueparakeet
michellelaartista@gmail.com
JoMerra Watson
“St. Jayda” – Oil and gold leaf on canvas
I am exploring the ways in which sensuality exists for women in the context of freedom and power. The idea of a woman in lingerie usually suggests a private, intimate viewing, which is in direct contrast with the commanding awareness the subject has of her audience. As a woman painting women, I am considering what it means to truly feel sexy while recognizing that for many of us, a place of true confidence is a hard one to get to.
Outward displays of a woman’s sensuality are readily condemned by those who hold belief systems that associate sex with shame and/or sin. I believe this notion has been used as a tool to hinder women from embracing the power that comes with freeing and owning themselves. I’ve drawn inspiration from the visual history of the gold halo and its association with gods, kings, and the divine. When placed on a barely clothed female figure, it creates a juxtaposition. I seek to reconnect women with their inherent divinity. Belief systems are powerful, and I want us to believe in the power of us.
Email: jomerra@jolepeintre.com
Kameron Walker
“Rising Comeback” – Acrylic
Kameron’s art encapsulates certain poses that convey feeling. Figuratively demonstrating the exploration of emotion, his work pushes through barriers of recognizing self. His portraits are formed in relation of his blackness, displaying limitless boundaries in his color palette in such a vivid way that it is aesthetically pleasing to the eye on such a wide scale. Whether the focus be positive or negative, his narrative concentrations, as well as capturing the moment of longing, creates the criteria of standing in your power.
Daniel Williams
“Meeting in the Forest” – Colored pencil
As an artist, I believe that works contain some intangible form of emotion, energy, and mood transferred from the artist as it is created. This means that I only work on a piece if my mood fits what I strive to portray to the viewer. I am normally focused, relaxed, and playful but somewhat intense when I compose my works and I wish for that to translate to those who might be inspired by the piece. To me, beauty is found in nature, both living and nonliving, but I always incorporate something organic into a piece to give life and motion and allow viewers to relate on a more direct level to the subject matter. Inspiration, most recently, comes from the children’s stories that I read to my young daughter each night. A book is in the works and there is unlimited motivation to draw from the story I am creating. With endless possibilities, drawing from a story in which I am creating allows for the ultimate freedom of expression in art.
(952)-393-1513
https://www.facebook.com/Creations-By-DW-105697488574884
David Witherspoon
“selfHood Packaged (Real)” – Encaustic on wood panel
This art investigates what modern western society has become. It examines the effect of the industrial complex that society has transformed into and has embraced. It explores the collective state in the current social order, the state of humanity and Being, its effect on the psyche of the individual and the subconsciousness of the body. It is a progression. It is the result of data acquisition and making. It is a process. It includes several series of works. This particular work is taken from the selfhood series.
davide.witherspoon@gmail.com
www.davidewitherspoon.com
Donna Zarbin- Byrne
“Encountering Daybreak” – Wire, branches, photograph, flax fiber, handmade papers, encaustic
Encountering Daybreak is from a sculpture series where I seek to translate the poetics of nature into biomorphic forms. The memory of time spent in nature becomes abstract recollections of those experiences.
Found objects and natural materials are collected, altered and assembled into a dimensional collage. I draw gesturally with wire, stretching paper, photographs, and fabric like skin over a linear skeleton.
Memory, plus wonder and materials are combined to create a new narrative. I am interested in transporting myself and the viewer to a place akin to fiction and fantasy.
www.donnazarbinbyrne.com
IG @donnazarbinbyrneart
847-962-9986
