December Visual Arts
Artistic Theme: Landscape
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As a long time resident of New Mexico, Karen has come to love its shapes,
textures, colors and ever-changing patterns in nature, the skies, the mountains
and the streams and rivers. As a nurse midwife for 35 years, attending over
3600 births, her hands have learned to feel, to intuit and act as a guide in the
most blessed event of birthing. Transferring this learning and awareness into
creative expression in glass is a very similar process that is guiding her into
new aspects of herself that are just as exciting.
Karen says, “I am fully and joyfully committed to finding this passion and joy
of expression in fused glass as I learn new techniques and delve into the
mystery of making. So many choices, so little time to explore all that calls to
my heart, but nevertheless, I am so open to the newness of life that presents
itself every day. I have learned to enjoy the nuances of place, people,
relationship and interaction with self and other. As a glass artist, I am learning
to enjoy the same energies that exist within myself and bring them into playful
expression. This is a magical journey into the unknown territory that I find
thrilling."
Carol Mell grew up in wild Oregon where she spent summers by the ocean
and in a ghost town near the Idaho border. She played in a natural world
of imagination, where trees, sturgeon, squirrels and whales spoke.
Improbably, she earned a BFA in Dance from The Juilliard School.
Marriage and motherhood brought her to the Southwest where she
sojourned with her Presbyterian minister husband from Navajoland to
Yuma, Taos and finally Rio Rancho. In her artistic journey through
choreography, writing, photography and painting she exhorts her
students, collectors and fans to “Follow the Dirt Road in Your Soul.”
Carol says, “My imaginative journey through photography now extends
into the realm of beeswax and oils. I have also developed an extensive
mobile artistry practice using today’s fabulous apps. These images are
printed, mounted on panel, covered with beeswax and resin and finished
with texturing and oils. My photographs take on material and physical
form which is not only visual but tactile. My photo encaustic landscapes
are lush and sensuous, often tinged with gold. Hold them close and you
can smell the beeswax. They represent perfect hours in the sun and rain in
a world created for healing and joy.”
Carol Mell
artist@carolmell.com
www.carolmell.com
Meg Leonard was born in Mentor, Ohio, where she was influenced by a
childhood filled with independent outdoor play and supportive teachers who
recognized creative talent and quick learning skills. She received her B.F.A. in
Painting and Drawing, and an A.D. in Nursing at Miami University of Ohio.
She camped across America inspired by sky, weather, geology, and patterns in
nature. While a professional nurse in Wisconsin, her landscape paintings
received gallery and international recognition. She also is trained in Decorative
Arts with national commissions by Ethan Allan and interior designers. She
moved to Placitas in 2004 .
Meg says, "Observation of the natural world reveals the mystery of life, offers
hope, and gratitude for the complex series of events that brought me to this
place. I best translate in color the sensory patterns of light and shadow,
geometry and musicality of this landscape. I love finding remote locations to
work in pastel, then refine or change to oil paint for larger scale."
In 1976, Risa Taylor visited The Metropolitan Museum of Art for the first time.
She fell in love with Monet’s landscapes and made what turned out to be a life-
long commitment to being an artist. During a country-wide search in 1980,
Risa became enchanted with the land of New Mexico and made this state her
home. After multiple decades of being busily and happily devoted to education,
career and family, she is now privileged enough and lucky enough to spend
endless hours painting. A nontraditional, dynamic approach to Plein Air
painting that is used by New Mexico’s Colorists serves as ongoing inspiration
to Risa. Additionally, the work of Canada’s Group of 7 and Thom Thompson
influences her work.
Risa says, “All of my paintings begin on a black or red canvas. Each is started
via Plein Air. Many are finished in my home studio. I love every part of the
process of painting New Mexico. My goal is always to express the emotions
and energy I experienced during my interaction with the landscape that is
pictured.
More of Risa’s work can be seen at The Gallery ABQ (thegalleryabq.com) and
on her website (risataylor.com). She can be reached via email at
Rcarentaylor@gmail.com.
Sandra Humphries has had a lifelong unwavering interest in creating and
studying art, beginning with early oil painting classes at the local Y, then
attending art school to learn about art history, painting, and structure. She
has pursued an art career for most of her life, showing in galleries and
juried shows throughout the US. She has a BFA from Rhode Island School
of Design and MA from the University of New Mexico, and is Signature
Member of the National Watercolor Society and 4 other watercolor groups.
Her work is available on her website, sandrahumphries.com.
Sandra says, “I create art in order to express the deep sense of connection I
feel to places I have experienced from hiking, sketching, photographing,
and plein air painting. The New Mexican landscape is the inspiration for
most of my art. My goal is to create paintings that convey not just the visual
appearance of a place but its emotional impression; to record a brief
moment of the day I was there, the sky, the weather, the feel of drama or
quietude. I invite the viewer to find peace and awe in a world that is
constantly in flux.”
