Artist spotlight: RICHARD STIPL

RICHARD STIPL
Born 1968, Sternberk, Czech Republic
Lives and works in Prague

Education
1992 Ontario College of Art, Toronto - Honours Diploma and Governor General's Gold Medal

Website: http://www.richardstipl.cz/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArtistRichardStipl

All images are copyright of the artist. See examples of his work here:

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: 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.

Artist spotlight: Mister Finch

Self- taught textile artist, Mister Finch lives in Leeds, Yorkshire. He states that his main inspiration for his work comes from nature. He is fascinated by flowers, birds, insects and their life cycles. From his artist statement, “British folklore is also so beautifully rich in fabulous stories and warnings and never ceases to be at the heart of what I make. Shape shifting witches, moon gazing hares and a smartly dressed devil ready to invite you to stray from the path. Humanizing animals with shoes and clothes is something I’ve always done and I imagine them to come alive at night. Getting dressed and helping an elderly shoemaker or the tired housewife”.

Most of his work is made from recycled materials, not only as an ethical statement, but he believes they add more authenticity and charm.

You may learn more about his work by visiting his website here.

Have a look at his wonderful, mysterious work below. We can’t get enough of it! 

(All images are copyright of Mr. Finch and cannot be reproduced without his consent)

Dust bunnies

Artist spotlight: Amanda Louise Spayd

Ohio artist and designer Amanda Louise Spayd makes incredibly cute and odd little creatures. She is a collector of antique medical tools and toys. Her mixed media work combines natural elements mixed with old antique finds. The unique features of each piece tells its own story. Her work has been published internationally, and is highly sought after by collectors around the globe, and she has exhibited her work in galleries and conventions across the United States, France, and Japan. [All images are copyright of the artist].


You can read more about this artist by going to her website here. 

Artist spotlight: Deborah Simon

Looking at animals

Deborah Simon’s mixed media sculptures are a combination of faux taxidermy, toys and sculpture. She strives for close to accurate, but prefers to be slightly “off”. She is interested in evolution and how science museums label and code their specimens. Simon is interested in the total disconnect from the animal in its natural environment.

Simon graduated from the School of Visual Arts, MFA, New York, NY; and the San Francisco Art Institute, BFA Sculpture, San Francisco, CA.

You can learn more about this artist by visiting her website at http://www.deborahsimon.net/index.html
All images are copyright of the artist, Deborah Simon.

Take a look.

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)