Wild Rumpus XII Art Show Artist Notes and Statements
Samuel L Balling
Everything is magic if you look at it right, art is the closest way to part that veil into mystery and wonder.
Wanda Woodyard O’Callaghan
Where do broken dreams go?
Lois Songster
I am a local of Athens, and graduated from the Lamar Dodd School of Art in 2018 with a BFA in Illustration! My works come from a variety of botanical and mythical inspirations, and I hope you enjoy both the digital and traditional example I have! You can order more than one digital piece as well :)
David Noah
Photographer and artist based in Athens.
Sarah Flinn
Sarah Flinn is an artist living in Hull, Georgia. She graduated from Georgia College and State University with a BFA in painting in 2010. Before the pandemic, she was displaying her work at art festivals and different events around Georgia. The paintings she makes range from realism to imaginary creatures and everything in between. Generally her works are on reclaimed wood, but recently she has been experimenting with canvas.
Stefan Eberhard
Stefan Eberhard is an award-winning amateur photographer with interests in many areas of photography, including landscapes, nature, macro, science, abstracts and concert photography.
Amy Wraga
My paintings convey the feeling of a carefree summer day. Using many layers of paint and paper I create abstract colorful flowers in a setting of water, sand and sunshine. My mixed media collage pieces incorporate words, gems, buttons, fabric and any other interesting objects to form a multicolor design. I enjoy the adding and subtracting of objects as the piece takes shape. I often see something new as I look through the layers. I finish the work with oil pastels, pencil or charcoal. They are meant to bring beauty to the world and a smile to your face.
Somerville Rowe
This work is based on the Virginia Beach Lifeguard House, and is set in a world of native southeastern plants and animals that form a mystic and vibrant landscape. Pictured here: Hyla cinerea, Sarracenia leucophylla, Bombus spp., Passiflora incarnata, Nymphaea spp.
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Laura Floyd
How it feels living in the year 2020.
Rosemary Woodel
Rosemary Woodel loves finding the magic in everyday nature. She's had photographs in many juried shows and several magazines. And uses her photographs to make movies.
Valley StipeMaas
I use small pens to create realistic, yet stylistically flared, portraits and scenes inspired by wildlife, anatomy, and monsters.
Sam Watson
El Principe Oso is a visual interpretation of the Mexican folktale by the same name, which tells the story of a woman who falls in love with a man cursed by a spell.
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Anna Leckie
I am a local artist residing in Athens Ga. I specialize in commissioned painting.
Lisa Freeman
Lisa Freeman works from her home studio with a variety of mediums.
Arrow Ruskin Callahan
He is a magical wizard dude.
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Ashley Woods
I create and curate a mix of original interdimensional creatures as a way of making day to day life more interesting. Most of my creatures are a mix of paper mache and jewelry. The goal is to create new cryptids to enjoy along side the original creatures like Big Foot, Moth Man, and the Lockness Monster.
Sophia Woods
As soon as I could draw, I did, and I have not stopped. My focus is on themes of nature, biology, and folklore. With my art I explore the natural and supernatural world.
Noraa James
Noraa James is an Athens, GA creator from Norfolk, VA. His work is an exploration into the systemically endangered phenomena of black beauty and the natural elements in and around us through the scope of afrofuturism and afrosurrealism.
Amanda Jane Crouse
Amanda Jane Crouse earned an MFA in Ceramics from the Lamar Dodd School of Art. She is as well accomplished in Sculpture, Pottery, Pinhole Photography, Music, Poetry, Painting, Drawing, and Performance. Her artwork has been shown in galleries including Fay Gold Gallery, Lowery Gallery, the Lyndon House, Loblolly, Athica, Pulaski Art Crawl, Eye Drum, and Winterville Center for the Arts. . Her sculpture has been featured in Athens Food and Culture, Athena, and Flagpole Magazines and on the Peabody-award-winning series, Rectify. She is a spontaneous process-based multimedia artist whose work has been noted as blurring the lines between seer and seen. In a 2013 manifesto she describes art as “my way to share what is otherwise a very personal meditative exploration of finding myself in the universe, physically and cosmically.” She has taught art, pottery, and culinary classes for students of all ages at the University of Georgia, Oconee Cultural Affairs Foundation, Double Helix STEAM Academy, the Lyndon House, Good Dirt, Wired and Fired and at her own studio, Clay Gardens. Her teaching philosophy includes guiding students, whether accomplished or novice, to discover an authentic expression of themselves through art by engaging in fully immersive creative activity and practice. Crouse also maintains a small business, Little Cuckoo Chocolates, while raising her three extraordinary children.
Jason Machen
Creating artifacts of intimate moments shared.
Carmen Kraus
I love stories and legends that describe magical lands intersecting with or hidden within our world. Those stories were my inspiration for painting this piece. A crack in the tree bark reveals a window to another, magical, world. The "tree bark" is raised and textured with modeling paste, heightening the sense of looking within. Reach out and touch if you dare... you might just fall through.
Jacob & Clarice Wenzka
Jacob Wenzka is an Athens, GA based artist and illustrator. He has illustrated 4 books for children, and has been showing paintings in galleries and alternative venues for over 20 years. Clarice Wenzka is 8 years old, and she loves drawing and making comics. This is her second legit public art show.
Julie Jarema
Spending time in nature always feels magical, like the world contains magnificent secrets and possibilities that anyone can find if they observe carefully enough. In this illustration, I wanted to capture that quiet magic and sense of wonder.
Jennifer Wallens Terry
Jennifer Wallens received her B.A. in Environmental Sciences, while also studying art history from Rollins College. She worked as an Environmental Wetland Scientist while continually receiving Art training from several accomplished painters over the past 3 decades. Jennifer’s background in environmental sciences and as an internationally renowned Spiritual Psychic Medium lends her work a deeper underlying awareness of the world around her. She utilizes a diverse array of media including oils, acrylic, watercolor, and mixed media. Jennifer enjoys painting from her own photographs for portraits, flora and fauna, landscapes, still life’s and also creates mixed media and surrealist paintings from her own dreams and visions.
She is a member of American Women Artists (AWA), Visual Art Guild of Athens (VAGA), Womens Art Guild of Ogelthorpe County (WAG), Athens Institute for Contemporary Art (ATHICA), Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation (OCAF) and NewYorkART.com. Her work has been presented at Exhibits & Juried Shows at ATHICA, OCAF, Lyndon House Arts Center, Amici's, solo exhibits at Amici’s, Athens, Ga (2020) Her artist website is GaiaFineArts.com
Prints and products are available
Mimi Morrissey
I am a self taught artist who creates for the joy of it. I’ve recently been working in pen and ink but I also enjoy printmaking with hand carved linocuts and painting. I am currently building my portfolio, an online presence and seeing where this journey takes me.
Marla Star
“Death Reveals the Illusion of Linear Time in the Garden” 2020
Josie Thrasher
Josie Thrasher is a future scientist with an interest in the intersection of Dance, Art, Drama and Neuroscience
Frances Thrasher
Frances Thrasher is an artist living in Athens Ga focused on telling stories that relate to heartfelt desired, dreads and dreams.
Kelli Gargan
Using bold, colors, forms, and designs, my work evokes the beauty of the natural world and simple pleasures in which we interact daily. Reminiscent of childhood memories and vivid imaginations, I strive to abstract forms into playful imagery, grounding the viewer in their most expressive, pure self. The characters and worlds in which I create spark adventure and creativity through an emotional, freeing color palette. These warm, earthy colors are fused with bold and delicate forms to evoke the evocative sensations and freedoms of our truest selves we once were. Instead of leaving my childhood roots behind, I choose to embrace my former curious, fascinated, and spirited self through the magic I once saw and still choose to see today.
Sara Hess
Sara Hess was born and raised in Augusta, Georgia. She is currently living and working in Athens, Georgia. Sara holds a BFA in Studio Art from the University of Georgia's Lamar Dodd School of Art where she studied painting and printmaking. Her current studio practice utilizes found objects, printmaking, painting, collage, sculpture, and installation. Through her work, Sara investigates architectural structure, the landscape, and the permanence of space using material and play. For over the last year, Sara has worked part-time at a cemetery in Athens.
Sam Thurmond
Worlds within Worlds, and worlds beside worlds. Life is an interesting thing we all are experiencing. These particular images are either documentation directly of alternative spaces of consciousness, or they are emotionally informed gestures symbolic of the wake which occurs after dream states. By giving form to these experiences I believe conversations can open in regard to our communities being more accepting and receptive of such conversational topics. Truth of experience and loving compassionate conversational community are the backbone of sustainable systems. This community intention is grounded in the desire for human systems to elevate themselves beyond self-destruction and into harmony with ourselves and our ecosystem. Easier said than done! But lets do it fellow humans :)
Maximo Travieso
The title of his artwork is “Magical Toast Volcano.”
Melody Schiesser
I am an art student at the University of North Georgia with a focus in painting. Art is a great passion of mine and I want to share it with the world. I paint a variety of things, but I usually stick to the abstract or contemporary side of art. I still have a lot to learn and I'd love for anyone to follow my journey (I have an art Instagram! @melody.studioart). Thank you so much for supporting local artists! I hope my work finds an amazing new home.
Paula Runyon
My work reflects a profound admiration for the natural object. Along with the impulse to make images I have always felt an inherent responsibility to introduce people to the beauty of these objects and how incredible (read: magical) our natural world is. I do this through many different mediums including weaving, sculpture and printmaking. The common thread in all of my work is that it draws not only inspiration, but material, directly from the environment itself. This series of prints provides evidence of a delicate balance between humans and the natural word which we are a part of. The series of grass woven pieces look at that same delicate balance through a different lens - I encourage you to ask me how.
Laurel Cumbus
Laurel Cumbus is a 10-year-old artist who lives with her family in Watkinsville, Georgia. She attends Oconee County Elementary School.
Rose Shelton
I am a 17yr old artist who specializes in watercolor
Kevin Kardon
I'm Kevin Kardon, a graduate from the Lamar Dodd school of art at the University of Georgia. I specialize in monsters and creatures, preferring to create them with watercolor and ink, or just pen and ink. My website is kevinsmonstershack.com if you want to learn more.
Heather Elisabeth
My textile collection is called 'Runic Vessels' which are crocheted bowls with a combination of velvet yarn and recycled dyed sari ribbons that have been embellished with gemstones creating a mosaic feeling. The vessels are designed to house sentimental useless objects or 'tokens/souvenirs' that we all collect in life; objects such as a lucky coin, movie/concert ticket stub, the cork from the bottle of wine memorializing a special moment, a beautiful shell found on a vacation, the rock - dried flower - autumn leaf from a lovely nature walk, the bracelet a five year old made for you, a note from a loved one, the favorite earring that lost its mate, a special ring or necklace that is no longer worn....all those little things that we keep simply due to an emotional connection to it that serves no purpose other than sentimentality. The motivation is to create a functional piece of art that will become interactive with the owner, and hopefully evolve into a relationship between object and user by housing keepsakes.
Nate Manhattan Herbst
I'm from Switzerland and New York City so I love those places. I wish I could get back to the city, but got to wait for corona! My goal with my art is to try really hard to develop my understanding of it and how I can make my pieces more and more complex on one piece of paper. I LOVE damn researching things hard and figuring out great opportunities in the market. Appreciate it!
Latasha Davis
I create artwork that correlates with the spiritual realm and the world by incorporating different patterns and uses of balance. Art has always been a passion of mine. I've always used art as a form of self expression or as a healing mechanism. I tend to draw differently from others, because I love creating multiple designs in one!
Andrea Lynn Wellnitz
Andrea is a mixed media artist who relies on her personal experiences and surroundings for inspiration.
R.L. Edmondson Vance
My art is inspired by items of pre-history and what meanings they hold; spiritual, magical, and the unknown.
Lenny Sandvick
As a career tattoo artist, I usually try and make functional art that is ornamental and also useful to the working tattooer. In this case, I also express a love of sport and cartoons. Thank you for your time.
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Peter Loose
Folk artist, painter and dulcimer maker. He has also written and illustrated two children's books with his wife, Sandy Loose-Schrantz.
Cameron Berglund
Designer, landscape architect, illustrator, artist, educator.
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Mark Katzman
Owner of Athens Uncharted.
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