Artist spotlight: TD Gillispie

TD Gillispie is a local artist and has had a solo show in our library gallery. It is our opinion that she is one of the best artists in South Florida and one of the most underrepresented.  Please take a moment to explore her work. You can learn more about her at her website www.tdgillispie.com and find her in instagram @TDGILLISPIE

Artist Bio:

TD Gillispie lives and works in West Palm Beach, Florida. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and  museums including Dacia Gallery in New York City, Art Palm Beach, 101

Exhibit in Miami, Boca Raton Museum of Art, and  Whitespace: The Mordes Collection in West Palm Beach. Her work is included in the Mordes And Helander collections. Gillispie's paintings have  been featured in Studio Visit Magazine. She  was born  in Columbus, Ohio and attended Marshall University.

Artist statement:

I have always been a maker, a creator, a fixer of things. The practice of taking something in disrepair, be it furniture or a house for example, and refinishing or restoring it has always been a thrill to me and, in most cases, necessary. So, therefore, this same principle spills over into the way I create art.

I work in several different mediums but keep a cohesive look as a whole.

For each specific artwork, I choose a medium to most effectively speak the story I wish to tell. I collect vintage imagery and broken or well­worn toys from long ago for inspiration in my paintings.

I use specific recycled vintage or antique items for installation and mixed media, such as salvaged windows, doors, tv’s, church pews, lingerie, etc. These items are collected over a long period of time or thoughtfully sought out after writing a site­specific proposal for new work.

In making an installation I usually choose to create a room: a personal defined space for reflective thought with a prompted topic of inspiration.

Typically in painting, my goal is to use subject matter in which I balance sweet and sinister, or cute and creepy, by not stepping over the line in either direction.

If work is built on mistakes and corrections, I feel it gives richness and layers to the piece, thus adding a human quality as compared to the journey of our life on earth.

Artistically Speaking: Women's Roles in Contemporary Art [Exhibition opening at the Cornell Museum]

Artist spotlight: Karla Walter

Local artist, Karla Walter focuses on animal messengers. Taken from her artist statement; "As an artist, it is important to recognize a message and seize that moment. Crows are messengers, omens for change. Several personal encounters with crows have compelled me to express my personal creativity through this messenger. This body of work explores the similarities between the social interactions among crows and that of humans. To know the crow is to know ourselves. This is the journey I have taken with this body of work".

You can read her full statement and see many more works of art by going to her website here.

Karla is also the gallery coordinator for the Eissey Art Gallery at Palm Beach State College. Here are some of her sculptures. (Copyright Karla Walter)

Tom Bartel Ceramics

Artist spotlight

http://tombartel.net/

 

Tom Bartel is currently an Associate Professor and Ceramics Chairperson at Ohio University in Athens, Oh. He received his BFA from Kent State University and his MFA from Indiana University-Bloomington.

Bartel’s ceramic pieces focus on the human form to address some of life’s hard questions about the human condition. He states he is “interested in both the fragmentation and simplification of human form, especially how this decision encourages, if not requires, the viewer to participate with the work”.

His unique surface designs and texture are as important as the forms themselves. His artist statement continues by stating “The concepts of mask, identity, disguise, and transformation are fundamental to my concerns. Throughout our life our appearance slowly and inevitably changes; in the process our skin records this story”.

The work is very quirky, unexpected, carnival-esque and marvelously interesting to investigate. Every piece tells a story. Here are a few examples. Please visit his website listed above to learn more about Bartel’s work.(All images are used by permission of the artist and are copyrighted to Tom Bartel)

Opening August 24

Jacqueline Kern and Diane Arrieta
Fe٠male : Transitions
August 24—October 16, 2009

Join us for a mixed media show including painting, collage, graphic illustrations, sculpture and video by two female artists who are dealing with gender, women and transforming themselves.

image one: Superhero #1,Diane Arrieta, graphic illustration, 2009
image two: Paperdoll House,Jackie Kern, mixed media, 2009

Call to Artists Extended

The Call to Artists for the MacArt student , faculty, and staff show has been extended until Feb. 9, 2007.

Everyone at the university should try to enter work. This is a great way to get to know other students and faculty and learn more about everyone outside of their daily acitivites here at the university.

Entrants do not have to be an "artist" to enter. Enter any photos, drawings, etc. you have done. If you need help filling out the forms stop by the library or the Burrow.

Thanks and we are looking forward to a great show. The second annual MacArt show will be on display March 15 - May 10, 2007.