Artist Spotlight Diana Farfan

[Excerpted from the artist's website]

Diana is a full time artist and cultural agent. She was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia. Her fondness for ceramic sculpture goes back to her childhood, when the pre-Columbian figures and colonial architecture were her focus of interest. In 1999 she received a BFA in Ceramics and Printmaking at Universidad Nacional de Colombia in Bogotá, Colombia; and in 2010 she obtained a MFA in Ceramics and Sculpture at University of South Carolina, Columbia, USA. She also studied at the University of Anchorage, Alaska, and at the Tainan National University of the Arts in Taiwan as exchange student. She currently lives, works, and teaches in Greenville, South Carolina, USA. Besides offering, “Play with Clay” classes at her own studio and workshops at diverse art centers; Diana is an art coach for Hispano-Latino Artists. She serves as member of the board of directors of Palmetto Luna Arts, a non-profit that promotes Hispano artists and Latin Culture in South Carolina, USA.

Sample images of artist work [copyright of the artist. Used here for educational purposes]

Artist spotlight: Thaddeus Erdhal

Artist website:  http://www.thaddeuserdahl.com/

Bio [excerpted from artist website here]

Thaddeus Erdahl was born and raised in La Porte City, Iowa. He has exhibited his sculpture and presented workshops regionally and nationally throughout the United States.

His art and background in education started at the University of Northern Iowa where he received his BA in Art Education and a BFA in Ceramics. Upon graduation, he substitute taught in the public school system, instructed ceramics courses at a local art center and served as an interim art educator. Thaddeus actively practiced and taught a variety of art media including ceramics, drawing, assemblage, sculpture, painting, and graphic design.

Thaddeus received his MFA in Ceramics from the University of Florida where he was a University of Florida Alumni Fellowship recipient during his three years of graduate study, from 2006-2009.

Statement

“When considering the murky reservoir of human history, it is difficult to separate legend from reality. Through my work, I examine human myth in the modern age, specifically on characters that emerge from our society's underbelly; the less popular folk. Using their "legends", I feel compelled to tell stories that illustrate analogies in life; blending together archetypes, shared experiences, and my own personal mythology. Who we are in the world is a kaleidoscope of interpretations, biased memories, and personal connections” (Erdhal).

Work [all images are copyright of the artist and may not be reproduced without permission].

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)

Artist spotlight: Kate MacDowell

An excerpt from the artist statement from the  artist’s website: 

“In my work this romantic ideal of union with the natural world conflicts with our contemporary impact on the environment.  These pieces are in part responses to environmental stressors including climate change, toxic pollution, and gm crops.  They also borrow from myth, art history, figures of speech and other cultural touchstones.  In some pieces aspects of the human figure stand-in for ourselves and act out sometimes harrowing, sometimes humorous transformations which illustrate our current relationship with the natural world.  In others, animals take on anthropomorphic qualities when they are given safety equipment to attempt to protect them from man-made environmental threats.  In each case the union between man and nature is shown to be one of friction and discomfort with the disturbing implication that we too are vulnerable to being victimized by our destructive practice”

(All artwork copyright of Kate MacDowell).

Please visit her website to learn more about her and the work.

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)