Davina Alejo
Flashback
acrylic, spray paint, wood burning, and clay on plywood
24” x 24”
2025
Flashback is a tribute to 90’s kids who lived for Cartoon Networks wide variety of odd shows, many of which have been canceled. Much like the network’s recent shutdown, these characters, story lines, and visual novels live within the minds of our generation. Flash back to a time where censorship was occurring but not required. This interactive display welcomes viewers to spin the wheel and bask in a moment of nostalgia.
@dvirtuosity
Camilo Almarales
Genesis
spray paint on canvas
12” x 36”
2025
What greater origin story is there than the creation of life? From the top to the bottom, from the beginning to the end. Genesis illustrates the start of life itself with light breaking through darkness and the creation of the universe. Stars and planets formed to shine above the night sky to illuminate the formation of life on earth. Our planet shaping itself into perfection as we see mountains reach out to the stars and the trees root themselves in order to give us ground to walk and the air to breathe. The ever-expanding perfection of life.
@colombian_cowboy_studio
Boden Azora-Minda
Cernunnos
acrylic on canvas
12″ diameter
2025
“Cernunnos” was a horned god prominent in Celtic mythology. He is associated with nature, animals and fertility. He is often depicted surrounded by animals. He wears a torc (necklace) and is often depicted with a serpent or a stag, which likely held some significant spiritual meaning. Before the 5th century BCE this figure was found all across Europe. He represents the interconnectedness of nature and humans. He is still worshipped today by people who practice pagan traditions.
Susan Black
Conception
acrylic, paste paper, toothpicks, holographic puzzle pieces, beads, and plastic on cardboard
24″ x 18″ x 1.5″
2016
All of us originate in the same mysterious, miraculous, messy process. Assigning beauty to it feels appropriate.
Jennessa Burks
Passionate Persuasion
acrylic on canvas
16″ x 20″
2018
Passionate Persuasion captures the emotions Black womxn grapple with while attempting to amplify their voices. Many of them remember the moment they began to truly believe their words held enough power to make a difference; the beginning of a new era of power and poise.
@Jennessa_Art
Shawn Carlin
Primordial Swamp
mixed media diorama
10″ x 7″
2022
A prehistoric scene existing at the earliest age of the Earth! When thinking of the beginning of life, we can trace its start to the humid and organic rich environments of a primordial swamp like this! Those conditions 4 Billion years ago contributed to life as organic materials accumulated in the water and spawned the complex molecules needed to create life as we know it today! It was this notion that inspired me to create this diorama for an exhibit exploring the idea of Origin!
@oakhill_studios
Evan Charney
And Here It Comes!
wood engraving and woodcut
4.5″ x 7″
2025
$150 (sold)
Some days in life are special. The first day of school is certainly one of them, as the young child looks forward a new adventure. In this print I hoped to capture both the excitement of what is to come and the ties to what remains behind.
Karin Cloutier
Green Chakra Box: Be
mixed media, box with found objects
6″ x 6″
2016, reworked 2024
As a child, I would create using anything I could find—random stuff from around the house or items pulled from the trash. My “Chakra Box Series” is a return to that original creativity, blending found materials with purpose. Each box is inspired by a different color and its associated energy, reflecting the interplay of resourcefulness and meaning. This series is a tribute to the joy of creation and the resourcefulness and playfulness of my mind as a child but now an adult.
@karin.vanart
Nina Cruz
Dreamscape IKU
stain on carved cherry
10″ x 11″ x 1.25″
2025
Not for sale
“Dreamscape IKU” features a Japanese Kokeshi toy. (An iconic and traditional toy originating over 150 years ago—born in Tohoku, northern Japan.) The natural grain of the cherry wood can be seen through the colorful painted stain layers. The hand carved relief and texture separates the painted dream from the painted dreamer. It’s a realm of delight and wonder, an imaginary place where a wooden toy can dream. IKU’s birthplace is here, within a cultural and mythical world of wood. But which one is the dream and which is the dreamer? Which one is the beginning? You, the viewer, can decide.
Clara Dennison
Cosmic Nursery
oil-based ink monotype, textiles
15″ x 23″ (unframed), 22″ x 28″ (framed)
2021
As an artist, I find myself deeply inspired by the origins of our planet. The very thought of Earth emerging from such a chaotic and beautiful process fills me with awe and wonder. It is this sense of wonder that I strive to convey through my art, capturing the essence of that ancient process, and reflecting the textures, colors, and forms that echo Earth’s beginnings.
@Clara.denn_paperbirchartstudio /Paper Birch Art Studio
Alice Dillon
The Chicken and the Egg
fabric, thread, embroidery floss, button
23″ x 23″
2025
The ultimate origin- chicken/egg. This small quilt was made with fabric that I have had in my collection since my origin as a fiber artist.
@adillonart
Wynne Dromey
Where Do You Call Home?
mixed media acrylic painting on canvas
18″ x 24″
2024
Home builds connection and community. In a world where housing is not guaranteed, how do we find a sense of love and belonging? The unhoused community creates their own. This mixed media bricolage acrylic painting begins the conversation about displacement and “unbelonging”. Home, for many, is a place of warmness and comfort. This painting represents real scenes found not too far from your home where these feelings have been constructed rather than provided. In my perfect world, home is a place that we do not need to ask for. How can we build community and connection for others?
@colors.of.the.wynned
Sandra Eaton
Deep Blue 2
clay
14” x 8”
2020
Based on the Art Nouveau movement of the late 1800’s, this piece is inspired by the movement’s return to nature and organic forms. The deep blue depicts water surrounded by stone. The design of the pitcher represents the true craftsmanship of the times.
/sandraeatonpottery
Sandra Eaton
Volcanic Vase
clay
11” x 5”
2018
Not for sale
Volcanos are the beginnings of new land masses. They are rugged and unpredictable. The interaction of these glazes show cooled lava running and bubbling down the sides of this vase, creating an unforeseen pattern.
/sandraeatonpottery
Julia Fennell
Death Dreams, or How I Became the Flowers
oil pastel on panel
18″ x 24″
2024
“Death Dreams, or How I Became the Flowers” is a piece inspired by a folk tale about daisies growing over the earth after someone passes. The piece twists that narrative to be about rebirth within the self, particularly through difficult experiences and pain, toward the ultimate goal of joy– yet another meaning of the daisy. The promise of this piece is that of origins over and over again– it’s never too late to find hope for a fresh start.
@juliafennellart
Julia Fennell
The Stars, the Moon, and the Girl Who Got Away
oil on canvas
12″ x 36″
2025
“The Stars, the Moon, and the Girl Who Got Away” explores a year from which I have very little record using the time capsule I do have– my dream journal. The piece is bookended by images of my school at the time, and the center is filled with symbols from the dreams I recorded. The painting is inspired by the questions I have about my origins from having lost that formative time in my life. The style of painting reflects my own feelings as I put that year back together– blurry, but searching desperately for moments of clarity.
@juliafennellart
Jakob Fioole
long gone day
oil painting on linen
8.5″ x 11″
2025
Childhood memories My parents’ garden Smells of early summer Thoughts of being carefree
Jakob Fioole
origin
oil painting on linen
9″ x 11.5″
2025
On a Wednesday afternoon, when I was 7 years old, my father asked me to join him on a little trip. He was going to take pinhole photographs somewhere. I would come along, explore and sit down to make drawings of my surroundings. The octagonal object is a reference to that day. The shape originated from those drawings, and I have used it in this and other works as a symbol for the power and joy of observing and creating.
Christina Giza
God’s Third and Fourth Days of Creation
watercolor
15” x 11”
2025
While in Mexico my brother “found” this wonderful sight of God’s work. God created the plants, land, seas and trees on the third day, before the sun. God created the sun, moon, and stars on the fifth day.
Irene Hastings
Mor-Far
oil on panel
20″ x 24″
completed in 2025
Not for sale
This work was created upon the death of my Grandfather. There are many mixed emotions that went into this. He was a man respected by his peers. Loved by his family but also a source of pain and frustration.
@hastings_studio
Richard Hoyer
Trees and Fog
photograph
8″ x 8″
2024
The concept of origins for me, in this photograph, represents the personal experience I had moving to the space and area where I currently live. The living space and surrounding area has been an inspiration for my art process and being in a peaceful, calm and beautiful area surrounded by trees has had deep personal meaning for me, which I have documented in the photograph. It is the origin of my current art journey.
Jack Keough
White on White Form – Egg Shells
oil paint on canvas
8.875″ x 11.75″
2025
There is no more ‘origin’ icon than an egg, whether it is from a chicken, a nucleus of an electron, in a woman’s belly, or the primordial ooze we are alleged to have crawled from. But this is an art contest. Many of the contestants spent their first two years of art school painting shapes and forms painted in white. Now professionally, I will occasionally paint eggs for fun and practice. You might say the egg is my painting Origin.
@Artist_Jack_Keough
Jacqueline LeCuyer
I’m In a Hurry
hand-spun yarn and string, weaving, drop spindle, spinning wheel, buttons
9″ diameter
2025
Throughout every culture, religion, and community worldwide, the symbolism of the circle holds profound significance. Humanity has even developed a way to measure our lives through clocks and time, which is immensely valuable. In crafting this piece, I paid tribute to my origins and my tendency to race against the clock—something I recently learned to let go of. A Future Arts Worker inspired me. I accomplished it in an impressive 24 hours of combined effort. While I have chosen to abandon haste in my life, up until my 30’s it was my drive. Ex. Anthem: Alabama | “I’m In A Hurry”
@the_fiber_corner
Carter Lee
Belonging
photography book, digital-inkjet print
8″ x 10″
2023
Not for sale
My dad’s creative side peeked out throughout my childhood. It was hard to appreciate because of how he treated us. I discovered my love for photography with his camera which I still use today. “Belonging” is a collection of family photos, pictures I’ve taken, and pictures my dad has taken. Growing up Asian in a primarily white town and as a queer kid raised in the Korean church, I’m familiar with questions of identity/belonging. Where does one find a connection to their Korean culture when Korean people and spaces are sparse? Can photography create connections across time/locations to build family/community?
@turtlemitosis
Madeleine Lord
City Block
welded steel scrap
21″ x 22″ x 5″
2018
For most of my seventy-six years I have lived near or in a city. Near Chicago at birth, near Pittsburgh for 20 years, then in Manhattan and for the past 50 years near Boston. A cityscape skyline is part of my spinal cord, family history where great and grand parents worked, my father worked and I worked, even lived. Being one of so many others, so many windows, so many people on sidewalks in cars subways and buses, waiting in line for a hot dog or buying a paper, is all a part of knowing who I am.
@madeleinelordmadimetal
Lily McGuirk
Loving and Leaving
oil paint, marker, pen, paper, thread, wax, and foliage on canvas
23.5″ x 19.5″
2023
Not for sale
Having moved many times growing up, I have had to learn to find “home” in unexpected places, and how to let go of it. Reminiscing on friendships and fond memories, and reflecting on loss and grief, my experiences fall into place like a collage. This piece represents the different versions of myself that I have been throughout my life, mixing materials and images to convey both sentimentality and longing.
@lilymcguirkart
Lily McGuirk
Mom and NanC
oil paint, fabric, and thread
30″ x 40″
2024
Growing up, my mother’s relationship with her lifelong best friend has been the truest, most tender, and joyous example of love. The weaving of their lives together has been the result of years of intentional efforts, sacrifices, and adventures, all sewn together like a quilt. Using the image of one of their many cross-country travels, I combine painting with textiles, embracing the history of these mediums and of their friendship. I create a quilted effect on their clothing, honoring a craft that my mother’s friend holds dear, and representing their lives that they have intertwined.
@lilymcguirkart
Deborah McTigue
Freedom
mixed media sculpture, glass mosaic, stone cement, wood
19.5″ x 19.5″
2024
A mosaic relates to its origin by being an art form that traces its roots back to ancient civilizations like the Mesopotamians, Greeks, and Romans, where artists created intricate designs on floors and walls, often depicting scenes from mythology; essentially, the mosaic’s “origin” lies in these early cultures and their techniques for creating art. Romans became renowned for their widespread use of mosaics in public buildings, villas, and floors, often depicting mythological scenes. The oldest mosaics we’ve found date to the 3rd millennium BCE, in a temple in Mesopotamia.
Nina Medard
Seed Sower
mixed media
23″ x 30″
2024
I’m submitting this piece for the Origin call as it explores the idea of sowing both literal and figurative seeds—legacy. My process begins with automatism, allowing marks to emerge intuitively until narratives take shape. I then refine these narratives with an open-minded approach, uncovering interconnected threads between them. The result is a living narrative, open to interpretation and reinterpretation as it evolves with the viewer.
@ninamedard
Meena Mehta
Radiant Emergence
digital art and watercolor painting digitized
24” x 18”
2018
This conceptual digital painting combines the Ashoka Chakra, a symbol from the Indian flag, with my watercolor rendition of the sunflower. The Ashoka Chakra represents the eternal wheel of law and righteousness, while the sunflower embodies life, energy, and growth. By merging these two powerful symbols, the artwork explores themes of origins, birth, history, and the emergence of new ideas, celebrating both the continuity of time and the promise of new beginnings.
@twomsdesign, /TwoMs-Design, LinkedIn: @meenamehta
Amanda Oakleaf
Grandma’s Vintage Baking Tins
oil on canvas panel
8″ x 10″
2024
Swearing by this being the best cinnamon, Grandma keeps a tin in her kitchen at all times. Never to be replaced, it outshines all other spices. This painting is a reflection on my origins as both a baker and an artist. I spent many of my younger years baking with my grandmother. That time instilled in me my love of creation with quality ingredients and of sharing with loved ones. After my career as a business owner, baker and cake designer I have now come full-circle back to fine art honoring my origins as a baker and maker.
@amanda.oakleaf.art
Amanda Oakleaf
Snowy Sunrise on Mom & Dad’s Sidewalk
oil on canvas
11″ x 14″
2025
Despite being a chilly January morning, there is a warm sense of belonging that whispers, ‘you’re home’. Even though some of the structures have since succumbed to the elements, a strong connection to this land remains. Remnants of the windmill harken back to previous inhabitants who have left their mark on this land. Painting this view out my parents’ kitchen window allows me to reconnect with my emergence as an artist as I walked down that sidewalk 20 years ago with an ambition to capture the world with my creativity while maintaining a powerful sense of home.
@amanda.oakleaf.art
Nick Ortoleva
Me Outside Bom Woman’s Clinic, 22 Years Later
archival inkjet print
18″ x 24″ x 2″
2024
Not for sale
Made on a five week trip returning to Seoul, Korea for the first time since my adoption, I followed photos from an album that my mother had put together from her own a trip to Korea, 18 years prior. I used photos made from a time I was not there to guide me through a new city, as one would use way points on a map.
@nickortoleva
Sophie Pearson
A familiar feeling
oil on wood
8″ x 10″
2024
I used to think flashbacks were solely what you saw in the movies: flashing images, feeling like you were truly back in the moment. It wasn’t until recently that my therapist educated me on emotional flashbacks, which include the sudden onset of intense emotional reactions, in my case often due to triggers from childhood trauma. “A familiar feeling” explores the origins of my flashbacks, begging the question, how early did the trauma start? Even if we’re too young to remember what happened, does our body remember?
@creating.sophie
Sophie Pearson
I love you, little fat girl.
oil on wood
24″ x 30″
2025
2008 was the year the bullying started, in the depths of the 2000s, the origin of the deep rooted shame surrounding my body. I’m holding little Sophie in the sunlight, gently showing her that her future is bright. I’m telling her that she makes paintings that help other people, that she’s learned to take care of herself, that she has friends that love and care about her. I’m surrounding her in a frame inspired by the pattern of her childhood blanket, writing the title in a curly cursive that she would’ve loved. I love you, little fat girl.
@creating.sophie
Russell Powell
Pond Life
oil on canvas
24″ x 18″
2025
The small ponds and wetlands that dot my landscape are brimming with life, raw, gritty, invisible to the naked eye, beautiful in its diversity, brutal in its quest for survival. Single-celled amoebas and protozoa are shape shifters that bounce and collide with energy that eventually will be eaten or tapped out, never emerging from the swamp. In early spring, untold tadpoles and minnows dart among the murky depths, hoping to avoid being swallowed by larger life forms. Seeds sink into the mud and overwinter, waiting to be animated by vernal sun or devoured for their nutritive value.
@russellstevenpowell /Russell Steven Powell
Caitlin Reidy
Origins of Humanity
photography
17″ x 12″
2023
$299.99
Fire is the origin of our humanity; it provides warmth, cooks for us, and brings us back to our roots as a civilization. To juxtapose this, fire is also destructive; it can take away what it gives if it is not managed appropriately. Art and literature have used the concept of fire for ages to symbolize life, death, and the concept of rising from the ashes.
@caitvr.photography
Angela Risotti
Mosaico Cosmico
cyanotype on watercolor paper, mounted on wooden panel
12″ x 12″
2024
Not for sale
An amalgamation of my astrological makeup. Each tile features a hand-cut stencil representative of an astrological and planetary placement that corresponds to my birth chart. The stencils were then exposed onto watercolor paper through a cyanotype process. The concept and design of each tile is symbolic of my ancestral roots. Mediterranean tiles have strong cultural value across Southern Europe, and the patterns depicted are inspired by those most prevalent in Majolica and Azulejo tiles commonly found in Italy and the Iberian Peninsula.
@moaingela
Rolando Rivas Romero
Day of the Cross
digital photography shot on Fujifilm X-Pro 1
8″ x 10″ (unframed), 11″ x 14″ (framed)
2024
I returned to my home town of Juayua, Sonsonate in El Salvador after more than a decade away, accompanied by my fiancé and daughter on the Day of the Cross- a celebration where families gather to offer fruit to the cross and speak the word of God. Every year, the school band performs in the town’s central square. At 10 years old, I played the marching base drum in this event. Now as I return with family of my own, I find myself reliving old memories while creating new ones.
@rolandorivas_
Joanne Roach-Evans
My Memere
watercolor collage
13″ x 21″
2017
Not for sale
There was always something special about my grandmother’s house. From the roses that framed the porch entryway to the pleasing smells of the pantry. I always wanted to pay tribute to her and include some of the wonderful elements and style of her home. My “Memere” was my biggest fan, and she supported my artistic efforts and encouraged me to draw at a very young age. This is a tribute to the remarkable woman she was. I’m so thankful for the years I had her in my life and for the love of the arts she inspired.
@jroachevans /jroachevans
Meg Rogers Eldredge
Duck Duck Goose!
tufted rug with acrylic-painted canvas inserts
24” x 24” x 1.5”
2025
“Duck Duck Goose!” is the story of a little girl… Who endured a very scary night when she was very, very little. Who followed the best intentions and packed it all up into a sweet, lacy bow. And then, when her parents separated, could hide the pain no more and started running… and she didn’t stop for a long, long time.
@megrogersmakes
Alexandra Rozenman
Blind Date with Edward Hopper on a Red Square
oil on canvas
36″ x 60″
2016
Illusion. Displacement. Otherness. These fundamental aspects of my identity and of the contemporary world around us come together in my work to tell a universal story through my personal one. Art History, History, Russian, European and American folk tales and myths lend a utopian and humorous dimension to my work. In this piece, called “Blind Date with Edward Hopper on a Red Square” I collide the composition from Nighthawks at the Diner with Lenin’s mausoleum architecture and play with symbols and my body as a character.
/alexandra.rozenman @alexandra.rozenman
Nikki Skinner
The Odds are Astronomical
acrylic on canvas
16″ x 20″
2024
Origin stories are deeply personal explorations of the human experience. Origins are not just birth, but sometimes physical and emotional experiences that shape us. This work depicts a transformation from a young complete female, to being broken and missing pieces. My 6″ scar serves as an intimate trace, and a reminder of the failure of our healthcare system. It is a physical reminder of the moment my life began to diverge from the natural path of womanhood to wanting better for all women. The exaggerated color reminds us that we are beautiful, resilient, survivors even when the odds are astronomical.
@alchemybymoonlight
Jeanette Staley
98.8%, Origins
collage, acrylic, ink, charcoal, and chalk
36″ x 36″
2025
98.8%, Origins, is the latest direction of the series of work, Predators and Pray. In these paintings I am curious about the DNA similarities between humans and the world we share. The Bonobo shares 98.8% DNA with Homo sapiens, us, and is currently endangered due to poaching, habitat loss, and civil unrest in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is once again enflamed. The collaged background is an exploration of belief and science. Pages from the Old Testament, Book of Genesis are juxtaposed with college Anthropology text pages that discuss gender and equality.
Karen Stokke
Daisy Days
childhood mementos (including my first cross-stitch), found materials, and glue on wood panel
6″ x 6″
2024
Not for sale
This piece pays tribute to delightful summer afternoons spent playing with my sister during our childhood in Oklahoma. A shared love of nature, fruit, music, crafts, and storytelling was instilled in us at a very young age, thanks to our nurturing parents. In incorporating fragments of real objects from my childhood into this work, I make it a time capsule of those cherished days back home.
Kaz Supernova
WCUW Begins
0:02:21
2023
“WCUW Begins” – Journalist and former WCUW DJ Brian Goslow shares the story of how Worcester’s community radio station, WCUW, was established at a time when Rap/Hip-Hop music was beginning to emerge as a major new art form. The station would go on to provide not only an outlet for showcasing the latest Rap/Hip-Hop music coming out of New York but also a platform for Worcester’s first Hip-Hop DJs and emcees to perform on air and share their original music—a relationship that would flourish for years to come. A segment from the documentary Wortown Rising, a film by Kaz Supernova.
@kaz_sn /kaz.sn1
Winifred Tickner
Genesis 1:1-2 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth
acrylic on canvas
18″ x 24″
2025
Before God created everything, there was just dust.
Amber Vaillancourt
Drink Up!
acrylic paint on canvas, recycled book pages
19.5″ x 16″
2025
Athletics, particularly team sports I believe play a huge part in my origin. I began playing rugby in college and after that it had a huge role in my development, how I saw myself and how I presented to the world. Socials or “drink ups” are a huge component of the experience playing rugby. Essentially a party after a match, both teams come together to drink, sing songs and celebrate – putting sportsmanship and fun at the forefront of the interaction. This scene here is from a NERFU tournament in Newport, RI when I played with Beantown.
@ambervaillancourtart
Francis Warner
Beneath the Surface III
pen and ink
10″ x 13″ (unframed) 17″ x 14″ (framed)
2016
This is the third in a series on the same subject matter and title. The inspiration for this theme came from a review of history, anthropology, and archaeology. As unique as we are individually, there exists a common historical context to our lives, from life to death, and death to new life.
Jill Watts
We’ve Come From The Sea
silkscreen on collaged plastic and paper
32″ x 24″
2025
As I considered origins, I realized that ultimately we have all come from the sea, evolutionarily. Before birth, we swam in amniotic fluid. Early on, our gender was uncertain. As we emerged from the sea and the womb, we became more and more differentiated as various plants and mammals and male and female humans respectively.
jillwattsart.wordpress.com
Cathy Weaver Taylor
Water is Life
archival inkjet print
8″ x 10″
2024
Water is life. Water is needed for all life forms… life begins with water…
@cathy_weaver_taylor
Racheal Xavier
Hand-sewn Lace Dress
lace, nylon, and satin, hand-sewn on the form
4′ x 13″
2024
My work is deeply connected to the unknown aspects of my heritage. While I never had the chance to hear my grandfather’s stories, I feel his legacy through my love of sewing, which began at five. My great-grandparents—one a dressmaker, the other a shoemaker—immigrated to the US, leaving behind a craft that still lives within me. With a degree in fashion design, I create with a sense of inherited purpose, knowing that their hands guided mine even before I understood it. Through my pieces, I honor their legacy, letting their craftsmanship shape what I make today.
@Valentinaventuraxx
