Elizabeth Says: "My work is an exploration of the world of imagination, memory, and mythology.  Employing symbols whether obvious or imbedded (like the elusive sheepÕs head in Youth), represents either a direct or indirect path attempting to bridge the worlds of the material and the immaterial.  The process of creation and the process of destruction allows the viewer to observe a  mysterious vision.  It is as if they are seeing a flash of someoneÕs personal dream, or a vague premonition on how the universe began.  Sketching with charcoal allows me to produce a very intuitive state of mind in physical form.  With acrylic paints, I am able to elaborate on these intuitive insights and provide a more detailed version of a similar vision or concept.  It is my intention to create a personal world of symbols and myth, an individualÕs interpretation of the stories and ideas that resonate with humanity deep within our psyche.  Throughout history, fantastic ideas have turned into science.  The chronicles of dragons and dinosaurs, gods and men, are woven together into my own language.  This is a tongue with an undiscovered origin.  It is representative of all the mysteries in the world which we seek answers to, but with much pain and struggle often arrive at nothing.   This is the story of disillusionment battling an undying faith that this quest will ultimately lead us out of the dark.  It is the recognition of the body and soul as a microcosm for the universe as a whole.  Only by the exploration of the individual self and the awareness of the way we interact with reality, can we uncover the answers to questions that are constantly vacillating in the unconscious sea that we are all swimming in.  Through this voyage only can we keep from drowning."

Website:  www.makeshifteyes.com

Carol says: "Creating and exhibiting art is my life and passion. I can not live without it.  It is my reason for living and method in which I find hope and meaning. In creating works of art I express thoughts, feelings, important themes, concepts and images in forms relating to both the external and internal world. My artwork is emotional, atmospheric, surreal, spiritual, symbolic, intimate and dreamlike. I often place images together that you would not necessarily see together in real life but to tell a story about what may be just below the surface. My inspiration and imagery present themselves to me during the experience of living life and emerge from the conscious, unconscious and subconscious. Line, color and texture are utilized to create forms that are sometimes abstract  and/or symbolic in nature. I utilize found objects/materials such as found broken DC’s, discarded broken toys, fabric, photography, paper, metal, collage, dried flowers and boxes. My paintings are created with oil stick, damar varnish, watercolor, acrylic and sometimes a mixture of some of these paints. When deciding what medium to use for each piece, I think about what is best suited for the work and what I feel drawn to utilizing. I have included performance art at times including an interactive and a movement performance, in urban setting of San Francisco. My influences are Frida Kahlo, Georgia O’Keefe, Francesco Clement, Chagall, Kiki Smith, Latin American Art, Surrealism and Contemporary Art. I put these influences together with my love of nature, emotion and spirituality to create my own individual artistic vision."

Genie says: "Paintings come from my nature walks, photos and sketches along the Charles River, around Cambridge and Watertown where I live and work; from visits to the mountains of southeastern New York State, where my life long practice of nature study and painting began.

I try to make each painting a home that the subjects will recognize and to which, in some small but real way, they will come and dwell. As I paint, I enjoy building up a mosaic texture of colors. Love for the land, water, trees and birds themselves guides this creative process."

Juleen says: "My work represents an evolution of old and new work, using abstract expressionism as the subject of my inspiration. Expressionism has always been my favorite “ism” in the art world. Artists like Joan Mitchell, William Decooning, Hans Hoffman, Jasper Johns, Frans Kline, and of course, Jackson Pollack, were the pioneers that inspired me throughout my growing career."