Hammond Regional Arts Center

I was the kid who always had a pocket full of rocks and shells and strange pieces of wood or plastic, things from streams, the beach, the playground, or the floor of the forest. Objects draw me with their shape or texture, and I’ll pick up something without a clear idea of what I’ll do with it other than thinking, “...oh wow, that’s interesting”. I specialize in the odd and eclectic, creating one-of-a-kind pieces that reflect my wicked sense of humor. Some pieces are so symmetrical it hurts; in others, I move something to break the rules and change the structure, just because I can. Each piece is composed of disparate objects — broken furniture, rusty steel parts, kitchen utensils — combined with traditional metals to create pieces which may seem familiar at first glance. But look closer: the discarded and neglected components serve to point a finger at the perils of our “break it and throw it away” society.

This project evolved from the transition during the quarantine period (Spring 2020– Spring 2021), while we were working in a hybrid fashion, partly from home and in person. We were also constructing an outdoor backyard studio (we refer to as the outpost), utilizing remnant wood and objects from around the house and our area. For me, it was a metaphor for the condition of being isolated, yet still connected virtually, as we were dislocated and floating during this time period.

Inspired by early and native mythology, these sculptures emerged from the stoneware clay. “Primordial Man 1 and 2” are inspired by creation myths that have early people appearing from mud or stone sources. “Brown Thrasher Spirit” is a reflection on the beautiful birds and how they are often depicted in myths as anthropological characters, this piece specifically inspired by a brown thrasher that would visit my bird feeder.

I always find myself pushing beyond comfort to experiment with new techniques and media. I also find myself continually drawn to one essential feature: texture. Texture is the heart and soul of my work - it invokes and invites. Textural characteristics can be found among the gilded structural elements of wood, string, and other collected materials. Abstract yet, observable and concrete, these elements solicit the viewer to delve deeper into finding one’s own balance.

Julie Glass is interested in the intersection of materials, processes, visuals, emotions and concepts. Her latest series is inspired by communication, whether it is between two people developing a relationship or a conversation happening within herself. These sculptures contain text extracted from letters, emails, conversations and internal thoughts, along with photos and drawings providing an abstract glance at what she is thinking about. She uses reclaimed wood because it has no illusions of grandeur for itself. Adding color, text, photos, and carving, she works intuitively as the materials, shapes and colors coalesce.

Because of its qualities of permanence, aluminum is my medium of choice. Employing elements of rhythm, texture and design, I endeavor to fashion a strongly dynamic composition fabricated from metal but creating the more ethereal elements of shadow and reflected light as part of the overall concept. Juxtaposing the strength of the metal against the ether of the shadow makes evident the duality, the yin and yang, of the macrocosm. Some of my work is more literal using the most common elements of nature. These are essentially sculptural landscapes using stylized designs and repetitive rhythms to illustrate the fundamental forms of our world.

Growing up in the Catholic Churches of New Orleans, their stained-glass windows made a lasting impression on me. Following a 10-year academic career, I had an opportunity to pursue a career in glass, to study its chemistry, physics and its effects on light transmission and distortion. Subsequent to years of traditional glass construction, the influence of my academic background began to alter my glass design and construction. The distortion of the human face led to my current body of work.

A desire for craftsmanship and awe at process has led my work to focus mainly on wood, metal, glass, and photography in order to achieve higher quality. Ranging from a focus with geometric configurations into a development of time spent, in life and through art overall, all of my work focuses on simple frustration and a means of escape from it that transforms it into something beautiful. The Welded Veil series explores the masks we wear to hide ourselves and the way we want the world to see us instead of how we are.

I tend to rely on intuition and self-expression for subjective interpretations to give the work scope and power. The content is derived from the inherent character of the work rather than from external meanings suggested by form. The emotive powers attempt to take the observer to a state of private reflections. If the viewer projects their own metaphor onto the work, it means I have succeeded in getting them to really look.

In this work, I am looking for connections between myself and the conceptual space that I inhabit. I am using the visual language of items with visual provenance, such as old toys or tools or driftwood. I recreate the patina of use and age as a mechanism to communicate a history for the object. The objects I use are archetypal forms that form a set of relationships that reflect my experience. By reflecting on my experience, I hope to cause others to look deeper into themselves.

Cecelia's work depicts challenges associated with dyslexic learning that are not visible to the everyday person. She creates forms that break down the traditional writing components by using materials such as steel fabrication and cast metals. She is drawn to these materials because of the possible complexity and fluidity that each material is capable of achieving. By bringing all these materials together, she creates a visual communication of the challenges and struggles associated with dyslexia. For those people that do not exactly know what dyslexia feels like, she hopes to reflect those frustrations and help create a better understanding for the viewer.

Martin Needom is an artist who works in a variety of two dimensional and three-dimensional media. The subject matter of his work is usually abstract, non-objective, with a focus on basic elements of design. Some of this abstraction may also be based on natural subjects such as trees or landscapes. He holds a B.A. degree in Art from Southeastern Louisiana College (SLU).

I have sculpted in found and fallen Louisiana wood since 1993, thus have realized my primary awakening to what it means: Seeking, with utmost respect, an honest attempt to bring forth a sculpted piece with its primal dignity intact with only chisel and mallet. The first principle is to not go against the wood’s grain, in other words, do no harm to mass and void, which creates form. I, as a 3D sculptor, attempt to save the wood’s primal echo.

My work is all about freeing the creatures dwelling in driftwood. I see images in the wood the way most people see them in cloud formations. Once the subject has revealed itself, I enhance it with a variety of materials including paint, oil crayons, beads, feathers, and one of my favorites, golf tees. I use wood burning to draw details. The pieces have been described as whimsical and creative.

Emery Kate Tillman is an interdisciplinary artist who is well-known for their exploration of themes related to gender, sexuality, and disability in their artwork. Tillman's use of the color pink is a recurring motif in their pieces and serves as a subversive nod to its historical association with femininity. The use of pink in Tillman's work challenges traditional gender norms, which dictate that pink is for girls and blue is for boys and reclaims the color as a symbol of resistance and empowerment.

“When I work, the paint and I are in constant dialogue. I have my ideas; the paint has her own. Without this silent discourse, the concept cannot be resolved, so the painting waits to be completed at a later date whenever I decide to surrender. It takes strength on my part to let the paint win, not to judge or second-guess it, because I know that the paint will reveal my lifelong struggle between freedom and control and the depths of my subconscious which I would prefer to hide.”

RISORGERE is comprised of hundreds of remnants from the Wildfires that ravaged Sonoma County, California in 2017. They are organized and woven together into columns to create groupings symbolizing different “areas of a house or belongings”. While sifting and digging at a Fire Debris site in Windsor, CA, I felt a strong sense that each piece I found represented a person’s life. I also imagined how those affected by the fires had searched and dug for things they could recognize and reclaim. This gathering process was a heart-wrenching experience. I see this installation as a way of weaving together moments and dreams to create a tapestry of lives. RISORGERE means ‘to rise again’ and it is an homage to the many individuals and families whose lives have been altered by disasters and have risen again to rebuild their lives one piece at a time. It is my desire that as people interact with this installation, they will see the remnants not only as vestiges but as emblems of hope, strength, revival, and community because together we rise!