September Visual Artists

Laura says: “I’m a storyteller who paints and creates what I can imagine. With degrees in clay and fiber and 30 years of trial and error..lots of error..one does find what works best and what makes you happy. I’m not partial to any materials or surfaces. Like a good cook in the kitchen, I use whatever is at hand and explore where the ingredients take me. Whether painting, sculpture or my refashioned clothing line, you’ll find the main theme that runs through them all is a tale of contemporary folk art and a pinch of whimsy.”

The desire to capture and bring back beautiful images while sailing in the Caribbean years ago first sparked Jeri Burzin’s interest in photography. She attended workshops in beautiful places such as Yosemite, Monterey, the White Mountains, Sequoia National Park, and Ghost Ranch along with training with the University of California Summer Arts program increased her knowledge, confidence, and passion for photography.    “Literacy through Photography” workshops at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University were instrumental in her work with students using photography as a medium of communication.    Burzin’s work is in a variety of private collections across the country and has been shown in venues including the Ansel Adams Gallery and the Yosemite Museum in Yosemite. Currently her work is on exhibit at Yucca Gallery in Old Town, Albuquerque, and Gifted Hands Gallery in Madrid, NM. She is a Board Certified Educational Therapist with a certificate in Educational Therapy from University of CA Santa Cruz, a Master’s Degree in Education from City College of NY, and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from Hunter College. Jeri says: “Designs in nature are often the subject of my work, and the desire to show how the commonplace may become the unusual is a motivating force. I am a photographer and mixed media artist whose challenge continues to be finding beauty to photograph in my backyard as well as in my travels. Color, patterns, and contrast are most intriguing and what captures my attention.”

Born and raised in Hartford, CT Michael Christiana served in the US Army before receiving a BFA from the University of Hartford and then an MFA from the Yale University School of Art and Architecture. He taught painting, drawing, and printmaking for over 25 years at the college level. Working primarily in acrylics and often in a series, he paints what appeals to him. His prints are in permanent collections at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC; Whitney Museum, New York City; Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY; and numerous private collections. He has exhibited in the US and Europe with the Smithsonian Institution traveling services. He and his wife settled in New Mexico for retirement. Michael says: “I do not paint in the conventional sense of what I think the painting should be. There are no preconceived notions of a finished product. I paint instinctively. Brushes, pallet knives, cloth, and a variety of mixed colors are used. Texture emphasizes the abstraction; and the tools I use are part of the process. The galaxy has always been a source of wonder to me. The cosmos series represent a very small part of a visual experience. The liquid movement of a celestial entity is manifested in amorphous shapes. Bold strokes and colors are blended to achieve images of cosmic brilliance, disturbance, and beauty. This is my perception of what a galaxy should be.”

Julianna Kirwin’s images are based in New Mexico’s landscape and culture. As a resident living along some of the oldest roads in the state, her work is “place-based” using the rich medium of printmaking to express the experiences that belong to a journey of both time and space. The beauty of everyday things: chickens, sunflowers, New Mexico’s skies, or even a favorite poet can appear as the subject of her hand-carved linocut prints, describing a particular sense of identity flavored by place.  Kirwin’s work and training has been enhanced by travels to Mexico where she studied with local printmakers in Oaxaca and Guanajuato. Recently retired from teaching art in Bernalillo Public Schools, she has given workshops at the Museum of International Folk Art and at bilingual settings across Mexico. A featured artist for Globalquerque, she has had solo exhibits in New and Old Mexico and has exhibited primarily in the southwest. At her studio on Mountain Road in Albuquerque, she hosts pop-up exhibits and open studio events that encourage interaction between the public and the artist. Julianna says: “I love the carved line, the smell of the ink, the press of the paper against the block and then the surprise of the texture and color released onto the paper.”