GALLERY OF ARTISTS
RACHEL BLUMBERG
The work that I make, the work that I perform, the work that I think about, it all comes from a similar place. There are stories that we all have; there are stories that get woven into the fabric of our every day, into our history, into the well-worn paths we create during our life, that are building blocks of culture and life force.
When I paint, or animate, or drum, or teach, or think about how to combine these things, or collaborate with others, I tap into these stories, and draw inspiration from them in an improvised approach to creating something new. I think that art making, self-expression if you will, is as essential to living as eating and drinking; it is an opportunity for you to go into a place where can create worlds and feelings and fodder for thinking to share with others, or it can be just for yourself. It can be fun; it can be painful; it can be invigorating; it can be frustrating; it can be euphoric!
RACHEL BLUMBERG likes to wear and juggle many hats. She is a teaching artist, a filmmaker specializing in stop-motion animation, a musician/composer specializing in drumming/percussion, and a visual artist. Some people call this multidisciplinary.
JEN CORACE
Drawing and painting have always been important practices in my life. The ability to see, look, and interpret words and ideas into pictures is a problem my brain enjoys solving. I enjoy watching people, looking at objects, seeing how light interacts with spaces, getting lost staring at images on the internet and in art galleries. All of the looking and seeing is important research (whether passive or active) that informs the work I do. Not only does it feed the imagery that will be a part of the composition, it enables me to be a better communicator.
One of the most important aspects of being an illustrator is translating ideas and experiences into a more universal expression. As artists, we are responsible to our audience, no matter how small or large they may be, to step away from our bubble and find a visual common ground that speaks to them. The more I know about the world around me, the more I can connect with the people around me. My experience with art and creating the career that I have has made me more open, more flexible, and more empathetic to the world around me. I am endlessly thankful for that.
JEN CORACE was born and raised in southern New Jersey and was happiest being left alone to draw in her room. Her mom, always her champion, recognized this early on and kept her eyes looking and her drawing hand moving. She has a BFA from RISD in illustration.
ADAM PEARSON
As a kid, I had much fun building things, using tools, scrounging for materials, and just making stuff. When I was old enough, I went to work for my father doing construction. I have always enjoyed landscaping and moving rocks and dirt around. For me, sculpture gives the opportunity to explore the best parts of these different experiences I had growing up and lets me use any of the possible mediums I am drawn to.
Balancing rocks and working with found materials was a way for me to combine landscape design and construction so I could present the end product as sculpture, finding beauty in the decayed and discarded. My favorite material to work with is steel, or really just about any metal, both found and fabricated, but I also enjoy using clay, wood, and stone.
ADAM PEARSON is a sculptor and craftsman. He works in the art department of the University of New Hampshire where he received his BFA.
MEGHAN SAMSON
How Art Saved Me
I have always been an artist, and cannot remember a time when I did not make things with my hands. I drew things from my life when I was really young. They were a manifestation of my experiences and feelings–a visual diary. I drew pictures of my family in the kitchen or in the woodshop in our barn and of trees and fields at my house. Sketchbooks documented my life. I think art saved me because it was always there for me, like a friend or a part of me that made me feel whole. I never felt lonely if I could make pictures. In high school, I found clay and fell in love with the medium right away. I could make drawings on clay and eventually I could make my drawings into clay forms. They became more physical characters in my story line. They were abstract and imagined, but they represented parts of me and the people I loved. Seen as a whole, my artworks form an intricate, connected web, performing the experiences of family, love, attachment, and self-portrait.
MEGHAN SAMSON has a BFA in clay and sculpture from the University of New Hampshire and received her MFA from Boston University.
LISA SOLOMON
Making art is a very special endeavor for me. I make it because I love it (even when I’m frustrated by it). It makes me think, it makes me feel, it makes me understand. Art opens my eyes and my heart and my brain to new ideas and to other people’s perspectives. When I am having a hard or challenging moment (or day) I just have to think about making something and I start to feel better. I get excited. Sometimes, I get very quiet—which can also be great. Opening myself up to creativity and possibilities is kind of magical. When I am in the studio, I can let go and simply try to express myself. I know that even if something doesn’t come out the way I wanted or expected, it is okay. In fact, it might even be better. If I don’t like something, that is okay too. It isn’t about right or wrong, it’s about doing. What else offers that freedom? In our current lives, with so many distractions and obligations (school, phones, jobs, YouTube), art forces me to slow down and it gives me space to make up my own mind. And when I look at art, I feel connected. Sometimes, it’s like a puzzle where I try to figure out what that artist was thinking or trying to convey. I find that so valuable and hope you do, too.
Lisa Solomon and Christine Buckton Tillman, from Baltimore, Maryland, met back in 2004 via the photo-sharing website Flickr. Because of their shared affinity for drawing, the handmade, wall-based installations, and color they connected immediately. They eventually were able to collaborate and work on the installation “Chroma” in 2015, which you see in these images. They have been fortunate enough to create three different versions of “Chroma” from coast to coast—exhibiting it at Gallery CA in Baltimore, Maryland, Rare Device in San Francisco, California, and finally placing it permanently in a building at the Wharf in Washington, DC.
LISA SOLOMON is a mixed-media artist who moonlights as a mom, author, professor, and sometimes illustrator/graphic designer. Her work is often focused on interpreting aspects of her own personal history as a Hapa/biracial woman. She has an upcoming journal focusing on color theory and her color-meditation practice due out in 2019 with Roost Books.
CHRISTINE BUCKTON TILLMAN is primarily a very flat sculptor who draws more often than she makes sculptures. Her main interests as an artist lie in ideas surrounding the handmade, celebrations, and man-made interpretations of natural forms. She earned her BA at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, and earned her MFA from the University of Iowa.
www.christinebucktontillman.com
