November Visual Arts

Christiane Couvert was born into a family of artists beginning with her father who worked with wood and other media. Her brother is a sculptor, painter and poet, her sister is a professional art scholar. Christiane’s own artistic nature was influenced by her multi-cultural experiences gained through years of traveling throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. She also brings into her work her 30 plus years of working as a physical therapist, as well as the training, centeredness, and inner discipline of her lifetime of practicing and teaching yoga and martial arts. Christiane says, “Creating art work is a process of that results in 2 stories! First, there is a story of it’s making, which is a combination of my feelings, expressions and inspirations. The second story is how it makes you feel when you see it, touch it, or use it in your everyday life. And as a particular piece becomes a part of your story, it takes on a patina of your expressions… Expressions involving a meal you have prepared for a special occasion, a cup of tea as you are reading, morning coffee in your garden and so on. What I wish for you is gratitude for your patronage, and happiness in all the ways that these ceramic art pieces serve your needs.”

Judith Roderick was a Painting and Design major at Carnegie Tech in the 1960s and has been creating Art ever since. She had a long successful Wearable Arts Career in the 1980’s,and owned Village Wools, a fiber supply store in Albuquerque for 10 years. Judith taught Batik and Silk Painting for over 20 years, from the store, her studio, and at Ghost Ranch. Now she is happily at home in Placitas making Art Quilts. They travel the world in Studio Art Quilts Associates (SAQA) shows, and are shown locally at Wild Hearts Gallery in Placitas, and on her website, www.judithroderick.com. Judith says, “ The flow of the creative process has always been my most satisfying activity, and I have spent this lifetime creating in a myriad of ways. Fiber has been the strongest thread, so to speak, in this artistic journey. The complex, multi-layered nature of Art Quilts feels like a culmination of it all. That and my love and appreciation of Nature, are sustaining me during this intense personal and Planetary reboot that we are in the midst of. I illustrate beauty and hope in my work, and send it out into the world as a Blessing.”

Originally from New York City, Lyndia Radice performed as a classical musician in the US and Europe for 10 years. She earned MSW and MS degrees from Columbia University and provided child therapy services in NYC, Alamo Reservation and Albuquerque for over 25 years. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group shows in numerous states. In 2016, the Las Vegas, NV Cultural Commission chose 3 of her photos for street banners. In 2017, her painting was used for the Silver City, NM, Dia de Los Muertos poster. Her work is available at Tularosa Basin Gallery of Photography and at her website (https://lyndiaradice.myportfolio.com/) Lyndia says, “I draw, paint, and take photographs as part of my spiritual practice. Beginning in 2017, as a contemplative exercise, I set a goal to create two digital paintings per week based on my bird and nature photographs. I never use automatic “create a painting from your photograph” apps; rather, I use Photoshop and its extensive brushes to create paintings based on my original photographs. A completed painting might contain 25-30 layers and take 10-15 hours to complete. I hope that my paintings will deepen viewers’ connections to the natural world.”

Carol Ordogne loved New Mexico when she first visited twenty years ago. She enjoyed her career as a landscape architect but dreamt of moving here and of creating art full-time. In her first years in Placitas she learned to identify the plants and animals and she began painting the landscapes outside in one painting session. Her work is available at Jezebel Gallery in Madrid, New Mexico, and also at her Placitas studio. Her website is CarolOrdogne.com. and her email address is GardenArtistry@gmail.com. Carol says, “My goal in painting is to show the beauty of light and color as it plays across an animal or landscape. To begin a painting I cover the entire canvas in a complimentary color. Some of this lively color shows through when the painting is completed using a brush, a pallet knife, or a squeegee. My artistic journey has evolved this year with our stay at home orders. I want to reach out to children and teach them about nature. I began a linocut series to accomplish that goal. Like Japanese prints there is no reference to light or form, creating a flat artwork that is the opposite of my oil paintings. I hope that these prints will introduce the next generation to the huge variety of plants and animals that make up our world.”

Ron Richman grew up in New York City, where he was very active in the Boy Scouts, achieving the rank of Eagle Scout and also got certified as a Scuba Diver. While attending high school and college I worked for the Boys Club of New York, eventually running the summer aquatic program. After military service, he received his Ph.D. in Chemistry at the University of Colorado and went to work for NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research) and then for IBM. He received and MBA while at IBM and eventually retired as Director of e-Business. Wanderlust took Lee and me to South America and eventually to Placitas, where we have happily settled. Not content with full retirement, I created PACE (Placitas Adult Community Education), an education program that enables “senior” adults to “keep their head in the game”. Ron says, “From my earliest memories, I have always been attracted to the water. This attraction resulted in my becoming a scuba instructor which even today many years later still brings me the joy of watching students “blow bubbles” for the first time. Through my passion for diving I have discovered a world of fantasy and amazing creatures. When a mentor gave me a simple underwater camera, a new passion was born. Through my photography I have been able to document the color and texture, as well as the strange animals of the underwater world. In time, I realized that I had taken the bounty of the sea for granted. Over the years watching species decline and some even disappear, still another passion was born-- that of educating anyone who would listen on the importance of the ocean and the coral habitats to the very survival of our planet. By combining my passion for diving and photography I hope to convey an appreciation for the beauty of the ocean, while educating on the importance of care and preservation.”