Kendra Postma

Nestle

2024

Clay/wood, 30" x 9.5" x 2"

“Nestle” is experimental due to the abnormal use of clay. The pieces, or “shards,” are made from the leftover clay from my extruder. After each clay extrusion, the extruder tube is left to dry out until the next use. When I saw how thin and fragile the dried clay had become, I thought it would be a challenge to see how many pieces I could save without breaking them. I love how they stack inside each other and create dimension and structure, hence the name Nestle. The best part is when light shines onto the piece, creating all kinds of interesting shadows. Sometimes, when the light is shown onto it, they almost look like birds nestling together.

Christine Alfery

Your Mind Sings - Listen

2023

Acrylic on paper, 44" x 34" x 0"

The controlled mapping of the face, and the controlled brushwork within the mapping, were so different for me. I pride myself on never coloring within the lines. While I was frustrated with the lack of free spontaneous marking and form-making that I so enjoy when creating, I continued to fill in the spaces to see where the work would take me. Later when I returned to work, I immediately created the red-orange hair and was able to stand back and say "she is finished." I listened to the music the work was singing to me. At first, with the controlled mark-making it was like a controlled symphony slowly, slowly building and then a crescendo of the symphony happened with a burst of red-orange hair, making the work very experimental for me. In the end I enjoyed the statement the work made, it speaks of the contrast of robotic control, the machine, and the fluid flow of creativity. 

Jean Pederson

Blink

2022

Mixed media, 30" x 30" x 2"

I’ve been integrating the ideas of time and movement from quantum mechanics into my practice. Transforming realism into distorted or shifting shapes offers my mixed media a new fresh approach.

"When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change." — Max Planck

Dennis Salaty

The Dwelling

2021

Mixed media assemblage, acrylic and found objects, 12" x 12" x 3"

I usually work with acrylic, collage and assemblage. This piece was experimental for me because I used different materials to create an assemblage-type painting. I experimented using a canvas panel as a base to construct the piece. I also experimented by using new materials, such as the course pumice gel that covers the canvas, which I never used before.