Repurposed

1. Repurposed • Repurposed Earth-Friendly Art September 22 through October 23, 2012 Priddy Library at Shady Grove

2. Curator’s Statement This exhibition showcases the work of 16 artists, each one with its own unique voice. Inspiration comes from different sources. What unites the exhibition is the artists’ expressed commitment to earth-friendly art and their artistic integrity. There is a balance of shape and forms, emotions and color, a realization of visions. The basic vocabulary is the same. To these artists, the goal is not simply to be green. Rather, it is to use the awareness of greenness and challenge the viewer with their imagery to look at residue in a different way. It is about forming and reforming. It is about what to do with our own trash. It is about sustainability. Always at the center of the art pieces a connection to nature, a search for new and reinvented forms and patterns. Earth-friendly art is not a break with tradition but rather an extension, a continuum towards a new way for artists to express their and our own unease with the wounds to our environment, our hopes for the planet and the conviction that man and nature are one and recurrent. Roxana Martin, Curator

3. “…I deconstruct and recombine various images and words to create new narratives. Ultimately, I see the repurposing of these surplus materials as a comment on consumerism. As advertising fosters continual material output, I wish to document, salvage, and harness this excess for my artwork.” James Banta Dialogue 38”x32” collage and mixed media on canvas

4. Tia Blassingame “…The very process of printing is a contemplative, rhythmic, and liberating one. …The tactile nature of the impressed words/images and of the cotton paper coupled with the time and care necessary to create this work, I hope, makes them as precious to the reader. Grunion Run 8 ¼”wide x 8”tall closed, 32” long open handmade paper Gunshy 5 ¼” x 7 ½” Book arts, upcycled clothing

5. Frances Borchardt “…My work has been described as an “ode to Maryland’s nature, family life and tradition.” By incorporating photographs into the compartments of printers’ type cases I create scenes and panoramas that don’t exist in reality yet still convey a sense of place” Solo Row, West River 17”x32” printer’s type case with photographs Daybreak, West River 17”x32” printer’s type case with photographs

6. Marília Bulhões “…I was shaken by environmental disasters and the despair which affects our hopes for the future of our planet. I began to think about the environment, and the fate of my trash, starting from a simple cleaning out of personal papers. Where should they be discarded after becoming useless? What will be their end? Untitled 47”x47” acrylic on canvas , shredded personal letters Untitled 47”x47” acrylic on canvas, shredded personal letters

7. “…The evanescent and luminescent way in which the mineral ingredient in A Dozen Eggs .. captures the light symbolizes the intrinsic knowledge of man which is awakened by his search for awareness and the exploration of his own potential.Traccedi Civilizzazione…portrays the human footprint of concrete and rusty metal which often "spoils" coastlines. “ Sofia Caligiuri Traces of Civilization C 10.5x15.5 plaster and metals on coarse paper, tissue, and red fabric A Dozen Eggs 32x40 plaster and salt on arches paper

8. Roxy D’Elia “…When I have an idea, it becomes an emotion, a feeling, a vibration. That energy goes through my arm, my hand, to my brush and finally manifests on the canvas as a splash of color. It is only then that the picture begins to coalesce and express the creativity of my life force…” Window to the Universe 16”x12” acrylic on wood (cabinet door)

9. Juhli Jansen “One after the other, I’d watch as diners disposed their coffee stir sticks, plastic silverware. Over 50% them were unwilling to take the time to sort them into the recycle bin.  It made me crazy to watch these people.” Forks Over Knives 30”x10” acrylic mixed media

10. ShahrzadHeyatJelinous “…In making my vessels assemblage, I wanted to take the empty glass or metal containers that are usually thrown out and transform them into something beautiful, even lyrical. “ Bound 9”x9”x6.5 ceramic, glass, rope and house paint

11. Kimberly Johnson ”…My art cannot depict what lies outside representation and beyond our grasp, but perhaps these pieces can modestly hint at the uncanny, the transcendent, the infinite. The world is so alive with possibility, with materials that have their own voice, with vocal tissues pronouncing art like prayer.” Untitled I 38”x24” scraped aluminum sheet from back of the bulletin board found on the street

12. Rob Millard-Mendez “…Many of my sculptures are based on themes from classical mythology viewed through the lens of contemporary events…I very much enjoy how masks and figurative sculptures are used in disparate cultures to play out everyday dramas that echo age-old narratives. Ill-Advised Apparatus for Transcendence 14hx30wx16”d losing lottery tickets, aluminum, dice

13. Ahavani Mullen “…the use of earthly materials and other organic matter allows me to create visual connections between these earthly planes and the invisible worlds … …we cannot see with our physical eyes. Flow 12”x7” encaustic + moss, branches, oil pastel

14. Georgia Nassikas “Her artistic process allows for luminous, textured, complex surfaces that deepen and enliven her images: an interplay of elemental form and color, the crossing of the representational with the abstract, the geometry of angles and shadows, and the light of a lifting sky. “ (from the Artist Statement) Winter Rise 30”x36” encaustic on board

15. Karen O’Dowd ”I am no "purist" in terms of the found material… My studio is filled with my unique treasures, carefully sorted and binned or boxed, to be used to create.  It is my sincere hope that others will be inspired and do the same; use less, reuse, repurpose and create! Rusty Parts Fish 30”x15” scrap metal pieces Colors 20”x19” (triptych) scrap metal, carpet samples

16. Sandra Perez Ramos “… Re-using and rescuing old or discarded materials has appealed to me because of the environmental implications and the visual aesthetic possibilities…” Organic 20”x20” mixed media using vinyl from inflatable pool destined for trash

17. Rachel Lauren Storm • “…Art is all around us and all of us should be engaged in the project of making—seeing the natural world as full of inspiration and material. My work utilizes recycled, natural, and repurposed debris to blur the lines between natural and manufactured. “ Three Sisters 5”x5” pieces dried leaves, twigs

18. Raymonde Van Santen “… My current work deals with aging, decay, and the oft-assumed result of these processes – uselessness. Using discarded and recycled materials, I challenge myself to show that they still have beauty and can serve a purpose.” swan song 12 2/4”hx17”wx2”d mixed media: cardboard packing box, dried sliced apple, dried sliced pear, faux gold leaf, scraps of digital photographs, crayon do you still love me now that i’m sixty –four? 15”x12”1 ½” dried sliced apple

19. Artist Contact List – ‘Repurposed: Earth-Friendly Art’