Hera Gallery

# meettheartist Meet Neville Barbour "I want people to appreciate the syncretic nature of humanity." Tell us your artist story, some biographical info, when did you decide to be an artist? Why do you make art? Where did you study? Etc.   I grew up in two separate worlds. Feeling accepted and rejected by both, I wouldn’t change the experience for the world.  Art has been the only steadfast thing that I’ve held onto throughout my life. In some ways, my commitment to art has taught me how to commit to others.  I studied at the Academy of Art in San Francisco.  What do you want people to walk away with after experiencing your work? I want people to appreciate the syncretic nature of humanity.    What influences your work? Why? History and religion influences a lot of my work. I’m very interested in what “different” people do under similar circumstances. I think there’s more commonality than people would l...

#meettheartist Meet C.B. Murphy "I am interested in mystery. I don’t like propaganda." Tell us your artist story, some biographical info, when did you decide to be an artist? Why do you make art? Where did you study? Etc. I’ve always been creative as far back as I remember. At first I thought I wanted to make films, but then gave that up.  I didn’t get serious about painting though until later in my life. Once I started it has only grown in my passion for it. I also write fiction and it seems to support my painting, going back and forth from words to images. What do you want people to walk away with after experiencing your work? I am interested in mystery. I don’t like propaganda. I like to make things that that have many interpretations, even if they are opposites. I think encountering art that is confusing is a positive thing. I do like using representational imagery in ways inspired by circus posters and outsider art generally. I do also li...

#MeettheArtist Meet Jenny E. Balisle "Fascinated by alternative realities, disorientation, and flight, I combine disparate experiences to create new narratives, perspectives, and theories. " 1. Tell us your artist story, some biographical info, when did you decide to be an artist? Why do you make art? Where did you study? Etc. My education consists of a B.A. in Art and Communication from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and a M.F.A. from the Academy of Art College in San Francisco.  Selected exhibition highlights include the de Young Museum Artist-in-Residence, Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Chicago Cultural Center, Korean Cultural Center, Harvard University, Farmington Museum, Museu Brasileiro Sao Paulo, and Shanghai Oil Painting & Sculpture Institute Art Museum. Have been fortunate to have my artworks featured in  The Huffington Post ,  WOMENCINEMAKERS ,  A5 Magazine ,  ZYZZYVA ,  The Drum Literary...

#Meettheartist Meet  Armando Zirakzadeh " When people view my work, I want to reveal myself to them.     First, I want them to begin to understand me, and then I hope they can find a relationship between their lives and mine."     Tell us your artist story, some biographical info, when did you decide to be an artist? Why do you make art? Where did you study? Etc.   My name is Armando Zirakzadeh.     I was born in Tehran, Iran in 1955 to an Iranian father and a Guatemalan mother. My family moved to Boulder, Colorado when I was 6 months old; I became a citizen at the age of 9. I have been married since 1979 and have two children. I studied art at Colorado State University, where I received my BFA in printmaking in 1981.  In 1984 I started Master Screen Art Silkscreening, which I ran until 1990, when I switched to teaching art for a career.  I taught art from 1990-2012 in the Boulder Valley School District, an...

#Meettheartist Meet Sharon Guglielmo My Interest in art and creative expression began during my childhood in such a way that I was sharing my talent as early as age 11 by teaching arts and crafts to youngsters at a community center in Providence and, by age 16, placed on their payroll. This helped pay for my education along with a part time job at a supermarket at RIC, where I earned a BA and MAT in Mathematics with a minor in Art. The degree choice was from the influence of my superb high school math teacher of 3 years. I had the best of both worlds because my interest in interdisciplinary learning allowed me to incorporate art and other relevant subjects for my classes to understand the purpose of the mathematical concepts. This would culminate with an interdisciplinary math fair each year by the students. And after attaining my MAT degree, I was able to devote my free time to continuing education in Art at RISD. My intention for my watercolor ...

#MeettheArtist Meet Carole P. Kunstadt "Transformation, contemplation and gratitude are my essential inspirations in Sacred Poem Series. I am exploring idea/intent as well as the materials in my work. I am striving to extract simplicity from complexity. " Tell us your artist story, some biographical info, when did you decide to be an artist? Why do  you make art? Where did you study? Etc. Born in Boston, with a childhood in Sharon MA, i had after-school art lessons with the town art teacher who lived in an intriguing Revolutionary era house just up the road.  She encouraged each individual's unique eye and the freedom to explore early in my development. I received a BFA, from Hartford Art School, Hartford, CT and continued with postgraduate studies at the Akademie der Bildenen Künste, Munich, Germany.  Six years ago  I re-entered a familiar landscape as in my youth, moving to the Hudson Valley, having lived for 35 years in NYC. What do you want...

#MeettheArtist Meet Kim Triedman Tell us your artist story, some biographical info, when did you decide to be an artist? Why do you make art? Where did you study? Etc. I was a writer (published poet and novelist) before I became involved in visual art. My earliest memories of being artistic are of writing poetry. My art, like my writing, has a strong narrative bent.  I began working in collage and mixed media as a way to further indulge my fascination with story. I have no formal training, but I have always been a maker.  I found myself moving into visual art gradually over the past five years or so  I have always loved putting odd things together to come up with something entirely different.  It feels very much like writing a poem to me – allowing your subconscious to make connections and following them down a serpentine path.  Both my mother and my daughter are trained artists, and both have inspired me greatly over the y...

#Meettheartist Meet Deane Valentine Bowers "I am passionate about being an Environmentally Responsible Artist and I make it my mission to create EcoFriendly Art" Tell us your artist story, some biographical info, when did you decide to be an artist? Why do you make art? Where did you study? Etc.  Originally from Richmond, Virginia, I relocated to the Lowcountry almost 10 years ago and now call Charleston home. Inspiration is always found in the beauty and simplicity of the South Carolina Coast. For this reason, I am passionate about being an Environmentally Responsible Artist and I make it my mission to create EcoFriendly Art. While my eclectic collection includes pieces in Mixed Media Collage, Clay and Paint, my work in Found Object Assemblage is what brings me the greatest joy and satisfaction.  As a self-taught artist, my creative process is guided by two principles. First and most importantly, produce art that makes people happy. Second, strive to...

#MeettheartistsofInGodWeTrust Meet Tyrus Clutter " My desire is to have the interaction of text and image work on a viewer even after an initial viewing." Tell us your artist story, some biographical info, when did you decide to be an artist? Why do you make art? Where did you study? Etc. I started taking art courses while in high school, and although I was an excellent overall student, I soon realized that creating art was my passion. I went on to study art in college (BA from Spring Arbor University) and then grad school (MFA in painting from Bowling Green State University). I started working as a gallery assistant at BGSU at the same time that I was taking my first printmaking courses. I was tasked with creating a database of the BGSU art collection which is mostly prints. I was soon hooked on the processes of printmaking and have spilt my work between painting and printmaking ever since. What do you want people to walk away with after experienci...

#MeettheartistsofInGodWeTrust Meet Hannah Altman Artist Statement Jewish folklore suggests that the memory of an action is as primary as the action itself. This is to say that when my hand is wounded, I remember other hands. I trace ache back to other aches - when my mother grabbed my wrist too hard pulling me across the intersection, when my grandmother’s fingers went numb on the ship headed towards America fleeing the Nazis, when Miriam’s palms enduringly poured water for the Hebrews throughout their biblical desert journey - this is how the Jew is able to fathom an ache. Treating photographs in this body of work as stories with individual bloodlines of their own, I explore notions of Jewish memory, narrative heirlooms, and interpretive image making. To encounter an image is not to ask what it feels like, but to ask: what does it remember like? Tell us your artist story, some biographical info, when did you decide to be an artist? Why do  you make art? Wher...

#MeettheArtist Meet Brooke T Waldron Tell us your artist story, some biographical info, when did you decide to be an artist? Why do you make art? Where did you study? Etc. ▷  We originate from our personal stories of who we are as people, our own life realities that shape us into the individuals we become. I am a native woman and citizen of the Seaconke Wampanoag Tribe. I am employed with the Division of Indian and Native American Programs under the Department of Labor, and a third generation advocate for Native people. I am also part Scottish and a lifelong equestrian. My values and experiences are the common thread that is generally noticeable in my work. I am not a professional artist under the term that I make a living creating art. However, I am a devoted artist under the conditions that my art and my career intersect frequently.  To embrace the creative process for expression and provide emphasis to your life is what I think compels most ...

#Meettheartists Meet Michelle Vezina Peterlin "I make art because it is a vital to me as breathing." Tell us your artist story, some biographical info, when did you decide to be an artist? Why do you make art? Where did you study? Etc. I was born and raised in Gardner, Massachusetts.  I have wanted to be an artist since as long as I can remember.  I was noticed and placed in accelerated art programs from elementary school through high school.   There are about 8 other artists in my family.  I have been a freelance artist for over 25 years. I have a degree in Studio Art from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. I make art because it is a vital to me as breathing.  I am always exploring color, forms and shape.  I am curious by nature and I capture images, ideas and memories within my paintings. What do you want people to walk away with after experiencing your work? My paintings, whether ...