Adrienne Aaronson

After recovering from a life altering illness in my early thirties, my entire being was transformed. I appreciated life and began to see the world around me in new and wonderful ways. I have an urgency to share my vision of nature's beauty.My paintings run the gamut from realistic to total abstraction. Yet all of them are painted with energy, and a sensitivity to color. I hope the viewers of my art will feel my“JOY”.

I have a BFA from U of I in Art Education and have taught in Chicagoland area venues since 1986. I exhibit in juried art shows throughout the United States. I am a proud member of National Association of Women Artists.

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Ann Rose

Ann Rosen has been a painter and sculptor for over 60 years. She received a BA from the University of Illinois and attended the Graduate School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Previously she has taught art to adults in various venues and to children in the Chicago and suburban public schools. She has exhibited in Chicago, New York and France. As the Executive Director of The Art Center of Highland Park for 18 years she expanded its programs from a two room facility and moved it several times to its present 15,000 square foot location. Ann curated and juried hundreds of exhibitions of local and national artists and offered an expanded educational program in all media for adults and children. She also initiated and directed the highly regarded annual Highland Park Festival of Fine Crafts which showcased 130 artists from across the USA. Ann has received numerous awards in recognition of her efforts to promote the arts in the community. She received honors from the mayor of Highland Park, the Illinois State Legislature and the Lake County YWCA where she was honored with the Woman of the Year Award in the the Arts.

 

Beverly Kedzior

Long before I became acquainted with the Dada and Pop visionaries, I was fascinated by the Jetsons, Disney’s animated films and Dr. Seuss’ illustrations. Saturday mornings were reserved for cartoon shows and Sunday mornings were not complete without the comic strips. My paintings reflected the biomorphic shapes contained in these venues. Several years ago, I discovered that a genetic disorder, named Fragile X, lurked deep in my family history. In search of explanations, I was consumed with delving into medical books. The images I found there both fascinated and repelled me. At the same time, I saw a correlation to the organic and cartoony images that had become a part of my paintings. So I consciously made the medical illustrations a part of the images that I use to construct drawings that ultimately become paintings. Although my paintings are developed with formal structure in mind and an emphasis on material and process, much of the imagery is gleaned from animated film and medical textbooks. So, as a critic once wrote, it is not an accident that some of my paintings resemble vivid, spongy and psychedelic landscapes that a space-age cartoon family might zoom through; or that others suggest Wassily Kandinsky meeting the Lava Lamp while watching a 1960’s educational film introducing youngsters to the wonders of the digestive system. The finished paintings stress color, texture and space through the use of traditional and non traditional tools and printing techniques that include stencils, brushes, rollers, scrapers, masking and resist products. I have been influenced by Arshile Gorky, Dr. Seuss, Wassily Kandinsky, Peter Saul, Joan Miro, Walt Disney and The Jetsons.
beverlykedzior@comcast.net

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Bonnie Katz

           Bonnie Katz’s current work is inspired from observing behaviors and characteristics of the animal world around her. Her summer was spent working in gardens that were frequented by rabbits and birds. Clay as her medium, she models figures both sculptural and as functional vessels. The work s is smoked in a sawdust pit to give an ambiance of mystery and wonder. Bonnie Katz is an artist and teacher within the Chicago arts community. Currently she teaches at the Evanston Art center as well as having taught at universities, public and private schools. Katz received a BFA from Washington University and an MFA from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Her work has been featured in local and international exhibitions.

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Carol Hamilton

Carol Hamilton is an abstract painter/printmaker working primarily in encaustic. She is a resident artist at the Starline Factory Gallery & Studios in Harvard, IL. Her aesthetic roots are in the western landscape, science and Zen and her paintings and monotypes seek to invoke a contemplative state in the viewer. Hamilton received her BFA/MFA in painting/printmaking and now teaches. Her work has been shown regionally and nationally and is in private and public collections.

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Cosima Aryee

Born in Taranto, Italy, Cosima Aryee immigrated to Chicago at the age of twelve. After high school she served in the U.S. Army and then attended the College of Art & Design at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. She earned a BFA with a double major in painting and drawing. Prior to becoming a full- time artist, she enjoyed a successful career in graphic design and marketing. Cosima has two handsome sons and currently resides in River Grove, Illinois.

Her work has been in group and solo exhibitions including Robert T. Wright Gallery of Art, Dandelion Gallery, Old McHenry Courthouse Art Center, David Adler’s Arts Center, The Art Center Highland Park, Winnetka Community House, the James May Gallery, Oak Park Arts League Gallery, Norris Cultural Arts Center, Elmhurst Art Museum Guild Gallery and the Overland Gallery.

Cosima captures the atmospheric sensations and wonder of the natural world and mystical space in alluring abstract works of art. She imbues her work with a keen sense of dimension and illumination. Her paintings show a fierce, unapologetic journey into discovering the great mystery of our humanity and the artist’s creative calling. Cosima’s warm and thoughtful personality breathes life into her paintings and contributes to the emotional and intellectual engagement that occurs with each viewing. The paintings feel alive and indicative of a thoughtful process of a willingness to take chances!

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Judith Joseph

Chicago artist Judith Joseph has a B.S. in Art from the University of Wisconsin- Madison. She has had numerous solo, two-person and group exhibitions across the United States, as well as Vancouver, Canada; Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Berlin, Germany and Douro, Portugal. She is a two-time recipient of the Illinois Arts Council Artists’ Fellowship Award and a recipient of a 3Arts Grant. Her work is part of many collections, including: the Archives of MOMA, New York; The Musée de la Poste, Paris, France; The Archives of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; the Chicago Public Library, Respect and Tolerance Foundation, Czech Republic, Milwaukee Public Museum, and private collections.

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Marcia Babler

Involved in many artistic activities as a professional artist, my work has been juried and accepted by museum curators, gallery owners, educators and national and international artists including: Gary Freeburg (Professor and Director of Duke Hall Gallery of Fine Art at James Madison University); Amanda C. Burdan (Associate Curator - Brandwine River Museum of Art); Christiane Paul (Director of Media Studies at New School, NY and Curator of New Media Arts at the Whitney Museum of American Art); Felice Frankel (Science photographer and research scientist); Malcolm Daniel (Curator of Photographs – Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC); Kenneth Baker (Art Critic, San Francisco Chronicle); Keith Carter, internationally recognized photographer and educator; William Lieberman, Director of Zolla/Lieberman Gallery – Chicago; Annette Carlozzi (Sr. Curator at Blanton Museum of Art); Dr. Jefferson Harrison (Chief Curator Chrysler Museum of Art); Charlotta Kotik (Curator of Contemporary Art Brooklyn Museum of Art); David Houston (Chief Curator –Ogden Museum of Southern Art); Dr. Russell Panczenko (Director – Museum of Art, Madison Wisconsin); Siri Engberg (Walker Art Center); Dorothy Simpson Krause (Educator and Authority on digital art); Stephen Phillips (Phillips Collection – Washington DC); Sam Gilliam (international artist); and Ed Paschke (international artist). A Ragdale Foundation Residency Fellow, I am also a juried member of the Illinois Arts Council’s Arts-In-Education Roster. My work has been in numerous one-woman and group exhibits, and received national and regional awards. I have been a juror of art competitions and was also technical fine art consultant and advisor for Grumbacher and Prismacolor along with developing a training program for Blick Art Supplies. My artwork is in corporate, university and private art collections in North America and Europe.

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Marlene Diamond

Diamond is a lifelong artist whose formal training began at age 15 when she won a state-wide competition and received a scholarship to the Art Institute of Chicago. Her work was selected by a jury of 11 for the Art Institutes Silver Anniversary Show and subsequently purchased. She has exhibited locally in Chicago in Galleries and through the states and exhibited in the Art Institutes Rental Gallery for 10 years with many awards. Her work has been shown in the U.S., Germany, New Zealand and is part of a permanent collection in France and Mexico.

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Melissa Pierson

Melissa Pierson hails from the Pacific Northwest, although she has called the Chicago area home for quite some time. She attended college at University of Puget Sound and Illinois State University, earning her degree in biology with a minor in chemistry. Art was always a part of her life, and she took several courses in art throughout college as well as after graduation. Upon completion of her degree, she quickly became involved with bott the Audubon Society and the Nature Conservancy, working as a volunteer to help restore native habitat and monitor butterflies. It was this study of butterflies in the field that ultimately informed the direction her painting would take. Connection to place is paramount to artist. She became intrigued wit how geological forces combine with evolution to create a harmony of plants and animals uniquely suited to a specific place. “There is great natural beauty and biodiversity right here”, she says, “You don’t need to travel to Costa Rica to appreciate nature.” That connection to the natural world close to home is what her work is all about. Her mission is to foster a connection between people and the nature where they live for the benefit of both.

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Sally Wille

Sally was born in Beloit, Wisconsin and moved to Winnetka, IL, a suburb of Chicago when she was seven years old. Growing up on the shores of lake Michigan and spending summers at camp in Michigan on an inland lake gave her a deep appreciation for nature, the outdoors and its unending landscape. Her interest in painting was cultivated during high school with class work, and continued while enrolled at The Art Institute of Chicago during summers. Sally continued her painting practice in college at The University of Arizona completing her BFA degree. Today, Sally paints with watercolor and gouache and cherishes the connection she has with nature and the outdoors. She continually is evolving as an artist. Her abstracted landscapes, use broad swaths of color and many times non representational colors and shapes. Sally paints in her studio in Winnetka and in her summer studio in Northern Michigan. At times she paints en plain air. She has participated in both group shows and solo shows. She is an active member of three art centers and is a member of The Leelanau Women Artists, and Art Makers North. Sally is currently represented by Synchronicity Gallery in Glen Arbor, MI. and Button Gallery in Douglas, MI. She can also be followed on Instagram and Facebook.

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Socorro Muciño

Socorro Muciño is an emerging artist who specializes in nontoxic alternative printmaking processes. These include: photopolymer gravure and plate lithography. Socorro holds an MA, Columbia College Chicago. She taught full time as a Chicago Public School art teacher. She is an exhibiting member at the Noyes Cultural Arts Center and Evanston Made. Her current work is a series of prints inspired by walks through the city. These prints include trees and cemetery monuments in Evanston.

IG: @almost_by_the_lake_artstudio

www.socorromucino.com

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Tobi Abrams

Tobi enjoys capturing the beauty of nature in her paintings especially while painting outdoors in the south west part of our country. She enjoys using acrylic paints, pastels and acrylics with collage materials which she frequently finds at the painting. This artist has several favorite painting techniques.Her very favorite technique is building up layers of collage materials in order to  create a three dimensional effect in her paintings. She believes that a painting should be similar to a piece of sculpture only on a flat plain with 3-dimensional length, width and height and that you could feel or touch its 3-dimensional qualities. Her second favorite technique is called dry brush where one color slowly flows in another and you can frequently see the brush strokes. Tobi has a Bachelor’s of Science Degree from Northern Illinois University with a major in fine arts, biology and chemistry. MS Abrams taught painting, drawing, Early American Crafts and kids painting at schools, libraries, adult education centers, and park districts for many years.  She has received many honors on her paintings. Just recently she received two honors from Gallery Ring an online gallery. She was awarded a Jurors Choice Award in May 2020 for her painting; Exploding Colors in the Sky; which she painted in pastels. In September 2020 she received an honorable mention from Gallery Ring for her painting; Gray Skies Make Me Sad; Her significant honor this year was having her painting titled; Gray Day in the Mountains; juried into the Bower Center for the Arts 11th Annual Juried Art Show in Virginia. This month Tobi has her painting; Exploding Colors in the Sky; juried into a show titled Later Impressionism with Cava at The Old Town Triangle Art Association in Chicago. Last year she was honored by having her painting titled Beautiful and Peaceful Mountains in a traveling show throughout the state of Montana with the Waterworks .She hopes to have many years to paint and combine her love of traveling and painting!

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