The Vigil
Jon Feraro is a New Jersey-based contemporary artist whose richly textured paintings explore the landscapes of memory, resilience, and the unseen emotional forces that shape human experience. Working primarily in oil with palette knives and heavily layered impasto, he transforms paint into sculptural terrain, allowing texture to become as expressive as color and composition.
A largely self-taught painter, Feraro discovered his artistic voice later in life while caring for his mother during her recovery from a devastating injury and while navigating his own battle with cancer. Those experiences profoundly shaped his work, inspiring paintings that balance vulnerability with endurance and quiet hope.
His paintings often inhabit the space between abstraction and representation, where cottages, trees, figures, and fractured landscapes emerge from dense surfaces that invite close inspection. Rather than illustrating stories, Feraro creates emotional environments that encourage viewers to bring their own memories and interpretations to the work.
In addition to his studio practice, Feraro works as a senior technical recruiter. He is an emerging exhibiting artist whose work has been accepted into multiple juried exhibitions, and he continues to develop a distinctive body of work through his Inner Terrain Studio practice.
The Vigil explores the quiet acts of protection, memory, and presence that often go unseen. A humble cottage becomes a sanctuary beneath an ancient tree while two luminous figures stand in silent communion, joined by an arc of glowing embers. Rather than depicting a specific narrative, the work invites viewers to consider the universal experience of watching over someone or something precious.
Built with heavily textured oil paint applied by palette knife, the surface becomes an emotional landscape where light emerges from darkness. The physicality of the paint mirrors the weight of memory and the resilience found in steadfast care. The glowing forms suggest that hope is often carried not through grand gestures, but through simple acts of remaining present.
The Visit
From a very young age, Sharon was known to be very creative and artistic. She attended the only all woman’s art college, Moore College of Art and Design located in Philadelphia, PA.
Upon graduation from high school, her parents had given her, her first camera, a Minolta X370. When she took photography classes in art school, she fell in love with the 4 x 5 format camera. At this time, she was allowed to take her father’s Yashica Mat-124 Copal-SV 2 ¼ to school with her. She majored in textile design with a minor in photography. While studying in college she found a way to combine both mediums together.
In recent years she has gotten back to combining her two loves, textiles and photography together. She combines and prints some of her photographs on fabric and makes her photo art quilts as she describes them. Sharon enjoys photographing just about anything and everything. She favors black and white over color for the dramatic effect that she is looking for when she plays with lights.
One of the pictures that I’m submitting is a continuous project where I left off back in 2020. I lost my husband to pancreatic cancer. This year I decided to pick up at his grave and how I’m moving forward. The other two are more of a collection of photos that I have taken in my traveling this year as I’m getting out in the world again after his death. I traveled to Martha’s Vineyard a few times to photograph the lighthouses there this past summer. They represent a moment in time on my journey of finding myself once again.
The Voiceless 1
Kayla Gaudet is an individual who curates the sense of loss. Ms. Gaudet started her art career with animation and continued to craft her expression with watercolor, graphite, pastels, and photography. She has dedicated the last 3 years to amplifying the lost art form in people, objects, and movements to display how valuable they can be. Her free time is spent exploring the nearby cities and forests to find those who are lost to remind them that they are no longer forgotten.
My artwork depicts two males whom I believe are rebels. They fight against a system that can be easily stacked against them. They must prove not only to themselves but to those around them that they can be victims of spousal abuse, that they matter, and that they can heal from their experiences. Each piece is meant to represent their strength and their voiceless composure against the struggles they face every day.
The Voyagers
Krista Oremus is an award-winning, internationally acclaimed colored pencil artist whose distinctive vision transforms wildlife, animal portraits, and flora into unexpected masterpieces. Fueled by an unwavering commitment to conservation, she creates artwork with a style that’s as bold as it is rare, blending meticulous details and textures. A published artist celebrated worldwide, Krista has turned heads in international galleries and core industry publications. Her colored pencil masterpieces radiate a warmth and joy that set her apart. Krista’s works, steeped in a profound respect for nature’s hidden marvels, defy convention while honoring the wild, earning her a singular place among today’s most inventive creators.
I am fascinated by the hidden stories of the world, its colors, details, and textures. With every pencil stroke, I aim to capture what we feel, not just what we see. The softness of fur, the gleam of an eye, or the delicate veins of a flower petal create mesmerizing bonds deep within our souls. My works have been recognized internationally, but the true reward for me is when someone connects deeply with my art, seeing something new with each glance. Human emotion, animals, and nature are the heart of my work. My goal is to fuse deep emotional resonance and technical mastery to make each piece not just a drawing but an experience.
The Waiting Game
Judith’s educational background includes an undergraduate degree in Art History from the University of Pittsburgh, and a graduate degree in Art as Applied to Medicine from the University of Toronto. She began her professional life as an artist working as a medical illustrator for McGill University Faculty of Medicine. Subsequently, she enjoyed almost twenty years exploring all aspects of printmaking. Eventually, health concerns caused her to abandon this medium and she turned to neon sculpture combined with found objects. Following a five-year flirtation with electricity, Judith discovered the excitement of using pastels in various ways. In recent years she has added encaustic painting to her arsenal; and currently she has begun working in mixed media, combining acrylic paint, pastel, charcoal, ink, and collage on canvas.
Energy and mystery are the most important components of my painting style. I am concerned with conveying a sense of movement beneath the surface…an obvious or latent energy. There is an ambiguous element as well. Conveying the feeling that something interesting has either just happened, or is about to happen in a particular (but abstracted) scenario, is my intent. I have long used crow and raven imagery to express human experience and mood. “Leaning Into The Wind” and “A Waiting Game” (using abstracted human forms) both signify the emotions embodied in the struggle for survival. “Black Flowers – Red Music” expresses sorrow.
The Wall
Natalia was born in Europe and drew pictures from her childhood. She started to paint in oil on canvas in 1990. In 2005 she moved to the USA for a better life and started to display her Art in local Art Galleries in North Carolina in 2016.
Natalia’s artwork has been shown in her solo exhibitions at Mooresville Art Gallery, Yadkinville, and Waterworks Visual Art Center, Salisbury NC. She is an award winner of several local art contests and shows. In December 2018 Natalia Leigh received President’s Choice award for outstanding work in the visual arts from Rowan-Cabarrus Community College. Presently Natalia works as a nurse and paints pictures in her spare time in her own studio in Kannapolis NC.
We all live in uncertain times. During Covid-19, war, and inflation people have concerns about safety, worry about family, friends, and having enough food. It is a time of loneliness, isolation, and fear of the unknown. For centuries, artists observed and depicted historical, political, or natural disaster events. As an artist who is living presently in a world crisis, I recorded my personal experiences in a series of symbolic paintings. The theme of my work is the purpose to restore the positive spirit and hope in times of instability and to find ways of coping with the current situation. The need for hope in any form is very important in our lives. I am trying to keep the strength to go ahead and not break down. I believe that art can make a difference and change us. I believe can use this time to strengthen our faith, values, and practice; we do not have to let disappointment overpower us. We need to find hope and laughter in life because the laugh is healing, and hope makes us stronger.
The Wanderer
Nasr Dallaa is a Washington, D.C.-based photographer whose passion for visual storytelling began in his teens with an old film camera. This curiosity led him to pursue a Bachelor’s in Graphic Design, honing his artistic and technical skills.
In 2017, a life-changing trip to Iceland deepened his connection with nature, sparking a focus on capturing powerful seascapes, serene landscapes, and the beauty of architecture. His work seamlessly blends the natural world with man-made structures, aiming to evoke emotion and transform everyday scenes into extraordinary visuals.
Nasr’s photography continues to push creative boundaries, blending nature and architecture to tell compelling visual stories that resonate with the soul.
My artistic and imaginative vision in professional photography sets me apart, allowing me to create unique and captivating images. With a focus on innovation and creativity, I strive to capture moments that are not only visually stunning but also deeply evocative, transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary.
The Warrior
Michele Bourdeau does not have a formal education in Art. She is trained as a scientist and has always been intrigued by sculpture and creating forms out of raw materials. She started working with terracotta which allows for rough textures. More recently she uses plasticine which can easily be reworked at will. Her sculpture is then generally cast into bonded bronze or bronze.
Michèle Bourdeau has always been fascinated by sculpture and the three-dimensional form and that limitless compositions can be created out of raw material. She likes the texture of clay and enjoys feeling a form take shape under her fingers. She gets inspired by a variety of sources and tends to prefer stylized, abstract figures and forms. Apart from representing the figure, the artist is much inspired by the wildness of nature and the un-tameness of the ocean in creating abstract forms or colorful paintings. Her art pieces do not result from careful planning. She tries to experiment with something new each time. The artist lets the idea evolve as she works along and likes to leave the creation speak for itself.
The Warrior Within
MaryBeth Printz was born in Virginia and grew up on a farm 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.
My practice combines elements from my own experiences and photographs, historical references, and imagination. In reinterpreting traditional images such as the female figure, subjects, and settings are redefined with a contemporary perspective, surrounded by an Alaskan landscape, and infused with emotions such as isolation or hope. Through the manipulation of historically recognizable images, I highlight the connection of these issues in modern life, particularly those relevant to women.
Creating art has given me a sense of accomplishment, self-discovery, and an attempt at healing. It is a haven for me to express my emotions and events in my life.