RBJSE 2021
Mary Ann Rutledge
Artist Mary Ann Rutledge
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Bronze and wood
16”h x 12”w x 8”d 2019 Biography What started as a hobby developed into a lifelong passion which progressed from painting to woodworking, ceramics and sculpture. A serious ambition only accelerated after the age of 70 when her work began being exhibited regularly. After retirement from a Dental Hygiene career, Mary Ann enrolled at the College of Creative Studies and Macomb Community College, taking every art class available. At age 70, she started creating large scale sculptures in various mediums including bronze, wood, ceramic, glass, and cement and has exhibited at various juried art shows throughout Michigan. Her work has been highlighted at the Ellen Kayrod Gallery, Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum at Saginaw Valley State University, Art Prize in Grand Rapids, The Lawrence Street Gallery, Grosse Pointe Art Center and Midland Center for the Arts, Midland, MI. Mary Ann has been represented in past Regional Biennial exhibitions and won 3rd place award in 2014 and was in the exhibition in 2016. “The psychology of the multiple personalities of Sybil. Perfectly formed Sybil perhaps has a very dark disturbed psyche, while her other outward personality is flawed, but a complete inner person. These thoughts account for the patinas of dark and light. The process used was traditional lost wax bronze casting.” |
Melissa Jones
Artist Melissa Jones
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Transition
Ceramic 17”h x 22”w x 25”d 2020 Biography Melissa Jones was born and raised in Detroit. Melissa earned her degree in Art Education at Wayne State University and went on to teach in West Bloomfield, MI. While teaching she earned her Masters in Art Therapy, also from WSU. Following the birth of her daughter in 1998 she decided to set aside her academic career to focus on creating art. In 2006 she began to reach out to the wider Detroit art community and became a member of the exhibition committee at the Detroit Artists Market. She also began showing her paintings around this time. Since then she has remained active on the exhibition committee, serving as co-chair for part of 2016 and 2017, served 2 terms as a board member and is an ongoing member of the Circle of Art Committee, as well as a board member at HATCH (hatch.org). Her work has expanded to include sculpture as well as mixed media and oil painting. She has had six solo shows and continues to create and show work. Her artwork will be represented by Gallery Camille beginning April 2022. Currently her work can be seen on display at the Kresge Corporate headquarters in Bloomfield Hills, MI. About her sculpture “Transition is a ceramic sculpture that I created when both my son and I were going through a difficult time in our lives. It illustrates the pain involved in transitioning into adulthood and trying to find your path in life. I think this is a challenging time for most people, but especially hard for some.” Visit Melissa’s website: melissajonesfineart.com Follow Melissa on Instagram: melissajoness98 |
Nancy Brooks Siebert
Within the Ruins
Printed paper 22 1/2“h x 14“w x 10“d 2020 Biography Nancy lives in the mid-Michigan area. She has had her work shown in galleries throughout the area, including shows at Studio 23 in Bay City and Art Reach Mt. Pleasant MI. She mainly works in monoprints, fabric and paper. Nancy has been represented in the 2012, 2014 and 2018 Regional Biennial. Nancy is a member of SAWA (Saginaw Area Watermedia Artists) and the Great Lakes iphoneography Group. “My work, Within the Ruins is part of a series that I have been working on for a number of years that I call my Ruin Series. I am a printer and realized that the prints that I didn't want to keep could be repurposed instead of being thrown out. This led to my 3D explorations. I have had a fascination with arches, so using my printed paper I created an arch with several other pieces to go with it.” Visit Nancy’s website: nancy-brookssiebert.squarespace.com |
Artist Nancy Brooks Siebert
Pamela Hart
Artist Pamela Hart
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Takamat
Ceramic 14”h x 11 ¼ ”w x .875”d 2020 Biography Pamela Hart is a ceramics artist with fourteen years experience in the medium. Pam started working with clay after twenty years as a music teacher and then a number of years as a stay-at-home mom. She has studied with several different instructors at the Midland Center for the Arts Studio School as well as attended workshops with nationally recognized experts. She is in her fifth year of teaching adults at the Midland Center’s Studio School. She has worked with fibers and needlework most of her life, and sees her textural surfaces and complicated glazing as a ceramic version of embroidery. Her portfolio includes sculptural pieces, functional pieces, and pieces used for worship. She has exhibited regionally and has had her worship pieces exhibited as far away as California. Her pottery can be found in a number of local collections. Her worship pieces are used in local churches as well as the chapel of Wisconsin Lutheran College in Milwaukee. Both of these pieces are from my series “Daughter Warriors.” My daughters’ ancestry includes Mali, in northwest Africa, and I am using its rich history of art and culture as inspiration to create pieces that I hope will provoke conversations with my daughters about their heritage, as well as their potential as women. The vessels in my “Daughter Warriors” series are heavily influenced by the shapes of gourds, clay pots and baskets, with designs taken from the traditions of the ethnic groups that form much of Mali. I have chosen to use a tripod base when hand building these pots because it is an ancient and sturdy form, and I find that when I push out the clay from the inside to make a bowl the piece takes on a personality of its own. This speaks to my vision of a woman warrior as an individual who stands strong in her role. My wall hanging “Takamat” is inspired by the beautiful silver jewelry of the Tuareg people of northern Mali. The engravings on their jewelry intrigue me and I am challenged to replicate them in a three dimensional way. The black center designs are from antique keys. Takamat was the servant of Queen Tin Hinan, the founder of the Tuareg people and is seen by the Tuareg as a key figure in their history. Is a nation great just because of its leaders, or are it’s essential workers also key? |
Rebecca Hungerford
Richard Bennett
Artist Richard Bennett
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Bunny Maximus
Welded bronze & stainless steel 34”h x 36”w x 60”d 2018 Biography Bennett is a self-taught sculptor and furniture designer. He has executed a number of public works that are exhibited in major cities around the world. One such piece is located on Detroit’s Belle Isle Park titled Gazelle. It is a large 20-foot-high steel sculpture, has abstract elements representing a gazelle's horns, head, neck, and back and is made from steel and painted black. The locals fondly call this sculpture the hammer. The Gazelle is a Smithsonian Art Inventory Sculpture. Bennett’s designs all seem lighter than the space they occupy, a condition which has led critics to observe that his works "flirt with gravity." In addition to his sculpture, for over 30 years Richard Bennett & Associates, a Detroit midtown-based company, has become known for high quality unique multi-media works. His works consist of a highly stylish line of contemporary furniture and accessories for residential and commercial markets. He has been represented in past Regional Biennial exhibitions, winning a Merit Award in 2008, and is a member of Detroit Collected (https://www.collecteddetroit.com/artists). Visit his website: http://richardbennettdesigns.com/ |
Riley Parrish
Robert Landry
Sara Clark
Rings of Fire
Ceramic and glass 18“h x 60“w x 96”d 2019 Biography Sara Brooks Clark received her B.F.A. from Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois in the Spring of 1989. In 1991, she earned an M.F.A in ceramics from the Ohio University. Clark has been working as the studio art technician and as an art instructor at Saginaw Valley State University since 1992. She has juried exhibitions for regional art groups in Michigan and given several public lectures. Previous experience included working as the art director for a small artist in residence program in Michigan. Clark has had several one person shows and has shown in national exhibitions which include shows in Louisiana, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Missouri, and Ohio. Described as quirky and whimsical by colleagues, Clark’s work generally involves a playful look at the perception and presentation of form and fantasy by today’s fashion and trend conscious society. She works both sculpturally and functionally in terra cotta, stoneware and recently glass. Her organic forms activate space and have colorful deep surfaces that reference nature and unique decorative pattern. Examples of her recent concerns can be found in her series Tools, which is an attempt to nullify violence through beauty, in Trophies and Journeys the references are for little victories found in the mundane, in the piece Ablution an homage to our attempts to wash away that which is unpleasant or weak. Sara is a member of National Council on the Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA), Saginaw Art Museum, Studio 23, Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum, Greater Flint Arts Council, and Midland Center for Science and Art. “Rings of Fire is an installation that parodies the hazards and beauty of love and desire.” |
Steven Miller
Cloud Chair
Gypsum 13 ½“h x 11 ½“w x 7“d 2019 Biography Growing up in rural Ohio in the 1950’s Steve learned to draw and paint with the encouragement of his artist mother. But other interests intervened — he began to study science and earned B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in chemistry followed by research and teaching at Oakland University from 1962 through 1994. In 1995 he began a full-time commitment to sculpture and drawing. His art education is based on a series of non-degree studies starting in 1985 and continuing to the present. Instruction in sculpture, drawing and printmaking has been taken at the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center (BBAC), the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit (CCS), the Fechin Institute in Taos, New Mexico, and the Scottsdale Artists’ School (SAS) in Arizona. He studied under Nancy Thayer and Jay Holland at CCS, Gwen Marcus, Simon Kogan, Dan Ostermller Fechin Baerbel Dieckman, Tuck Langland, and Lincoln Fox at SAS; Autumn Fisher, Sharon Sommers, Russell Thayer, Marie Larsen, and Sergio DiGiusti at BBAC. From 1992 to 1996 he was privileged to be mentored by Arthur Schneider of Franklin, Michigan - an extraordinary artist, teacher and friend. From 2000 to 2002 he served as President of the Sculptors Guild of Michigan. He has taught classes and workshops at the Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center and the Greater Bloomfield Senior Association. Steven is sought after to work with fellow sculptors in the making of molds. He was a member of the Lawrence Street Gallery (cooperative) in Ferndale, Michigan, from 2000 to 2016. He has been represented in the 2008 and 2018 Regional Biennial. He is represented by the Blue Heron Gallery, Elk Rapids, Michigan. "Cloud Chair" celebrates the way that reading a book takes a person to a different place. The model for this piece is a portrait that Karl Larssen painted of his wife Karin reading. Visit Steven’s website: www.srmillersculpture.net |
Susan Robinson Heaslip
Todd Erickson
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Feed my Sheep
Bronze 103”h x 72”w x 36“d 2019 Biography For over 39 years, Todd Erickson has been a part of the College for Creative Studies (Detroit) family in a variety of capacities, including Assistant Dean, Director of Academic Facilities, and currently as Director of Exhibit Services and Adjunct Professor in the Sculpture Section of the Fine Arts Department. His work, cast and fabricated in bronze, iron, aluminum, steel, stone, wood and glass, has been exhibited in galleries and museums across the Midwest. Todd Erickson’s cast bronze series of Michigan Rivers reflects the familiarity of space as experienced through shared communal and personal memories. The linear bronze forms reconstruct relatable observations of natural and architectural structures. Erickson’s work intimate’s continuity and hope, representing time, strength and endurance. Todd has been represented in past Regional Biennial exhibitions. Feed My Sheep Know peace And true north Be here now Floating above Joyous sound Be in my Understanding Heart and thinking Compass in the rushes God’s speed Grain, grapes and thou My friend in the garden Go in peace Visit Todd’s YouTube site: U tube-Todd Erickson Follow Todd on Facebook and Instagram: ToddErickson |
Valerie Mann
Artist Valerie Mann
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A Letter to My Daughter
Wire, rubber, leather, found objects 40” h x 51” w x 6"d 2019 Biography Valerie Mann is an artist living in Saline, Michigan. She earned a BFA in painting from University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and an MFA in sculpture from Michigan State University. Much of her work explores the place where 2D and 3D meet, regardless the medium. Shadows are important, whether it is a painting or sculpture. She has numerous sculptures and paintings in public and private collections throughout the US and abroad. She is part-owner and represented by the WSG gallery in Ann Arbor, MI and teaches at Washtenaw Community College. She has been represented in the Regional Biennial many times. “A Letter to My Daughter is a visual representation, an abstraction of a handwritten letter to my 22 year-old daughter. I am often thinking of something I want to share with her, warn her about, teach her....and as she got ready to leave home a couple of years ago, I felt a sense of urgency to teach/warn/share ideas from every part of the spectrum. I know this is not only something I have experienced, because I have talked to other mothers about this same phenomenon. It also represents that 'blah, blah, blah', sort of 'Charlie Brown adult talking' part of parents talking to their children.” Visit Valerie’s website: https://valerie-mann.squarespace.com/ View Valerie’s links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qyhUrdFKqU&t=45s https://www.wzzm13.com/video/news/local/art-prize/artprize-piece-focuses-on-gun-violence/69-2751198 Follow Valerie on social media @valmannart |
Mark Beltchenko
Biography
This Detroit area artist weaves ever deepening layers upon layers of stories in carved stone, steel and wood. Meticulous in detail and dialogue, his work serves as a meditation on our current lives and political hypocrisies. If you do not immediately recognize the discourse, that’s okay, just allow yourself to linger a while. Beltchenko is a quiet man who’s work tells the stories on his behalf.
Mark Beltchenko has executed commissions for colleges, university's, churches, corporations, casinos, libraries and municipalities. In addition to producing his own bodies of work he has participated in visiting artist programs and workshops as well. Mark also creates one of a kind precious metal jewelry for which he has won numerous design awards. He is represented by Ogilvie/Pertl Gallery in Chicago, IL and maintains a studio and residence in metropolitan Detroit.
Overall, these works are attempting to illuminate the darkness of the current environment situation.
Mark recently had an exhibition at the Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum. You can view that online exhibition here: https://www.marshallfredericks.net/mb.html
This Detroit area artist weaves ever deepening layers upon layers of stories in carved stone, steel and wood. Meticulous in detail and dialogue, his work serves as a meditation on our current lives and political hypocrisies. If you do not immediately recognize the discourse, that’s okay, just allow yourself to linger a while. Beltchenko is a quiet man who’s work tells the stories on his behalf.
Mark Beltchenko has executed commissions for colleges, university's, churches, corporations, casinos, libraries and municipalities. In addition to producing his own bodies of work he has participated in visiting artist programs and workshops as well. Mark also creates one of a kind precious metal jewelry for which he has won numerous design awards. He is represented by Ogilvie/Pertl Gallery in Chicago, IL and maintains a studio and residence in metropolitan Detroit.
Overall, these works are attempting to illuminate the darkness of the current environment situation.
Mark recently had an exhibition at the Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum. You can view that online exhibition here: https://www.marshallfredericks.net/mb.html
Artist Mark Beltchenko