Stephen Fitz-Gerald

Reflection: Self-portrait
welded recycled scrap punch parts: life size

"My father, master sculptor Clark Fitz-Gerald, remains my greatest influence. There is a thread of visual continuity in the work of Henry Moore through my father's work, and now in my own. Though using different materials and techniques, each of us has utilized amorphic forms as our chosen language of expression." —Stephen Fitz-Gerald

Growing up in the rugged island environment of Maine, Fitz-Gerald's friends were granite cliffs, towering pines, and panoramic seascapes. At fifteen he sold enough work to finance a trip to Europe, where he traveled alone, studied art, and recorded his adventures in sketchbooks. Early academic training came at several private boarding schools where he excelled in the arts, ceramics, and painting and drawing. After graduation from the University of Maine, he taught himself to weld. Since that time, he has won national competitions in California, Alaska, and Maine, and produced commissioned pieces for The Harrington Cancer Center and others. Fitz-Gerald has been a commercial welder, a teaching assistant at Sonoma State University, and for six years has worked in the Art Department at U.C. Berkeley. Currently, he is a freelance sculptor and visual artist. See more of his sculpture, figural art, jewelry, custom gates, and furniture at his website.

Brian Craig-Wankiiri

Pygmalion's Folly
life size sculpture
 

"My work is an examination of the limits of self-knowledge and the subjectivity of experience through the medium of life-size bronze self-portraiture. This form of self-exploration is prompted by the need to face my own existence and find meaning in life’s narrative, and the process of creating a self-portrait becomes a method of altering my persona and shaping my narrative as it is examined. The subjective analysis of my physical presence and life experience generates a tension between perception and reality, and I try to depict that tension, even in the most seemingly meditative poses and compositions. Thus, for me a self-portrait represents a myth of the self, a perpetually shifting experience, a material ‘biography of form’."—Brian Craig-Wankiiri


Craig-Wankiiri is an American sculptor working in Pennsylvania. Born in Pittsburgh in 1968, he studied fine arts at both the Pennsylvania State University and the New York Academy of Art. For ten years he worked as the studio assistant to American sculptor Audrey Flack. He is represented by the John Pence Gallery in San Francisco, California, and is the Chair of the Sculpture Department at the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts in Old Lyme, Connecticut.

Craig-Wankiiri's attention to detail is to a degree rarely seen in contemporary sculpture. His precision and skill rival those of Old World masters such as Rodin and Michelangelo. More impressive works can be found at his website and the John Pence Gallery.

Lisa Rodden

Peacock Feathers
Hand-cut paper, gouache: 73 cm X 73 cm framed

“We as humans are lost without our connection to land and to one another, and the state of things around us is a reflection of that. The truth is that everything is inextricably linked and everything we do has an impact on something else. For me, to create is to connect with truth, and through this I want to bring people a sense of peace and a sense of place.”– Lisa Rodden

 
Australian artist, Lisa Rodden, creates from a need to express through art that which cannot be conveyed with words. With Studies covering sculpture, drawing, water colours, and oil painting, both in Europe and Australia, she has a Diploma in Colour Consulting and received the Award for Excellence in Colour & Design at the ISCD. Through her many careers, art and travel have been constants, providing a fundamental experience of truth and being. The diversity in cultures and landscapes has been a strong lesson in the human condition and a key force in inspiring her works, which are a communication of how all things are interrelated and inextricably linked.

Rodden's delicate hand-cut paper art is formed by slicing, layering, painting, and folding to create three dimensional wonders that are truly unique, each possessing a chameleon quality. Shadows and colors appear and disappear as the viewer moves around the work, creating an intriguing feeling of living art. To see more of Rodden's incredible artwork, or for purchasing inquiries, visit her website. If you are in Sydney, you can enjoy her work at the upcoming exhibition showing at Art2muse Gallery in Double Bay from August 8th - 21st.

Paula Kovarik

Decision Points
fabric: 31" X 46"

"My background is in graphic design, which informs my art. When I started working with textiles I was captivated by the tactile sensation. The textures, colors and thread make my hands twitch and my heart warm. Stitching adds weight and detail to my message while letting my mind wander. I believe that the energy and dreams we have within can move and motivate our external lives. My textile pieces are a way of showing the invisible connections that we become aware of only after reflection."—Paula Kovarik

Kovarik received her Bachelor of Arts in graphic design from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. She is the owner and creative director at Shades of Gray, Inc., a graphic design studio specializing in communications. Her textile art has been recognized by several national venues, including Quilt National, Studio Art Quilt Associates, and the Schweinfurth Art Center in Auburn, NY. Kovarik lives and works in Memphis, TN. Her award winning work has been honored in many national juried shows across the United States, including Quilt National 2009, The Best of Contemporary Quilts. Kovarik's publication credits include features inside The Best of Contemporary Quilts, and as cover artist. See more of her amazingly detailed pieces on her website, and her art journal. She also has a new book, Parallel Lives, by Jean Holmgren and Paula Kovarik. Feel free to email Paula with your comments.

Fred Yokel

That's A Keeper
handbuilt ceramics: 15.5 X 10 X 10

"In the last few years I have been concentrating on these loosely human-based sculptures that express emotions or whimsical stories through their stance and mass, rather than their detailed facial expressions or life-like anatomy. They are far from anatomically correct humanoids, and I like it that way. They give me the chance to explore the tension between a larger-than-life figure performing a delicate action."—Fred Yokel

Yokel was born in California, with roots in Switzerland, Germany, Scotland, and England, and raised in the Santa Clara Valley. During his childhood, he played with dirt in his backyard, not knowing this would lead him to a sculptor's career.

His obsession with clay started in high school when he took an art class as a sophomore and first touched malleable earth. More ceramics classes, workshops, and seminars followed. In college he concentrated his studies in ceramics under James Lovera, Robert Fritz, and Herbert Sanders, with some influence by David Middlebrook. Yokel also joined friends in an off-campus studio where they built their own kilns and produced pieces to sell at local art fairs. After graduating with a BA in Ceramics, he became a production potter at two Bay Area pottery houses, taught summer classes on production pottery, and Adult Education ceramics classes designing one-of-a-kind pieces, exploring raku surfaces and organic looking textures. Yokel then went on to the California Institute of the Arts where he received his MFA in Design/Advertising. Currently, he has a graphic design business and continues to create ceramic sculptures. His work has recently been featured in the Australian publication Craft Arts International. Enjoy more of his whimsical, unique sculptures at his website, and photo gallery. 

Kimberly Wotton

Fire Eater
20" x 30": Photographic print

"Artistic expression is my communication of choice. Without it, I may not have anything to say."—Kimberly Wotton

While Wotton's background may be in traditional art, digital art is her main focus now. She founded Hypereal, LLC after an automobile accident left her unable to work due to serious neurological damage. Her art is the product of combining a passion for cigars, nature, and people with the skills she acquired earning a Bachelor's degree in Digital Art from Henry Cogswell College in 2004.

 
Hypereal's tagline, "You only better," perfectly represents her work, as the "you" may be a person, a place, or a thing--and Wotton's artistry makes each "you" more intense and larger than life. She is drawn to vibrant, saturated colors for her art pieces, no matter what the medium: paint, photography, printing, etc. Kimberly produces commissioned pieces for top cigar events and industry leaders, winning competitions and awards such as the 2011 Annual Perdomo Cigar Photo Contest.

Hypereal is an evolution of Wotton's traditional-to-digital art journey. Her many fans and collectors look forward to the innovative stops along her art path into the cutting edge future. For more information regarding her prints, posters, and custom pieces, visit her Facebook page. More information can be found here.

Christopher Truax

Screen Savior
Recycled materials, toaster, goose wings: 5' X 11" 

“Flight is freedom and release, flight is the dream we all dream of.”—Christopher Truax

Truax is a NW sculptural artist who uses recycled vintage car parts and scrap metals to create striking creatures that look as though they might just come to life and fly away. His characters are the kind one might see in big budget science fiction movies: robotic, dangerous and beautiful, with a human, emotional quality that makes them warm, organic and so lifelike. With the recent addition of LCD lights powered by solar cells, his work is taking on a new look and prying open new dimensions of sculptural wall art.

Truax’s art has been shown locally in many galleries around the Oregon area since 2009, including posing alongside "The Spruce Goose" and NASA equipment at The Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, in 2010. Awards and honors include, First Place/Best in Show at the Oregon Art Expo, CCC Art Expo, and West Linn art competition. He has been a member of NW Sculptors Guild since 2009. His art will be featured on the cover of the upcoming fall issue of EA ZINE. For more information, book gallery appearances, or to send your comments, please contact his representative, Kyle Collins.

In the Wings of the Butterfly
88 x 60: mixed media on canvas

"Go give yourself completely to something and then, share it with the world to lift them all . . . I only came to give it away . . . and I find myself increasingly full and dancing at the cliff." —Jason Craighead.


Craighead is a recognized leader in the North Carolina art scene. A resident of downtown Raleigh, he grew up in Florida where he studied art at Gulf Coast Community College and Florida State University. He has received numerous awards, has served as a juror for various art shows, and has been selected as Signature Artist for charitable art auctions. His work has been featured in a number of publications, including Artists & Art Galleries of the Southeast.


An active participant in the Raleigh arts community for many years, Craighead has donated numerous paintings to charitable art auctions, including the Triangle AIDS Alliance’s annual Works of Heart auction and a Habitat for Humanity fundraiser. He has served as a juror and signature artist for Works of Heart, and as a juror for the Visual Art Exchange in Raleigh and the Greensboro Center for Visual Arts Members’ Show. North Carolina’s annual spring festival, Artplosure, commissioned him as Signature Artist to create a painting that became the image of its marketing campaign. More recently, he has been appointed to the City of Raleigh Arts Commission. Craighead's work has been highlighted in galleries and solo exhibitions across the Southeastern United States. Many of his canvases are in private collections, including that of Senator John Edwards' Office, US Senate, Washington, DC.


Visit more of Craighead's poetic art at his website. Gallery selections can be found at Thomas Deans Fine Art, Atlanta, GA, Flanders Gallery in Raleigh, NC, and Broadhurst Gallery in Pinehurst, NC, all currently representing his work. 

Haynes holds degrees from North Carolina School of the Arts and Cooper Union, School of Architecture in New York, NY. Since 2009, he has been an Alliance for American Quilts board member while completing three artist-in-residencies. His extraordinary pieces have won many awards, including the 2010 Quilt Festival and Seattle Art Museum honors. He has shown in recent solo exhibitions, galleries, universities and museums in New York, North Carolina, Texas, Atlanta, Washington, California, and North Carolina. Hayne's art can be found in many publications, as well as the cover of Fiber Arts, Quilters' Home, and Seattle Magazine. 

Haynes asks the viewer to reexamine the quilt tradition and the nature of cloth in his work. This enables the viewer to take away a new understanding of craft and function, as well as art and materiality. His aspiration is to take quilting to the masses of literate artisans who may yet not know the ripe qualities of the medium. To find out more about this fascinating artist, visit his website, which includes an awesome vimeo. Be sure to *like* his facebook page, and *tweet* him on Twitter. View more photos of his work here.

Edin Chavez

The Ledge
black and white photo

"Dreaming, exploration, adventures—I will try anything once and then probably do it again. These are the emotions I try to capture with my photography."—Edin Chavez.

Chavez loves to laugh and spread smiles. He believes in being happy and living in a happy world, loves animals and learns from them every day. He believes in sharing, love, prosperity, and happiness for all, and that we each have a purpose in the world. Edin skateboards, rides motorcycles, drives fast cars, and is an up-and-coming photographer. His life philosophy is simple: 'Smile, love and live to your full potential. Never look back and wish what you could have done; go out and do it!'  Chavez lives in Miami Beach where he enjoys life with his dogs, the sun, a skateboard, and the beach. More of his beautiful landscapes, cityscapes, and personal photography can be enjoyed at his website.

Liz Hamman

Busy Shop 
 Ladybird (complete book), mixed media

"Books are often both treasured and neglected objects. The materials they are made from are humble, transient and overlooked whilst the printed content and experience books provide often remain in our memories and enrich our lives. I explore the qualities of value/non-value and transience/longevity with the desire to produce art that is portable, wearable, and unique. What once adorned the mind and memory can be transformed to adorn the body. The end of a book isn’t the end of the story."—Liz Hamman

Liz Hamman is an extraordinary artist from Macclesfield, Cheshire, where she has been making and exhibiting work since completing her Fine Art training. She specialized in sculpture and textiles, which caused a keen interest in sculptural artists' books. Hamman's jewelery is the result of her desire to combine these interests to produce unique, one-of-a-kind pieces. Geometry, repetitive structures, the variety of processes, plus the qualities and challenges of paper as a material continue to inspire her museum-quality art. She constantly experiments with various techniques to manipulate paper. Her methods are often a direct response to either the subject matter of the book, or the quality of the paper.

Hamman's jewelry has been featured in the New York Museum of Art and Design with other international jewelry artists, the Victoria and Albert Museum, galleries, shops, and juried exhibitions. Her cutting edge designs can be viewed on her website, and here.

Simon Gudgeon


Search for Enlightenment
Bronze: Male 220 x 210 x 45 cm
Female 213 x 200 x 45cm

"Having lived deep in the countryside on the family farm, I learned the essential arts of observation, evaluation and interpretation of how animals and birds behave, both with each other and man. Most sculptures don’t start out as a conscious thought, with all the aspects of form and meaning carefully considered. An idea enters my mind – be it a shape, a movement or an emotion – and I simply want to convey it. I must convey it! Ideas come from a combination of observations, thoughts, beliefs and the profound experiences of one’s life."—Simon Gudgeon
 

One of Britain’s leading contemporary sculptors, Gudgeon has a signature style that is a marvellously smooth concentration of spirit and nature. His minimalist, semi-abstract forms depict both movement and emotion of a moment captured with a visual harmony that is unmistakably his own. In his thirties, Simon began painting, exhibiting at London’s Battersea Exhibition Centre shortly thereafter. An impulse purchase of artist’s clay at the age of forty led to his new career as a sculptor, which correlated with what lay closest to his heart: the natural world.
 

Gudgeon has attained worldwide recognition, with exhibitions in London, New York, San Diego, Paris and the Netherlands. His works are featured in important private collections abroad and in the United Kingdom, including those of His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, The Duke of Bedford, and The Duke of Northumberland. His  sculpture, Isis, was installed in Hyde Park, London, the first such installation there in over fifty years. Gudgeon has been selected as Featured Artist for the Western Visions exhibition at the National Museum of Wildlife Art, Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Other recent shows include, Birds in Art at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, Wisconsin, and Art and the Animal, the fiftieth anniversary exhibition of the Society of Animal Artists, at the San Diego Natural History Museum, California, and a solo exhibition at Halcyon Gallery.
 

He sculpts primarily in bronze, marble, and granite, and occasionally in glass or stainless steel. For the modelling of the form, he uses a number of different materials (depending on the nature and scale of the subject) such as terracotta clay, oil-based Chavant clay, epoxy resin, or foam. Working directly from nature and live subjects, he crafts sculptures that share an elemental kinship of identity with all living things. He is particularly known for his sculptures of birds in flight; often with ingeniously engineered bases that seem to launch them into the air rather than anchor them to the ground. Simon Gudgeon's sculpted masterpiece can be seen here at his website, and on facebook.

"Saliva is used in portraits of myself as other people, to incorporate my DNA into the images. This ensures that the resulting watercolor and acrylic paintings will bear my imprint and be “truthful," even if the portraits are not entirely “accurate” representations of who and what I am. Utilizing my appearance and genetic material as a starting point, I examine historical and current events for conceptual and emotional links to personages that are the exact opposite of what I perceive myself to be. I then place myself into the skins of these strangers and launch myself into situations that I would never want to be in, yet which others unfortunately are forced into through genetics or the impassive and unforgiving nature of chance.

The deadpan, excessively hyphened titles I give the paintings are used to break down identity into its barest form; to emphasize the limitations that we place on ourselves and each other through description, and to show the ultimately un-objective and flawed nature of language in describing the idiosyncrasies of human nature and behavior. Through repetition and variation, I become an Everyman (and occasionally an Everywoman); the specific experiences in the paintings become a universal, existential articulation of the burden of identity and the horrors present in everyday life that we all consciously or unconsciously avoid in order to function. This series of Saliva Paintings will reach its conclusion when I have rendered myself as everyone, everything and anything that has, or possibly could, exist."—Randal Wilcox

Randal Wilcox is an artist, independent curator, and writer born and currently based in New York. His art has been reviewed in The New Yorker. Exhibitions include The Bronx Museum of the Arts, The Studio Museum in Harlem, and Artists Space and Anthology Film Archives. Exhibitions co-curated by Wilcox have been reviewed in Artforum and The New York Times. Wilcox studied painting and filmmaking at the School of Visual Arts; his work is in The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the Museum of New Art (MoNA), and various private collections. He is working on a graphic novel with composer and saxophonist Darius Jones, and has created album covers for the Darius Jones Trio and Quartet for the New York-based recording label AUM Fidelity. Visit Wilcox' site for more intriguing one-of-a-kind art.

Milton Bernal Castro



Hazme sentir tu aliento (Take My Breath Away)
55 x 75 cm, oil on handmade paper, encrusted with tobacco leaves

Art is the sex of imagination -- Pablo Picasso.

Milton Bernal Castro, who some prefer to call "the painter of tobacco" or "painter of snuff," focuses on portraiture style in which women are a common theme, along with cultural and historically important figures. His works are done in oil on specialized paper, using textures that simulate cloth, and inlaid snuff leaves treated with chemical preservation processes, so as not to lose pigmentation and plasticity. Bernal Castro is a self-taught artist, designer and journalist, who holds a masters in Business Management and Marketing Communications. He is a member of the Development of Visual Arts, Artists and Artisans Association of Cuba; International Federation of Artists in Barcelona, ​​Spain; and International Artlive, France. His pieces have been exhibited in top galleries and private collections around the world, including Cuba, China, Austria, France, Spain, Mexico, Russia and Hungary. Bernal Castro's works have received recognition and awards at both national and international events, and have been selected to participate in numerous venues relating to Cuban snuff, as well as being featured in magazines, journals, and other publications. Four of his works participated in auctions during closing night at the Festival del Habano 2005-2009. Please visit his gallery for more amazing tobacco-oil paintings.

Shard Series IV: Pentimento
22 X 30: acrylic on watercolor paper

"As an intuitive painter, I am primarily self-taught. Most of my professional life before retirement was spent as a freelance writer/editor/graphic designer, and as a poet. Coming from this arts background gives me much fruitful inspiration for my paintings, which are fundamentally abstract in nature. To me, painting is poetry, too. I feel I am carrying on my poetic expression using this medium of paint and collage, rather than limiting it to only pen and words. It was, for me, the next step to use paint to express the often inexpressible. My painting subjects are eclectic and often expressed in a series of paintings on the same subject. My focus while working is always discovery. This discovery process is internal as well as external, and carries me beyond myself. I paint, write, sing because I enjoy the journeys I am taken on during their expression. I hope you are transported as well when you see my work.


I help people integrate their spiritual lives and their daily lives. One way I do this is by Akashic Records readings, which can help with specific questions, or, over time, help people distinguish between their own thoughts and higher guidance coming from spiritual sources. The focus of my consultations is ultimately to show people how they can connect to their own inner guidance, to know the difference between their own thoughts and guidance from God (angels, etc), so they can draw on it in their daily lives. Another way I help people integrate spiritual lives and daily lives is through my artwork. My paintings are abstract representations of spiritual truths. If you have a specific spiritual truth you want to be reminded of every day, in a beautiful way, you can choose from my available paintings or have me do one for you." --Roberta Compton Rainwater


Ro Rainwater is an artist and poet who currently lives in Laurel, Mississippi, with her husband, John, and dog, Sadie. Retired from public life now, she was a freelance columnist and features writer for the Times-Picayune newspaper in the 1980s. Rainwater has also been the co-editor/publisher of an arts journal, and is the co-founder of an arts and humanities council in her former hometown in south Louisiana. Currently, she is active in the arts community in Laurel and shares her painting studio with her husband, who also paints. Sadie mostly sleeps. Enjoy more of her work here.

Laurie Justus Pace

                                                                                                                                                                                        Falling into Winter Herd
                                                                                                                                                                                            30 X 60: oil on canvas


"As splintering light fractions into thousands of colors, my journey in life has encompassed many careers from runway model to graphic artist, from musician to singer, from teacher to artist. I believe the greatest influence in my life is the beauty God provides daily." -- L. Justus Pace

A degree in art, eight years in advertising, and twenty-five years of teaching art have come full circle. Pace takes yearly top honors at international art shows in oil, watercolor, and photography. Viewing a Laurie Justus Pace painting is a rich experience that drips with color and emotion. Her passionate works are alive with movement, boldly created with a wide brush and a palette knife. She loves working with oils, dramatically carving out the paint and transferring her energy to the canvas, and ultimately on to the viewer. Pareidolia is the term for what happens when Pace gazes at her thickly applied strokes of oil paint and begins to visualize equine forms. It's the same word used to describe the phenomena of seeing animals in clouds or faces in the moon.


Pace has exhibited her work around the globe. Senators, ambassadors, and corporate executives are among her collectors. Her art has been featured on the covers of numerous magazines, and in books and magazines. Top galleries worldwide feature her amazing works. Pace's art can be enjoyed at her website, her blog, the CFAI site, Artists of Texas, and at 5-Graces where she is a member of international artists promoting the gifting of art in support of global needs.

 David Hinske

"Breadcrumbs..."—D. Hinske

Hinske’s paintings are nationally collected privately and by public corporations and educational institutions. The Brooks Museum of Art, the Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Dyersburg State, and the University of West Georgia have included his work in exhibitions and benefit events. Hinske's extensive exhibitions, gallery shows, and invitationals have been seen in Tennessee, Hawaii, Michigan, New Mexico, Texas, and Mississippi. His work has also appeared in countless magazines over the years. He has also served as juried art show judge, gallery owner-curator, and art interpreter.   


Some of Hinske's latest paintings can be seen in the remarkable video; Painting a Quiet Life which leaves the viewer wishing for a lengthier show. More work can be seen at this site.