Chessa Piker-Ward has a background in dance, theater and visual arts. She received her B.A. from U.C.S.C in Theater Arts. She has studied dance at the Alvin Ailey Institute, Motion Pacific and the Dance Mission Theater. She has been painting since she was twelve years old and took classes on portrait painting and figure drawing from the Art Students League of New York City. She feels that art is therapy and encourages everyone to do it as much and as often as possible.

Making art is how I make sense of the world and my forgotten childhood. Observing my own anxieties and awkwardness I create visual narratives that examine loneliness, responsibility, and choice. In my work the innocence and vulnerability associated with children and animals is constrained. These stories unfold in the space between memory and nostalgia, and focus on the tension between youth and maturity. In the sculptures, composed of discarded stuffed animals sewn over taxidermy forms, I am observing how childhood and adulthood circle one another. The forms usually used as hunting trophies have now become the mementos of a lost childhood.

Kellyʼs work draws on the inspirations of her early childhood memories and the organic forms and colors found in nature. Combining other disciplines such as sculptural elements within the glass and hand paint; her work reflects her belief in simplistic forms and asymmetry, varying in color intensity from landscape palettes to the boldness of graffiti art. As a self taught artist she has studied techniques in such mediums as painting, ceramic sculpture, metal smithing, woodworking, photography and motorcycle maintenance which she combines with to create the unique pieces.

art makes me make art makes me. i work in a variety of mediums, reflecting my take on everything from societies absurdities to its beauties. Often I work quickly on impulse and find i achieve my best results this way. In the past i have worked with ceramics, but currently focus on latex painting, drawing, silkscreening, installation, and performance art.

Oliver Klink – Nature, Wildlife and Fine Art Photographer 

I like to make people dream and to tell stories with my photography.

My intent is to capture the complex ecosystems that we live in. Any subjects I photograph, whether it be nature, wildlife, culture or landscape, reflect the challenge to preserve some of the beauty of our rapidly changing planet.

I photograph with a print in mind as the output and rely on advanced techniques to capture details. My intention is to print images “almost” life size, so that even a trained eye discovers new interaction, new feel, new creatures, and the intricacy of the ecosystem every time he looks at the images.

One of my secrets for capturing intimate scenes is the use of shorter lenses and cameras traditionally employed for portrait and fashion photography. It requires extensive knowledge of the subjects, so I can capture their personality at close proximity and deliver images that make you feel you were there.

My photography takes you to places that are real but can also be turned into dreamlands. I use both staged and real events to discuss the blurred boundaries that exist between reality and fantasy. At first, the photographs may tell a story that is real, until one discovers only gradually that they contain elements of fiction, or vice versa. This was the premise for my work entitled “Romance”.

In my most recent project on the African wildlife, titled “Life”, I even go a step further. I use multiple cameras, take exposures from various angles, and composite images in post processing. My intent is to go back to my main goal and make people dream.

Additional information about my work can be found at www.incredibletravelphotos.com and www.oliverklinkphotography.com

“The ground we walk on, the plants and creatures, the clouds above constantly dissolving into new formations — each gift of nature possessing its own radiant energy, bound together by cosmic harmony.” — Ruth Bernhard.

As a photographer of urban and rural landscapes, I’m elated when there are clouds giving texture to the sky. The elusive, ethereal, and elemental beauty of clouds has always enthralled me.

I tend to see patterns of color, shapes and shadows in both natural and man-made environments, capturing the beauty created when these two environments combine. I’m now working in my studio with kiln-formed glass— transforming these images into layered glass "paintings". Working with different types and sizes of glass (opaque, translucent and clear sheet glass, powders and frit) lets me manipulate the light, depth and texture in each image.

HUMAN • NATURE • SPIRIT

My love of nature and humanity combined with my love of photography and design have guided me towards what I feel is my higher path in life. I am deeply inspired by spirituality and all of the divine beauty that God has created on this earth and I feel that it is my duty to share this inspiration with others through my art and my creative vision. It is my hope that my art will remind people about how important our natural world is to us and that we, too, are part of it – integrated with it on many different levels from the air we breathe, to the food we eat, to the remedies that heal us.

By integrating my photographs of humans, animals, and other elements of nature, I create fine art photo collages that evoke a world untouched by man-made objects. Through my creations we are reminded that we are one with nature. The organic theme of my art places emphasis on the fact that our natural world provides us with all of our basic needs and an insurmountable abundance of beauty on this earth.

GLASS
 I often work with glass, which is a particularly magical medium. Being translucent yet solid, as an invisible boundary, it simultaneously is and isn’t. This reflects well my intention to make manifest subtle philosophical concepts. The kiln work in the studio is itself alchemical and the effect intended for the viewer is none the less so. My work serves as a portal to that which we recognize as absolute. This transportation can be as simple as losing oneself in an intricate colorful flower pattern; or as complex as visually entering a mysterious architectural structure where a non-linear stage setting appears to be casting a spell.
DIGITAL WORK
My current drawing and painting involves recording what is, especially when I am drawing strangers in public. I am not overlaying my message on the subject but the message or mood emerges of it’s own. See more at betweenstops.wordpress.com where I accompany the image with fictional text as a comment on our society and our personal lives in it.
9x9s
Viewing the 9 x9 series reads more like a painting on a wall. Make a statement like “Yield” or another traffic instruction (navigating through life) but in in a primary and basic way. Modern Heiroglyphics made from coloured glass in molds fired and cut and refired until the thickness and stability of the glass feels more like stone than crystal. The surfaces have the warm friendliness of a worn building who has seen time pass. Friendly and wise.