It is with great pleasure to announce my participation in the upcoming “Reinventing Tradition“ exhibition at StudioWorks by Zoom Group, curated by the amazing and talented Barrett Smyth!
Founded in 1986, Zoom Group is a thriving organization that empowers, educates and employs over 250 people with all levels of developmental disabilities. StudioWorks, the art studio of Zoom Group, is a creative and inclusive atmosphere in which artists with and without disabilities thrive. Professionally-trained artists are on staff to interact with member artists daily as they deepen their talents, change perceptions, raise awareness, and beautify the community through art.
“Reinventing Tradition” aims to surpass the boundaries of academic fine art and its scholarly values by skewing the lens of how one analyzes a work of art. The artists obscure the viewer’s perception through their execution in technique, process, and rendering. The show is to glorify the radical progressions that both the artists and their work have created through their alternative processes, while remaining loyal to traditional media”. Curator Barrett Smyth
The opening reception of “Reinventing Tradition“ is Friday, October 21st from 6-9 pm. If you can’t make it that night, the exhibition will be up through December 30th. StudioWorks is located at 2008 Eastern Parkway in Louisville, Kentucky. The gallery and studio are open to the public Monday – Friday from 8:00 am – 4:00 pm and Saturday from 12:00 pm – 5:00 pm.
Please share the word of this event, which will also share awareness of the awesome Zoom Group organization!
New (found) Harmony, Dye Sub Print on Aluminum, 24″ x 24″
Excited to announce that New (found) Harmony, from my recent series Attempting Utopia, was selected for the upcoming Firmly Rooted 2016 exhibition at M.S. Rezny Gallery in Lexington, Kentucky!! Over 290 artworks were submitted in this national call for art that ‘addresses our ongoing symbiotic relationship with plants’. Juror Stuart Horodner, Director of the University of Kentucky Art Museum, selected 29 artworks for the exhibit.
The exhibition dates of Firmly Rooted 2016 are July 12th – August 20th with an Artists Reception and Awards Ceremony on Friday, July 15th, 5-8pm. Stop by the gallery and cast your vote for the People’s Choice Award.
Attempting Utopia is a series of macroscopically photographed plant life in early stages of conception. Captured entirely in my back yard, these images, both beautiful and alien, parallel my experiences in starting anew. I abstract the bright future idea by exponentially enlarging the images and dye sub printing onto aluminum, which radiates a shininess affiliated with success. Images are frameless and float off the wall, constantly changing with the light as you move around them, representing the inevitable. Titles in the series reference real and fictionalized utopian/dystopian societies. (Shout out to Unique Imaging Concepts who printed the work…they are awesome!)
I can hardly believe it’s almost June. Life has been crazy busy (as always) and time is moving FAST! But I would be remiss if I did not write about the Digital Image Transfer & Mix Media workshop I taught at the The Studios of Key West this past February. (I know…I’m throwing it way back and it’s not even Thursday!)
First of all, I gotta say what an honor and privilege it was to come back to Key West as an artist and an educator. After 16 years of island living, I left Key West to reduce my expenses and focus on creative passions back in my hometown of Louisville Kentucky…and I can truly say I have done just that! But Key West is a place I miss dearly and it felt so good to be there again. In addition, TSKW has become even more amazing in my absence (if that was even possible!!) and recently moved into the newly renovated space at 533 Eaton St. The facilities are top notch with artist studios, dedicated classrooms, three exhibition spaces, a theatre for the performing arts, and is attached to (and affiliated with) the independent book store (originally from Miami) Books and Books.
Housing supplied by TSKW during my workshop (which I quickly converted into a studio).
And even more recently, Nancy Klingener, the Southernmost Reporter/Producer for WLRN News is broadcasting from the 3rd floor at TSKW! Add in an amazing staff, a ton of dedicated volunteers and awesome artist housing (including a bicycle) while either teaching a workshop or experiencing a residency. I mean….HELLO(!!!)…everything you want in you local arts organization…and then some!!
I’ve been incorporating encaustic wax with my photographs for some time and recently added digital image transfers to the working equation using alternative print materials by DASS™. Combining the two into a two-day workshop was both a challenge and a blast to teach! Day one was all about image transfers, which were applied to a variety of surfaces, including wood, metal foils, and fine art papers. Day two took those initial results further with the incorporation of mixed media including watercolors, oil paints and encaustic wax.
I love this image created by Camille Blatz who layered an image transfer onto wood with the same image transferred onto kozo rice paper…final piece encased in encaustic wax.
(Click on images in the below photo slider to visit personal websites of featured artists)
I had artists of all mediums sign up for the workshop…photographers, painters, mix media artists and sculptors all represented. The title of the workshop naturally attracts photographers (like myself) who enjoy exploring the possiblities of the medium. But I love how this process transcends photography and speaks to artists of all mediums who are seeking more creative options for their imagery. Ultimately, we all brought something slightly different to the table and learned a lot from one another.
I have been a fan (and friend) of LIsa Esposito from the first moment we met and it was an honor to have her in my workshop. Here, Lisa dips an image transferred onto Stone Paper into encaustic wax just to see what would happen. (I even love her process notes in relation to the image above!)
(Click on images in the below photo slider to visit personal websites of featured artists)
Not only did Mark Hedden have two pieces made during this workshop accepted to the Small Works exhibition at Lemonade Stand Gallery in Key West he even sold one of those pieces. Thats what I’m talking about!
I also taught a really fun gel medium transfer class with kids. Working with a non-toxic acrylic gel medium, students learned the mixed media method of transferring an image to a wood panel. Their ready to hang creations were finished with watercolors, colored pencils and acrylic paint.
