Lotus Bermudez conveys her life experiences through clay. Her designs are inspired by her passions: cacti, Houston, Texas, television, cooking, science, shopping and family nostalgia. Of her work, she states: “I am constantly stimulated by the world around me and feel compelled to translate it into a way that I can share with others. Functional work is inspired by objects I use myself or would like to use.”
www.taraconleyart.com
www.artfirstfurniture.com
Tara Conley attended Rochester Institute of Technology’s School for American Crafts to attain her BFA in Metalsmithing and Jewelry. She then moved from Western New York State to Houston and began creating works in steel and bronze. In 2003, Conley expanded her use of media to include hand-dyed cotton, fiberglass and plastic coated foam in addition to wrought iron. She uses this unique combination of materials to create otherworldly sculptures with a creature-like feel and, most recently, indoor and outdoor furniture. Conley has gallery representation in Houston and has exhibited throughout the United States. At HCCC, she investigated both clay and wood, in addition to having created a new series of word-related works in bronze.
Jessica Jacobi, who hails from Lubbock, Texas, and has a fine arts degree in studio arts from the University of Texas at Austin, has always held a strong interest in the way the body is handled in the human psyche and within contemporary American society. She also holds a fascination for the darker side of human imagination and perspective. Combining her interests, her work explores how the darker and somewhat macabre elements of the human experience can possess beautiful qualities. She uses an arrangement of forming techniques with metals to produce pieces that suggest parts of the body, and her combination of form and rich surface textures draws in the viewer.
Deborah Kirkpatrick is a native Houstonian who studied art at the Museum of Fine Arts School (now Glassell), Houston Community College and University of Houston. Deborah works in enameling and jewelry, woodcarving, sculpting and gemstone carving. She loves making one-of-a-kind pieces and strives to do what hasn’t been done before. She frequently incorporates wood, bone, gemstones, metal, enamel or paint into one object. Many of her pieces are small in size but highly detailed, and most incorporate human faces. She is strongly influenced by the Art Nouveau artists–most notably the jewelers Lalique and Fouquet.
Lauren McEntire is a fiber artist who came to the Craft Center from Arkansas, where she attended the Kramer School Artist Cooperative. Lauren is interested in feminist issues such as sexuality, identity, objectification, emotions and self-reflection.
Lisa Qualls works in mixed media – primarily with paper, clay and fibers. She draws on her background of sculpture, photography, printmaking and textile design to create both two- and three-dimensional visions of the world around her. She is inspired by history, literature, nature and dreams, and the resulting artwork ranges from surreal to humorous to political. She enjoys transferring techniques from one medium to another, as sometimes textile techniques work very well for clay or paper and vice-versa. For Lisa, the most important thing is creating a visual work of art that expresses her idea and is meaningful to the viewer. Lisa received her BFA at the University of Texas at Austin and continued studies in textile design, clay and mosaics at Parsons and the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and at CISIM in Ravenna, Italy. She recently received a Fellowship Grant from the Houston Arts Alliance. To learn more visit www.lisaqualls.com
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Greg Rubio earned a BFA from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and an MFA from the University of Delaware. He is the recipient of numerous awards and scholarships, including a Fulbright Fellowship to México. His current work brings together his family traditions of archery and sewing in the colorful and symbolic Archery Target Series. Old clothes and sheets are torn, cut, arranged, and then hand stitched and drawn on in order to create functional archery targets. Greg finds satisfaction in this cycle of mending and destruction, in which he creates something beautiful and personally significant from old and used materials. Greg has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions throughout U.S. and internationally in México and Spain.
Carole Smith is a ceramic artist who has an interest in making plates with unusual, seemingly commemorative imagery. She collects thrift-store plates and then applies her own images under resin. With this technique, she combines her love of photography by using the images digitally in the form of ceramic transfers onto clay. During her residency, she hopes to develop these ideas further, using new designs based on her fascination with words and fonts. She also enjoys doing functional work in the form of plates and tiles.
Colleen Toledano, from Albion, Michigan, holds an MFA in ceramics from Ohio University and is skilled in a variety of techniques, including wheel throwing and hand building, moldmaking, woodworking and metal casting and fabrication. Colleen’s complex and thought-provoking work is centered around a fascination with beauty rituals and the many people throughout the course of history who have gladly suffered incredible pain to achieve their vision of personal beauty. Her pieces draw from historical precedents and also from the increasingly popular contemporary practices of elective surgery and do-it-yourself improvement programs.
The Artist Residency Program is designed to offer time and space for craft artists to focus on their creative work and interact with the public. The program supports emerging, mid-career, and established artists working in all craft media, including but not limited to clay, fiber, glass, metal, wood and mixed media.
The Artist Residency Program is designed to offer time and space for craft artists to focus on their creative work and interact with the public. The program supports emerging, mid-career, and established artists working in all craft media, including but not limited to clay, fiber, glass, metal, wood and mixed media.
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