printmaking, painting

As a life-long artist, I have come to understand that art is simply the result of the creative mind at play with a chosen medium. I approach my work like a child playing with toys, expressing emotions bursting from my heart, ideas arising from my lived experience, or ruminations that become inspirations. Whether I am painting, printmaking, or doing craftwork, I simply engage with my materials until a satisfying result appears, doing art to simply enjoy the process.

Recently, I have been acknowledging my Korean cultural roots, experimenting with traditional hanji mulberry bark paper and following inspiration rising around the Theravada Buddhist philosophy of non-duality or oneness, an expression of the illusion of self and the interconnection of everything. In this regard, I find that the behaviors of fish as they move in schools express physical and spiritual oneness in an interesting way.

As a topic for art, I see fish as representing any type of living being. Their shared motivations and emotions, expressed in synchronized rushes of movement here and there, demonstrate the selfless interconnection of paṭicca-samuppāda—the law of dependent origination that underlies our perceived reality. One of the eight auspicious symbols in Buddhism, fish can represent liberation, freedom of movement, and spiritual freedom from fear and suffering. Happiness, impulsiveness, fertility, and the ability to navigate the world of suffering with ease and joy are all ideas associated with fish. The act of depicting fish in art and symbolism reminds us of the importance of spiritual practice and the pursuit of enlightenment.

Fish and their liquid background world are also fun subjects to address as an artist. They are a topic that opens many possibilities for expressing movement, using calming blues, and playing with washes and gradations of color. I am invited to add imaginative touches like printing with colored thread as a reference to invisible waves and swirls of water, energy, and connection between living beings, or adding items that reflect light in the way of scales, pearls, and other underwater objects.

As I see it, art should move the viewer’s mind. This movement might be positive, negative, or go in some other direction. The point is that a piece of art in some way reflects the viewer’s personal life experiences in the same sense that the principle of oneness positions our outer environment as a reflection of our inner selves. Beyond this unifying philosophy, my art as a physical creative expression always changes due to my curiosity about finding fresh ideas and using new materials and techniques to communicate them.

I never know what direction my work might take in the future. However, one thing that I have always promised myself is to be honest in front of my pieces, and satisfy myself before considering any critical opinions. Pursuing art is a very personal and deep inner communication with myself. I express that communication when creating art, and I open myself to others by sharing my art in the hope that I can touch the viewer’s heart in a spiritual way.

Email:
yslenoue@gmail.com

Websites:

https://www.yunielenoueart.com
arizonaprintgroup.com/artists/yunie-lenoue/

Social Media:
Facebook: Yunie LeNoue

Instagram @yunielenoue_art

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Email:
djhmfa@cox.net

Websites:
Deborahhodder.com
figurativeartist.org/portfolio/deborah-hodder/

Social Media:
Instagram

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painting

A third generation Arizonan native, Sheri Ashton was traditionally educated as an interior designer, she developed organic modern living spaces and commercial venues for over 20 years.

Following her life long dream of studying the arts and “becoming” an Artist. She recently returned to school and graduated Arizona State University with a BFA in painting. Sheri’s abstract figurative art is centered on experiences in travel and passage through spaces.

She is an instinctual/meditative painter that invites all the “nuts and bolts”of life to come along for the ride. Her biggest challenge this year has been finding a picture of just herself without a chicken, cat or dog stealing the show.

sheriashton@me.com

mixed media

For me, making art often involves telling a story (but not always).

I like to work on a stretched square canvas surface (or wood panel) to create compositions that incorporate original or found imagery with mixed media that could include stencils, fragmented text and other collage elements. I then manipulate the composition with addition of a lively color palette and textured layering built directly onto the surface of the painting.

I like to cut-up and rearrange elements, hide & reveal information.

I have a strong sense of design and color, always enjoy the curious juxtaposition and like visual wordplay. I also use geometric patterns and assorted ephemera to complete my mixed media canvases. My overall goal is to make thoughtful and original work that has a point of view but also multiple layers to explore. I strive to make my canvases seamless and whole, except in those areas where things are intentionally stitched and fragmented. Over the years, I have been involved in the arts in a variety of meaningful ways, in Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Phoenix. Originally from Louisville, I studied art at Bellarmine University and after a stint in the Navy, I finished up at the University of Kentucky.

Retiring in 2012 has allowed me to make art my primary focus.

Email:
mcall73@hotmail.com

Website:
https://21crunch.com/

Social Media:
Facebook

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Drawing from found images, my prints explore masculine identity and male relationships with references from Classical to Pop Art. Printmaking provides me a way to take apart images, to recombine and reassemble them. I draw bold images in ink using a subtractive technique, then transfer them to paper or fabric. I build my monoprints one color at a time, creating complex layers that both veil and reveal my subjects. I use color and pattern to camouflage and to call attention, taking a cue from animals, birds, and flowers. In this way, male pride gives way to male beauty and male strength becomes vulnerability.

Instagram @haroldlohner.com
Website http://haroldlohner.com

photography, oil and acrylic painting, pencil drawing

My work addresses the relationship of past to present, humans to nature and matter to spirit.

I investigate the intersection of sentience and the inanimate, often through transient garden moments, other times through images of the Virgin Mary, sometimes through replicas of children’s and historical art, and increasingly through dynamic non-objective or abstract invented worlds.

Because I've discovered that the different approaches often address the same concerns and themes, I've recently configured the different pieces into what are essentially triptychs.

For sale or exhibition inquiries, contact the artist.


Email:
danielprendergast.com@gmail.com

Website:
https://www.danielprendergast.com/

Social media:
Facebook: Daniel Prendergast

Instagram: @daniel_prendergast_artist

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printmaking, mixed-media

Marissa Vidrio’s  art is inspired by her surroundings and cultural experiences. Mexican-American and Jewish in upbringing, she left southern California for western Norway. This led to studies in textiles and a love for plants and landscapes. Having called Phoenix home for over 25 years, she combines elements that touch on family, place and memory.


Email:
StudioArtology@gmail.com

Social Media:
Instagram

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painting, photography, printmaking

The work presented in my solo/dual shows has been abstract painting addressing a variety of ideas and themes. I started out with the more whimsical idea of pixels as objects, Refugee Pixels (2018), and moved onto my dissatisfaction with our political/social milieu in Lost Ground (2019). I continued with abstract pain8ng that reflected my disgust with politics in Bollards (2021), which was conceived because I wanted to do a piece the width of the south wall of the gallery. Unfortunately, that was January 2021 and just a few people came to the galley in the midst of the pandemic.

I transitioned to painting on photographs, using family photos in my Family Coloring Book series for the show See/Saw (2022) and I’ve stuck with that technique for two more shows: Bodies of Water (2022) and Went With The Flow(2024).

I’m always looking for the next idea to ignite my imagination because I base my work on a central idea that determines how all the artwork in that series will look. I’m not sure where I am headed next artistically however It will likely be rendered in abstract painting because I like layering colors and dividing up space (but I don’t rule out different media).

For more artwork and information see my website.

Contact me regarding sales, commissions and exhibitions at mrdhfaz@gmail.com.

Website:www.anhydrousdesign.com.  

Email:mrdhfaz@gmail.com

Social media:InstagramFacebook

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Wendy Raisanen is a fiber artist living in Phoenix. She has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in sculpture from Arizona State University and is the curator of exhibitions and collections for Scottsdale Public Art. An expert sewist, making art quilts currently makes up her art practice.

wendy.raisanen@gmail.com

Instagram: @Artczech

drawing, painting, printmaking, collage

I was a painter and drawer a long time before I ever started printmaking.  While I loved the intuitive process and the act of painting and drawing, it never really made me work hard.  Initially I was interested in printmaking as a way to make multiples of my drawings but what I found was a love for the hard work in planning a print and that the process was really more about ideas; I had to think about the content before I actually did the work.  Going through that process I realized that I always had a lot to say and in strange way the strict planning of printmaking allowed me to find my voice. 

I have a hard time expressing myself verbally or in writing, but I do always start with words.  As I am contemplating what I want to say, I translate the words into symbols that are meaningful to me.  Because that collection of images becomes complex, I have to figure out how to make them work together in a cohesive way.  That means they are pushed to the background or incorporated in the small details of a print.  When you have such complexity combined with the small format, the content is more nuanced and the viewer may need to spend more time with the piece in order to see everything that is there and figure out why it is there. 

My larger works tend to be mixed media using a combination of drawing, printmaking techniques, collage and found objects.

Please contact Marlys via email if you are interested in purchasing work.


Email: marlyskubicek@gmail.com

Website: http://arizonaprintgroup.com/artists/marlys-kubicek/

Social media:
Instagram

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ceramic sculpture

Susan Risi grew up in New York and always had a love for sculpture. Her BFA degree in Ceramics was at Alfred University & Syracuse University. She received her MFA degree From S.U.N.Y at New Paltz, New York.

 Risi’s work has received numerous awards. She has exhibited in over sixty galleries & numerous museums group exhibitions including the Everson Museum, Syracuse, N.Y., Schenectady Museum N.Y.(Award of distinction) Briarcliff College Gallery, Briarcliff, N.Y. (Best in Show) A.S.U. Ceramic Research Center, Tucson

Susan Risi’s new work involves a patchwork of various textures on black clay. The forms are clean and rough at the same time. Corners are rounded and the pieces have a feel of old machine parts with a light feminine flair.  

Susan is currently represented by the Paulscott Gallery in Scottsdale and the Five15arts @ Chartreuse Gallery in Phoenix, Az.

Email:
sjrisi@msn.com

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