2021 Making Our Marks - 7th Member Only Online Exhibition
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What Say You by KW Bell, First Place
In this experimental piece I took a new idea while repurposing and old item, thus creating and “recooping.” I attempted to make a pigeon house, which is plain and lowly, appear pure and lovely, while carrying a persuasive message. This sculpture/assemblage shows carrier pigeons (used in WWI and WWII as a form of communication.) Pigeons were sent out in dangerous times with important dispatches. In these times what do we declare important? What messages do we send out? What comes back? The glass vials on the birds represent the capsules in which messages were placed. One capsule is a bullet shell, depicting malicious messages sent with the intention of wounding. In one glass vial the red tissue paper renders love. Experimentation is the foundation of art. Learning to spread our wings and leave our nest of comfort is essential. We must fly with hope, looking for a place to land, bringing back a sprig of peace, even if we must fly through the danger zone. What Say You? Medium: Ceramic Sculpture with wood, reed, glass vials,
Martin by Janet Horne Cozens, SECOND PLACE
I work in mixed media, specifically collage of hand painted papers and Japanese washi, combined with acrylic paint and mark making tools such as pencils. These layers of collage alternate with layers of resin to give some separation to the layers and a three dimensional depth to a two dimensional work. Mixed media
Weight, by Deann Stein-Hasinoff -- Third Place Award
Digital drawing on fabric. Edition of 2. This work is part of a series on anxiety. It represents the weight of anxiety that holds one back and keeps them from moving forward in their day or in their life. Medium: Digital drawing on fabric
Sip by Tara Choate, Juror Award Diane Schmidt
I was working on learning subtractive monotype printing and forgot that what you remove is the white part. I decided to add a little pastel for color and liked the result. Medium: Subtractive monotype with and pastel
Doors-Egyptian Village by Diane Olsson Juror Award from Carole Frye
This piece is a collage that experiments with combining a related group of my original photos while unifying and extending them with surrounding pastel augmentation. Medium: Collage (Photography and Pastel)
Beyond Containment by Louisa Wallace Jacobs, Honorable Mention
The work I am entering in this show consists of a painted surface with attached welded steel rectangles. I have created the illusion of 3 dimensional objects that become actual dimensional objects as they exit the flat surface and enter space. Acrylic and Steel
New Wave Target Forever by Naoko Morisawa, Honorable Mention
I am currently developing a new body of work using other materials such as paper, cardboard in addition to wood mosaic art-form. The work is considered re-birth art-from from re-cycled cardboard and thin wood. Both cardboard and wood are actually made from wood, the shape of cardboard is transformed by human/ modern day machine. I combine/ unite them once again into mosaic collage art. And this style of cardboard mosaic is very experimental art-form in terms of taking much care to make, and unique, very rare kind level to attain with craftsmanship as same as wood mosaic collage. Hand-Crafted Oilstained Wood and paper Mosaic, Acrylic, Wasi
Silent Prayers by Shirley Nachtrieb, Honorable Mention
I used as many papers, techniques, and mediums as I could: Sharpie pen lettering on Masa paper, cut into strips and woven. Machines stitching held it in place. I pulled images from a plastic trash bag onto tissue paper. Crisscrossing masking tape created leather paper that I painted then then lettered. Hebrew prayers were written on tissue paper using Sharpie pen. All attached to base of painted, organic textures mix media
Emerge, by Linda Wilder, Honorable Mention
Primarily a Landscape artist, this piece took me completely out of my comfort zone. I experimented with figurative work using a variety of different techniques and mark making not quite sure where it would lead me. Medium: acrylic
Poster Child by Judy Weiss, Scholarship Award Winner
"I am a visual storyteller, capturing moments in time and the beauty of the Western Canadian landscape in mixed media textiles. As an experimental artist, I strive for two kinds of innovation: combining modern materials with traditional textile processes; or the reverse, combining traditional materials with innovative techniques. By maintaining an element of tradition in either materials or processes (but not both) I gain a sense of historical connection to my fibre and western prairie background. By giving myself free reign to experiment with the non-traditional, my art moves forward in abstraction and contemporary design. My work is characterized by rich surface texture, layered and unusual materials, dyes, inks and paints, surface manipulation, inclusions and embellishments, and stitch. After building a surface, I may distress or remove layers to reveal or obscure imagery, or to convey a sense of passing time or change. The order of processes can vastly alter the tactile substance of a work, and this has become a third major area of experimentation for me. No two pieces are constructed in exactly the same way. As an artist, I am committed to innovation in materials or process in every artwork. I am simply not satisfied to do the same things over and over. There may be repeating motifs, or similarities between my artworks within a theme, but my challenge is always this: how will I blend or alter my materials and process to tell this one unique visual story. And when that particular story is told, I ask the same question for the next. It is the attitude and practice of experimentation that keeps me fresh and contemporary and growing in my art practice, my thoughts and interpretation of themes." Medium: Mixed media fibre: acrylic on silk, hand made chenille
My work is experimental because , for a few years now, I had been working with transparency using pigment and gel over photomontage print which I create myself . This time, however, I worked with a photomontage printed on archival paper and added drawings made with pastel and added cutouts painted with drips to add an even more complex pattern to this interesting painting. Medium: pastel,pigment, liquin, gel,inkjet , paper/birchwood panel
The Inca Trail by Ingrid Albrecht
One of my dream excursions was to travel to Machu Picchu and trek the Inca Trail. Climbing up the uneven steps carved into the mountain was a dangerous expedition, to say the least. This monotype of The INCA TRAIL was created with watercolor and black ink with the FREE STYLE approach to monotype printing, something that I have developed. This process is very fluid on a large Plexi Plate, and the careful manipulation, using the force of gravity with the watercolor and ink is stressful, with the occasional big black blob being the end result. An understanding of fluid mechanics is helpful! With this print, all seemed to work, and the irregular steps that formed into the side of the mountain were very much as I remembered climbing. With this FREE STYLE process, one has to be willing to let go and 'go with the flow'. Medium: Black Ink and Transparent Watercolor
Experimental I have never been able to color in the lines, am not a fan of coloring books, never make chocolate chip cookies the same way twice, so it makes sense that I have a hard time following rules when it comes to making art. Rules have a function. They establish a foundation from which an artist can expand, experiment and explore ideas in the pursuit of creativity, discovery and art. If creativity and discovery are what art is, and I believe they are, then art needs to fall outside of established foundations, lines, rules and boundaries. In my painting “Cairn” I am exploring and inventing a new way to create and see a rock Cairn with my marks, and with the color used to represent rocks and rivers. The goal was to be able to think differently about how I wanted to think about these objects and scapes and experiment with these ideas of difference. Medium: Watercolor and Acrylic on paper
I started out just making an abstracted painting. I feel the comfort of Hope was intended from the beginning, but I was surprised at the bird appearing. I added each medium of color with intentional experimentation subtracting elements as needed to finish the thoughtfully designed work with sandpaper and solvents. I often work in series to capture more of a subject or thought. I generally have several series in progress experimenting, improving and learning to the next painting always working to the freshness of discovery. This painting surprised me with it not staying totally abstracted but a bird started to appear with an essence of hope. Medium: Mixed Media
Inquire Within by ralph 'nunzi' annunziata
experimentation never ceases - every moment i enter the studio to dance with the muse the materials speak in differences one cannot assume - the journey ensues as i opens my heARTspace in mixing & blending many acrylicPolymer/glossGel mediums with ebonyPencil or conteStick or charcoal & polymerVarnish reveals an ever inviting glossy richness & depth - wether figurative or abstracted pleinAire - everyday is a new stage a new dance to embrace - inJOY! Medium: pencil/acrylic/ polymerVarnish/ gel&gesso on heavyWT canvas
All Color Comes From the Earth by Ruth Armitage
I'm accustomed to using cold wax medium with oil paint, but for this image I prepared my cradled panel using a plaster ground, which I had never used. I wanted to create lines in the plaster that would echo what I planned to paint on the surface, rather than using them for random texture. The plaster was interesting to me because of the soft edges I could get in my lines - the consistency let me really push it around. Also I devised a way to create really subtle parallel lines by rolling pigment onto a piece of deli paper and using my fingernails to lightly print only the lines onto the surface. I love how they came out. Next, I seldom use so many neutrals in a painting - but this subject seemed to call for it. The challenge was to control my values and allow a few bits of pure color to carry the whole. Finally, I decided to combine a grid design with an S shaped design, something I'd never done before. Medium: Mixed Media
I have been experimenting with acrylic pours but was unsatisfied with just the resulting abstracts. I decided re use the canvas by painting over it. As I started the portrait I realized that there was a serendipitous interplay between poured background and the contours of the face. I decided utilize this interplay. I like ambiguous end result: is the face forming out of the myriad of colors or is it melting away? Medium: Acrylic
Pandemic Pals by Mary Bamborough
I wanted to experiment with the idea of extending the boundary of home since we spent so much time there in 2020. Walks and pets became more important. This atypical pair might look peculiar, but, despite their differences, became best pals. Medium: Collage
Against The Horizon by Jenni Bateman
Years ago I discovered a product used in the medical industry to treat burn victims. The fiber-like material is made from a glue substance, pressed into wafer-thin pieces, and applied to the burn to aid in healing. I used several layers, and began stitching it with my sewing machine. To my surprise, I was able to drop the feed dog and free motion stitch until I had created ""something from nothing"". Experimental success. I worked with the textile industry, producing what is referred to as Solvy. It's a dissolvable paper-like product now manufactured and sold as a dissolvable interfacing for all sorts of textile needs. The sloppy-wet watercolor on claybord came to fruition when I began teaching for Ringling College of Art+Design. Students wanted to watch and learn. Clayboard's extra smooth surface did what I wanted it to do. By combining the two, and layering figures onto the painted surface I'm able to suspend the embroidered work slightly above the claybord, creating a slight shadow-effect. This took some experimenting, but by using a 1/4"" glass bead and short stainless pins, I'm able to create figures that are as small as a mouse to life-size shapes that have put a new fire in my belly! My lifelong career has been driven by the phrase ""There is freedom in discipline"". The disciplines of watercolor and textile design are well ingrained. By combining the two is so very exciting...something I have never seen, yet feel it's a direction that is gaining momentum. Next? Adding an element of innovation with live musicians as I work. Medium: Watercolor, free- motion embroidery, 24K gold leaf
Don't Let the Rain Come Down by Beryl Bayer
This artwork is experimental as it represents a non-objective mood rather than a subject. Medium: mixed media
The Climate Arsonist by Robin Beckwith
The first layer of my painting was established by spraying diluted watercolor paint in primary colors over synthetic Halloween cobwebs. I used Yupo synthetic paper as the rich and vibrant pigment remains on the surface. I began this piece without planning ahead until I found a purpose to develop it further. Like many of us, I have a deep concern over climate change, its devastating effects on our planet, and on the souls who inhabit our island home. In the twenty first century and decades before that, climate change has become a divisive political issue. The devastating forest fires in California last year affected me personally as my brother, my nephew, and my stepson and his wife live in the Golden State. To develop the second layer of my painting, I poured hot yellow, red, and orange paint over the first layer and allowed it to drip. I developed the reptilian face of the “climate arsonist” with water-based crayons, colored pencils, and additional watercolor paint. Medium: Water Media
Hope Springs Eternal by Beverly Bley
My painting is experimental because I use materials and/or techniques that are either new to me or I use them in a different way than what they were made for. I apply different media in the same painting using different application techniques. It is very exciting and challenging to create this way but also can be stressful unless I keep in mind “what if---“. This painting is experimental because I started with random mark making, turning my canvas to get different views, and no direction. Only the hues were chosen and an idea of what I wanted to say. Each stroke added or subtracted, led me in a direction sometimes with positive results or totally different ideas. Many layers with oil sticks, acrylic and watercolor paints, pencils, collage, spraying, dribbling, sanding, lipstick, etc. helped me to create this piece of art. FUN! Medium: Mixed Media
Flowers of the Field by Mary Bommarito
Created layers of acrylic paint by thinning and used a variety of watercolor brushes. Medium: Acrylic