Rescuing Ophelia
MaryBeth Printz was born in Virginia and grew up on a farm near the Potomac River in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia. She received a BA in Fine Art and in Secondary Art Education from Hollins University in Virginia, her MFA in printmaking from West Virginia University, and an AA in Graphic Design from Shepherd University in West Virginia. Based in Anchorage since 1985, MaryBeth has participated in Alaskan, international, and solo exhibitions. Her work is in several private collections in the United States.
The thread weaving my paintings together is my ability to illustrate my own stories through dramatic visual imagery with a hint of magic that evokes the mysteriousness of everyday life. Magical realism gives me the freedom to paint narratives inspired by the ordinary with a place for the unexpected. ‘Rescuing Ophelia’ was inspired by this quote: ‘And when you get to where you’re going, turn around help her too. For there was a time, not long ago when she was you.’ Ophelia did not want to be saved; I changed her fate.
Resilience
Babler’s work has been juried into: “Lasting Impressions 2025” – Evanston Arts Center; “Reflecting 2025”– Maryland Federation of Art; 38th Annual McNeese National Works on Paper Exhibition; “In the City” exhibit juror Christina Gomez (Art Institute Chicago); North American Print Biennial juror Elizabeth M. Rudy (Associate Curator of Prints Harvard Art Museums, Boston); Dubuque Museum of Art Biennial juror Pamela Hugdahl (Executive Director, Rochester Art Center); Rockford Art Museum Biennial Juried Exhibit of Contemporary Artists; Andrew James Wulf, Ph.D. (Director – Albany Museum of Art); Gary Freeburg (Professor/Director of Duke Hall Gallery of Fine Art at James Madison University); Amanda C. Burdan (Associate Curator – Brandywine River Museum of Art); Christiane Paul (Director Media Studies at New School, NY and Curator of New Media Arts at the Whitney Museum of American Art); Felice Frankel (Science photographer/research scientist); Malcolm Daniel (Curator of Photographs – Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC); Kenneth Baker (Art Critic, San Francisco Chronicle); Keith Carter, internationally recognized photographer/educator; William Lieberman, Director of Zolla/Lieberman Gallery – Chicago; Annette Carlozzi (Sr. Curator at Blanton Museum of Art); Dr. Jefferson Harrison (Chief Curator Chrysler Museum of Art); Charlotta Kotik (Curator of Contemporary Art Brooklyn Museum of Art); David Houston (Chief Curator –Ogden Museum of Southern Art); Dr. Russell Panczenko (Director – Museum of Art, Madison Wisconsin); Siri Engberg (Walker Art Center); Stephen Phillips (Phillips Collection – Washington DC); Sam Gilliam (international artist); and Ed Paschke (international artist).
She is a Ragdale Residency Fellow and a juried member of the Illinois Arts Council’s Arts-In-Education Roster and has exhibited at Northwestern University, Concordia University, Rockford Art Museum, and the Alexandria Museum of Art. She was also a fine art consultant and advisor for Grumbacher/Prismacolor, along with developing a program for Blick Art. Her artwork is in corporate, university, and private art collections.
A single flower blooms despite being surrounded by concrete. This sunflower bursts forth demonstrating resilience despite obstacles, visualizing a will to survive. The strong and vivid colors of my piece “Resilience” reinforce a message of hope. Beauty and joy can triumph in our world through persistence.
As an artist, I am a visual storyteller. I create visual puzzles with purposeful ambiguity. The intent is for the viewer to become involved and react. A curator has described my artwork as smart and thoughtful and dense with information; gorgeous with color. Mysterious and challenging…puzzles for the viewer to solve.
Resilient
Kylo-Patrick Hart is an award-winning photographer and chair of the Department of Film, Television, and Digital Media at Texas Christian University (Fort Worth, Texas, USA). He received his formal training in digital media arts while a student at the University of Michigan and Wayne State University, with additional instruction provided by offerings of the Maine Media Workshops and Santa Fe Workshops. His photographs have been exhibited in numerous cities throughout the United States and several countries abroad.
Photography has been my passion since early childhood. My motivation is to discover and capture the beauty, even when it is not always readily self-evident, that surrounds us continuously in all areas of our everyday lives. I believe the finest images are those that are serious yet playful, aesthetically appealing yet a bit quirky. As both an artist and an admirer, my favorite photographs tend to be ones whose contents speak loudly for themselves — even when it is not immediately clear exactly what they are saying. They seek to inspire their viewers to wrestle with their intriguing content and, as a result, ponder various aspects of our surrounding world in new and unique ways.
Resonance Series: Yellow
I was born in a small town in Czechoslovakia (today Czech Republic), at that time a communist country. My career involved various industries and roles. I have completed my Bachelor of Science in Business Administration at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA, USA. The main focus throughout the years has been my daughters though. Sometimes society doesn’t really appreciate this role. As a single mother of two daughters, now 19 and 20, I have tried to enhance their world with a love for art. I have also been a professional blackjack player, traveling to casinos in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Moscow, and many European cities. This was truly an adventurous experience.
However, art has always been my passion. Over the years I’ve explored various art forms which included oil painting, ceramics, and jewelry making. I have attended several art history classes as well as courses at the Art Design Institute in Prague. I have also attended various courses the art galleries offered. One of them was Art Lovers Academy at DSC Art Gallery in Prague for example. I have also completed courses such as “The Intelligent Eye: The Art of Collecting” and “Art History” at Sotheby’s Art Institute. These courses not only increased my knowledge but also helped in my pursuit as an art collector.
My support for culture, art, and artists has been a significant aspect of my life. I’ve been involved in supporting cultural events, young artists, and scientists. I have been involved in cultural projects such as Prague Sounds, Prague Philharmonic, Theater in Dlouha in Prague, and the Foundation for the Support of Young Scientists in the Czech Republic.
I’ve had the privilege of living in various countries, including the USA (Florida, Pittsburgh), Bahamas, Austria (Vienna, Linz), and Czechia, and now settled down in California and San Francisco. Each place has contributed to my life’s experiences. Currently, I am pursuing my Master’s degree in Fine Art (MFA) at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. This step is the culmination of my lifelong dream to become a professional artist. My journey is a combination of business vision, artistic passion, and cultural promotion.
I work with acrylic ink fluids and spray paint, which allows me to play with layers of colors. I create shapes that feel alive and organic.
My travels have had a big impact on my art. It is my inspiration. The places I’ve been, from the streets of Prague through all the amazing and magnificent national parks in the USA to the peaceful beaches in Australia and New Zealand all show up in my work as unique and abstract forms. Nature inspires me a lot. I love that things in nature are never quite the same like for example shapes of leaves, waves, or butterfly wings. I also love dramatic coastlines. All those shapes you will find in my paintings. My art is also about what I feel inside. Everything is projected into my paintings. I always look at the world in a new way and I am trying to find beauty everywhere.
I am an artist originally from the Czech Republic, now living and creating in the Bay Area/ San Francisco. As a professional artist, I use acrylic ink fluids, and spray paint to create vibrant layered works that reflect my worldview. I am trying to capture my emotions and experiences. Driven by a desire for knowledge, I’ve studied art history and more to deepen my understanding of art’s role in society. I strive to capture the world’s beauty and complexity, hoping my work inspires others and opens new perspectives on life.
Respect
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.
Respiration V
Chris Cinque is an abstract painter and collage artist. In her collages, she recycles old materials, reusing cardboard, paper, canvas, paint, and other media in combination with new materials, creating layers that result in surfaces of barely contained chaos that reflect the sorrow and hope of our world. Besides looking for ways to best use color, line, and composition, her work is part of the effort to dismantle the patriarchy.
Chris’s work has been exhibited in Chicago, Texas, Michigan, Wisconsin, Kansas, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and throughout Minnesota.
Chris worked as a theater artist for 20 years, as a playwright, actor, and director. She toured her one-woman trilogy of plays, “Growing Up Queer in America”, around the US, including extended runs in LA and Seattle. She was also a teacher for 20 years and is grateful for all she learned from her students.
Chris is a member of Form+Content Gallery in Minneapolis, MN.
I am an abstract painter and collage artist. I bring together the past and the present, creating connections with other people as I learn to connect to all aspects of myself, breaking down self-imposed barriers and those created by others.
My work has always been driven by a desire to create a safe place for myself and for all who consider themselves outsiders. We live in a world that insists on binary thought–white/black, good/bad, male/female. This stifles who we truly are and what we can become: beautifully multi-layered and multi-faceted, distinct yet united. Can we make a better place that includes all of us? For me, that is one of the tasks of art: to help create a world where everyone can breathe and live free. I started my Respiration series during the pandemic and after George Floyd was murdered two blocks from my house. His death upended our neighborhood as well as the world and was as devastating as the plague itself.
Whatever our art form, I believe we can help create a world where differences flourish and love obliterates hate. I do this by being actively engaged in how and why to put color, image, and line together while participating in my queer and recovery communities.
Resplendent Overtures
Danielle Mio Sogno was exposed to the arts since early childhood. The daughter of internationally known expressionist artist Betty Jean Hoaglund, she was taught the importance of incorporating art into her life from the time she could pick up a paintbrush.
her mediums of choice are acrylics and watercolor, but collage is another of her loves, and many of her works are mixed media. She created the “Unraveled by Danielle” line of textiles in 2020, during the pandemic. It started as just a way to surprise friends and family across the country with custom knitted hats, blankets, and scarves but quickly became popular items in the retail marketplace.
Danielle was born and raised in Oak Park, Illinois and currently splits her time between Dallas, Texas, and Chicago, Illinois. Her art has been in exhibitions at the TVAA Gallery and Clique Gallery, among others.
She holds a Master’s in Creative Writing and Literature from Harvard University in Cambridge, MA, and is a writer and visual artist.
Ambiguity. My use of and reliance on it is absolutely intentional. To be able to create art that inspires people, makes them question its meaning, and sparks conversations is a huge responsibility and an important contribution. I want my pieces to attract attention. The audacity of bold color palettes and shapes, metallic accents, and exaggerated subjects allow this to happen. Symbolism is something I leverage creatively, and I tend to incorporate one or more symbolic elements in each of my pieces. I am fascinated with word meanings, famous quotes, and history. Doing the research before beginning the art is part of the fun, and I feel it allows me to create a more layered, complete narrative.
I often use unexpected combinations of mediums to surprise my audience (and often, myself) and to break away from the expected. A layer of acrylic carefully shaping a figure but outlined carelessly and almost cartoonishly can create whimsy with a powerful message behind it. Watercolor in muted tones but with gold leaf interwoven is peaceful and elegant but is then elevated. India ink dripping off oil roses delivers an edgy juxtaposition of structure and freedom, and a message of controlled chaos.
Whether painting a street mural in public places or hosting a gallery event, it is such a delight to be approached by admirers who relay the meaning that my art has for them. The best thing about this scenario is that it tends to be a different interpretation every time. That’s pretty powerful.
I see art in life from every angle. Every day. In the strangest of places. I can see figures of people and animals in the uneven layers of the slate tile in my home, in the clouds, in the tree bark at the dog park. I see it first as it is, and then as a painting. I can complete the full painting in my head within seconds. So, if you see me staring at you, I might be looking past you at the cracks in the sidewalk that are shaped like a giraffe or the lamppost that’s rusted so perfectly into the shape of a dragonfly.
I want my art to make the ordinary extraordinary so that we can all appreciate even the smallest and mundane things with new fervor.
Resting Among The Flowers
The beauty of nature surrounding Los Angeles was the impetus for her entrance into the field of photography. Joanne began vigorously studying photography and other art arenas to hone her skills as a visual artist. In 2000, she graduated from California State University, Los Angeles with a Master of Fine Arts (MFA). She is now a full-time artist.
In addition to color and black and white film, Joanne shoots digitally, employs the techniques of infrared imaging, and enjoys creating 3D anaglyphs to be viewed with red/blue lenses. As an extension of photography, she has branched out to do videos and has a YouTube Channel, THE VIDEO ART OF JOANNE CHASE-MATTILLO. Along with nature, Joanne frequently photographs female and male subjects in fun-themed studio shoots.
Joanne has exhibited throughout California, nationally, in Korea, France, England, Switzerland, Scotland, Greece, Spain, Germany, Japan, Belgium, the Netherlands, Brazil, Dubai, and Italy. Her work has also been selected for Lunar Codex, a very special project partnered with SpaceX to deliver the images of art in a time capsule to be permanently affixed to the surface of the moon, selected by Era Contemporary Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as part of “Legends Of The Moon”.
As a photographer, I am constantly in search of iconic imagery. The craftsmanship and perfection of classic Hollywood cinema have always been an inspiration and a goal I seek to achieve in my photography. While enjoying the technology of the present and how it has enhanced photography, I am very drawn to recreate photographs that reference the best of the past. It is my intent that the viewer of the images I create will be taken out of the everyday present to a magical place where, at any time, they would dream of going. Whether photographing people or nature, I strive to honor the best and the beauty of all that I have an opportunity to capture with my camera.
Summer days are the dream moments of the year that are looked forward to in dreary seasons. The beach, pool, lakes, and oceans draw all to embrace the sun and beat the heat. When we think of summer, we embrace all that the warmth of the sun brings.
Revolutionary Women Series Shahze
Tapping color into water is truly its own kind of magic; simply called watercolor
Belinda Balaski, a native of Southern California, creates colorful watercolor and pastel paintings of people, landscapes, seascapes, flowers, and animals. She is especially fond of painting horses, influenced by her childhood on the racetrack with her father, the well-known jockey, Lester Balaski. Her work focuses on capturing the spirit and unique beauty of living creatures and the natural world. She is motivated by the desire to share a spiritual sense of serenity and peace.
Belinda’s creativity expressed itself at a young age in acting, photography, and art. When not performing in theatre, she was shooting pictures and drawing incessantly. At fourteen she won a four-year scholarship to the Minnesota Corresponding Art School, where she nurtured her affinity for representational art and learned many techniques that served her well.
Belinda’s gift for acting took her on a different path. She won many awards and excelled in a 50-year career in Hollywood. She created BB’s Kids Acting School, where she taught, filmed, and nurtured thousands of children, all the while writing and producing original plays. These experiences developed her artistic eye for framing, beauty, and editing a myriad of choices.
Recently she retired from the film industry and closed her school, to return to her original pursuit of visual art. She enrolled in courses at Emeritus College, discovering a passion for watercolor and pastels. Drawing from a well of diverse talents and life experiences, Belinda uses her gift of capturing a feeling with an instinctual ease of composition.
Belinda lives and works in Southern California but spends several months a year on Kauai, her spiritual home, where many of her inspirational paintings are born.
I am an LA/Kauai-based artist who specializes in watercolor and pastels. I am forever seeking peace and spiritual tranquility in my work, drawn from a myriad of life experiences that have etched; people, landscapes, seascapes, animals, faces, children, and a zillion more images inspired from these cellular memories, into my very soul.
Working in water is like magic ~ when you finally tap a color into the invisible watermarks you lay, the magic begins as you tap darks for shadows, lights for highlights ~ trying to keep your values, just like in life.
You can wet the whole paper, saturate it in water, and sweep colors across to let them blend and mix at will. Let the water lead you, the colors, the mixes, the forms. You can try to control them, but wet on wet has its own life.
Of course, you can then let that dry and slice a hard line on top sending your blends into the background, defining your edges, and sharpening one’s focus into your subject.
There is so much diversity in watercolors, that one can only be limited by one’s own imagination. But if you are open to listening to the muse, tuning into the moment, the flow of the water can lead you where your imagination is endlessly open, allowing the kind of awesome creativity that real “Art” is truly made of. The kind of Art that takes you out of yourself and frees you of all limitations. This is my goal. To allow your eyes to rest on an image that will open and inspire your imagination beyond your physical world, allowing you to relate and yet freely fly…