November & December Artist: Robert Sunderman
Robert Sunderman
November – December 2022 Community Artist
Fine Art Statement:
The sketches and paintings in this exhibition are studies that I have worked on over the past eleven years that reflect personal experiences but also capture the beautiful structure of the skeletal nature of trunks and branches of trees. In landscapes and specifically trees I see personalities that show the wear and tear of life. Each tree/landscape has its own story to tell and I try to bring that out through contrasts, elimination of color and textures. The tree subjects become gestural in form, shape and composition. I am asking the viewer what human feelings and emotions can you see in this work? How can you relate to them on an emotional personal level?
Renewal, fleeting moments and human effects on our environment are issues that I continually address in my work. Presently I am creating my ideas and reflections through a series of paintings, assemblage sculpture, photography and soon installations. Not limiting myself to specific materials is so important in my work so I use any and all materials that can best convey the subject or story. I see things as ever changing and evolving.
Phone photography is area I have been experimenting with recently. Life in our contemporary society moves so fast that we rarely take time to notice or capture a single beautiful moment. Moving my phone camera quickly under certain types of light quality and contrast conditions creates a sense of movement and change. The true feeling and meaning of the moment is brought out through the use of photoshop. I want to preserve the pure quick glimpse of time on the move. The viewer should ask the question… Where is it? Why did it happen and want took place there?
The assemblage sculpture is an ongoing experiment creating new stories and life by finding what different objects want to say when placed together. I use found materials, natural materials and various paint mediums to tell stories that are personal or contemporary to our society. Usually they are environment statements. The materials are manipulated and changed to work as a cohesive statement and usually take on an aged distressed look. The intent is to create a feel of something of the past “a relic” that is transformative. The most recent series I am working on is called shattered glass reconstruction. The reflective question I am asking is…. What can we do with the pieces to reconstruct a struggling new beautiful world?
The overall goal I am trying to achieve with my work is trying to let people see things in a way they might not have thought about before. I want to increase their awareness of how important our environment is and how we fit into the cycle of life. The reflective questions I would like people to ask themselves when viewing the work is…How can we transform to be better participants in the cycle of life on this earth? How can I better understand and appreciation this special world we live in and not take it for granted?
Robert Sunderman
Fine Artist
September & October Artist: Becky Thomas
About the Artist:
Becky Thomas, Painter/Illustrator passionately produces works that convey an appreciation for the simplest and most meaningful concepts from the world around us and how they touch our lives. Her work has been described as the product of a “keen eye” and a “quiet yet intense sensitivity.” She grew up in a small Ohio town when life was simple. Her love of drawing overshadowed any other childhood pastime, and her talent was evidenced soon after she could hold a pencil.
That small town was also home to a vastly accomplished painter/teacher, Eva Pauline Cox. Now in her 80’s her last student was Becky. Thus began four years of three-hour weekly private lessons from one of the “greats” who had trained during, and studied with several masters of the Post-Impressionist Era.
When Becky arrived at that first lesson, sketchbook and pencil clutched in her somewhat timid hand, she was nine years old. It was in that carriage house “Barn Studio” that Miss Cox lovingly guided Becky’s hand to the artist’s brush and canvas.
Life happens. Years passed. Now a Grandma, Becky has dove back into her passion for Painting/Illustration. Her hope is that you get as much joy from it as she does.
July & August Artist: Kat Silent Water
Kat Silent Water is a printmaker based out of Ankeny, Iowa, working in woodblock and linoleum relief since 2014. She recently embraced the alchemical properties of encaustic painting in her latest body of work, ‘Wax Cathedral’. Silent Water’s inspiration has taken root in Art Nouveau’s celebration of organic forms and cultural anthropology.
Silent Water earned a Bachelor of Arts in Art and Visual Culture from Iowa State University in 2015, with an emphasis in printmaking and painting. Her work has been exhibited across the state of Iowa and St. Louis, Missouri, in national group exhibitions. She also painted a Mural for the University of Colorado Boulder, College of Music.
About Kat’s Artwork: Wax Cathedral is a glance into a world we have yet to visit; the bee hive. The body of artwork celebrates the sisterhood and hard work of honey bees in North America. Capturing their sainthood of agriculture and modern struggles against incursion of mites, fungi and disease with beekeepers as watchful guardians of the hive.
Cathedrals are seen as hallowed ground. When individuals walk through the threshold of the sanctuary, they are transported to a safe place of spiritual solace. Cathedrals embellish every detail in their interior, allowing daily worries and hardships to dissipate. It creates an unworldly and beautiful place, as though you were in heaven itself.
Just as these spiritual institutions are maintained amongst a community of like-minded individuals, so is the hive of the honey bees. The unique fortress is founded on hard work and communication. It serves as an escape from the plague of predators and treachery. The worker bees build their interior with careful yet creative consideration.
The resilience shown in both the honey bees and beekeeper community have been the foundation of my artistic inspiration Although the enemies of mites, fungi and disease threaten the bee’s hallowed sanctuary, the beekeepers find ways to repair and mend these colonies with research and patience. Making the art of beekeeping even more valued just like Kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing and beautification of broken objects.
Display Your Artwork at the Co-op!
If you are interested in displaying your artwork please contact Melissa Lanphere, Marketing Manager, by email, phone or stopping into the Co-op. Please fill out the form linked below to have your artwork considered for display.