My Birdzilla
I graduated from The School of the Museum of Fine Arts in 1981. I created and showed my work in different venues for the next seven years, some of which were Mass. College of Art, The Brockton Art Museum, Clark University, and U. Mass. Amherst. At that point, I stopped making art, raised two daughters, and became a self-taught baker/cake decorator. For three years I had my own baking business out of my house, then went to work for Whole Foods and lastly an upscale bakery during which time I was making art again. I’ve been back in the studio for fifteen years. This is where I belong.
I am an artist who likes to tell stories. The inspiration for these tales is derived from different aspects of American culture, some of which are sports, television shows, parades, and vacation destinations, plus events from my own life. I try to present my version of these events with a sense of humor, a lot of color, and a cartoony figurative style. Some of my work is created with gouache on paper and others are constructed of plywood, masonite, roofing aluminum, and many other objects painted with acrylics. I don’t consider myself to be a sculptor but I love 3 dimensions. It harks back to my favorite childhood toys, such as Barbie, dollhouses, and miniature gas stations. In a sense, my art is my adult play.
My Birth – Janam
Subodh Maheshwari was born in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, North India where she learned folk art and classical music. She passionately believes: “In the threshold of my life, my present is the window to the past and a key to the future”. She acquired her degrees and studied art at Agra University, California State University of Fullerton, and the University of California Irvine. Subodh has won numerous awards, including the Regional Fellowship Award at UCI in 1986, the Bharat Gaurav Award in India in 2015, and the 60 Masters Award in 2017, 2018, and 2019. She is also registered in Marquis “Who’s Who in America”, the standard in biographical information. Her paintings have also won awards in a variety of categories including landscape, open, all women, nature, elements, seasons, and abstract.
Subodh is a diversified artist who enjoys telling stories through her artwork, whether it is through landscape, flowers, or abstract art. Her art is a fusion of Eastern symbolism and Western composition, influenced by 16th and 17th century Rajasthani and Mogul art, and accented by poetry, passages, and phrases in Hindi, Sanskrit, and English. She admires Georgia O’Keeffe for her floral influence, and Frida Kahlo for her courage. Whether it is the serene beauty of nature, her spirituality, or the current political climate, she finds inspiration. Having a life shared between India and America, she sees the beautiful similarities, like love which transcends all borders. Highly individual in her style, her works are described as emotional, mysterious, personal, spiritual, and humorous.
My Dancing Dragons
Arlette Stella is an abstract painter with occasional work that expresses surrealism. Her work is characterized by bold colors since she is mainly color-blind and needs bold colors to see the work. Arlette’s philosophical nature is the basis for her work. Every work is the result of a conversation she has had with canvas, paints, and colors. She is self-taught, late-blooming, and unstoppable.
Arlette Stella works predominantly in acrylic paint. Because of the open nature, she is always exploring, she also experiments with gouache, acrylic ink, molding pastes, and water. Painting is, for Arlette, an exploration into the possibilities and depths of thought and feeling. Each work aims to incite, inspire, and maybe even nudge (kick you in the yeah-butt!) the viewer to experience and act on kindness. Arlette states clearly: Kindness is my brand! Arlette Stella is an artist member of the San Diego Artist Guild of the San Diego Museum and the Artist Guild of Palm Springs/Palm Desert, among other groups.
Education: Political Science BA, Juris Doctorate, Masters, Religion & Ethical Leadership; PhD Philosophy in Religion.
I’m a late blooming, self-taught artist whose entire life has pointed me to this moment, these pieces and this work. My deeply philosophical and abstract nature has finally found a safe place for expression. All the education, life experience, pursuits, and professions inform every brush stroke I make in my conversation with each canvas and every color. Each painting names itself, sometimes early in the journey but always by the end. There is a special relationship, a mutual endeavor that is nurtured and expressed in every piece. Generally, acrylic on canvas or board best supports the development of my relationship with the art. Sometimes, I play with pastels and sometimes I enjoy using a black background rather than the usual white. The moment, the canvas, the relationship tells me what’s next. It is all about deep listening.
My Demons
Spending his entire life in Maryland, Stephen Durkin has always been an artist. He attended James Hubert Blake High School where he studied visual arts. He would later go on to earn an Associate of Art in Art and a Certificate in the Specialization in Fine Art Printmaking at Montgomery College while earning his Bachelor of Science in Social Science at the University of Maryland Global Campus (summa cum laude). Focusing primarily on painting and printmaking, Stephen’s figurative surrealist pieces have been shown across the United States and can be found in many private collections.
Having an audience is an important, and arguably, definitive aspect of any art piece. If a piece is meant to have an audience pulled from a population of strangers, then there must be something about its aesthetic that draws viewers. The goal is to engage the viewer using art, so they can then explore the themes and ideas being expressed by the piece (both those ideas they have interpreted, and those which the artist meant to express).
In my attempt to attract a viewer, and elicit some immediate response, I will often use macabre or potentially shocking imagery. I feel that this not only secures the attention of a viewer but is also appropriate when the piece is an attempt to depict, and discuss, painful or controversial themes. However, while the imagery itself may be macabre, I work to present it in an aesthetically appealing manner. I seek to create some beauty in the macabre, or grotesque. I feel like this helps to keep viewers engaged after their initial, attention-gaining shock.
My Dream
Corina Nani is a dynamic figure in the realm of visual arts, serving as a visual artist and associate professor at the Department of Design and Applied Arts within the Faculty of Arts and Design in Timisoara. With a rich academic background and a passion for artistic expression, she has become a prominent name in the field.
Her artistic journey extends beyond the confines of academia, marked by numerous participations in both international and national exhibitions. Corina Nani’s work has been showcased on diverse platforms, contributing to the global dialogue on contemporary art.
In addition to her roles in academia and traditional art spaces, Corina Nani has been a driving force behind the cultural landscape of Timisoara since 2011. She assumes the role of coordinator for the International Street Art Festival of Timisoara (FISART), an event that has grown to become one of Romania’s most representative street art festivals. Through FISART, Corina Nani provides a platform for artists to transform the urban canvas into a dynamic and vibrant tapestry of creativity.
Corina Nani’s influence is not confined to the festival scene; she is also an accomplished urban artist. Her portfolio boasts a collection of captivating murals that adorn the cityscape, reflecting her unique vision and artistic prowess. Each mural tells a story, contributing to the evolving narrative of urban aesthetics.
With a multifaceted presence in academia, exhibitions, street art festivals, and urban murals, Corina Nani continues to shape the artistic landscape in Timisoara and beyond. Her dedication to the intersection of education, public art, and personal expression has left an indelible mark on the cultural fabric of Romania.
Corina Nani is not merely an artist; she is a storyteller who weaves narratives through the canvas of visual expression, her creative journey is a seamless blend of academia, international exhibitions, street art festivals, and urban murals.
In her artistic exploration, Corina Nani embraces a diverse range of mediums and styles, reflecting a constant curiosity and a refusal to be confined by traditional boundaries. Her work is a celebration of the interplay between form and meaning, inviting viewers to embark on a visual journey that transcends the ordinary.
Participating in numerous international and national exhibitions, Corina Nani’s art has become a universal language, transcending cultural barriers. Her pieces resonate with a profound sense of introspection, prompting viewers to engage with the underlying stories and emotions embedded within each stroke.
Beyond the gallery space, Corina Nani assumes a pivotal role in the cultural vibrancy of Timisoara. As the coordinator of the International Street Art Festival (FISART), she transforms the city into a dynamic canvas where art converges with the urban landscape. FISART, under her guidance since 2011, has evolved into one of Romania’s premier street art festivals, fostering a community of artists who redefine public spaces through their creativity.
Corina Nani’s foray into urban art is marked by a series of striking murals that adorn Timisoara’s streets. These murals are not merely aesthetically pleasing; they are a testament to her commitment to making art accessible to all. Each mural tells a unique story, contributing to the collective narrative of the city’s evolving identity.
My Father Taught Me To Have Balance
Midwest native, Jennifer Hannigan-Green is a figurative abstract painter. Originally, a landscape painter illustrating her walk through nature, Jennifer’s style has changed over the years becoming more simplified and expressive, illustrating her walk through life. Her work shares deep, personal moments. She captures emotional stories through her use of color and shapes. Jennifer has had her paintings shown throughout the world from Paris, France to St. Louis, Missouri, and has received an American Art Award two years in a row.
Painting is how I process and communicate with the world. My work is my voice for the feelings and emotions we struggle to speak and find words for. The intense emotions of motherhood – love, sleepless nights, connection. The intense emotions of depression and loneliness. The intense emotions of simply living – finding joy, spirituality, and friendship. When words fail us, colors and shapes become our voices. That voice is my work. My work is our voice.
My Home In Homestead PA
Guglielmo Botter started to sketch using an ink pen at 5 y.o. when his father, a professor at the Fine Art Academy in Venice, introduced him to this technique; he won many contests for young artists and finally in 1980 an urban sketch of Treviso became an official stamp of the Italian Post (350000 participants).
Architect in 1993, Guglielmo continued to draw besides his professional activity. The economic crisis made him rethink his life: In 2012 he decided to come back to the USA where his mother lived and worked as an artist from the ‘50s to the ‘60s.
He was well welcomed and his first drawings of the “Steel City” were soon published on the cover of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette giving him the opportunity to be introduced to the US public. He exhibited in many US cities on the east coast and In 2018 he started to work also in Germany.
The choice of the urban subject has led him to travel, to know, and always appreciate new places. From the cities, we know the people, customs and habits, the strengths and weaknesses, which all together characterize each population…
Guglielmo likes the contrast between modern and historic buildings: his simple sign in black and white helps to blend very well details of the contemporary era.
He works with a pencil, an ink pen, and a sheet of paper. What the artist really needs is the inspiration that a landmark or an intricate view of buildings can give to him.
These recent ink drawings of mine want to testify to my conviction that every place in this world can be considered “our home”, starting from the simple house we live in, to the city that represents us, up to a capital of a distant country of Eastern Europe, once considered our antagonist but instead, in a recent trip of mine, it proved to be a place full of pleasant surprises and great hospitality. “Our home” is not limited to being the place where we spend most of our time, but it is the same world that, however large it is, if respected and understood, offers us the same hospitality and pleasantness of living, together with the other!
Being an artist and traveling far and wide with this passion and activity of mine, once I have sufficiently visited a new city and settled in, I realize that my real home is the world, a reflection that would help us all to live together without conflicts and misunderstandings.
My Little Oasis
Julia K. Burzon is a self-taught artist whose generally representative artworks favor bright colors and circular forms. Her education in wildlife biology (B.S., M.S.) was undertaken with the ulterior motive of ensuring basic realism in her art and includes an undergraduate photography minor. Julia’s earliest professional work in art was in general and scientific illustration and photography in the 1990s, resulting in multiple publications.
After a long hiatus as a wildlife biologist and mother, Julia returned to art as a serious pursuit in 2018. In 2020’s COVID isolation, she decided to learn digital painting and spent a year creating daily apple-themed artworks as a structured way of doing so, which resulted in the creation of her “An Apple A Day” art blog (see website link). After that year of focus on the digital, Julia shifted back to working primarily with traditional analog media, especially acrylic painting, and has since been working both in-studio and en plein air. Julia continues to use art to explore her own psychological and emotional landscape and is keenly interested in both the process and products of that pursuit.
As stated in the description of the theme of this exhibition, beyond the “white picket fence” stereotype, there are as many different interpretations and experiences of “home” as there are people, with variations in location, time, space, and scale. Additionally, the argument can be made that for many the essence of “home” needn’t reference a particular location at all, but instead describes a feeling of safety and acceptance in a relationship with others.
Because of such disparity in what “home” can mean to different people, when doing a house “portrait,” I make a point of trying to capture what is particularly evocative of “home” to the resident, whether it is the uniqueness of the mid-century modern architecture, a forest rising up from behind, a cat in the driveway, a personal oasis in the front yard, or the way the lights glow in welcoming windows upon one’s return. If such a portrait can evoke that feeling of security and connection that is “home” for a viewer, I count it as a success.
Actually, I have found that I happen to have a bit of a preoccupation with “home,” myself. My crucial link seems to be a feeling of connection to the natural elements of a particular location (like individual trees or a creek’s wading pool or birdsong or the feeling of the warm sun). Since I don’t actually live near several crucial facets of “home” for me, I make a point of trying to capture sensory “snapshots” when I visit. By paying close attention to each of my senses when I am “home,” I can recreate the experience in my mind later. That way, how/where/whenever I travel forward from such moments, I can be like a snail, carrying my “home” with me.
My Mucha Muse
My name is Barbara Page I live in Belle Plaine, Minnesota. Originally, I am from a dairy farm in northern Wisconsin. I started out by drawing the markings on our cows, beginning my artistic journey. I attended the University of Wisconsin – River Falls. I have a bachelor’s degree in Fine Art. At 30 years old I was in an auto accident. The accident left me with traumatic brain and spinal injuries. I love to draw and paint realistic art with the mediums of watercolor, pen, and ink. My inspiration is the artwork of Alphonse Mucha; with my focus on nature, florals and human figures. Because of my injuries, I visualize things differently. My injuries resulted in clouded thinking and hand tremors. Unsteady hands made it difficult to do fine details. Today my artwork is influenced by the traumas and blessings I endured.
At a young age, I was so intrigued that I could draw what I saw and share my art with others. Throughout my life, I have used my imagination to have it be my outlet – my therapy – my passion. As an artist, I love to see and create artwork that evokes emotion and different perceptions of what my piece says to the viewer. I love to use color to evoke emotion and black-and-white pointillism to get high contrast in my artwork of the female/floral portrayal.