ABOUT THIS EXHIBITION

On view: July 14 - August 21, 2022

Public reception: Friday, July 15, 6:00-9:00 PM

ArtsWorcester, 44 Portland Street, Worcester MA

An annual favorite turns ten! For the Tenth Annual One, all ArtsWorcester members were invited to exhibit one artwork they want to exhibit most, regardless of medium or theme. Karl Cole, Art Historian and Curator of Images of Davis Publications and Co-Curator of the Davis Art Gallery will award $500 in prizes. Explore all 160 works below.

ArtsWorcester exhibitions are sustained in part by the generous support of the C. Jean and Myles McDonough Charitable Foundation. Prizes are generously funded by Marlene and David Persky and the Artist Prize Fund.

About the juror:

Karl Cole is the Curator of Images and a contributing editor at Davis Publications, and has spent more than 25 years as an art historian. He is also an artist himself, specializing in painting. Karl holds a BA and MA in art history from Northern Illinois University and the University of Bern, Switzerland.

WORKS ON VIEW

Jeffrey Aragon

@jtsmayanart

Mayan War Club

hand-carved pine wood, acrylic paint, obsidian stone blades, 38" x 6", 2021, $1,100

This weapon was used primarily by the Maya. The purpose of this weapon was to harm and not kill people. Although, it definitely could. The Mayan War Club was good at parrying other weapons and attacks. This weapon and other Mesoamerican were made out of hardwood and obsidian stone. Some Spanish journals recorded that some obsidian-bladed weapons could cut their metal armor. It took 170 years to conquer the Maya nations. And today, the Maya still resist colonization through activism and protests. I started making these weapons as a symbol of the resistance that my people have in their hearts.

Nicole Barbera

@nicolebarbera

I Was Pushed Into This Black Hole

linocut on cotton rag paper, 15" x 21", 2022, $120

Death is inescapable. Life is fragile and fleeting. One cannot exist without the other. In 2012, my mother was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. After about 8 years, she unfortunately has succumbed to the will of her illness. This project explores the emotional experience of losing a parent. Carving into linoleum, this reductive process as well as the repetitive pattern reflects the loss, the aftermath, and the path towards acceptance. I work only with two colors, the lighter reflecting life and the darker, death. This piece marks a step in the journey of her and me.

Lisa Barthelson

@lisa_barthelson

marking lives covid 19, lab 2, 1000 lives

mixed media: 1000 family debris monoprint circles collaged on Rives BFK paper, mounted on cradled panel, the circles memorialize 1000 lives lost to covid 19, 30" x 22" x 1.5", 2020, $1,250

During the pandemic, artist Elizabeth Awalt conceived the community art project: “Marking Lives COVID-19” to commemorate lives lost in the US to COVID-19. Elizabeth invited artists to make artwork using at least 1,000 marks of any kind on any surface. My piece marking lives covid 19, lab2, 1000 lives is the second of 5 pieces I made for the project. Using circles created from remainders of family debris monoprints, I collaged 1000 circles in an explosive pattern on rives bfk paper. Each circle represents one life: varied, colorful and always in motion, then lost, leaving its radiant presence behind.

Robin Bellinger

Determined Mom!

acrylic, 18" x 24", 2022, $700

@bellingerart

Being a mom, I felt an obligation and duty to expand my artwork to uncharted territory, painting about the special needs community. I use our journey to enlighten those ignorant, help break down barriers, and support other families like ours. The last ""closet"" that needs to be opened is for children and adults with special needs. The shame, prejudice, lack of inclusivity, and bullying that goes with my community can't be seen and is an epidemic. My letters and calls have not changed anything but maybe my art will help start the conversation.

Eugenie Lewalski Berg

Illusions of Stability

concrete, mokuhanga prints, graphite, hardware, 5" x 16" x 9”, 2022, Not For Sale

@elbstudio

This piece is part of my ongoing work making molds, casting them with concrete, and applying Mokuhanga prints to select surfaces. I then often add graphite details. The house/home image can be interpreted quite literally as shelter and protection, or refer to the inner place where one resides in solitude, the unconscious. Images of the destruction in the Ukraine actually triggered this particular piece.

Veda Bleau

Caravan Needlepoint Box with Tassel Lid

yarn, embroidery thread, plastic mesh canvas, 5.5" x 3.75" x 3.25", 2021, $273

@veda.bleau

My memere’s handmade needlepoint Christmas ornaments have served as a springboard for my exploration into the versatility of this classic medium. Childhood memories of fiber arts have inspired me to expand the boundaries of needlepoint in both design and construction. This small box adorned with a tassel evokes both nostalgia and intrigue, while providing a functional vessel for trinkets and keepsakes.

Elizabeth Bowles

Roots Road

digital painting (from artist's photo, Photoshop, procreate on iPad), 10.5" x 15" (16" x 20" framed), 2021, $250

The incredible beauty of the rural Massachusetts landscape has always been an inspiration to me, but never more so than during the bleakest days of the pandemic. The farms near my home in Barre, surviving for generations in this rocky New England landscape, offer a hopeful reminder about interdependence, resourcefulness and perseverance.

Chelsea Bradway

Alice

color photograph on fine art paper, 24" x 30", 2021, $571

@All_things_sparkley_photo

This photograph was created out of my love of fantasy and childhood books. As a child who was raised for most of my life without a television, I relied on books to be my escape. Reading was an incredible way to set my imagination free, to explore what was not real. Don’t get me wrong, I had a pretty wonderful childhood growing up in the hills of the Berkshires, but books such as Alice in Wonderland helped me grow into the creative person I am today.

Lora Brueck

Museum of Curiosities

collage, photography, 6.5" x 7" x 3.25" (6.5" x 12" x 10" open), 2019, Not For Sale

@loratb123

Many "museums" are highly curated collections of art, objects, or whatever else their founding purpose was. Some museums, however, display pieces of history, related or not, to what their name stands for. Such was the South County Museum in Rhode Island, in years past, displaying objects more for their age rather than their relation to "South County." The museum is one of my favorite places to bring my camera to capture curiosities ranging from a phrenology head, wedding attire, a hat collection, the Wizard of Oz Tin Man, real live sheep and chickens. Here is my interpretation of the museum.

Joseph Cantor

Autumn in the Park

print on canvas, 24" x 31", 2022, $400

https://www.facebook.com/CantorPhotography

After 40+ years I have grown my artistic approach from the technical capturing of the light, creating a reproduction of reality and refusing to allow myself to adjust the scene, to now, allowing myself the freedom to become creative and shape the scene

and lighting. This image is one of a series, dedicated to digital painting effects. These are created using my own source images and applying various digital painting techniques including brushes, tones, surface effects, and lighting. The result when printed onto quality canvas, blurs the line between photograph and painting.

Evan Charney

Chiaroscuro

wood engraving, 5" x 7", 2021, $150

evansart.smugmug.com

This image is a wood engraving, a very old technique initially used for book and periodical illustration until replaced by photography. It was revived as a fine art technique in Great Britain in the 20th Century. The image is carved on the end grain of hardwood using engraving tools, allowing for finer detail than a woodcut, which is carved on the plank surface of softer wood with a knife or gouge. Both are then inked and printed in a limited and numbered edition on paper by press or hand-burnishing.

Pamela Chiasson

Two Rays of Sunshine

mixed media, 12" x 12", 2022, $500

@pamelachiassonart

My new 12" x 12" mixed media on cradled board inspired by beauty of horses in their bravery. This series reflects on the truth that beauty is not in the reflection of the mirror, but what is in our spirits of all that we are that is brought into this world. We are brave, we are strong, we are beautiful, we are courage, we persevere, we are freedom…remember there is beauty in your bravery...peace light and love.

Migdalia Chico

A Relaxing Walk at Night

oil, 16" x 20", 2022, Not For Sale

@m._chico

My passion of the visual arts is an expression of unity in the different living nature close and/or distant, aligned to the intimate movements of the heart and the thought that transcends your hands in continuous movement to illuminate shapes, colors and figures, revealing a beautiful painting artistic. With love and thanks, the portrait of the young leader Amaury Soto musician, international martial arts athlete and his best friend horse named Galan.

Casey Cochrane

Neon Rhapsody

ink on paper collage, 20" x 26", 2022, $150

This collage is reflected upon something I can relate with a lot, and what men and women go through with body image, I have always battled with body dysmorphia. My escape is through art, and the neon colors that I draw give some hope to me, to not give up, and continue the journey of loving myself. I think resilience is very important and should be celebrated.

Luca Colaizzi

F#ck Around Find Out

mixed media assemblage of paper, mesh drywall tape, metal spikes, and acrylic paint on canvas, 18" x 24", 2021, $2,600

@spacepunk.studio

The Human Rights Campaign reported that 2021 was the deadliest year for trans & gender-nonconforming people, with 57 fatalities tracked. On February 6th, 2021 I too became the victim of anti-trans violence. These crimes against our community happen with no accountability, no justice. It sends the message that ‘You can pick on the queer, trans, and nonbinary folks, they’re disposable. I can do this crime and get away with it.' Art is crucial to promoting human rights therefore this is my response to that message. FAFO is not a threat, but a promise, that I will be ready next time.

Susan Coley

Resurgence

acrylic on linen, 36" x 24", 2021, Not For Sale

@susancoleystudio

My work is intuitive and process driven. I work across multiple mediums, including oil, acrylic, collage and mixed media. Often, I layer materials- add, remove and work over, until the image begins to emerge. Each layer informs the next. My process has become an organic and intuitive undertaking, a kind of surrender and meditation. I do not know ahead of time what the painting will be; it becomes known slowly through exploration, experimentation, dialogue and physicality.

Patricia Corey

A Western Future: Fonvizinskaya, a Moscow Metro Station Inspired by Denis Fonvizin, Russian Playwright

digital photography, Canon EOS 5D Mark III camera with 24-105 lens, 22" x 33" (24" x 36" framed), June 2018, $550

@patriciacorey_

My photography piece displays a Moscow Metropolitan station that was inspired by Denis Fonvizin, a famous 18th century playwright of the Russian Enlightenment. My piece captures 3D illuminated pictures of characters from Fonvizin’s dramas, "Бригадир" ("The Brigadier-General") and "Недоросль" ("The Minor"), which both works criticize the Russian gentry and Western provincial parvenu, highlighting the love-hate relationship Russia historically and presently has with the West. My artwork explores the complex literary and cultural history behind the Moscow Metropolitan system through a station that highlights a controversial literary genius, Denis Fonvizin, who compares and criticizes both Russia and the West.

Carrie Crane

Platonic Solids Deconstructed, Icosahedron 2

acrylic and graphite on paper, 15" x 12", 2022, Not For Sale

@carrie-crane-art

In Euclidian geometry, there are 5 platonic solids. Each of these 3-dimensional shapes is made up of faces of equal sizes and shapes with each vertex having the same number of planes. The easiest to describe is the Cube, made of 6 squares with 3 faces meeting at each corner (vertex). There are 3 shapes created from equilateral triangles; the Tetrahedron, 3 faces at each vertex, the Octahedron, 4 sides at each vertex, and the Icosahedron with 5 sides at each vertex. Finally, the Dodecahedron is made with 3 pentagonal shapes coming together at each vertex.

Lawrence DeJong

Wall Fragment #22, SW

clay, 7" x 6" x 1.5", 2022, $225 (sold)

This piece is part of a series of sculptures entitled Wall Fragments. These sculptural pieces reflect my fascination with mountain forms and textures, and frequently have additional visual reference to other influences (artist's works, nature, etc). The clay starts as a thick block and is beaten into its current form with a number of "tools": angle iron, aluminum bar, wood sticks, and other similar tools. The color is a combination of diluted powered pigments and pastel powder. Pieces are fully fired.

Pamela Dorris DeJong

We Are Not Just Vessels

ceramic, acrylic, sand, shell, 6" x 7.5" x 7.5", 2022, Not For Sale

@pameladejong

Women of many stripes are affected by the Supreme Court decision with regard to reproductive health. Taking away our right to make decisions about our own bodies diminishes us to be no more than carriers of developing offspring. We are beautiful, have many roles to play in human life, and should have the right to make our own choices about how we live our lives. We are not just vessels.

Clara Dennison

Receding Tides

acrylic, 30" x 24", 2022, $600

paperbirchartstudio.com; facebook: paper birch art studio

Many of my recent images are influenced by my personal interactions with our ever changing environments. My paintings are re-examinations of these places. This particular image Receding Tides was created by using thinned out acrylics and a method of adding and subtracting the paint onto the canvas until I begin to see shapes and forms. From there I find a balance that enables me to explore what can be seen and what needs to be imagined.

Kristi DiSalle

Hideaway

chalk paint, acrylic paint on canvas, 18" x 24", 2022, $275

@kristileighcreations and @kristileighgillustration, Facebook: wonderandwhimsy

This piece explores the mystery of undersea creatures. The octopus' abstracted head, body, and tentacles are meant to appear as if it is emerging from the paint itself. I began the piece with a chalk paint pour. Next, I added the octopus with acrylic, detailing abstracted patterns on the suction cups. He is meant to appear as if he is sneaking past the viewer as he hides away and back into the waves of the sea.

Wynne Dromey

Are You Proud Yet?

acrylic on canvas sheet, mixed media collage, paper and ink, 18” x 24”, 2022, $777

@colors.of.the.wynned

This piece stemmed from an assignment to paint a map or diagram. I created a mental map/internal diagram of my thoughts and feelings. Being a very driven person, I find joy and satisfaction in productivity and effort, and I find success through pushing myself to achieve my goals. The desire to reach a goal tends to turn into an overwhelming trap where there is no way to fully feed the craving of success. Through this piece I used repetition to underline the negative effects of pushing through burnout, and the constant struggle to satisfy one’s own desires of success.

Madge Evers

Fleance Flew

handmade book, 8" x 8" x 1" closed, 2022, $400

@_sporeplay

Banquo's son flew like a bird.

Dreams in which I fly above the trees are among my favorites; my attraction to birds and their feathers is not surprising. Within these pages are cyanotypes made during an unfettered stay in a Provincetown dune shack. The previous tenant left feathers behind. I made cyanotypes, each different and marked by the sun and the iron-rich well water. The feathers I left behind were tinted blue.

Judith Freeman Clark

Alabaster Vase

transparent watercolor on paper, 12.25" x 15.25", 2018, $325

@jfcwatercolorstudio

I paint to celebrate the sinuous fluidity of transparent watercolor, which has both a vibrant luminosity and a capacity to granulate that produces delightful and unexpected textural effects. In Alabaster Vase, the forms of blossoms and foliage are suggested rather than explicitly detailed, enhancing their fragile and evanescent delicacy. By contrast, the solidity of the vase is emphasized by a strong highlight that defines and separates it from the soft background.

Gloria Goguen

Des Poires

colored pencil on birch wood panel, 9" x 12", 2022, $245

@gloriajgoguen_art; facebook: gloriajgoguenart

This is a traditional 19th century French style botanical rendering of the red and green-yellow Bartlett Pears. I have drawn the two color variations with one pear sliced open revealing the inner fruit and seed cavity. Additionally, as is tradition, you will see the seeds and flower stage of the plant.

George Hancin

Codman House Barn

oil on board, 16" x 24", 2022, $800

@hancingeorge

This painting was done on location on a warm sunny day in the late spring of this year. It was composted and mostly finished on site. I brought it to my studio and reworked a few areas and colors. The cloud filled sky and the strong light and shadows instantly attracted me. Barns can be a little cliche, hopefully the cars and trucks create a more real and less idealize image.

Garry Harley

Désespoir 2020 No.10

pigment ink on paper (Hahnemühle photo rag metallic), 20" x 20" (25" x 25" framed), 2020, $445 (framed), $175 (print only)

@GarryHarley

This image was prepared in the COVID-19 period during the worldwide virus public health ‘lock-down’ when many reacted in confusion and despair. This image uses a arrow shape radiating inward from the edge of the square, each sharp point creating a sense of insertion, penetration, and tension. These arrows are white like the paper but take on a color as the shape moves further into the square. The background metallic grey of the square is the same throughout but in combination with the color and the arrow shapes in the square’s center, causes optical movement and sense of uncertain depth.

Dena Hengst

The Climb

mixed media on canvas, 20" x 16", 2022, $375

@dena_hengst_art; denahengst.com

The Climb, is a metaphor for my artistic journey. This piece went through many variations until I discovered how it wanted to present itself. It felt like a slow and steady hike up a mountain until I found my way. When I paint, I let go of my analytical side and explore the surface of the canvas with a variety of marks. Each of my paintings is an inner expression. In this case, the beautiful splash of orange represents the joy I had during this particular time at the easel.

Nikki Howland

Untitled 1

needle felted roving wool on wood stand, 7" x 5.5" x 4", 2021, $325

@nikkihowland

I am fascinated by microscopic photography, particularly photos of fungi and bacteria. The various forms, textures and color patterns of these tiny living creatures are in my opinion, some of the most beautiful on Earth. It would be foolish to disregard them due to their minuscule size; they are essential for not only the health of our ecosystems but also for the health of human beings. The intention of this work is to bring attention to these miraculous wonders along with their beauty and uniqueness.

James Hunt

Draper, Demolition and Destruction #5

photography, archival inkjet printing, 20" x 28" framed, 2021, $350

www.jameshuntphotography.com

The Draper Corporation, located in Hopedale, Massachusetts, began operation in the mid-1800s. It was was once the largest maker of powered cotton looms in the world. The factory had over one million square feet of space, for over 3000 employees at its peak. It was a powerhouse of the industrial revolution in the U.S., generating enormous wealth for some and social injustice for others. Closed since the 1970's, its demolition began at the start of the pandemic. This is one of a series of photographic images take over the course of 18 months.

Matthew Kamholtz

Screen Shot, BLM Demonstration, Louisville, KY, 2020 (#3)

digital photograph of video recording, archival print, 20" x 26", 2020, $850

@mkamholtz

Throughout the Summer and Fall of 2020, as the Covid-19 epidemic raged and the streets exploded in protests over the epidemic of police killings, I created a series of images by photographing television and computer screens as the protests, and the often brutal police reaction, played out on newscasts, live streams, and video uploads. The images represent my photographic response to these events as I sheltered at home due to the pandemic.

This highly mediated photographic process distorted reality, but paradoxically revealed the intensity of the scenes as well. Although I was physically distant, the images feel intensely present.

Ryan Killoran

Bearded Iris

digital print, 16” x 20”, 2022, $253

Created with an SLR film camera and color-shifting 35mm film, this image uses color and focus to imagine a surreal, dreamlike space where the bright yellows of irises take on a dreamy pink hue and the intense greens in the background are cooled to a blue cast. The soft focus and prominent grain of the film contribute a misty, ethereal quality to the setting. By bringing the image of the familiar to the boundary of abstraction, viewers are encouraged to explore the interplay between what is hidden and what is revealed.

Christopher King

@kingchrisg

Join with a Half Twist

leather strapping and cotton thread, 40" x 8" x 4", 2021, $1,000

Using a four-frame loom and multiple wefts, specific warp colors are driven to both woven surfaces of this color study. Created with dark brown leather strapping weft, each side has different warp threads, one side light green and yellow, the other, dark blue and maroon. A Moebius strip configuration and disco ball motor solve presenting the work to stationary viewers. Join With A Half Twist is part of my Color Theory Homework series where detailed explanations of information storage and numerical systems are embedded in the woven patterns of these science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) teaching tools.

Stevie Leigh

@itsmestevieleigh

Weave Me (Into Yr Sin)

upcycled denim, upcyled metal buttons, 24" x 27" x 2", 2019, $699

Created from dozens of leftover denim scraps made when a tailor hems jeans, Weave Me (Into Yr Sin) is a wearable art piece that shows no fabric is too small to be upcycled. Stevie Leigh created this design by sewing the denim hem scraps into long strips and then hand weaving them into a flat fabric. This fabric was then sewn into a wearable garment using the upcycled buttons of jean flys from a textile recycling facility as the closure. Stevie Leigh's ambition is to rid the fashion industry of the millions of pounds of fabric waste it creates each year.

Elizabeth Lore

Falling into Winter

acrylic and mixed media on gallery wrapped canvas, 36" x 36", 2020, $1,750

I created this painting from Sept to Nov 2020. I had lost a good friend to kidney failure, and the seasons were changing from autumn to winter, taking with it the summer flowers. This abstract piece is not based on a photo or an image but rather a feeling. It is challenging to photograph as it is contains many acrylic glaze layers with metallic gold accents so it changes depending on the direction and intensity of light. The painting is sealed with a transparent, gloss acrylic layer which is permanent and protects against UV damage.

Alistair MacAlister

Sour Diesel

wood, marble, and cannabis root, 8" x 8" x 13", 2020, $250

When I bring the roots in to my studio there is an excitement, a curiosity, and somewhat of a silent wisdom that I need to unveil and explore. There is an ineffable communication. A crystal-clear collaboration between myself and the bit of nature that I'm working with. I believe that nature is the author of creativity, the zero point, the origin, the bringing into existence of all art. Nature is not only beautiful to the eye but needful for the soul.

Dylan MacLeod

Mirage

pencil, graphite powder, charcoal and marker on paper, 24” x 30”, 2019, $1,234

@squidiot_

“A mirage is a phenomenon where you think you see water. In this picture it looks as though these mountains are reflected in a lake. There might not even be mountains there at all. Mirages are most common in deserts.” - Young People’s Trust for the Environment.
This drawing is a piece from my solo exhibit at Newton Free Library in July 2021. It was inspired by the other pieces from that exhibit that were finished before this one. It was also inspired by Salvador Dalí’s work generally. It reminds me more specifically of his 1931 painting The Persistence of Memory.

Ashley MacLure

The Things My Mother Told Me

stoneware, 1" x 24" x 12", 2021, Not For Sale

@ashley.maclure

When I was ten, my mother uncovered the reason for the inner struggle that haunted her all her life; for the anorexia that plagued her adolescence; for the depression that crept up on her even in the most joyful of days...her grandfather molested her when she was only four years old- not once but habitually. When she shared the news with those closest to her, they silenced her out of shame. On April 21 2012 she killed herself. She never got the chance to have someone truly listen to her. Please listen.

Virginia Mahoney

Self Portrait: Approval-Seeker

reclaimed fabric, copper, interfacing, ceramic, thread, acrylic paint, steel 57" x 17" x 17", 2020, $3,500

@artisteach

The title says it all. This work admits that we often look for approval from others and adjust ourselves to garner that approval. As a result, our self-confidence suffers and our understanding of self is clouded. The pain of this struggle is manifest in sharp wires piercing the form and words about the reality of feeling "the blues" or finding one's "true blue" self.

Eileen Mahowald

Rebirth ~ karma baby karma ~ don’t be such a goose

watercolor, 35.5" x 35.75", 2022, $2,200

I love to paint. I like to draw. I like to push my work in a painting or drawing with confident risk and great leaps of exploration.
Which means I can’t help but superimpose images and overlay and remove paint at will.
I hadn’t painted for over 20 years. I was glad and amazed to see that I could draw and paint with a lot of excitement for myself and the viewer.
I chose to try watercolor though I learned with oil painting and printmaking. I work with the figure and love portraiture. My creative motives are entirely personal.

Abigail Moon

Key Ring

embroidery on cotton, 10" x 10", 2021, Not For Sale

This is an embroidery I made of my hand holding my key ring. This artwork is part of a series of embroideries of hands (mostly my own) interacting with or holding different objects. When I embroider I feel very aware of my hands and the texture of the surface of the artwork. It makes sense to me to make artworks about my sense of touch and physical feeling when I'm embroidering. The objects and moments depicted in the embroideries have personal significance.

Lynn Nafey

Possession of Self

ink, colored pencil, pigment transfers, Dura-Lar, plexiglass, paper on wood panel, 11" x 11", 2019, $1,100

Facebook: LynnNafeyArt

What lies beyond the seemingly apparent is a central theme in my work, whether it be the flux of thoughts and emotions swimming inside us, or the external forces shaping us and everything around us. To visually explore this concept, I use layers of translucent materials, burying some elements beneath a cloudy haze while placing others on the foremost surface. Each image is a riddle to be pondered as characters emerge, clues arise, and associations are made. These unfolding stories ultimately serve as a portal for the exploration of memory, perception, and identity.

Christopher Nicholson

Folded Paper (4 Folds)

oil on board, 33" x 24", 2021, $1,600

@cnicholsonart1

I am interested in exploring pure feeling, untethered from the world of recognizable objects. To do so, I started by folding pieces of paper. If I liked what I had folded, I drew it. If I liked the drawing, I painted it. I think I folded several thousand pieces of paper. I’ve only ended up with five paintings out of all that. The one you see here is my favorite. It was the last of this series of paintings. This one is called “Folded Paper (4 Folds).” It might better be called “Self Portrait.”

Kat O'Connor

katopaints.com, @katopaints

South Dartmouth

oil on acrylic pour on PVC panel, 10" x 20", 2021, $1,600

South Dartmouth depicts the underwater environment of the ocean off the coast of Massachusetts. I chose to pour the background colors to create a subtlety that duplicates the feeling of swimming in this particular location. The seaweed was painted on in oil, rendering reflections that are as delicate as the plant itself. The creation of this piece was supported by an ArtsWorcester Material Needs Grant and a Sam and Adele Golden Foundation for the Arts Residency.

Sophie Pearson

@creating.sophie

Pull

oil on wood, 12" x 12", 2021, $350

Pull is a piece depicting the exhaustion I was facing towards the end of getting my BFA. I was pushing myself to make positive, uplifting work about my body image and body positivity in general. This piece was one of my first that leaned into the negative feelings I had towards myself and my figure. Pull opened a door for me to create vulnerable and true paintings showing the uglier parts of body image. Since then, I've created several pieces that have aided in my healing.

Anju Pillai

@artaesthetics_by_anju_pillai

Innocence

watercolors on Arches 300 GSM cold pressed paper, 16" x 20", 2021, $500

The different expressions painted on the canvas of our face when we have thoughts intrigues me and makes me want to capture the emotions with my brushes. And, I feel there’s nothing more contagious and peace-inducing than the innocent smile of a baby as it sleeps. I have tried my best to replicate the expressions on the little one’s face as it sleeps seeing peaceful happy dreams, through watercolors.

Rachel Rinker

@rachelrinker1

Something There Knocking Softly To Be Let In

acrylic and collage on canvas, 18” x 12", 2020, NFS

I typically create off-beat landscapes with an energetic and rhythmically loose process, where painting and collage happen simultaneously. I incorporate photos to allow the viewer to directly relate abstract mark making with real shapes, objects, and colors. This piece is a more restrained piece that is a slower reflection on a specific celebratory occasion with family and friends.

Lorna Ritz

https://www.facebook.com/lorna.ritz/

May Blossoms

oil on canvas, 24" x 18", 2021, $4,350

I want the viewer to be able to smell blossoms through the colors in this painting. I balanced the temperature-range colors between the myriads of warmer and cooler colors, so they intermingle. The eye cannot stop in any one place, as everything is in motion at all times. The complexity of the way I work has to do with when the viewer thinks one color is coming forward, in relation to another color, it then jumps back, causing a vibration between them, like two musical harmonious notes that create an interval of silence between them, a breathing space.

Piya Samant

@art.by.piyali

Notorious RBG

oil on canvas, 12" x 12" x 2", 2020, $350

Beauty is fleeting and my desire to capture the beauty of life (be it human, flora or fauna) is irresistable. As an introvert, I connect with people's body language more than their words. Through painting I attempt to immortalize the beauty of my subjects in their entirety; not just their face and body but also their character. Floral stilllifes are a delight to paint because I am able to project emotions onto unsuspecting flowers through the play of light and strategically placed brushstrokes.

Bailey Schiering

@Bailey.schiering

Dear World

mixed media, 16" x 20.5", 2022, $150

As an abstract painter, I typically create art when I’m feeling emotions such as happiness and love. I tend to self isolate and avoid creating when I’m in a bad head space, or overall not happy. Recently, I’ve been pushing myself to create art when I’m feeling anxious and like the whole world is against me. While it’s really vulnerable to share what these thoughts look and feel like, I hope to inspire others to show off their “negative” emotions and to create art when they least want to.

Joseph Sikes

@plaidplanetart

A Cold Day In Hell

acrylic, 36" × 36", 2022, $700

This acrylic on canvas piece is an abstract representation of the timeless idiom, "a cold day in Hell", meaning that there is a very rare chance or there is no chance at all of something happening. I felt that to paint the phrase "a cold day in Hell" would be a great opportunity to work with a wide range of warm and cold colors, and at the same time, a chance to really let my style and imagination run wild in a way that would be fun, a bit dark at times and hopefully interesting.

Lyn Slade

Gray Skies are Alright

mixed media needle felting, wool applique on pastel painted wool, 26" x 23", 2020, $900

I'm primarily a needle felting artist. I have been enjoying mixing it up using pastels, acrylics, and eco-friendly dyes with my felting. The background of this piece is pastel on wool, as is the wool used for the 3-D flowers. The rest is needle felted. Created in 2020, I was finally seeing the positive in the pandemic isolation and worked on this piece for many enjoyable hours.

Linda Snay

@lindasnayart

Solace by the Side of the Road

fluid acrylic on watercolor paper, 18" x 24", 2021, $500

This artwork considers the places we may find solace during challenging times. I began to look closer for the beautiful, mysterious and healing. There is beauty in the ordinary. Places passed daily without consideration, like the side of the road. Not everyone finds beauty and solace in the landscape just beyond the periphery, with the dead leaves of last fall, crumbling stone wall, and delicate otherworldly green mossy roots, but it's there, it beckons and I pay attention.

Tracy Spadafora

@tracyspadafora

Windmill

encaustic and oil on bristol board, 24" x 21" x 1", 2021, $1,400

For over 20 years I have worked with themes investigating the relationship between humans and the environment in my artwork. Windmill is from my Monument Series. In this series the human-made structures of cell phone towers, billboards, bridges, etc., stand tall but alone within their dramatic or serene backgrounds. These pervasive structures, put on high pedestals, symbolize our presence in the environment, and suggest both the impact we have had on the climate and what may be needed for our survival.

Sierra St.Onge

Peel Away the Past Me

acrylic and ash on canvas, 14" x 11", 2022, $300 (sold)

The skin on the face turning to ash represents how I removed my mask (the autism one) at the beginning of the pandemic. Even though removing it came with ease and made me feel a lot better, the after effects are still painful. If I'm not putting on my act of being a neurotypical person, I get judged and get weird looks. Fun fact: The ash in this painting came from a power termination notice my partner and I burned in a spell to end capitalism.

Joanne Stowell

@joannestowellart

Lived In

oil on wood, 18" x 19.5", 2021, $800

Although each series is different, my paintings have one unifying theme – reality. I capture day-to-day struggles of being a mother and a human being, as well as quiet moments that often go unappreciated. I embrace the chaos and the mundane. Every piece tells a story and my work is never glamorized. I paint in the style of contemporary simplified realism. My work is not always pretty as reality is not always pretty. Some may say much of my work appears dark, but to those I must respond that, just as with life, a sense of humor is often required.

Jacob Strock

@jacobsalad_

Created Them

vine charcoal, compressed charcoal, and oil pastel on corrugated cardboard with a recessed wood frame, 24" x 34", 2021, $1,000

This artwork comes from the first verses of the Old Testament, Genesis 1:1-27. Therein, God creates heaven and earth, separates light from darkness, creating day, dawn, and dusk from the night. God creates the sky and clouds and separates the oceans below from land. God creates vegetation from this land, and creates the sun and moon to light earth and demarcate days, nights, months and years. God then creates sky and sea creatures, next land creatures, and finally, God creates Humankind in God's image. As a singular form, Humankind, in God's image, "both male and female God created them."

Trevor Toney

@TrevorToneyInColor

Sunset Side Table

Baltic birch plywood, reconstituted Indian rosewood veneer, acrylic paint, water-based lacquer, 22" x 22" x 24", 2022, $1,200

My work is about wood, shape, color, craftsmanship, and how they interact and are enhanced by each other. I explore this interaction by making furniture, sculpture, and paintings. I use the same materials for all three, but enjoy how the different genres require a different design approach and feel that using similar vocabulary helps me see new possibilities, while promoting exploration and allowing each format to inform the others.

Steve Wage

stevewage.com

Abstract Organic Series #33: 雲火水プールの反射 Cloud-Fire Water-Pool Reflections

acrylic, inks, watercolor and pearl-ex and interference media on canvas, 24" x 36", 2022, $1,800

This piece is the most recent in the Abstract Organic Series evoking naturalistic elements in our constantly shifting experience of consensus reality. The reflection of light is altered through layering pigment micro particle glaze emulsions to emerge and emanate differentially with the angles viewed and changing viewing conditions; The goal is for interaction with the observer to become entwined with the observed.

Martha Wakefield

@mmwakefield

Perception

mixed media on paper: acrylic, India ink, and graphite, 36" x 28" framed, 2019, $1,600

My work investigates the fragility of memory. I am intrigued by how memory morphs from persistent vividness to total loss. Memory has no physicality: we cannot hold it in our hands, yet we carry it with us. It has no weight, yet can weigh us down. Memory changes with each recall becoming altered narratives. Through mixed media I explore its power and mysterious fragility. My process starts with disorder scribbling graffiti-like marks. These drawings are followed by layering paint, then scraping to reveal moments, strange journeys of the mark and the history of work. It is storytelling.

Jill Watts

Burning Man

cone 10 ceramics, Pete's copper red glaze, collage/assemblage, glue, wood base, polyurethane, 18" x 21" x 16", 2021, $1,000

Other endeavors and responsibilities have always kept me from attending the Burning Man Festival but I remain intrigued with the idea of impermanence, creating for the joy of the process, and works that can be experienced on multiple levels. This man was burned in the kiln when it was fired. The western U.S. seems to be burning in fact with climate change and we are also involved with destruction as a country dealing in arms. May we be able to view the results of our collective and individual negative behaviors as a teaching presented by the universe.

The Tenth Annual One:

A Members' Exhibition

ABOUT THIS EXHIBITION

WORKS ON VIEW

Jeffrey Aragon

Robert Arnold

Susan Arnold

Amanda Baldi

Nicole Barbera

Lisa Barthelson

Robin Bellinger

Merry Beninato

Eugenie Lewalski Berg

Amy Berger

Stephen Bergeron

Susan Black

Veda Bleau

Carol Bloomfield

Elizabeth Bowles

Chelsea Bradway

Aaron Brodeur

Lora Brueck

Iphi Burg

Matthew Burgos

Samantha Callery

Megan Candito

Joseph Cantor

Brad Chapman Bleau

Evan Charney

Pamela Chiasson

Migdalia Chico

Casey Cochrane

Luca Colaizzi

Susan Coley

Patricia Corey

Carrie Crane

Christine Croteau

Jim Curran

Linda Dagnello

Alec Danaher

Jennifer Davis Carey

Jessica DeHaemer

Lawrence DeJong

Pamela Dorris DeJong

Ella Delyanis

Clara Dennison

Fabio DePonte

Alice Dillon

Kristi DiSalle

Timothy Doyle

Wynne Dromey

Lois Drumm

Kingsley Duodu

Trang Duong

Lucille Ela

Margaret Emerson

Madge Evers

Howard Fineman

Alex Flaminio

Judith Freeman Clark

Timothy Gannon

Pamela Gemme

Amanda Gibson

Christina Giza

Gloria Goguen

Miranda Greenhalgh

George Hancin

Garry Harley

Martha Hauston

Lisa Hayden

Dena Hengst

Alexandria Hensel

Polly Hensel

Matthew Holmes

Rebecca Hope

Nikki Howland

James Hunt

Elijah Johnson

Timothy Johnson

Barbara Kahn