| Abdallah Thaer Abdallah         Thaer Abdallah, 39, is a Palestinian artist and human rights activist who was born and grew up in Baghdad. Palestinians are an ethnic minority in Iraq who have lived there for sixty years, but have neither citizenship nor freedom. Since 2003, they have been attacked by various militias and have suffered kidnapping, torture, imprisonment and assassination. Thaer is a human rights worker and torture survivor. He led a number of refugee families out of Iraq in 2005 and lived with them in a refugee camp in Syria. He created many paintings in the refugee camp, painting on black velvet because canvas was not available. In 2007, Syrian secret police imprisoned him and deported him back to Iraq. He fled again, and finally arrived in the U.S. to begin a new life in April 2008. Thaer has painted and drawn since he was a child. He recalls, “I discovered that art was a world so much larger than the one room which I shared with my parents and twelve siblings. I drew on everything – the windows, the walls, the door – to my mother’s chagrin!” Thaer’s painting express the pain and also the strength of the Palestinian community in Baghdad and of those scattered as refugees in many corners of the world. He also paints scenes of nature and people interacting with nature. His credo – “Life does not stop, and it is still beautiful.” Michael Alfano    Michael Alfano has been sculpting figures, monuments, and philosophical pieces for ten years. After graduating with a degree in business, his original career was as a stockbroker. Soon dissatisfied, he turned to sculpting, in part as a way to transform the pain he experienced after his college girlfriend was killed by a drunk driver. He first studied at the Art Students League of New York with an emphasis on life size sculpture and anatomy. His formal education continued at Boston University, and was augmented by internships with several prominent sculptors. Michael exhibits his work at galleries and other public venues, and he is a regular entrant in art shows, where he has garnered dozens of awards. His public monuments are on permanent display throughout the Northeast. Many newspapers and magazines, have featured Michael's work and his story. Miriam Anzovin      "My artistic vision stems from a concentrated preoccupation with sacred imagery and motifs. I find inspiration in the artistic traditions of many cultures, particularly those of the Nancy Applebaum     "As an artist, I work in several different mediums such as pen and ink, pastel and watercolor. I am also a musician and I write songs, sing and play guitar as well as playing keyboard. I have a vivid imagination which fuels my artistic endeavors and to which I attribute my creativity. I am also inspired artistically by the the beauty and variety of nature and by the constant interplay of shadow and light." Cherry Au         Cherry Says: "I am a Chinese artist and illustrator. I was born and grew up in Hong Kong, and am a citizen of both the United States and Hong Kong. I lived in Hong Kong for fifteen years; in 2005, I returned to the U.S. to begin my junior year in high school. As a senior at Framingham High School, I was awarded with the Boston Globe Scholastic Awards’ Gold Key Award for my mixed-media piece, and National Portfolio Honors for my portfolio. As a current sophomore student at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, I’ve took a semester of graphic design studio classes, before switching my majors from Graphic Design to Illustration this spring. My intention is to express my feelings and share my views through art. I believe that anyone can draw and paint, but what is important is to understand the reason for creating the image, and what kind of message or feelings viewers were expected to get from it.
I usually use more than one medium in my work. I like to experiment with different materials, as well as medium, as I paint/draw. I often try to make my work look like it is done in a different medium than I actually used. The result will usually be very painterly when I’m just using oil pastels and spray paint. My work usually reflects my thoughts and imagination, as well what I like. Since 2007, my work has often involved monkeys, and a lot of dreamy images. In my work, I try to express emotions, humor and irony from the images under different settings. These are usually done on materials other than plain canvas, and are painted/drawn in a great range of bright colors." -Cherry Au Check Out Cherry's Website: http://gizmowithsprinkles.wordpress.com/ Angelo Aversa       "I'm an award winning self taught artist/painter, very traditional realism/impressionism style of oils on canvas. I started out very young drawing, painting and winning awards in grammar school. Briefly studied at the N.E. School of Art & Design in Boston for commercial graphics. I dropped out of art for a while to play music, drums, guitar, sing and write songs in a number or rock bands, most notably The Phantoms. I worked as a free lance computer graphics artist and web designer for a decade which brought me full circle back into painting. While on vacation in Rockport, MA in the summer of 1997 it all came back to me and I started painting again. I've been working, exhibiting and winning awards for over 10 years now. I'm a member of the Allston Arts District. I just started a new series of paintings called "The Tomato Fields Series" that incorporate my traditional styles with surrealism which I will be exhibiting in February 2009." -Angelo Aversa |