Soil to Sculpture

 

The second exhibit I saw at the Shemer Art Center was called "Soil to Sculpture: The Art of Clay".  

There was just something about this fellow's smile that I found very uplifting.  He was created by Kristy Winterbourne and the piece is called "Suppurate With Me".  

I must admit that name threw me off.  That is not a word I would use to describe this fellow with the sly smile.

This one is by the same artist and it's called "I Will Keep My Watchfull Eye OPEN".

This one I get because I can see the "watchful eye".  

Kristy is very good at forming faces from her clay.

These last pieces were part of a tribute to an artist who passed away last year.  Sandy Blain was a ceramic artist who supported the Shemer Art Center and was known to everyone who worked there.  Her ceramic pieces were always available in the gift shop.  I love that tall one in the back.

Cross-Pollination

 I stopped at the Shemer Art Center yesterday to see the latest exhibit.  There were two shows on view.  

The two pieces I've pictured here are from an exhibit called "Cross-Pollination" and it was solo exhibit featuring the photographic art of Linda Enger.  Her photos are a "conceptual still-life series shaped by cycles of planting, harvesting, painting, gathering, repurposing, photographing and editing."

I was totally mesmerized by the images all of which were printed on very glossy metal. 

This one to the left is called "Multi-tasking Can Get Very Messy, Like Life".  

  This one to the right is called "Committed to Peas and Calm, A New Hope".  And, "peas" is not a typo.  

I took this photo from the side to avoid reflections on the shiny surface.

I love all of the prints in the show.  I'm feeling some inspiration to do a little photographic experimenting myself. 

Alien Clay

 

I was at the Shemer Art Center a week ago and I saw their current exhibition called "New Art Arizona".  It featured the work of 10 college scholarship recipients who were selected by the Arizona Artists Guild, the Arizona Watercolor Association, and Arizona Clay.

These works in clay caught my eye.  They look like strange creatures from a galaxy far, far away. All of these are the creations of Meg Gizzi.

This one is called "Or a Receptiveness". 

This one bears the name "Or Just to Make a Sound".  

This one goes by the name of "I Seek a Certain Magic". 

And, this last one is called "Favorite Colors (Myself with Others)".  

There is no doubt that it took some talent to create these 'stoneware' objects.  It also took some imagination to conceive their design.  

However, having said that, they are a bit too extraterrestrial for my taste.

  Although, they did make a fun blog post.

Wild Menagerie

 

The new art show at the Shemer Art Center is called "Wild Menagerie" and was designed to celebrate the diversity of the animal kingdom.  The piece above is a photograph printed on canvas by Christy Garavetto.  It's called "Coyote Camouflage".  She describes it as a coyote hiding in tall golden grass that is lit by the sun.

To the left is another piece featuring a coyote.  This one is called "Curious Coyote" and it's a mixed media piece printed on acrylic by Theresa Poalucci.  

Here is a ceramic piece called "Proud Burrowing Owls" by Diane Delaney.

This last one is a clever piece called "Desert Cottontail" and it was created in pen & watercolor by Mikayla Hammock.  This is one you need to stare at a bit.  You see the main rabbit then there is a smaller rabbit near the tail but if you look even closer, you will see other tiny rabbits drawn in the body of the big rabbit.  Don't miss the tiny rabbit sitting right on the big rabbit's nose.  

Furry Friends 2025

 

The Shemer Art Center hosted its annual Furry Friends event yesterday and I stopped by to have a look.  That's where I saw this very handsome Australian Shepherd dog.

He and his owner were putting on quite a show.  That is one very smart dog.

While I was at The Shemer, I visited the latest art show.  I'll have some more photos to show you next week.

Sculptures in the Garden

 

Here are a few more of the new sculptures I found in the large garden at the Shemer Art Center.  These in the foreground are by Janet Orr.  She makes the great ceramic totems that I've featured in the past.  She calls this group the Metropolis Collection.  (You can also see "Adonis"  that was featured last Sunday in the background to the far right of this photo.)

This one is a little strange to me.  It was created by Damian Lee and it's called Homenaje a Gaudi (Tribute to Gaudi).

This sculpture was created by Mary Neubauer and it's called Well Flow.

This last one is a ceramic sculpture by David Knorr.  He calls it South Seas.

As I said before, there were lots of new sculptures to explore in the garden at the Shemer Art Center.

"Adonis"

 

When I was at the Shemer Art Center last weekend, I noticed they had quite a few new sculptures scattered around the grounds.  This one is called "Adonis" and it was created by R E Lyons II.  From this side he's very shiny and a bit wrinkly.

Form the other side he's very grizzly looking.

Adonis has two different personalities.  

New Horizons Exhibition

 

For the last two days I've been showing just a few of the many pieces that were on exhibit at the Shemer Art Center featuring the work of High School students from 45 high schools across the valley.  

The painting above is by Emily Mayer, a Senior.  She calls this "Lake Powell".  There is so much emotion in this impeccable painting.

The piece to the right is by Jeremy Borgstadt and he's given it a tricky name.  It's called "I am (What You $33).  It's a mixed media piece using pieces of broken mirrors with acrylic paint and other things. It was tricky to photograph as it was reflecting the hallway in front of it.

Here is another ceramic piece called "Blooming and Blossoming" by Alexa Lizette Aragon.  She is also a Senior. I love these colorful fish.

This one looks a bit scary telling a story about a childhood fear of clowns.  It's called "He Takes Children In His Clown Car" and it was created by Alaina Novey, a Senior.  The scary face is done with colored pencil and it's framed by red noses made of foam.

This last one is a small sculpture called "Mechanical Luck Bug" by Alessandra Gilles, a Junior.  

This is the last of the photos I took at the show.  There were many, many more pieces and all were very impressive.  There are a handful more featured on the poster for the event in the photo at the top.

I applaud the talent of these budding artists.  

Ceramics Done by Young Hands

 

I have four more pieces from the Shemer exhibit of art created by High School Students.  The piece above is by Brooke Ford and it's called "Fruity Fruits".  It is incredibly realistic.

To the right is "Wolf in Sheep's Clothing" by Amber Woods.  It is made with clay and acrylic paint.

This ceramic piece is by Nia Morris, a Senior.  This one is called "Theadore".  

You can see "Theadore" in the background of this one.  That handsome rooster is called "Roots of Strength" and it was created by Estefany Vazquez Saldana, a Senior.  

I have a few more pieces to show you tomorrow.

The Art of Teenagers

 

I mentioned in my post on Saturday that I went to the Shemer Art Center to see the latest exhibit which happened to be the work of High School students from all over the valley.  I was stunned by what I saw.  The amount of talent in these young people is incredible.  It makes me hope that they continue with their artistic endeavors.  

The piece at the top is by Gavin Lopez, a senior.  He states that he was inspired by a visit to St. Georges Chapel in England and by an English poem called Corpus Christi Carol.  He combined the two in this incredibly detailed drawing called "Corpus Christi".

To the left is a charcoal drawing called "Winnie" by Sloan Sessions, a Junior.  It is so finely detailed, I thought it was a photograph.

The one above is a blending of photographs of buildings in downtown Phoenix.  Anubis Ruiz Velasquez, a Senior created the photo using Photoshop.  It's called "Fracture Downtown."

The painting to the right is by Maggie Steimle who is a Junior.  She calls this one "Displacement".  She states that it shows how she felt after moving to a new place.  

A lot of talent went into each of these.  Tomorrow I'll show you some of the ceramics the exhibit had to offer.

My Weekly Dose of Art

 

I visited the Shemer Art Center on Saturday.  I went to see a new exhibit of art work from high school students all over the valley.  I'll tell you more about that show next week.  First I want to show you a sculpture I found in the gardens surrounding the museum.  It caught my eye immediately because I recognized it as a sculpture I photographed many years ago.  It turns out it is by the same artist Tom Bollinger and it has the same name as the one I saw years ago however, I can tell this is a different piece.  You can see the original piece that I posted here.  The sculpture is called "Gaia" and Gaia is a Greek Goddess, the mother of all life.

I got a sort of self-portrait taking the photo of this sculpture.  You can see me in the reflection of the steel ball.  I'm standing out there ready to take the shot. 

Distortion

 

Here is another painting from the new show at the Shemer Art Center.  This one is called "Goldfield" and it was painted by Ruta Janiulis.  The funny thing about this painting is that despite the distortion, I recognized the old western town of Goldfield.  

Here are two photos from the little town of Goldfield way out east of Phoenix.  It's a tourist spot in Apache Junction Arizona.  Do you see the resemblance?  

I did a post about Goldfield ghost town way back in 2013  and again in 2019.

Ms. Janiulis had one other painting in the show.  This one is called Street View.  

She does a good job painting a very distorted scene.

Pretty Pictures

 I stopped at the Shemer Art Center last weekend to see a new show that just opened.  The show is called "Light of Day" and it was filled with beautiful pieces of art.  This one was my favorite.  It was painted by Jennifer Jardine and it's called "Calm Before the Storm".  It's a tall painting and it caught my eye the minute I walked into the room where it was hanging.

Here is another beautiful landscape painting.  This one is called "Coastal Tranquility" and it was painted by Kurt Burmann.  

This one is called "Sentient" by Andrew Manning.  There were lots of beautiful pieces in this show.

A Variety of Sculptures

 

As I was leaving the Shemer Art Center last Friday, I saw this fellow standing outside the door.  He's called "Wild Bill" and he was created by Ned Creighton.  

There are lots of sculptures scattered around the grounds of the center and I wanted to take a few more photos but it was just too hot to be outside in the direct sunlight.

So, I checked my photo files to see if I had any other photos and I found a few more.  This sculpture is called "Quartermaster Anubis" and it was created by Jeff Downing.

This interesting piece is called "Antiquities United, Standing Together".  The artist for this one is David Knorr.

This is "Ultimate Reality" by Joan Waters.  It is certainly the ultimate reality TV.  Everything you see in that "screen" is very real.

There is always something interesting to see both inside and outside of the Shemer Art Center.

More Inside Perspectives

 

I have a few more pieces from this latest show at the Shemer Art Center.  As always, I'm so impressed by the amount of artisic talent there is in this world of ours.  This painting is called "On a Limb" and it was painted by Diane DiRe-McGowan.  It's actually a mixed media piece because that nest is created from twigs, threads and feathers.  

This oil painting is a bit nostalgic.  It's called "Two Sons" and it was painted by Brian Boner.  I wonder if those are his two sons.  

This one caught my eye the second I stepped into the room where it was hanging.  It is another oil painting this time by Jason Savaglio.  It's called "Graduation Day: Eggs Leaving Their Nest".

This painting is oil on board created by Julia Wood.  It's called "Towering Saguaro".  The detail makes me think this one could be mistaken for a photograph.

I could stare at this  one for hours.  It's just so calming.  It's called "Peaceful Destination" and it is by Diane DiRe-McGowan.  This is the same artist as the "nest" in the first photo.  

Another successful show at the Shemer Art Center.