issue 39, 2023 The Water Issue Create! Magazine

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CONTENTS

Issue 39/ 2023 Create! Magazine

Interviews 8

10

MOVED BY WATER Ekaterina Popova reached out to two

Interviews 34

FINDING FRESH INSPIRATION TO PAINT: INTERVIEW WITH

community artists to inquire about the

JENNIFER BEZAIRE

inspiration they drew from water in their work.

By Alicia Puig

CAREER-IN-FOCUS: ARTIVISM WITH THE TRACY PIPER By Alicia Puig

38

NAVIGATING DEPTH: MICHELE POIRIER MOZZONE’S “FRACTURED LIGHT” SERIES By Ekaterina Popova

16

UNDERWATER WORLD BUILDING & AFROFUTURIST REFUGE: INTERVIEW WITH ANDREA CHUNG by Christina Nafziger

22

ERIKA LEE SEARS' JOURNEY OF SELF-EXPRESSION THROUGH BATHTUBS, WINE AND ARTISTIC RESILIENCE By Ekaterina Popova

26

CHAOS, COMFORT & COMMUNITY WITH SOPHIE ADAIR By Alicia Puig

30

EXPLORING EMOTION THROUGH LANDSCAPE: A CONVERSATION WITH SELF-TAUGHT PAINTER ADAM HALL By Ekaterina Popova

Andrea Chung, untitled (detail), 2022; resin. Courtesy of the artist. Photo courtesy of John Michael Kohler Arts Center. 2 | CREATE! MAGAZINE ISSUE 39

CONTENTS

Curated Section 50

ARTISTS SELECTED BY CURATORS BLACK WOMEN IN VISUAL ART Abiola Adejare

Subscribe SUBSCRIBE ISSUES / Please visit our online store at www.createmagazine.com/subscribe to subscribe to our digital or print publication.

Heather Allison Ariel Dannielle Gail Butters Cohen Amber Janay Cooper S. Erin Batiste Adana Tillman Marcela Montemayor Joanna Pilarczyk

Newsletter SIGN UP TO NEWSLETTER / Get a weekly dose of inspiration when you join our newsletter. www.createmagazine.com/newsletter

Jordan A. Porter-Woodru΍ Lucy Pike Michele Pierson Charles Mason III Lillian Aguinaga Mary Catherine Lowery Isabel Lu James Robert Morrison

Instagram INSTAGRAM / Follow us on Instagram for artist features, inspiring content and more! @createmagazine

Hopeton St.Clair Hibbert Jr. Nicole James Mark Engel Marryam Moma Siran Liu La Línea El Cuerpo (Jorge Tejeda)

Call for Art CALL FOR ART / Visit www.createmagazine.com/

Louise Rieger

call-for-art to learn how to submit to one of our

Sonia Redfern

open calls.

Tamar Segev Emanuela I Harris Sintamarian Jessica Worrall Allison Hudson

Shop at PXP PXP Contemporary / Shop art you can a΍ord to love at our online gallery of a΍ordable contemporary art www.pxpcontemporary.com

Connect online @createmagazine createmagazine.com

ISSN 2475-9198

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FROM THE EDITOR

a letter from the editor connect on Instagram @createmagazine

Embracing the Joy of Water Dear Reader, Water—a source of inspiration, a force to fuel our creativity and a natural element that flows through every person’s experience on this planet. Whether it’s the playful summer vacation splashing in the waves, the serene view of a local lake to help us recharge or the simple act of cleansing our tools, water holds an irreplaceable space in our lives. And yes, who can forget those silly moments when our paint water and morning coffee seemed to switch roles. Remember those countless times when a paintbrush mistakenly found its way into a cup of morning coffee? The allure of water calls to us in myriad ways—from the revitalizing dips of summer swims to the calming, warm end-of-day shower. Even our plein air sketches are often fueled by this element. In this issue, our focus is on the diverse facets of water, as depicted through interviews, articles and artist highlights. Dive into the canvases of Adam Hall, where water takes center stage. Experience the playful and self-nurturing depictions of Erika Lee Sears, capturing the essence of self-care in showers and bathtubs. Let the vibrant summer paintings of Michele Mozzone transport you to a nearby pool through her paintings filled with colors and light. In our article section, Christina Nafziger engages in conversations with trailblazer artists. Join us as we delve into Tracy Piper’s illustrative prowess, where abstract realism intertwines with social commentary. Explore the vision of Andrea Chung, who creates an underwater mythological sanctuary within her recent exhibition, inspired by the concept of Drexciya. Alicia Puig introduces us to Sophie Adair’s ocean-inspired canvases, where beauty and foreboding coexist. We’re honored to present the selected artists curated by Daricia Mia DeMarr and Lauren Jackson Harris, the visionary co-founders of Black Women in Visual Art. These pages are a celebration of new talent, carefully curated to bring fresh perspectives to the pages of our magazine. As you immerse yourself in these pages, we invite you to share your thoughts with us on your preferred social platform. Reflect on the profound influence of water in both your life and art—a theme that connects us all. With love,

Photography by Helena Raju

Kat and Team 4 | CREATE! MAGAZINE ISSUE 39

MEET THE TEAM

01

02

03

04

05

06

Our Team Issue #39

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01

Renan Calara Artist and Designer

02

Alicia Puig Director of Business Operations

03

Victoria Kukla Creative Director & Designer

04

Christina Nafziger Associate Editor & Writer

05

Zoë Goetzmann Writer & Podcaster

06

Sarah Mills Writer & Assistant

07

Ekaterina Popova Founder & Editor in Chief

Articles and Interviews In this section, we delve into the myriad ways artists draw inspiration from water, from the vastness of oceans to the intimacy of bathtubs. Immerse yourself in the works of Adam Hall, where water is the focal point, Erika Lee Sears' whimsical portrayals of self-care, and Michele Mozzone's vivid poolside scenes. Join Alicia Puig as she engages with trailblazers like Tracy Piper, an artist who skillfully blends abstract realism with social commentary. Christina Nafziger takes us on a journey into Andrea Chung's underwater mythological world, inspired by the concept of Drexciya, while Alicia Puig introduces us to Sophie Adair's ocean-inspired canvases that strikingly juxtapose beauty and foreboding.

This page, top left Leah Guzman "Diving Deeper"

This page, top right Leah Guzman

This page, bottom left Margot Dermody

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This page, bottom right Margot Dermody "White Water 2"

MOVED by WATER Artists FROM OUR COMMUNITY share THE INFLUENCE OF WATER on their WORK. Leah Guzman

ARTIST, BOARD CERTIFIED ART THERAPIST AND COACH

Artist Leah Guzman is dedicated to the exploration of human emotions and how they might be experienced, expressed, and identiȴed for the purpose of reȵection, growth, and manifestation. Her works in Emotional Seascapes isolate emotion in a singular experience on canvas. She uses the metaphor of water to express her interior emotional states. www.leahguzman.com @ leah.guzman.art

Margot Dermody ARTIST

The White Water series originates from my time living in Nashville, where we encountered multiple ȵoods due to our proximity to a river and location on a ȵoodplain. While it was a beautiful place to call home, the ȵood of 21 had a deep e΍ect on me, making me acutely aware of the climate change phenomena of heat and drought interrupted by heavy rainfall. Consisting of three large abstract paintings, this series aims to acknowledge both the allure of water and its graceful movements as well as its terrifying capacity to devastate lives and livelihoods. Through my art, I seek to capture the contrasting aspects of water s beauty and destructive power, reȵecting the coexistence of these forces in our environment. www.margotdermody.com @margotdermody

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INTERVIEW WITH THE TRACY PIPER

Career-in-Focus: Artivism with The Tracy Piper BY ALICIA PUIG

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INTERVIEW WITH THE TRACY PIPER

“To be a truly conscientious artist, you have to look at what’s not working and challenge it.”

— Kara Walker

The Tracy Piper is a female-identifying, contemporary painter, muralist, author and art activist. Best known for her vibrant portraits and figurative acrylic paintings, Tracy’s illustrative work tackles social constructs in an abstract-realist style. In this interview, she shares how her upbringing in Oakland inspired a lifelong mission to fight for the rights of others through the power of art. I love that everyone has a unique path to becoming an artist. Can you tell us a bit about yours since—from what I’ve gathered in a previous interview—circus performer is among your previous roles? Learn more See additional work and learn more about the artist at: www.thetracypiper. com

Honestly, I believe we are all born artists, but for a variety of reasons we are told that art is not a viable option for a career. I am incredibly fortunate to have always had the opportunity to follow my passions, from gymnastics when I was 4 years old to then joining a circus troupe when I was 9. These pillars of perseverance, hard work and creativity continue to motivate and push me forward wherever I go. 13 | CREATE! MAGAZINE ISSUE 39

I was not the best student—chalk that up to ADHD, a struggling school system or just how I was built—but I spent my days doodling in the margins of books waiting for the bell to ring so I could perform and stand on my hands. My role models in life were circus performers— people who already lived outside of what is considered “normal.” So by the tender age of 16, I said farewell to what life is “supposed to be,” and I literally ran away with the circus full time, never looking back. A significant injury to my back when I was in my early 20s made me search for what was next. Heading to college felt like starting over for me, however, I knew the same fundamental pillars would help guide me to a place that fulfilled me once more. I earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in illustration from California College of Arts in 2012 and landed my first duo exhibition in San Francisco three months later at Nieto Fine Art. The rest is, as they say, history. I’ve found my calling as a painter, one that draws on my unique lens of a white girl from Oakland, who never took no for an answer and who occasionally still balances on her hands for fun.

INTERVIEW WITH THE TRACY PIPER

You’ve since become known for vibrant, ȴgurative paintings and for using your art as a vehicle for activism. How and when did those two things begin to intersect for you? My interest in activism started long before my painting career. Growing up in Oakland, CA—a place that has a complicated existence, especially in the eyes of the United States—galvanized me to the activism you see today. Our country has continued to fall on the political side that only benefits those already in power, exploiting and then leaving so many people behind. For those of us who grew up in the Bay Area, we learned a fierce sense of taking care of each other and our community. When you are surrounded by this mentality you cannot help but care for those around you. It’s in my blood. I’ve been marching for equality since I was born, and the lineage doesn’t start with me. My parents both worked in the public sector to make sure voices were heard. My father worked for the department of fair employment and housing, and my mother worked in PR for various community organizations, including Oakland Public Schools and the mayor's office. This is just something we do. Being an artist known for their passion and activism is just a part of who I am and the result of my life experiences. I deeply care about representing people from all walks of life in my work. If my paintings can make even just a small impact, you damn well know I’ll be making it. Congratulations on the release of your third book! For those who are not familiar with the concept behind the series of paintings documented in “SEEN,” Volumes 1 & 2, can you explain it? What are you most excited about in this new edition? “SEEN” started from a question that permeates through all of my work: “how do we feel loved?” When faced with society at large, this feeling is something that is missing from so many people's lives. “SEEN” was meant to be incredibly inclusive, and give a voice to people other than myself. Capitalism leaves so many of us behind. So I wanted a project I could work on that anyone could be a part of. It costs nothing to participate except your openness to collaborate on a project that incorporates a user-submitted portrait and the answer to the question “What does it mean to feel seen?” I paint 50 different people each year and publish the paintings and responses in intimate books that are incredibly powerful. The answers, like the eyes, are inherently never quite the same, but as you zoom out you see that the impact of a project like this is one of incredible connection. We are tied by the bonds of our relationships, towards ourselves and each other. Reading through each

entry and looking into each eye you find that we all are doing this human thing together. The incredible trust that each person has in sharing is not something that I take lightly, and doing the second iteration of this project this year I see how truly important it is to have this kind of soul-soothing outlet in the fine art world, and that it is for everyone, no matter if they can pay or not. Can I turn the question back on you—what does it mean to feel seen? How do you represent that in your artwork? My answer is honestly the opposite—not how it feels, but what the struggle is to feel seen. I did not feel seen for much of my life, which is interesting because I spent so much time onstage. But I think a lot of us resonate with that sentiment: that we put on an act to fit in, but it’s a masking mechanism of our true selves. I’ve fought hard to have a voice in this world, battled to make my way, but my biggest hurdle has been anxiety and depression, feeling like I will never belong. These insidious hurdles are good liars, and perhaps that is why I care so much about making others experience worthiness … because it makes me feel worthy in turn. My work tackles these topics––even the seemingly silliest of paintings do. It is the human condition I’m trying to capture in each painting. And when I expose the very tenets of being alive, I know I have made something good. When anyone can walk up and see a little bit of themselves in the work, then I know I am doing something right. You’re gearing up for your next solo exhibition with Voss Gallery in late August 2023. What can you share about it?

My upcoming solo exhibition with Voss Gallery, titled “All the Feels,” aims to do exactly what we have been talking about: express what it means to be human and find ourselves and community in those moments. The featured paintings are deep dives into the complexities of our psyches, and something I think we need to address coming out of the isolation we felt during these last three years. For the first time since I started this 11year art career, I will be working with some new creative materials and conceptual ideas. I want to challenge myself after these last two “SEEN” volumes––expect to see more than just canvas paintings at the show! I know this solo exhibition will be something truly special. It will be a love letter to all the messiness, all the triumphs, confusion, failures, and the very act of being alive … all the feels indeed!‹

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INTERVIEW WITH THE TRACY PIPER

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Andrea Chung: if they put an iron circle around your neck I will bite it away installation view at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, 2023. Photo courtesy of John Michael Kohler Arts Center.

INTERVIEW

Underwater World Building & AfroFuturist Refuge: with Andrea Chung BY CHRISTINA NAFZIGER

Through her work, Andrea Chung oΊers you a story. And through this story, she meticulously builds a world. In her solo exhibition “if they put an iron circle around your neck I will bite it away” at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, she transforms the space into an underwater mythological refuge based on the concept of Drexciya. Through installation, sculpture, mixed media works and alter-like assemblages, the artist beautifully constructs an ultramarinecolored cosmos—one that was created out of bitter necessity, yet ΋lled with survival and hope. As Chung describes it, Drexciya is an “underwater world that was populated by the children of women who Mumped oΊ slave ships.” With the ocean being one of the only places on this planet that has yet to be colonized, perhaps it can be a place where freedom is possible. The artist’s research-based practice allows her to fuse together history, West African mythology, body politics and reproductive health to create an ethereal environment that challenges and confronts colonial narratives. In this interview, Chung shares her many sources of inspiration, such as Toni Morrison’s “Beloved,” the work of artist Alison Saar, and Drexciya, who were part of the musical/activist collective Underground Resistance. Join us in conversation as we discuss the challenges of planning an exhibition from afar, the history of Caribbean midwives and the power of having ownership of your body. 17 | CREATE! MAGAZINE ISSUE 39

INTERVIEW WITH ANDREA CHUNG

I would love to learn more about your use of materials. What medium did you begin experimenting with in your practice?

I was a painter first. I was actually not even a fine artist. I went to undergrad for illustration and I hated it. [After I was out of school for a while,] I went into an interdisciplinary program for grad school. Then I realized that I just didn’t care about the history of Western painting. It’s just learning about painting from their perspective, and I’d been force-fed enough of that already. I just wanted to paint. I like the physical act of painting because I’ll turn on my music really loud and start painting and dancing while I’m doing it.

I think I would say refuge, rather than utopia. I’m really interested in this Detroit techno group called Drexciya that was part of a larger group called Underground Resistance. They were all about being activists for their communities. Drexciya created this myth of “Drexciya,” which is sort of this underwater world that was populated by the children of women who jumped off slave ships— pregnant mothers that jumped off slave ships. I just thought that was a really interesting concept, this idea of living underwater and what that world was like. Also just the decision to do that—what would make a woman do something like that. I started thinking a lot about Toni Morrison’s book, “Beloved,” and it’s sort of a similar story: the main character is about to be recaptured and rather than having her children be forced into slavery, she kills one. Again, the desperation that a Black woman would have to be in, in order to do something like that. I wanted to call that into question [in the exhibition] and to pose that question to a white audience, because I knew that Sheboygan, [where the exhibition is located], is a predominantly white space. So I wanted that to be a topic of conversation. I had also been doing research on midwives in the Caribbean and the power of midwives on plantations, and they were able to provide enslaved women with the power of their own reproductive health and do things that gave them some ownership of their bodies that they might not have had previously. I think a lot about giving a woman that kind of power because, what are your options? The [exhibition] is my interpretation of a Drexciya midwife. The rooms are all painted blue and there’s blue film on the windows so that it feels like you’re underwater.

Top: Andrea Chung, untitled (detail), 2022; resin. Courtesy of the artist. Photo courtesy of John Michael Kohler Arts Center. Bottom: Andrea Chung: if they put an iron circle around your neck I will bite it away installation view at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, 2023. Photo courtesy of John Michael Kohler Arts Center. Next Page: Andrea Chung, untitled, 2022; paper; 14 x 5 x 3 in. Courtesy of the artist. Photo courtesy of John Michael Kohler Arts Center

That’s so fun! I would love to know more about the concept of your show "if they put an iron circle around your neck I’ll bite it away” and how it relates to AfroFuturist Utopia.

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INTERVIEW WITH ANDREA CHUNG

Then you’re inside of the midwife’s laboratory, where you see all the medicinal herbs that were used by midwives. There’s also a video by another artist, Alisha Wormsley, who is interested in [the concept of] Drexciya as well. I didn’t want to make it seem like I was the only artist that’s engaging with this subject. here’s another space that’s kind of like an altar space. In West Africa, there are some female goddesses, or “orishas,” that you can attribute to water and motherhood and Yemayá is that figure, so there’s an altar to her. She’s the protector of mothers and children. That space is sort of dedicated to her because the space itself—the architecture—feels like a chapel, so it just felt like a natural place for that. The final space has a group of sculptures with upstretched arms and a terrarium that is growing with medicinal herbs that the midwife uses. So it just kind of comes full circle.

Wow. It deȴnitely sounds like a show that must be experienced in person. It looks like so much world building was involved. Yeah, definitely, which was a challenge. It was really hard, especially working from a distance. You don’t really know how the space is going to feel until you physically get there and you start placing things around the room, which is fun for me but it’s also kind of scary at the same time. If it doesn’t work, you’re kind of stuck. It’s really intuitive. It’s not something that you can always plan for. I can imagine the only way to ȴgure that out is to feel the space and be in the space, especially when it’s not a white cube gallery space. Yeah. When you first come in, there’s a more contemporary space that connects to the other galleries. It just didn’t fit conceptually with the other space, so I turned it into a library where I have a bunch of books that are resources for you to be able to read about different topics that are brought up in the exhibition. I also have the original Drexciya comics, so they’re on display as well. When you enter the gallery space you are in a room that feels like a library with built-in bookshelves. So I tried to play with all of the things that were originally there and just make them work to my benefit. So that’s where all of the medicinal herbs are, stacked inside of candy dishes (incidentally, I’m giving a nod to my earlier work on sugar/colonialism, basically where there were enslaved people in the Caribbean). It feels kind of like a cabinet of curiosities, except not in a colonized way, because those were just trophies of imperialism. 19 | CREATE! MAGAZINE ISSUE 39

This is a little different. I tried to turn it on its head a bit and make it more healing, as opposed to a space of domination. I’m also thinking historically about those kinds of things. Instead of going in the direction of “cabinet of curiosities,” what you’re describing reminds me of some of Betye Saar’s work. Yeah, I can see that. It’s funny, I feel very connected to her daughter’s work—Alison Saar. We’ve shown together and I’ve just really been getting into her work lately. She actually just did a show at Princeton where they took some older work and some newer work in response to the Toni Morrison papers that Princeton has in their archive. It was kind of serendipitous that it happened at the same time. I definitely feel a connection to her work. I love the connections you’re making within the exhibition. You’re tying together all of these di΍erent lineages within these concepts, whether it’s through referencing another artist working within the same vein or showing your reference material in the library. Is there a book that you would recommend that might be a good starting point for someone if they’re interested in these concepts?

INTERVIEW WITH ANDREA CHUNG

Definitely “Beloved” by Toni Morrison. There’s a book called “Contested Bodies” that was really helpful to me in terms of how midwives were able to empower women. It delves into [how women] would nurse their babies for [about] two years so that they didn’t have to work in the fields. They were really sneaky and clever—and those are acts of resistance in a lot of ways. And because men didn’t know anything about nursing, they just kind of went along with it. [They were using the men’s] ignorance of the female body against them. There’s an author who is at UC Santa Cruz, Kevin Dawson, and he writes about West Africans’ relationship to water prior to the slave trade. We were divers, we were good swimmers, we were surfers. This is so interesting. Yeah, it’s a really interesting read. He talks about Igbo Landing [in Georgia]. There were some slaves that took over a slave ship and they brought it into port and they knew that they were going to be enslaved. So they all jumped into a lake and drowned themselves because they just refused to be taken into captivity. I’m interested in the ownership of your body. So they would call that self-destruction, because you’re not killing yourself because [at the time you weren’t considered] a person. You’re destroying property. I’m interested in really thinking about these semantics and how we’re seen or identified. Thinking about water as refuge, it reminds me of how Octavia Butler talks about space being a place for Black and Brown folks to … … be free. Yes! I’ve always felt like space and the ocean are very similar in a lot of ways. We can’t live in them, we can’t breathe in them … We can’t dominate them. Exactly. We can’t dominate them. I think there’s a parallel between entering the ocean and the concept of going into space for freedom. There’s definitely a parallel; there is a connection. [They’re both] these undiscovered spaces that haven’t been colonized yet.‹ Instagram: @andreachungstudio 20 | CREATE! MAGAZINE ISSUE 39

All images: Andrea Chung. Photo courtesy of John Michael Kohler Arts Center.

INTERVIEW WITH ANDREA CHUNG

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REFLECTIONS

Erika Lee Sears'

Journey of SelfExpression Through Bathtubs, Wine and Artistic Resilience BY EKATERINA POPOVA

In the ever-evolving landscape of contemporary art, Erika Lee Sears emerges as a vibrant force, breathing life into her canvases through a unique blend of colors, reΌections and everyday moments. Sears’ journey as a self-taught oil painter is a testament to the transformative power of following one’s creative vision, no matter how challenging it may feel. From her playful and introspective bathtub and shower paintings to her daily commitment to producing art for more than seven years, Sears invites us into a world where selfcare, introspection and vibrant colors converge. Diving into her bathtub and shower series, Sears unveils a deeply personal and relatable narrative. Balancing the demands of parenthood and the need for self-indulgence, she captures those Όeeting moments of solitude and reΌection that are often found in the bathroom—a sanctuary of personal time. Amidst fast-food indulgences and sips of wine, Sears’ canvases become mirrors of our own moments of quiet joy and respite. For this issue, Erika shares all about her work inspired by water and self-care. www.atinyrocket.com

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INTERVIEW WITH ERIKA LEE SEARS

Can you tell us more about your bathtub and shower paintings featuring fast food and wine? What inspired you to combine these elements in your artwork? I originally started creating this body of work because I have two small children, and the only time I had any ounce of privacy was in the bathroom. The few times a week I could really devote to self-care and self-reflection included bubbles, snacks and indulgence. Especially during COVID, when there [was] no sense of privacy at all because everyone [was] at home … having self-care time became even more meaningful and reflective. A luxurious bath is always a good time to enjoy a delicious treat and take time out for yourself. Transitioning from a corporate job to a full-time, self-taught oil painter is challenging. What were some of the hardest aspects of this transition? A lot of it is hard because a corporate job usually means having a 401k and a steady paycheck. Once you quit your corporate job, realizing that when you become self-employed it’s just you and you are responsible for figuring out how to provide and support yourself. It’s also challenging to realize that you have to be growing, making artwork and understanding what avenues are the best ways to celebrate what you are creating and making. Plus, doing this process over and over again. Creating an original piece of art every single day for more than seven years is a remarkable commitment. How do you manage to stay inspired and motivated throughout this ongoing project? Moreover, how do you motivate yourself when your energy is low? Artists and creatives are the documenters of time. Whatever work you create has a chance to truly live in this world and be acknowledged and enjoyed. Enjoyment is subjective due to the feelings and the artist’s intentions. Artwork can outlast us and convey the emotions or magic the artist infused into it. I do go through times when I feel uninspired, but there are so many things right in front of your face that you could be inspired by. I often make lots of lists, thoughts or watch “The Real Housewives”—sometimes all it takes is to catch an idea. Making a lot of art lets you take chances and create as much art as you want, whether it’s good, bad or even silly. How has becoming a parent inȵuenced your decision to embark on this creative journey? Being a parent is one of the toughest jobs around, but it makes me contemplate time—how fleeting it is and where we are in it. It encourages me to paint even more and think about artwork even more.

How do you choose your subjects? What draws you to an object, still life or scene? I am very much drawn to color, the power of light and things that make me smile or laugh. Not necessarily in this order. What are you most fascinated with when it comes to your art practice in this chapter of your life? I think the biggest thing I am considering is what inspires me, not what inspires everyone else. Truly listening to your creative magic is challenging in a noisy world. This chapter is filled with many ideas on the horizon and releasing them. ‹

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INTERVIEW WITH ERIKA LEE SEARS

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INTERVIEW

Chaos, Comfort & Community with Sophie Adair BY ALICIA PUIG

You’d likely guess that Sophie Adair’s turbulent, representational seascapes were created by an artist who’s spent a lifetime by the ocean. But you’d be wrong. Using inspiration gathered from various trips to the south of France, and a recent transformative residency experience in Canada, she creates arresting images that are as beautiful as they are ominous. Fascinated by storms since a young age, she now incorporates their powerful, chaotic nature into her dramatic seascapes. Her choice of subject acts as a metaphor for her creative journey. In both you’ll ΋nd swells and lulls, calmness but also intensity, and an ability to spark joy and curiosity. As such, her work is much more than realistic compositions of waves and water. Rather, it’s an intimate, emotional expression of the artist’s creative mind.

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INTERVIEW WITH SOPHIE ADAIR

By Alicia Puig

When did you begin painting? What about the medium made you fall in love with it and keeps you excited to this day? Where I’m from in the North of England, being an artist was never really an option, or at least it wasn’t spoken about as if it was. I loved my art lessons in school, but I didn’t get a high enough grade to study art in college. It was suggested I take textiles instead. I learned so much from the two years I studied there, but I still had never picked up a paintbrush, and again, a career in the arts was never even hinted at as a real career path. At the age of 19, I packed up my life into two suitcases and moved to Paris on a whim. There, I met my fiancé, who was starting his own video game studio. Watching him fulfill his dream made me realize I could have my own. On a break between tutoring jobs, I found myself walking around the city (I had nothing else to do) and stumbling across an art shop. I spent my last €10 on a cheap watercolor set and some awful paper and became obsessed with creating again. I spent most of that summer sketching small paintings and having my mind blown. It was about a year later when I tried oils for the first time and fell in love. I’ve never been good at expressing how I feel, and painting really helps my inner child come forth and take the reins. Oils in particular are my go-to medium because I love how they feel on the canvas, plus they can be very forgiving. It’s okay to make mistakes—you can just paint right over them, and it is for that reason I love them to this day.

Moody, dark, chaotic. Can you talk about your ongoing interest in painting water in your characteristic style? Growing up I had a tumultuous childhood, and so chaos feels most comfortable to me. I have always been drawn to storms. As a child, I loved the feeling of being tucked in bed and hearing a storm outside. In fact, to this day when it storms, I open up my bedroom window. My apartment is on the top floor, which means there is an incredible view of the skyline. I stand there and watch it in fascination. When I first started painting, I shied away from dark and moody seascape pieces because I didn’t believe that they would relate to my audience. But as time went on, I kept coming back to them. To my surprise, I found that there are also a lot of beautiful people out there who can appreciate the beauty and power of them; it’s not just me! After a while, I gave in and started listening to what I was drawn to painting. It was the best thing I ever did. 28 | CREATE! MAGAZINE ISSUE 39

A big part of what makes your work instantly recognizable as yours is your color palette. Is working in a limited palette to support the emotional e΍ect of the work, a technical device to achieve realism, both or something else? From a practical point of view, as a self-taught artist, I spent a lot of the first few years experimenting and trying to learn everything I possibly could. The trouble was, I never had enough money to buy all the colors of paints every single “guide to painting” was telling me I absolutely needed. I could only afford the absolute basics and so I learned how to create my color palette using those. Now it has become ingrained into my process. Practicality aside, I take a lot of inspiration from old black-and-white photographs and memories; having a limited palette helps me to achieve that effect. The current series I’m working on incorporates fullcolor figures into my work, and I love the contrast between the decaying monochromatic landscape and the women who are seemingly perfect within the monochromatic world/memory I have created. Do you have one particular memory related to the ocean or sea that sticks out in your mind? Where was it? I have never lived close to the sea and so it has always been a mystery to me. My fiancé, however, grew up a 10-minute walk away in the south of France, and the first time I visited his family I was fascinated by the fact that they treated the ocean as something normal and of no significance, because it’s always there. Another time I went to visit it was in wintertime and we went on a drive along the coast. There was a huge storm brewing and it was incredible. I could feel the power of the ocean and it made me feel so alive. I took so many photographs and videos (I think people thought I was crazy!) that later became the inspiration for lots of my work. Do you have one particular memory related to the ocean or sea that sticks out in your mind? Where was it? I did! I honestly haven’t come back to reality, even months later. It was such an amazing experience that I never imagined I’d have. I headed there for one month in March this year. Pouch Cove is way up north in Newfoundland, which meant whilst I was there it was winter and the perfect place for stormy and snowy inspiration. ‹

INTERVIEW WITH SOPHIE ADAIR

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INTERVIEW

Exploring Emotion Through Landscape: A Conversation with Self-Taught Painter Adam Hall BY EKATERINA POPOVA

Nestled in the heart of Franklin, TN, accomplished self-taught contemporary oil painter Adam Hall exhibits the emotive power of art. With almost two decades of professional experience, Hall’s journey started on a musical note, touring with various bands while cultivating a newfound passion for painting. His latest collection delves into the symbiotic relationship between humanity and nature. Each of his paintings acts as a portal, providing an immersive experience that transports the observer into nature’s embrace, granting them a moment of reΌection on the world’s beauty and chaos. In a recent interview, Hall delves into his profound connection to water, a recurring motif in many of his works. He articulates the allure of painting the ocean, a subject that seamlessly marries the raw and unforgiving with the serene and captivating. As he contemplates the ocean’s depths and currents, he oΊers a poignant reminder of the profound connection that binds humanity to the sea. Join us as we delve deeper into the artist’s work, his relationship with water and more in this exclusive interview. www.adamhallart.com

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INTERVIEW WITH ADAM HALL

Water plays a signiȴcant role in many of your paintings. Can you share what draws you to this element? I find it quite meaningful and fulfilling to paint nature because of the connection we all seem to have with it. Naturally, I was drawn to broadening my landscape paintings and exploring an entire water series. Pretty quickly I became obsessed with how much more emotion they brought out of me. Painting the water is also quite meditative and seems to accelerate a free-flowing state in the process. I’m always trying to capture a good balance of the harsh reality the ocean brings and how that parallels our lives. Meaning, the ocean is not always this polaroid beach vacation scene, but it’s harsh and raw and unforgiving, yet full of beauty and mystery. My favorite ocean paintings are the ones that can pull on the full spectrum of emotions exploring those elements of darkness and light. I’m constantly reminded of how much humans and the ocean are connected. The ocean has forever drawn us near and will always be deeply connected to us. Because there is such a common thread in most of us that is drawn to the water, my paintings can quickly connect with the viewer. That connection is so satisfying to be a part of. Hopefully, my ocean paintings can remind others of the connection we have to the ocean and its vital importance to our world. In your most recent paintings, you explore the allure of nature and humanity’s relationship with it. What experiences do you hope the viewer has when looking at your art? Sometimes I think that immersing ourselves in nature almost taps into some genetic memory from our ancestors. Whether I’m out hiking or in the ocean, it feels like medicine, or maybe like a digital detox of sorts. I’m not looking at my phone or thinking about business, but I’m dialed in to my surroundings. There is also an aspect of being in nature that reminds us of beauty and reverence. My hope is that the viewer will find a connection to the work that sparks an inner reflective feeling and a sense of wonder. I want to transport the viewer into a moment in time, providing space to reflect amidst a chaotic, beautiful world. Parenthood and being an artist can be quite challenging to navigate. What do you ȴnd to be the most diɝcult part of balancing these two important aspects of your life?

Being a father and an artist are two incredible parts of who I am that provide so much purpose to my life. It is definitely a balancing act that adds a lot of extra pressure and stress to everyday life. If I’m not careful I can find myself just constantly worrying about the “what ifs” and how I need to be the best possible provider/protector I can be. Can’t remember the original quote, but it truly is like having your heart forever walking around outside of you. So it’s hard sometimes to justify spending so much time in the studio or away from them, but at the same time I love that they get to see me pursue a dream. My kids are a constant inspiration and reminder to me of what’s truly important in life. Could you take us through your process of choosing a subject for a painting and how you go about gathering references and images to create your artwork? My references are a pretty good mixture of personal images I’ve stored into organized folders, as well as images I’ve collected online. My iPhone and laptop are full of endless folders that I store images in whenever I see something that sparks an idea for a painting. Typically, I’ll be working on a show and start putting together a vision board of sorts that has color tones, textures, landscape vibes and title concepts. After that creative brainstorming, I’ll start Frankensteining images together in Photoshop and curating ideas until something jumps out at me. Sometimes choosing a scene to paint just comes to me, and other times it’s a lot of work. Rick Rubin once said in an interview that “a big part of an artist’s success is having great discernment,” and I really believe that’s true. Lastly, what has being an artist gifted you in your life, both personally and professionally? Making the leap to become a full-time professional artist gifted me with a fulfilling purpose to create and share my talents with others. To have the ability to spend all my workday hours on something I’m so passionate about is never lost on me. Personally, this career path has gifted me so much freedom to be more present with my family. I’m forever grateful and hope it lasts forever. ‹

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INTERVIEW WITH ADAM HALL

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INTERVIEW

Finding Fresh Inspiration to Paint: Interview with Jennifer Bezaire BY ALICIA PUIG

Vintage frames and timeless landscapes describes Jennifer Bezaire’s artwork in a nutshell. But in this exclusive interview, you’ll learn more about the thrill of the hunt for each painting’s perfect ΋nishing touch and how a focus on color and capturing light allows her to achieve that classic feel in her work. Her story is one of rekindled creativity that’s sure to inspire those who have taken a pause from their art for some time or who have recently dipped their toes back into making again. As her journey shows, you just never know what may happen when inspiration strikes again and you choose to run with it—or perhaps I should say paint with it!

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INTERVIEW WITH JENNIFER BEZAIRE

After taking a break from art for several years, how did you get started again? That’s often the hardest step. So, what helped keep you motivated? In some ways, it was very easy! After staying home with my boys for nine years, my youngest started kindergarten and I had a lot of alone time to fill while trying to decide if/how I wanted to return to work (I really did NOT want to return to a 9-to-5 office job). I’ve always loved being creative. I follow several artists on Instagram, and enjoy collecting original art and art prints. I think seeing all the beauty and creativity shared on Instagram reminded me of how much I enjoyed painting with oils years ago and made me curious to try painting again. My birthday rolled around at the start of 2020 and I decided to buy artist paints and brushes and see what happened! It was definitely a rough start, but seeing progress, even slow, is really motivating. Realizing that I could learn (relearn?) to paint and surprising myself when I would paint something that I wanted to hang on my wall helped me continue practicing regularly. Can you talk us through ȴnding your style? How did you learn by working with various mediums? For me, finding my style just evolved organically. As I practiced painting and learned how to work with acrylics, my work slowly began looking like the same person painted each piece. I tend to be drawn towards certain colors and shades and that is a little bit of it as well. While I love muted colors and paintings, my work never ends up that way! There are so many artists whom I admire and occasionally wish I painted more like, but when I pick up a brush, this is just what comes out of my hands! I do think that working in and learning different mediums (acrylic, oil and gouache) has been so helpful for me, especially in terms of color mixing. Originally I started by using several different tubes of premixed color, but now I typically mix from primaries, and I really love seeing the difference between brands and mediums (it can also be frustrating)! It’s been a great way to learn and practice color theory. . Are your landscapes real or imagined? What do you aim to capture in your work? My landscapes almost always start from a photo or video that I’ve taken! Sometimes I really strive to capture what I see in my reference as accurately as I’m able, but other times I get my layout roughed in and then just see where the piece goes as I paint it. I rarely paint strictly from imagination, however, because those pieces of mine

all tend to look the same. I’m always working on how I see the light and shadows in the reference photo (or how I remember it from being there) and capturing that look and feel in my work. Your frames are such an integral part of the presentation of your art and it’s clear you are so intentional with them. How do you ȴnd the right frames and how do you know when you’ve picked the perfect one for a piece? I absolutely love vintage and antique frames and I spend hours searching for them! It’s literally a daily search because you never know what you’ll find. Before I start painting a new piece, I look through my frame collection and pick out a few that I feel drawn to or know might work well for what I’m planning to paint. Unless I know I want to use a particular frame, I hold a few frames up to my reference photo and this helps me choose a specific frame, as well as the painting layout and colors. This method usually works great! Occasionally though, I just don’t love the finished piece in the intended frame and I will try several frames until I find one that looks perfect. What would you consider your greatest achievement as an artist thus far, and what helped you accomplish it? Having people I’ve never met reach out to buy one of my pieces and others continuing to collect my work is both humbling and gratifying! Considering I started painting again just for myself and to see if I could do it, it definitely feels like such an accomplishment to share my work with people around the world. My family— husband, sister, mom—were the push I needed to begin sharing my work online and entering my first art show. I’m shy and putting my work out there for anyone (or no one) to see was really scary but I’m thankful they encouraged and pushed me to do it. What is your priority in the studio at the moment? Trying to find balance. Balance between painting for my own shop/clients and the art studio I’m a part of. Balance between what I feel drawn to paint and what I feel my collectors are asking for. And always trying to find inspiration for my work! I don’t ever want to lose the desire or interest in painting, and finding fresh inspiration by getting out in nature is key for me. .

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INTERVIEW WITH JENNIFER BEZAIRE

A goal for the next year? (Or, feel free to tell us about anything you have coming up!) Next year, I would really like to step outside my comfort zone a little more and enter a few more art shows. Standing around and talking to people I don’t know feels awkward, but at the same time it is so nice to hear what people like and are drawn to, or which piece speaks to them and why. I also plan on working a collection of framed prints! I am thrilled with how prints of my pieces have turned out and I’ve worked so hard on them. I really want to showcase them in such a way that people who are just starting to collect art, or who aren’t in a position to buy an original piece yet, see the beauty and accessibility in fine art prints. Whether they just need ideas on how to frame a print for themselves or they want the perfect vintage frame already picked out and paired with a print, I want to make it easy. ‹

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INTERVIEW

Navigating Depth: Michele Poirier Mozzone’s “Fractured Light” Series BY EKATERINA POPOVA

Massachusetts-based artist Michele Poirier Mozzone has developed a unique creative process through years of experimenting with various mediums, including watercolor, pastel and oils. Her fascination with the human form and the transformative properties of water deeply resonate within her “Fractured Light” series. This series explores the interplay of abstract color, texture and gestural representation, an idea sparked by a spontaneous photoshoot of her daughter swimming. As part of our water-themed issue, we delve deeper into the artist’s relationship with the element and its inΌuence on her art. Enjoy this exclusive interview, in which Michele candidly shares how water’s profound inΌuence has shaped her creative process and artistic vision. www.poirier-mozzone.com

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INTERVIEW WITH MICHELE POIRIER MOZZONE

a combination of steps that achieve a desired effect in my work. Your work often features the ȴgure under water. What draws you to this element? Ever since I could hold a pencil, I have gravitated toward drawing people. It is not surprising that I am still exploring my fascination with depicting the human form in my work. I enjoy intuitively exploring patterns, mark-making and the interplay of colors, but I also love painting the figure. The paintings are not about anyone in particular, but about capturing a common experience, memory or idea. Like many people, I am drawn to the water—its constant motion, energy, beauty and how it transforms color, light and form. Most of us have experienced the sound of bubbles rushing past our ears, the broken ribbons of sunlight, bizarre reflections, fascinating distortions and the weightless, slow dance of movement below the water’s surface. It is a subject matter that has held my attention for 13 years and still fascinates me today. Could you share the original inspiration and concept behind your beautiful “Fractured Light” series of paintings? How has your journey with di΍erent mediums, from watercolor to pastel and ultimately oils, inȵuenced your creative process? For years after college, I worked in watercolor. I still love the medium for its translucence and inherent beauty. I became accustomed to “saving the whites,” the practice of using the white of the paper as your lightest light in a watercolor painting and allowing pieces of white paper to remain. I love white bits of paper that add life and sparkle to a painting. In 2010 I decided to try something different and began to take workshops in pastel. I quickly came to appreciate the medium’s expressiveness and immediacy. I began by layering pastel over watercolor underpaintings on pastel paper. Similar to “saving the whites,” I found letting pieces of the underpainting show through the pastel added richness and contrast. Since 2016, I have been translating my “Fractured Light” series into oil paintings. I often begin with a bright underpainting— usually in acrylic—and build up layers of oil paint, while letting the underpainting enhance and peek through. Those early years of working in watercolor got me in the practice of thinking and planning a couple of steps ahead, especially as it relates to color. It is often

Although I have painted for most of my life, I began to focus intensely on my art practice in 2010. It was a time of creative rebirth for me. I pushed myself to experiment and find a subject matter that I could develop into a series. Shortly after I started using pastel, I spent a few months painting abstract works without any planning—just free-flow abstraction. I found it very difficult! Besides a new appreciation for good abstract art, I came away with many mediocre paintings and a feeling that maybe this was a waste of time. One exceptionally beautiful afternoon at the pool in 2011, I was struck by the ribbons of sunlight and interesting distortions affecting my daughter through the moving water. I was also keenly aware of catching this lovely, brief moment with her before it flickered by. I grabbed my camera and took numerous photos of her in the water in hopes of using them in a painting. Then it hit me—what if I tried to incorporate an image of the figure in water onto my abstract paintings? That was the beginning of my “Fractured Light” series. I no longer use old abstract paintings as a base, but those early pieces taught me that I am drawn to abstract passages of color and texture alongside gestural representation.

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INTERVIEW WITH MICHELE POIRIER MOZZONE

How do you plan for your work, and what is the process of ȴnding references like for you? My window of opportunity for capturing sun-filled pool photos here in Massachusetts is quite limited. Having models at the ready when the weather cooperates can also be difficult. But when I have models, sunlight and a warm summer day, I usually take videos with my GoPro camera. From them, I can select images that have potential as paintings. It takes a lot of video footage to get just a few painting references, which I then manipulate on the Procreate app to enhance color and composition, if necessary. What are your favorite activities when you are not creating or working in the studio? How do you recharge? I love spending time with my friends and family—my husband and I have three daughters and two great sons-in-law. We spend a lot of wonderful family time on Cape Cod. My perennial flower garden has always been another interest-bordering-on-obsession for me and a source of replenishment when I’m feeling spent. What excites you the most about the direction your art is taking now, and do you have any upcoming projects or themes you’re eager to explore?

The works of Gustav Klimt have always appealed to me for his use of flat planes of color and pattern alongside beautifully rendered figures. Instagram is a great source of inspiration for me. I have found so many current artists that are doing great work. Lately, the amazing work of @rossoartist has inspired me to explore using stencils and more pattern in my work. I love the dichotomy between a beautifully painted figure against a passage of flat abstraction. This is where I see my work going in the foreseeable future. ‹

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Curated Section We are delighted to introduce the finalists selected by the CoFounders and Partners of Black Women in Visual Art (BWVA) for our curated section. BWVA, an organization serving women and visual art professionals of the African Diaspora, strives to foster networks, provide resources, and develop programs that enhance visibility and leadership in the visual arts and cultural sectors. The founders of BWVA are Lauren Jackson Harris, an arts professional and independent curator passionate about networking and fostering connections within the arts and cultural field, and Daricia Mia Demarr, a cross-disciplinary curator and visual art executive dedicated to promoting creative and critical engagement and fostering social, cultural, and personal growth through the arts. Website:

www.blackwomeninvisualart.com

CURATED SECTION

Marcela Mariel Montemayor Website:

www.saatchiart.com/marcelam

Instagram:  

@marcelamariell

Marcela Mariel Montemayor, born in 1990 in Monterrey, Nuevo León, México, is an artist whose work is infused with nostalgia, childhood memories, and vibrant colors. Through my paintings, I usually depict objects such as balloons, food, and candy wrappers that evoke cultural significance and an emotional connection to my personal experiences and upbringing. I choose to utilize these elements to create a sense of familiarity and nostalgia for the viewer, inviting them to reflect on their own memories and emotions. My aim is to forge connections and shared experiences through my art. My passion for painting has allowed me to share my creations with audiences across the world. As a professional artist, I've had the opportunity to showcase my work in different locations, including Mexico, the United States, India, and Italy. I am proud to say that my pieces are now part of private collections around the globe. Additionally, I have had the opportunity to participate in several painting competitions in my home country, which has been an incredible experience.

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CURATED SECTION

Gail Butters Cohen Website:

www.gailbutterscohen.com

Instagram:  

@gailbcreates

Gail Butters Cohen is an expressive figurative and landscape artist. Currently living between Delray Beach in South Florida and her cottage in the Laurentian mountains, she is inspired by long walks in the woods and working in her lakeside studios. Intergenerational connections and the ways in which Mother Nature and human nature converge and shape one another reveal compelling narratives in the artwork. Working in mixed media is integral to Butters Cohen’s process, resulting in unique pieces which tell their own individual stories. Countless layers of both human-made and natural materials are added and subtracted during the intuitive creative process. Butters Cohen embraces the concepts of memory and relationships, the lost and found, and invites them into her work, representing the undulating seasons of life. As a creator, Butters Cohen’s desire is that the viewer has a personal and individual response to her work, finding a connective thread and emotional resonance that ties back to their own lived experiences.

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CURATED SECTION

Isabel Lu Website:

www.isabel-lu.com

Instagram:  

@isabellu

Isabel Lu, MPH, RD, (she/they) is a Chinese American visual artist and health equity researcher, born and raised in North Carolina. Isabel pursued Western nutritional science during her undergraduate studies at Cornell University and later focused on public health and dietetics as a graduate student at UNC Chapel Hill. Initially planning to pursue a PhD researching access to culturally-appropriate foods for Asian American populations, Isabel made the ultimate decision to follow the path of the arts as a means to communicate and support community well-being. After completing her Masters of Public Health, Isabel served as the 2022 Artist in Residence at Durham Art Guild. During this time, she developed a participatory body of work that delved into the exploration of identity through food and storytelling. Presently, Isabel holds the position of 2023 Emerging Artist in Residence at Artspace in Raleigh. Here, she concentrates on utilizing community-driven art to promote the well-being of Asian American (AA) creatives and communities in North Carolina. Drawing from her personal identity as an asexual, gender-non-conforming Chinese American who grew up in the South, Isabel actively explores and challenges socially accepted representations of ethnicity, sexuality, and gender through the lenses of food, history, and relationships.

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CURATED SECTION

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CURATED SECTION

ARTIST STATEMENT

Isabel's work delves into the exploration of ethnic, sexual, and gender identity through the lenses of food, history, and relationships. After gaining insights from BIPOC food justice leaders like Robin Wall Kimmerer and Karen Washington, as well as Traditional Chinese Medicine practices, Isabel came to understand that our connection to food, environments, and bodies surpasses the complexities captured and conveyed by Western scientific methods. To shed light on what can be defined as 'science,' 'evidence,' and 'truth,' she parallels and contrasts these standards from both Eastern and Western perspectives. Drawing from her identity as an asexual, gender-non-conforming Chinese American who grew up in the South, Isabel employs color to express and challenge socially accepted representations of ethnicity, sexuality, and gender. Currently, Isabel is developing a body of work titled 'Yíngyang,' which explores queer AA identity through food, particularly investigating intergenerational relationships and AA history. 'Yíngyang' translates to 'nutrition' in Mandarin and shares similarities with the well-known Taoist concept of 'Yin' and 'Yang.' In Traditional Chinese Medicine, 'Yin' and 'Yang' represent two opposing but interdependent forces or energies. For instance, one should consume a balance of 'warming' and 'cooling' foods, experience both rest and activity, peace and stress. Through her creations, Isabel finds themes of 'push and pull' prevalent in many AA stories: food evokes feelings of shame and pride, responsibility and opportunity, beauty and cruelty. The purpose of these paintings is to reflect the dualism of the AA experience. Isabel collaborates with AA individuals to co-develop paintings, inviting them into the studio for conversations about their identity and connections to food. Together, they develop concepts that resonate with both parties, and Isabel photographs them in a manner that conveys their stories. Additionally, she conducts research and paints foods used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practices, contrasting these ideas against Western nutrition standards, gender norms, and cultural practices. The aim of these paintings is not only to document the diversity of experiences, identities, and histories of AA and our foods in North Carolina but also to capture the ways in which these foods interact with our identities and relationships. 55 | CREATE! MAGAZINE ISSUE 39

CURATED SECTION

Heather Allison Website:

www.heatherallisonphotography.com

Instagram:  

@venerationoȵight

Living near the tempest-prone shores of the northern coast of California, Heather Allison's work is shaped by fog-filled skies and moody beaches. She is best known for her pensively lit still-life photographs featuring exotic and domestic ephemera. Heather skillfully arranges taxidermy, flowers, bones, and books into dramatic compositions reminiscent of the vanitas style Dutch master botanical paintings. Her photos delicately balance between the macabre and the sublime, paying homage to her love for Victorian memento mori while equally revering the beauty of life. Heather's deep appreciation for art history is evident in her works, as she adeptly connects the modern age to her predecessors in visual art. Although she initially began her career in photojournalism and event coverage, it was the sudden passing of a family member that inspired Heather to delve into the transience of life through still-life imagery. This exploration revitalized her passion for the medium, and she continues to pursue it wholeheartedly. Heather holds an AA in Photojournalism from Brooks Institute of Photography, a BFA in Art History from the Academy of Art University, and an MFA in Fine Art Photography from AAU. Her captivating imagery has been displayed in exhibitions across the United States and internationally. Heather's work has also been featured in renowned art publications such as The Shoutflower. She maintains close working relationships with luxury interior design firms like Raven Vanguard, and her pieces grace private collections both domestically and overseas.

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CURATED SECTION

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CURATED SECTION

ARTIST STATEMENT

Public mourning once played a significant role in everyday life, as exemplified by Queen Victoria and the culture she created and embraced after the death of Prince Albert. However, in modern times, the discussion of grief has become taboo to the extent that most people avoid even acknowledging human mortality, acting as if death is contagious. This leaves those experiencing grief feeling isolated and alone in their pain. Nevertheless, in recent years, the global pandemic has altered this perspective and compelled us all to face collective grief. We are now confronted with the need to accept death in a way we have never had to before. For as long as I can remember, I have been preoccupied with human mortality. However, it was my own personal experience with the unexpected loss of my father due to complications with chemotherapy that initially inspired me to turn my focus toward fine art and the still-life genre, with an emphasis on grief. This exploration led to the creation of my body of work titled "Awaken," where I indulge my fixation and construct vanitas tableaux that reflect on death – a once-normalized approach to acknowledging mortality and appreciating the beauty of life. Through carefully crafted still-life photographs, digitally captured and brimming with hidden messages, iconography, and expressions of color, I seek connection to the deceased and delve into the complexities of grief. In doing so, I reclaim and elevate the categorization of still life as an art form. The images from this body of work offer an intimate experience for the viewer, encouraging inner contemplation on our ever-evolving relationship with the transient nature of life. They also provide a safe space for mourning and connection. When you encounter someone who has experienced grief as you have, everything changes. In summary, my work aims to break the silence surrounding grief, honoring the tradition of public mourning while also creating a meaningful and introspective space for individuals to connect with their emotions and shared experiences of loss.

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CURATED SECTION

Arielle Austin Website:

www.arielle-austin.com

Instagram:  

@arielle_austin

Arielle Austin is an abstract painter currently residing and working in Austin, Texas. Embracing abstraction, this Los Angeles native finds the freedom to play and explore curiosities, seeking ways to express her inner world beyond the confines of words. Her paintings serve as visual representations of her journey towards reclaiming her voice and nurturing internal and spiritual healing. Through her artistic practice, Austin shares the fruits of her creative process, encouraging viewers to bring their own experiences and true selves into the viewing. This invitation allows for hope and light to mend and liberate on its own terms. Her artwork has been exhibited at notable venues such as The George Washington Carver Museum, The Carver in San Antonio, Gallery 440 in Fort Worth, Saatchi's The Other Art Fair in Dallas, and Commerce Gallery in Lockhart. Moreover, her work adorns corporate and private collections, both nationally and internationally.

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CURATED SECTION

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CURATED SECTION

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CURATED SECTION

La línea el cuerpo Website:

www.lalineaelcuerpo.com

Instagram:  

@la_linea_el_cuerpo_

The line La línea el cuerpo integrates Jorge Tejeda's body of work. Jorge was born in Lima, Peru, and emigrated to Montreal, Canada in 2009, where he has lived and worked ever since. He is a professional architect who also navigates between architecture and art as a self-taught artist. While his primary focus as an architect is on designing bridges, as an artist, he delves into the bridge that connects the self with inner emotions. Jorge's passion for drawing and painting has been evident since his early years, but it was in 2020 that he began pursuing it seriously, giving significant importance to drawing, painting, and the development of his body of work. Under his artist's name, which means "the line the body," he concentrates on the human figure, particularly the male form. Lines play a vital role in the construction of his drawings, serving as both masses and voids. Sensitivity, strength, movement, and stillness are recurrent themes in his visual universe. The emotions that lie beneath the surface often inspire his compositions. He strives to portray inner beauty. His artwork reveals the inner emotions of men, caught between a facade of strength and an awareness of deep sensitivity. The interplay between these two realities gives rise to moments of movement and stillness. Jorge aims to convey awareness, openness, and a sense of limitless possibilities, all expressed through the language of the male body, often faceless, allowing ample room for interpretation. His art is figurative, but with an abstract-oriented composition. It is characterized by minimalism, high contrast, and a distinctly graphic quality. The queerness of his characters is also a recurring theme in his work. Jorge primarily uses materials such as acrylic painting and acrylic-based markers on paper and wood panels.

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Joanna Pilarczyk Website:  

www.joannapilarczyk.com

Instagram:  

@joannapilarczyk

Joanna Pilarczyk is a London-based contemporary figurative painter and art educator. Born in Poland, Joanna studied at the Art University in Zielona Gora, where she earned a Master's degree in Visual Arts and Art Education. Having moved to London over a decade ago, Joanna immediately fell in love with the city, captivated by its diverse cultures and vibrant energy. Within the artist community of North London, she began painting oil portraits of new acquaintances and friends, reflecting the unique essence of the city. In her recent series of paintings, Pilarczyk focuses on portraying mixed-race and gay couples. To create these works, the artist engages in discussions with her friends and models, delving into their experiences, love stories, and struggles related to racism, sexuality, and cultural diversity. Pilarczyk's artistic talent has earned her recognition and accolades. She was the recipient of the Boynes Monthly Artist Award and a finalist for the Women United Art Prize in both 2022 and 2021. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally, including at prestigious venues like the Other Art Fair in Truman Brewery and the Start Art Fair in Saatchi Gallery, London. Additionally, she showcased her newest paintings at a solo show with Oink Gallery, featuring pieces from her 'My Paradise' series. Furthermore, Joanna actively participated in the Spring and Summer editions of the Other Art Fair in 2022. Her artwork has even crossed international borders, with her painting from the 'Intimate Times' series being exhibited at 33 Contemporary Gallery in Chicago and Mixx Atelier Gallery in Telluride, USA. Moreover, she contributed her art to the 'Memories in Hindsight' group show at J/M Gallery in Notting Hill, London. 68 | CREATE! MAGAZINE ISSUE 39

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Hopeton St.Clair Hibbert Jr. Website:  

www.stclairrenaissance.com

Instagram:  

@stclair_renaissance

Hopeton St. Clair Hibbert, Jr. (b. 1975) is an Atlanta-based intra-disciplinary contemporary artist who explores the abstract connections between humanity and nature across various media. Hibbert’s work articulates the frenetic cycles of the human experience and attunes our senses to discover the world's often unseen beauty by linking the physical and metaphysical worlds. Influenced by renowned photographer Gordon Parks' approach to documenting life across media and the Spanish sculptor Julio González’s alchemic mastery of metal, his mixed media works include works on paper—created using Hibbert’s characteristic, ultra-detailed technique called hyper-sharpening—as well as freestanding sculptures. Born of Jamaican descent and raised in Hillsboro, New Jersey, by his mother—a personal chef and artist in her own right—Hibbert relocated to Atlanta as a teenager in 1993. He began his journey in the culinary arts after attending culinary school at Johnson & Wales University in Charleston, SC, graduating in 1998 with a degree in Culinary Arts. During that time, Hibbert was gifted a camera and began to explore his interests in photography, developing a way of seeing that overlapped with his culinary expertise. Hibbert's work transformed lesser-known aspects of perishable, seasonal ingredients into unique gastronomical experiments for diners when he was a chef. This approach was a catalyst for shaping unsuspecting materials of his choosing into a delightful and thought-provoking experience for viewers as an artist. Embracing the nuances of his self-taught photography and sculpture practice, the artist uses an expansive series of imagery to convey themes of social, cultural, and spiritual ephemerality, as well as terra firma phenomena that reimagine the connections between humanity and nature. His hyper-sharpening method employs various toned black acrylic embellishments to give detail to a two-dimensional surface, slightly raising elements of the image to further engage the senses, as seen in “London Plane Tree Study.”

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Hopeton St. Clair Hibbert, Jr.'s work articulates the abstract connections between humanity and nature through the frenetic cycles of the human experience. Anchored by his curiosities within space, form, and time, Hibbert's work seeks to negotiate sensory discovery through haptic illusions by drawing our attention to the world's often unseen beauty by linking the physical and metaphysical. Influenced by photographer Gordon Parks and Spanish sculptor Julio González, working across media, the artist's reverence for history, nature, gastronomy, and dynamism culminate in various works on paper, wood, and freestanding mixed-media sculptures. The artist continues his contemplative journey into the human experience through sculpture series like "Ode to John Henry." The long-standing collection references the Black American folk tale of the steel-driving man whose persistence and determination ultimately cost him his life, serving as a cautionary tale of man vs. machine. "Ode" features found materials of wrought wood and iron found along the railroads of South Atlanta as an acknowledgment of the city’s industrial roots amidst its rapid gentrification and widening income gap. Several of the pieces address various layers of this concept. "Don't Forget We've Been to War"—an abstraction of a soldier who salutes with arms of decaying wood and whose torso is made of rusted iron chains— reflects how Black soldiers are constantly sought after and later discarded. Meanwhile, "X" is a tribute to the life and enduring legacy of Malcolm X. Particularly in a time where the value of human contribution is contested and exchanged for artificial intelligence, the works encompassed in "Ode to John Henry" find contemporary meaning for all who experience them. Taken together, Hopeton St. Clair Hibbert, Jr.'s broad catalog of work breathes life into previously neglected material and embodies an abstract approach to contemporary issues.

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Nicole James Website:  

www.nicolejames.nyc

Instagram:  

nicolejames.nyc

Nicole James (b. 1987) is an artist born in Los Angeles and currently based in Brooklyn. She is renowned for her chaotic still life paintings, which often center around the depiction of fleeting moments. Through her artistic practice, Nicole delves into the subversive power of beauty found within liminality and disorder. Her artwork has been exhibited at notable venues such as O’Flaherty’s and IRL in New York, receiving recognition and praise from the art community. Additionally, her pieces have found their place in several private collections, further solidifying her impact and influence as an artist.

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Nicole James is an artist born in Los Angeles and currently based in Brooklyn, known for her captivating chaotic still life paintings. Rejecting the notion that chaos and beauty are opposing forces, James's art aims to merge them, presenting the idea that raw and unfiltered beauty found within disorder is exhilarating precisely because of its fleeting and unpredictable nature. Drawing from her storytelling skills honed during her career as an advertising creative director and influenced by being part of a generation that openly shares the ultra-personal online, Nicole weaves intricate visual narratives that feel both unexpected and relatable. Through her large and vibrant acrylic paintings, she incorporates elements from modern photography, pop culture, and self-documentation, creating wholly unique compositions. Her artworks invite the viewer to discover the beauty amidst the madness of everyday life, offering a fresh perspective on the seemingly mundane.

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Amber Janay Cooper Instagram:  

@ambers_innerworld

Amber Janay Cooper is an emerging DC-based collage artist who draws inspiration from the visions spun by her imagination to fuel her work. Originally from Georgia, Amber also resided in the Shenandoah Valley for several years. She embarked on her collage journey in 2022.

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As a collage artist, Amber's primary goal is to capture scenes of ultimate freedom visually. Her work is profoundly influenced by her visions of God, heaven, and creation, as well as her perception of seasons as supreme beings, seeking inner peace for all Black people, and envisioning lush gardens for Black babies. In her artistic journey, she finds inspiration in the concepts of beauty, romance, sensory experiences, mood swings, and rebellion. Through her collage practice, Amber exercises her imagination, leading her to a deeper understanding of herself and a clearer worldview. It becomes a medium through which she practices vulnerability and advocates for the power of imagination as a liberatory concept for all, fostering a sense of community, equity, and love. Amber's art aims to ignite exploration, encouraging people to discover new ways of being and relating to one another, fostering a collective journey towards freedom and a celebration of individual identities.

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Charles Mason III Website:  

www.cmason3.com

Charles Mason III (Baltimore, MD) received his AA in General Studies from the Community College of Baltimore County in 2010, BFA in Graphic Design from the University of Maryland Baltimore County in 2014, and his Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 2019. He has curated several shows in Baltimore and Philadelphia, as well as had solo shows which include Screaming in Silence, My Salvation is Love (The End), at Anna Zorina Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, 2022, Goya Contemporary Gallery, Baltimore, MD, 2021, and Spillway Collective, Philadelphia, PA, 2019. Charles Mason III has also participated in group exhibitions, such as A The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century, co-organized by the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) and Saint Louis Art Museum (SLAM)] A Gathering, HOUSING Gallery, New York, NY, Radical Reading Room, The Studio Museum in Harlem, Harlem, NY, Breaching the Margins, Urban Institute for Contemporary Art, Grand Rapids, MI, CARPE DIEM, UTA Art Space, and Surface is only a Material Vehicle for Spirit, Kavi Gupta Gallery, Chicago, IL, to name a few. His works are part of the permanent collections of prestigious institutions such as the Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD, the James E. Lewis Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD, the Whitney Museum of American Art Special Collections, and the Hammer Museum Grunwald Center Collection. In addition, he is a recipient of the Maurice Freed Memorial Prize. 84 | CREATE! MAGAZINE ISSUE 39

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Conditional love and endurance: What is required for someone's life to be considered valuable? What does it take for someone to care for you, or for you to care for someone, and how do we endure this? These questions have been on my mind for the past three years since I returned to Baltimore from graduate school and began pondering the relationship I have with my father. I yearn to understand him better and cultivate a new connection based on who we are now and how we express love for one another. Reflecting on our relationship became a catalyst for the direction of my artistic practice over the last few years. It has centered on themes of labor, love, grief, poetics, and material, all stemming from this exploration of our connection.

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Adana Tillman Website:  

www.adanatillman.com

Adana Tillman's path to an artistic practice started at an early age. Born and raised in Akron, Ohio, now living and practicing in Atlanta, Georgia. Sewing with her mother is where Adana was first introduced to the needle and thread. Working on quilts and small sewing projects, and taking Saturday classes, is where she built her foundation for textiles. Attending visual artsfocused schools until high school graduation, Adana learned the fundamentals of sketching, composition, and other techniques. In reflection, at any opportunity in schooling for freeform projects, Adana would incorporate textiles/sewing whenever given the chance. In secondary education, the visual arts path was left behind, and a focus on business administration was followed. Adana is self-taught in the textile/fiber arts. She builds her knowledge with books and sporadically takes classes to further her knowledge. In the years after leaving the University, Adana realized that the visual arts were where she was happiest. Beginning to draw and sew small projects on the weekend and after work served as a therapeutic tool for the artist. After sharing a few finished works online and gathering encouragement to share her works with the public, she was creating small works of character portraits. The first time showing her work in adulthood was at a church art and book fair. Unbeknownst to the artist, this was only the beginning. At the suggestion of a co-worker, she applied for a yearlong fellowship with TILA Studios, an artist collective for female artists in Atlanta, Georgia. The second attempt at applying, Adana Tillman was accepted into the program. During this fellowship, her practice really grew. From workshops on crafting an artist statement/bio and building a cohesive body of work, this culminated in traveling to Miami to present during Art Basel in 2019. This show was used to explore creating larger pieces, incorporating surface design and relief printing. During the pandemic, she partnered with The Akron Art Museum to develop a public arts project to produce an augmented reality poster. Adana was awarded a grant from Sprite/Give Back to help complete two artworks to be displayed in a pop-up group show during 2020. Most recently, Tillman completed a solo show in Atlanta, Georgia, at Mint Gallery in Summer 2022, and a "Resting Our Eyes" group show at ICA SF, on view until June 2023 in San Francisco.

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As a textile artist, Adana Tillman explores the journey of identity through her figurative portraits. Within the African Diaspora, grace is not always given by others to explore fashion, hair, without being judged. In her works, the figures are living loud and unapologetic. Mixing bold patterns, colors in fashion, and various hairstyles show each figure on the lifelong journey of self-discovery. Each piece incorporates found textiles acquired through the artist's travels. Her mother has developed an extensive library of fabrics over the years and sometimes sources materials. The artist's hand-dyeing of textiles has become a large part of the practice. When creating, Adana usually starts with rough gesture drawings, playing with movement and composition. Then comes pattern drafting. Next is working on scaling and placement of the figures or position of portraits. The next phase is most exciting – mixing and exploring fabrics until a cohesive palette is obtained. Using a combination of hand-sewn techniques such as embroidery and beading, each piece is constructed like a quilt, taking the traditional art and giving it a contemporary presentation for today's viewers.

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S. Erin Batiste Website:  

www.sbatistewrites.com

S. Erin Batiste is an interdisciplinary poet and artist based in Brooklyn, New York. She is a 2023 The Poetry Project Emerge-Surface-Be Fellow and has received generous support from Cave Canem, PEN America, and PERIPLUS among other honors. Author of the chapbook, Glory to All Fleeting Things, her poetry has been published and anthologized internationally in wildness, Michigan Quarterly Review, and Meridians, and her artwork has exhibited in New York. Batiste’s writing and collage center Black women, her ancestors, and matrilineage, and are influenced by Afrofuturism, maximalism, beauty, the desert, the cosmos, and other expansive places, migration, tarot, and divination, archives, ephemera, and moments left behind. She is currently working on her first full-length collection, Hoard.

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I do Black women’s work. My work centers the lives and experiences of Black women, ancestors, myself and my own matrilineage. My work examines freedom, the complexity of memory, what we consider history, and the ways we all inherit and collect possessions and stories. Nearly everything challenges my existence as a Black woman living at the end of the world and the American Experiment, and so my work intentionally and intensely concentrates on these selfhoods. I am an interdisciplinary poet and much of my work relies on history and archives as a primary source. I want readers and viewers to take away a sense of beauty and history, however, I want their notion of what is beautiful and what is history to be challenged. I want viewers coming to the work with their own various information (i.e. race, gender, age, class, geography) to leave feeling like whatever ideas they initially carried have been complicated. I want viewers to consider their own privileges and think about the daily ways in which we are all complicit in white supremacy, capitalism and the systems devouring and destroying us, as a human race. I want to present and represent the real and whole America–its past, present, and possible futures: free, feminist, radical, abolitionist, anarchist, extraterrestrial, other. These collages/visual poems were created recently from December 2022 to present day following my participation in the Kolaj Institute New Orleans Collage Artist Lab where we worked under the theme of "City as Archive" incorporating archives from the New Orleans Public Library along with our own materials. In my personal search in the library archives, I was stunned by the absence of Blackness in this historically very Black city, whose existence was built by, depended on and dependent on Black people, and also where my father's Creole family originated and eventually migrated from. Sadly, the majority of the Black photographs found were in the carceral state–mugshots and "Bertillon Cards," however, I was able to locate some fleeting moments of Black people in comfort, giving and receiving care, in quiet rebellion to the larger archive. I archived 118 Black and mixed-race Black women with the deep consideration that during the time their mugshots were captured, photography was still early tech, so these were likely the only photographs ever taken of these Black women in their lives. These works, all sourced from library archival photographs taken in the early to mid-20th century, have become part of a new, ongoing series "Major Arcana," where I am using the archives along with images from the Hubble Telescope and space, and other protective symbology to help transport the persons pictured into other possible universes and dimensions where they might receive care, dignity and softness, beyond what they may have imagined in their lifetimes and in this world. Let these works serve as archive, testimonial, reimagination, and witness.

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Sonia Redfern Website:  

www.soniaredfern.com

Sonia Redfern is a New York City-based painter exploring landscapes with astronomical elements painted on reclaimed fabrics. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Redfern moved to Arizona to pursue an undergraduate degree in astrophysics, though her concentration eventually pivoted to visual arts. While she remained enamored with astronomy and considered a career in the field, she found a deeper sense of fulfillment in her visual arts practice. Redfern continues to bring her curiosity about the world from science into her artwork. Upon graduating with a BA in Studio Art from the University of Arizona in 2007, Redfern relocated to South Korea and later to Australia. During this time, Redfern had her first solo exhibition featuring a collection of paintings inspired by her experience living abroad. Her years away from home influenced her visual vocabulary and helped to inspire the fabric works that she creates today. After receiving an MA in Art Education from Brooklyn College in 2020, Redfern rededicated herself to her studio practice. She has exhibited nationally and internationally, including in Washington DC, Illinois, and South Korea. Her work is in numerous private collections throughout the United States, including New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington DC, as well as in South Korea and Israel.

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My paintings invite the viewer into the humbling and transcendental experience of being fully immersed in a context larger than oneself, whether cultural, environmental, or universal. To do this, I create landscapes, sometimes with astronomical elements, over the patterns and textures of reclaimed fabrics. The fabric for these paintings was first passed on to me by my mother, a lifelong sewer. She grew up in post-WWII Europe, where everything was recycled, reused, or repurposed, and nothing went to waste. That mindset was passed down. Rather than paint over the entirety of the fabric to hide the colors or patterns, I let the fabric stand in for a piece of the painting and help tell the story. The fabric has a story as well and often reminds me of a certain place or mood that I match with the painted subject matter of a place or experience I’d like to retell. Each pattern or texture has a kind of visual vibration, like the background radiation that permeates the universe itself. We don’t think about it often, but it is always there. The pattern is simultaneously busy, keeping the viewer’s attention, and easy to ignore because the eye intuits that it is all the same. It is also intended to impose a surreal quality, which is often how a memory of a place or experience feels. In my paintings, I seek to recreate moments of awe and tranquility with the hope of sharing a sense of wonder with others.

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Abiola Adejare Abiola Adejare, born 33 years ago in Lagos, Nigeria, comes from a creative lineage. Both of his parents—a painter and a nurse—instilled in him a lifelong affinity for art. During his formative years, Abiola nurtured various aspirations, including becoming an astronaut or a jet fighter pilot, all driven by a shared desire for heroism. However, he eventually discovered that the true essence of heroism lies in influencing and positively impacting people's minds. This realization led him to embrace art as his chosen medium. Growing up immersed in the captivating realm of television, Abiola's exposure to science fiction and the iconic figure of Michael Jackson profoundly influenced his perception of contemporary alternative realities. These encounters inspired him to envision a world intricately woven with abstract concepts that seem distant yet remain relatable. Abiola pursued an education in the arts at Yaba College of Technology, where he further honed his skills. His choice of materials—acrylics, cardboard, plywood, and large canvas—mirrors the fast-paced nature of our society, capturing the collective yearning for instant gratification.

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My artistic approach revolves around capturing the very essence of a subject with a single glance, ensuring that what remains in your memory is its defining characteristic. Drawing from my background as a Graphic Design major at Yabatech, Nigeria's esteemed art school, I find inspiration in the vibrant world of advertising. In a world where brand posters are given mere seconds of a viewer's attention, the key lies in leveraging their existing knowledge and experiences. Through my paintings, I strive to recreate the viewer's perspective—what they remember seeing and what they can deduce with minimal information. This approach evokes a sense of familiarity and intrigue, inviting contemplation. My ultimate goal is to be an influential artist who challenges societal norms and raises thought-provoking questions that disrupt the power dynamics governing humanity. While this may seem like an ambitious undertaking, I recognize that it starts with dedicated practice and honing my craft. In my upcoming paintings, I aspire to delve into themes that explore the intricacies of human emotions and the complexities of relationships. By employing a minimalist style, I aim to distill these concepts into powerful visual representations that provoke introspection and dialogue. Through my art, I seek to initiate a shift in perspectives and contribute to a more balanced and empathetic world.

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James Robert Morrison Website:  

www.jamesrobertmorrison.com

After graduating in 2002 with an MA Fine Art from Central Saint Martins, James worked in the gallery and museum sector before returning to regular art practice 17 years later. Since then, he has been shortlisted for the Bridget Riley Fellowship (2023-24) and the Derwent Art Prize (2022). He was selected for the RA Summer Exhibition (2021), won the Mervyn Metcalf Purchase Prize at the ING Discerning Eye Exhibition (2021), and was awarded a special commendation at the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize (2020). His work is held in the UK Government Art Collection and private collections in the UK, USA, and China.

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James' work reflects on the experience of discovering his sexuality and his journey to understanding, accepting, and valuing it. Since returning to his practice in 2019, his focus has been on a new body of work with two key threads: personal experience as subject matter and the referencing and reappropriation of a personal archive of gay porn secretly collected during his teenage years when he felt pressured into hiding his true sexuality. James recalls, "At that time, these magazines were the only place I could see representations of intimacy between men. This was pre-internet and when anti-gay sentiment was at its peak in the UK, following the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the introduction of the notoriously homophobic legislation - Section 28 of the Local Government Act. There was virtually no queer representation or visibility, and if you did happen to find some, it was certainly not positive." From drawings on cigarette papers to paintings and collages embellished with embroidery, James approaches his use of media in a playful way with complete openness, while consistently maintaining quality and cohesion. The intimate subject matter, combined with personal archival material, allows him to present work that has a touching and nostalgic narrative, normalizes non-heteronormative identities, and, importantly, starts to fill the void of positive queer representation and visibility that he, and so many other members of the queer community, did not experience during their formative years. "'There is never more than a fag paper between them' Series" The artist overheard a teenager describing a gay couple as "never having more than a fag paper between them." Inspired by this and the play on words (in the UK, 'fag' is a colloquial term for a cigarette before being a homophobic slur), James has created a series of drawings portraying couples from his personal archive of gay porn magazines on the unique and challenging medium: fag (cigarette) papers.

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Jordan A. Porter-Woodruff Website:  www.japwoodru΍.com Instagram:  @japwoodru΍

Jordan A. Porter-Woodruff, 32, was born and raised on the South Side of Chicago. She currently serves as the staff photographer and digital multimedia specialist at the University of Chicago Medicine. Her journey began as a marketing communications specialist, crafting consumer-friendly medical articles, before transitioning to photography in mid-2019. This pivotal moment sparked the creation of her inaugural photo series and blog, "The Artists Feature" (TAF). TAF compiles artist profiles accompanied by photographs capturing them in vulnerable or meaningful spaces. These profiles encompass a spectrum from renowned figures like Bisa Butler and Nick Cave to local Chicago artists such as Kayla Mahaffey and Delisha McKinney. These photos paved the way for Jordan’s debut solo exhibition, "Portraits: An Intimate View," hosted at the Epiphany Center for the Arts. Porter-Woodruff's current focus remains on portraits, albeit from a fresh perspective. Her latest series, "Portraits: Working Hands," illuminates the daily utility of our hands and the considerable strain they endure. Arguably the most crucial assets to our physicality in the context of human creation and evolution, hands take center stage. In this new series, Porter-Woodruff captures the hands of individuals across diverse professions, including hairstylists, chefs, and musicians. She envisions this project as an ongoing endeavor, teeming with boundless possibilities. The most captivating revelation she has encountered is that while the underlying premise of each photograph remains consistent, the outcomes continually diverge.

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Ariel Dannielle Website:  www.byaridannielle.com

Ariel Dannielle is an African American painter born and raised in Atlanta, GA. She graduated from the University of West Georgia, where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts. Drawing directly from her life, Ariel creates large-scale paintings depicting the daily experiences of young Black women. She believes in the importance of her artwork in providing new lenses through which Black womanhood can be represented, understood, and related to. Influenced by the work of Kerry James Marshall and Alice Neel, Ariel strongly believes in the power of portraiture. She focuses on developing personal narratives within her portraits, challenging gender and racial stereotypes. By inserting herself into her paintings, she invites viewers to participate in a process of introspection. Ariel’s work has been showcased at the California African American Museum, Monique Meloche Gallery, Soco Gallery, Mint ATL, The Goat Farm, ZuCot Gallery, Dalton Gallery, Trio Contemporary Art Gallery, and Perez Museum Miami. She was a MOCA GA Working Artist Fellow of 2019-20 and was a semi-finalist in the Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series 2018, an Artadia 2018 finalist, and has been featured in The Atlanta Journal Constitution, The Studio Museum Magazine, The Atlanta Magazine, Sorjo Magazine, mentioned in The New York Times, was featured on the cover of the CAAM summer catalog 2019, and showcased her first mural in 2022 with Living Walls x Adult Swim in Atlanta, Georgia.

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Representation matters to me. It informs the work I create. I paint with the hope that my viewers not only feel empowered and inspired, but also seen and understood. My work is a visual journal. Each painting is a record of my personal experiences, observations, and feelings. This acrylic archive has enabled me to explore aspects of human frailty and vulnerability, racial and ethnic identity, gender, sexuality, and feminism. I aim to portray my experiences in a way of thriving, not just surviving. Although acknowledging the history of my culture is important, I do not want to be defined by trauma; our joy should be highlighted too. I believe there is still ample room for further exploration of black figures in art when it comes to representation. It is my hope that my depiction of simple everyday experiences provides new understandings of Black womanhood and fosters new connections.

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Mary Catherine Lowery Website:  

marycatherinelowery.com

Instagram:  

@marycatherinelowery

Mary Catherine Lowery, an Atlanta-based artist, intertwines the realms of traditional landscapes and contemporary abstractions. Her unique use of dye and bleach create emotionally compelling pieces that aim to transport you to the depths of your mind and the recesses of your memories. Lowery's work possesses an ethereal, dreamlike quality, achieved through an almost absentminded approach to painting. She embraces the vastness of memory and the gentle pull of nostalgia. At the core of Lowery's artistic journey lies the dynamic interplay between light and dark, a fundamental duality that infuses her compositions with depth and movement. This interplay is elevated through the introduction of bleach on canvas, adding an evocative sense of energy. Her work fosters an intimate internal dialogue—a translation of the unspoken emotions that reside between what is felt and what is known. Mary Catherine earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Textile Design and Fiber Arts from the University of Georgia, providing her with a strong foundation that has influenced her use of unconventional materials, resulting in work that is both engaging and thought-provoking.

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Lillian Aguinaga Website:  

www.lillianaguinaga.com

Instagram  

@lillianaguinaga

Lillian Aguinaga is a Peruvian - American figurative painter based in New Orleans, LA. Her striking work places focus on fear of the unknown, the pursuit of belonging and individuality, as well as perseverance in the face of great uncertainty. Through self-reflection and observation of others, she examines the transcendence of the self when we overcome our fears, embrace the unknown, and persevere. Her own experiences with hardships as well as the tenacity of the strong, powerful women in her life have an immense impact on the concept of Lillian’s work. Lillian’s use of intense color schemes and prominent shadows captures her subjects in fleeting, intimate moments. Her command of light and shadow evokes a sense of solitude in chaos and leaves her audience with a sense of mystery and possibility.

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They say what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. I think that's bullshit. Our light can be dimmed and concealed by so much. Fortunately, it doesn't mean it can't be bright again. My recent series, 'Hidden in Plain Sight,' has become an integral part of my healing process. The work places focus on the human experience and our response to everyday burdens, with an emphasis on mortality and grief. Through my own experiences and observation of others, I examine the feelings and thoughts that take place as we cope with stress, grief, and death. These can be the end of a relationship, a missed opportunity, stressor stacking, and especially the revocation of rights. Grief can feel so oppressive it’s as if one can’t breathe. Oftentimes it causes apathy, and sometimes it feels like acceptance. It is isolating. It is absolute loneliness. The subjects are composed of intense color schemes and prominent shadows in an intimate setting. This captures their spirit and evokes a sense of solitude even while they endure chaotic thoughts. While we think we’re camouflaged in our own metaphorical shadows, sometimes we get stuck in them, but in the end, shadows aren't permanent. They expire just like life does. Time is fleeting, and we must move on. In our shadows filled with grief and stress, our light is shrouded in darkness. Although it might not burn as brilliantly as it used to, our light still exists. It's just hidden in plain sight.

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Siran Liu Website:  

www.siranliu.com

Siran Liu (b. 1989, Beijing, CN) is a visual artist working in the Bronx and upstate New York. His practice spans drawing, printmaking, and sculpture. Siran was originally trained as an electrical engineer in China. He then moved to the United States to pursue a Master's degree in digital visualization. This propelled him into the entertainment industry, working at leading animation studios such as Laika and Blue Sky. In recent years, Siran has shifted his focus to fine art and completed a post-baccalaureate program in studio art at Brandeis University in 2023. Informed by his bicultural and multidisciplinary background, his works pull and mix divergent influences, including Chinese antiquities; western modern color theory; and digital means in image production. Working in a lineage of landscape painting tradition from China, Siran uses quasi-forms that sit in between landscape and abstraction to contextualize the experience of living through complex cultural sensibilities that deal with the duality/hybridity between east and west, analog and digital, antiquity and novelty. In our shadows filled with grief and stress, our light is shrouded in darkness. Although it might not burn as brilliantly as it used to, our light still exists. It's just hidden in plain sight.

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ARTIST STATEMENT

My current works engage the visual language of abstraction and quasiform as a way of exploring the hybrid aesthetics and cultural sensibility informed by my bicultural and multidisciplinary background. I grew up in China and was trained as an electrical engineer before moving to the United States in pursuit of a creative career. This initially led me to become a digital artist in visual effects. My compositions, shapes, and marks are informed by a mixed array of sources. This ranges from eastern traditions and antiquities like ancient Chinese landscape painting, Chinese textile design, and scholar rocks, to digital means in image production like layering and procedural pattern generation using mathematical noises. With mediums like soft and oil pastel, I push for an intense and kaleidoscopic color scheme rooted in western modern color theory, which uses the interaction of colors to construct space and relationships that go beyond depicting observation. I’m interested in seeing these heterogeneous sources merge and collapse. In my works, I take the process of synthesizing these sources as a way of embedding meaning into marks, shapes, and colors, to push them beyond merely a formal concern. Through a prolonged process of mark-making, erasing, and layering, I end up with quasi-landscape imagery that looks fragmented and dissonant. As an immigrant, a queer person, and living through the ever-changing contemporary experience, I often feel a sense of uncertainty and the inability to secure a sense of belonging. This language that sits in the liminal space allows me to go on a quest in defining, losing, and redefining that feels liberating and spiritual, without the need of giving or arriving at a closed-end answer that feels too easy and binary.

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Emanuela Iuliana Sintamarian Instagram:  

@emasdas

Emanuela Iuliana Sintamarian is an artist originally from Romania, but currently she lives and works in Oakland, CA. Her work is informed by the relationship between her identity and her sense of displacement, and the ways she has devised to reconcile those incongruous elements. She is interested in perception, memory, and the mechanics of motion, their visual translation, and the dichotomies intrinsic to them (transfer vs change, action vs reaction, and time linearity). Sometimes, much of contemporary life is inherently wrapped in the poetry of melancholy, loneliness, and absurdity. Ema wants her works not only to echo her impulses, desires, and thoughts but also to speak and emphasize those attributes. She explores the fluidity and tension generated by contradictions: organized chaos and uncontrolled order, machine-like generated imagery, and imperfections, organized chaos and logical absurdity. Ema also tends to adulterate the boundaries between representative and abstract. She leverages marks, colors, shapes, and textures to construct an undefined world, rather than mirror reality. Ema's work has been shown in solo and group shows at Sunny Art Center, London, UK; Museum of Contemporary Arts, Constanta, Romania; Museum of Art, Arad, Romania; Triton Museum in Santa Clara, CA; Jack Fischer Gallery, San Francisco, CA; the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, DE; Rosenfeld Gallery in Philadelphia; Niklas Belenius Gallery in Stockholm, Sweden; Institute of Contemporary Art, CA, and Angel Orensanz Foundation, New York, NY. Ema received her first MFA in printmaking from the University of Delaware, and her second MFA in painting from San Jose State University. She is a Professor Associated at San Jose City College. 128 | CREATE! MAGAZINE ISSUE 39

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Mark Engel Website:  www.markengelart.com

Mark Engel is known for his colorful and highly expressive paintings. His work centers around the human figure and varies between psychological portraiture and full figure environments that express profound aspects of the human experience. His interest in the human motif is rooted in early personal mystical experiences that had a dynamic impact on his perception of life and understanding of self, sparking his research into human transformation through ideas related to analytical psychology, Taoism, alchemy, and mysticism. "My paintings are an exploration of the emotional and psychological landscape of the human experience and a celebration of the transformative power of the human spirit—a testament to the resilience and beauty of the self as it evolves and adapts to the world around it. The figure is a powerful symbol of our shared humanity, and a vehicle for exploring the ways in which we grow, change, and evolve over time. I am fascinated by the interplay between the conscious and unconscious mind, and how our thoughts, emotions, and experiences shape our perception of reality." Mark grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and received his MFA from San Jose State University. His work has been shown in numerous museums and galleries across the US and is in many public and private collections.

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Louise Rieger Website:  

www.louiserieger.com

Louise is an oil painter of people, places, and people in places. After completing a BA in Illustration at KIAD Maidstone, she had a successful career in television production. She has now returned to painting full-time and works from her home studio in Kent, UK. Her subject matter is suburban, unposed, and sometimes nostalgic. The landscapes are inspired by places local to where she lives, locations that are often overlooked or ignored. The figurative work and portraits range from people she knows, photos of strangers, and more recently family Polaroids from the 70s and 80s. Louise's style is representational with 'snapshot' compositions. It is her intent to elevate the ordinariness of 'clipped' moments in time, question the broader story of the subject matter, and evoke a shared feeling of familiarity.

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Marryam Moma Instagram  

@marryammomaart

Tanzanian-Nigerian artist Marryam Moma is a virtuoso of the craft blade, renowned for her ability to weave captivating visual tales that draw inspiration from current events and her personal journey. Moma's artistic prowess knows no bounds, as she ingeniously employs repurposed archival paper, an eclectic mix of media, vibrant pigments, and gilded embellishments to transcend traditional artistic confines, yielding multidimensional analog collages. Her oeuvre, partly autobiographical, delves deep into the intricacies of Black identity, amplifying Black narratives and experiences, while also rejoicing in Black Joy. Her art is an ode to individuality and self-love, challenging ingrained stereotypes. Moma's artistic journey is deeply rooted in her architectural education and her upbringing in a creatively nurturing family, which fuel her expressions. Her creations are a testament to the enchantment she finds within her family and the broader Black community, reshaping contemporary perceptions, especially those surrounding Black women. Her art navigates the intersections of race, sexuality, and identity, with the overarching goal of celebrating the human form and reshaping societal views on the Black body. Moma's work has garnered recognition from corporate giants like Microsoft and Starbucks, making appearances on popular TV shows and in prestigious magazines. Her exhibitions, including those in Nigeria, serve as a homecoming, rekindling the spirit of her inner child who once thrived in Abuja. 140 | CREATE! MAGAZINE ISSUE 39

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ARTIST STATEMENT

As a Tanzanian-Nigerian collage artist, I chose to escape the rigidity of my formal architectural background in favor of building a creative practice that highlights the experiences of people like me. I depict Black life reframed and reimagined, captured experiences, and highlight Black joy through a multidimensional use of cutouts, layered paper, acrylic paints, gold leaf, and shiny mixed media. Contrasting textures, luxurious materials, rich colors, and a careful selection of apparently disparate elements come together in my art to spark conversations about the multilayered experiences of Black bodies – including my own – amid persistent societal divisions that stand in the way of the harmony and inclusivity I believe in. The collection of collages presented here envisions a future characterized by Black Existentialism, wherein the resilience of Black bodies converges harmoniously with the augmentation of cyborg enhancements. Through analog collage, I explore active members of my community, uplifting Black and Brown people. Motivated by liberation from racism and disruptions as an African, I examine Black existentialism, authenticity, freedom, and identity. This confronts existential challenges from racial injustice, recognizing Black humanity, and dismantling oppressive systems to make space for inclusivity. I reimagine hybrid beings embodying intellect, strength, sophistication, fearlessness, and vulnerability all at once. Witnessing community fortification through their work inspires my artistic expression and pushes creative boundaries.

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Lucy Pike Instagram:  

@lucypikeart

Lucy Pike was born and raised in the southeastern United States. Her organic, ink-stained canvases have been featured in various exhibitions, including those by Visionary Art Collective, Juniper Rag magazine, and Roaring Artist Gallery, where she was awarded the Juror’s Choice Award. Her recent artist residencies include The Verdancy Project, Stay Home Gallery, and JX Farms residencies, as well as the “Shape: Art and Health Justice” residency from Vinegar Contemporary.

ARTIST STATEMENT

My art is, at its core, an exploration of presence: the ceaseless journey of inhabiting and being present with our full selves, whether that is within the most fulfilling joy, heartbreaking loss, or any moment in between. I delve into these ways of being with broad strokes and pools of color. My paintings evoke emotionality through layers of acrylic ink and organic forms, most often on raw canvas. These materials create both depth and rawness that directly speak to feminine personhood. I am a process-based painter and allow the materials to influence the evolution of the work. I am constantly seeking a greater interconnectedness between my own life and that of the world around me, attempting to understand how living within the present moment is an integral part of that journey.

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Allison Hudson Website:  

www.allisonhudson.com

I’m a multidisciplinary artist living and working in Philadelphia. After earning my B.A. from Vassar in Asian Studies, I studied painting and sculpture at the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) and ceramic sculpture in the MFA program at the University of Arizona. I went on to pursue creative careers including a ten-year stint as an entrepreneur and a nationally recognized cake designer. In 2020, I kick-started my reemergence as a professional artist. My practice is experimental and process-driven. I build, deconstruct, and mend together – striving to create work that is at once ethereal and visceral. Impermanence is an important concept for me and something which plays a role in material choices. Fabric, clay, and wax will lose shape and disintegrate over time, becoming something else entirely. But in the present, we can endlessly manipulate them. My current work focuses on the exploration of metamorphosis. I use imagery that suggests elements of the human form including hair, skin, and bones – or that which can be lost, sloughed off, become broken, and then regenerate over time. The fundamental shape of an egg or pod serves as the starting structure in many of my works. At the beginning of the cycle, the pod is full and fertile. After transformation, it’s empty but open – only a shell, husk, or cocoon remains.

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Jessica Worrall Website:  

www.jessicaworrall.co.uK

I’ve been a theatre designer in the UK for over thirty years, working in both mainstream and experimental theatre. Over the past two years, I have also been creating a series of more personal works that take the form of digital collages. In my collage work, I juxtapose portraits of women from art with images of modern-day couture as a way of questioning the external forces that exist within both art and fashion, which shape and enforce our understanding of the ideals around women’s status in society. Throughout the history of Western art, the depiction of women and thus ideals of femininity and the female body have continuously shifted and changed. However, there is one constant: from 15th & 16thcentury portraiture to modern-day couture, the female imagery we are surrounded by has mainly been created by men, perpetuating the idea that success as a woman is measured in terms of how attractive she is. Clothing has always been used to reinforce these ideals, but paradoxically it can also challenge them, liberating our sense of self and asserting our identity. The question I like to ask with my collage work is: are we really wearing what we want, or what somebody else wants?

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Michele Pierson Website:  

www.michelepierson.com

Michele Pierson is a contemporary painter based in Philadelphia, PA, whose work explores the enigmatic realms beyond physical reality, the puzzling architecture of the mind, and the use of imagination as a tool of discovery.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Dreams are a means of travel—mirroring and connecting our subconscious and conscious minds by communicating underlying truths to our present purview. My paintings depict surreal, metaphysical environments that are inspired by the connection of dreams, memory, and reality. Individually, each painting is an amalgamation of real and imagined references. These include references to the natural elements of the Earth, the world beyond outer space, and the other world in between. My paintings heavily utilize: the color blue to recall the infrastructural nature of blueprints; the depiction of mirrors and windows as, respectively, reflective and perspective portals to dreamy otherworlds; the depiction of iridescent light as fleeting moments of surrealism in daily life; and distorted grids as a reference to spatial dimension and the impact of existence on the surrounding space. Compositionally, my paintings rely on the juxtaposition of seemingly random elements to speak to the unnerving aspect of wondering, imagining, and brooding about the discovery of purpose, truth, and meaning within the humbling context of the "open-endedness" of life. 156 | CREATE! MAGAZINE ISSUE 39

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Tamar Segev Website:  

www.tamarsegevart.com

ARTIST STATEMENT

Tamar Segev is a visual artist based in Boston, MA. She holds a BA in Studio Art from Carleton College and an MFA in Painting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She also received a Graduate Certificate in Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies from Illinois. Since completing her MFA, she has shown her work in four solo exhibitions, including one at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Segev is the recipient of the 2022 Naomi Anolic Early Career Jewish Artist Award and recently attended a residency at GlogauAIR in Berlin, Germany. In 2024, she will be participating in a three-person exhibition at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. Segev creates abstract works on paper and canvas that explore how memory is embedded within a city's built environment. Through multiple interpretations of a single site, she creates records of observation, inquiry, and response. She incorporates stitching as an intentionally slow and arduous process, embodying the labor of remembering and conjuring her long lineage of textile workers – including enslaved laborers during WWII. Her creative research foregrounds the importance of memory as a practice, where active remembering ensures memory's place in the present. In her current body of work, she engages with the built environment of Berlin, Germany through walks guided by memorials and commemorative plaques.

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