2011 Artists (S-Z)

I have always been a keen observer of people; intrigued by their inner workings and qualities. Perhaps it is for this reason that I have been drawn to figure, and especially, portrait drawing. My work is predominantly expressionistic drawing. In each piece I use gesture marks of charcoal, ink wash and pastel applied to watercolor paper directly, with a chamois, and with brushes. I consider the body to be a vessel for what is within. What is found within is often expressed through the body, its tensions, its softness, etc. I find something I relate to in the figure and try to bring that out in the drawing. Mostly, this is intuitive. By letting go, I allow the impulse to emerge. I draw live in my studio or in public places, focusing on the inner quality of the subject person.

RAW Location: 1800 W. Cuyler, 2nd Floor (Mosaic)

Watercolor, gouache and water based media paintings and monoprints inspired by old architecture and the vagaries and layers of life.

RAW Location: 3701 N. Ravenswood 2nd Floor

I began making shoes in the early ’70s as an exercise in sustainability and part of the “back to the land” movement. It was with that mindset I tackled the project of making shoes. I started by taking apart a well-loved and well-worn pair of shoes and laid them out on the table in pieces. I took those pieces and made patterns of them, placing those patterns on similar materials. With a few hand-tools and directions from local leather workers, I made my first pair of shoes. I just celebrated 37 years of shoemaking. I am one of the few people in the USA who makes custom fit shoes and boots from scratch, by hand. I look forward to sharing my craft with you as a teacher or as your personal shoemaker. My priorities: fit, comfort, style, satisfaction. Warmly, Sara

RAW Location: 1800 W. Cuyler, 2nd Floor (Mosaic)

New work that explores spam e mail advertising in a humorous light.

RAW Location: 1802 Berteau 1st Floor

RAW Location: 1807 Sunnyside 3rd Floor

My Intaglio limited edition prints use the combination of line etching, aquatint and dry point on a zinc plate. I like using very stiff black ink along with a rag wiping technique that retains plate tone. This tone I control, highlighting some areas of the plate leaving more tone in others, creating a soft, rich, individual tonal quality for each finished print. Zinc is malleable and can easily be changed with burnisher and needle so that along with plate tone I can achieve a dramatic light to dark effect. After etching the plate and before printing the edition I pull proofs and work the plate by adding tone with dry point and wearing away density with a burnisher until the desired final print is achieved. Printed at Kiefer’s home studio on Arches Cover White, a mold made, French paper.

RAW Location: RAW Street Fair Tent

I see my mixed media artworks as psychological and biological specimen, a personal and universal mix of allusions, hurdles, and reflection. Fusing together organic forms, experimenting with the painted surface and building up layers of over-painting has become a launching point for my creativity. Inquiries of cognitive connections, microscopic landscapes, and the tangents of memory show in the layers. Magnified worlds become social petri dishes that comment on environmental health, body care, and human interaction. The viewer is encouraged to discover the ties between the ordinary and the sublime, the industrial and the organic, the disposable and the sacred. These image sources become another metaphor for my fascination with the complexities and consequences of contemporary life.

RAW Location: 4611 N. Ravenswood 2nd Floor

http://www.shanapearlmutter.com

I am a 25 year old artist from the north side of Chicago, IL. I have been artistic in some shape or form since I was a little kid, but recently I narrowed my focus to mainly painting. I have taken classes at Lill Street Art Studio, which is where I first fell in love with acrylic painting. I have been working with this medium for about five years now and have enjoyed trying new techniques and mixing my own colors. One thing you will find in a majority of my work is color, and lots of it! I haven’t pinpointed my style just yet, I like to leave it open to interpretation. My ideas come my surroundings, whether it be a dream I had or an article I’ve read. I like to take pieces of my life and throw it onto the canvas and hope that whomever views my work learns something about me that way.

RAW Location: 1802 Berteau 2nd Floor

http://www.artbyshawnthomas.com

Fascinated by the untainted, childlike imagination, my most recent work focuses on the exploration of outer space, the wildness of the west, the haunting of monsters, and the chivalry of superheroes. I find that these concepts are innately present in the minds of American youth, myself included. Through the creation of these pieces, I can release my still present and active imagination, while also examining how these various representations inform the perceived world of the adult. My work embraces the inner child and its imaginative voice, striving to evoke in viewers, feelings of nostalgia and innocence. I encourage the viewer to relate these idealized characters with a mature understanding of reality, and in doing so to realize the key role that imagination plays in shaping the world.

RAW Location: 1802 Berteau 1st Floor

http://pipsqueek.carbonmade.com/

I like to think the person that picks one of my pieces will wear it like skin; and like skin, it will protect and reflect who they are. All of my pieces are semi-precious earth stones that may or may not have properties that ancients claim exist and work for the holder of that stone. Choose your piece of the Earth.

RAW Location: 3759 N. Ravenswood 2nd Floor

StoneLoveDesigns creates high quality fashion jewelry that transends time and place. Using semi-precious stones, Swarovski crystals, Czech glass, pearls, Bali silver and more, we are recognized for fabulous designs, uniquely on trend and retro fit for every occassion. Best friends and business partners, Hareklia (Rikki) Zinanni and Frances Carson, founded SoneLoveDesigns™ in 2003 to channel their creative energies into jewelry for every occassion, becoming an official business in 2004. Both share a love of jewelry pieces with beauty, personality, color and flair. The pleasure in creating these pieces, which most are one-of-a-kind, is part of the beauty of the final design. Selling though Chicagoland shops, art fairs, public trunk shows, private home shows and the web.

RAW Location: 3711 N. Ravenswood 1st Floor

http://stonelovedesigns.com

Studio 4001 focuses on creative photography with an emphasis on capturing the unique characteristics of Chicago and its people. Studio 4001 provides that unique creative approach to every situation whether individuals, families, pets or special events.

RAW Location: 4001 N. Ravenswood #303C

http://www.studio4001.com

StudioChris unites his passions for art, architecture, and Chicago to create a series of posters celebrating Chicago’s neighborhoods. Each poster features an iconic image that represents the neighborhood’s uniqueness and history. The posters are screen printed on recycled paper.

RAW Location: 4515 Ravenswood

http://studiochris.com

Sterling silver and other metals in various finishes - oxidized, brushed, etched, hammered, polished. Often using very organic & botanical designs in the collections, as well as more modern architectural pieces.

RAW Location: 1800 W. Cuyler, 2nd Floor (Mosaic)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/suzanne-miranda/

I breathe a new, more colorful life into old windows that I find as I scour the alleys on Chicago’s North Side.

RAW Location: 3711 N. Ravenswood 1st Floor

Artist Statement Teresa Parod A recurring and important theme in mythology is the quest for treasure or an idyllic place. What is searched for changes, but it is something that will benefit the individual or more commonly the community. The person who goes on the journey usually has adventures on the way and then returns. I feel I am challenged everyday with quests. Not being called to fight dragons, my quests may seem less dramatic, although equally as difficult. Working on art, teaching, running a household, raising children, having a strong marriage and friendships, or simply trying to be a good person are some of my journeys to the idyll. I want my paintings to express these places.

RAW Location: 3701 N. Ravenswood 2nd Floor

http://www.teresaparod.com

The Artistic Home Studio- Chicago’s Premier Acting Studio We drive you to the edge of your art, and then beyond. We strip away your layers and reveal the deeper actor. The one who makes gut-wrenching, organic and imaginative choices that turn dimly lit acting into brilliance. We do this using the Meisner Technique, which we’ve been teaching since 1998 to some of Chicago’s top actors. Studio Founder, Kathy Scambiatterra, is a direct “descendent” of the Meisner method and brings a fiery and intuitive craft to an intimate studio of actors. In addition The Artistic Home has produced compelling, critically acclaimed theatre. We built our reputation by creating electrifying productions of complex plays, and have expanded our focus to include the support and development of new work.

RAW Location: 4437 N. Ravenswood

http://theartistichome.org

The Awakenings Foundation Center and Gallery, located at 4001 N. Ravenswood Avenue, Unit 204-C, is a non-profit organization founded to support the work of artists who are survivors of rape and/or sexual assault. It features the only known permanent collection of artwork created by rape and or sexual abuse survivors, as well as a rotating schedule of featured artists.

RAW Location: 4001 N. Ravenswood #204C

http://awakeningsfoundation.net

The Convergence Project, Inc (TCPI) is a not-for-profit which brings together art and music to create and promote projects. Some of these projects are educational in nature, about sustainability and earth-friendly workshops. Our show at RAW 2011 will include a traveling tour of the National Green Museum Exhibition’s Quilt Project. Artists will include Diane Ponder, Mimi Clayton, Judy Petecque, Darrell Roberts, Karen Becker, Katie Pichette, Carman Weathington, Jason Brammer, Mimi’s Organic Exchange and a few others will be collaborating on a community effort. Keep an eye out for all the CONVERGENCE GOING ON!

RAW Location: 4515 Ravenswood

http://www.theconvergenceprojectinc.com

Classic portraits of world champion Thoroughbreds and jockeys. Watercolors and graphites of antique corkscrews and fishing lures. The official portrait artist of the 2006 Kentucky Derby.

RAW Location: 4325 N. Ravenswood (Architectural Artifacts)

http://www.horseartist.com

Thomas Dubois is a Swiss-born photographer who lives and works in Chicago. Whether it be an aging motel sign or weather-worn graffiti, Thomas’s work focuses on graphic elements that make up the urban landscape. Taken in Chicago and abroad, his photographs offer the viewer a new perspective on the subjects in his images.

RAW Location: 1802 Berteau 1st Floor

http://www.tduboisphotography.com

I’m exploring the boundaries of the abstract and the real through the imagery of trains, the ubiquitous symbol of power and motion that is the background of modern life. I use a slightly different technique in each painting, always experimenting, and I through the use of color try to convey a different sense of design and emotion with the mechanical subject matter. The image I have submitted is called Catch The Blue Train, and is a line from a song called “Somewhere Down The Crazy River” by Robbie Robertson, a song, ultimately, about depression, represented by the cerulean blue tints of the painting. Working with trains has also allowed me to continue my love of drafting, a career I had for many years.

RAW Location: 3717 N. Ravenswood 1st Floor

http://trainsinvain.com

I am a found-object figure sculptor articulating anxiety in a myriad of materials.

RAW Location: 1800 W. Cornelia #106A

http://www.tordettwiler.com

My photo art celebrates our natural and man-made world with all its glorious variety. Rather than “taking pictures”, I try to tune in to flashes of perception and let the picture take me. I love to create pockets of harmony and a sense of tranquility and peace, but my images also capture funky urban life, people and animals, interesting angles, and the intriguing link between man-made and natural shapes and textures. I’ve lived and worked in Chicago since 1972, with much opportunity to travel. Since growing up in Germany, photography evolved from a lifelong passion into a full-time vocation and career as an artist. Recent photos feature my photogenic hometown Chicago and scenes from travels in the American West & Latin America.

RAW Location: 3717 N. Ravenswood 1st Floor

http://www.tracypoyserphotoart.zenfolio.com

Urban landscapes are pieced together using elements of images that are real as well as improvised.

RAW Location: 1800 W. Cornelia #106A

Jean and Sue ARE the Twisted Sisters. We are artists day and night. We have been creating and producing or been involved in art workshops throughout our lives. The Twisted Sisters are committed full time artists now that retirement has come! We have a passion for expression through Multi-Media Art, mainly working with copper jewelry. We also paint, sculpt, and do stained glass work. Our work has been shown in galleries and art fairs throughout the area.

RAW Location: 3717 N. Ravenswood 1st Floor

(Undercover)POPULAR Upcycled Vintage Handbags with Back Stories (Undercover)POPULAR brings to life vintage bags with unique “found” items and quirky decoration, to create one-of-a-kind, fashion forward useable works of art. Elements from each bag are locally sourced from area estate sales and hand crafted in my Southport loft studio. (Undercover)POPULAR purses are designed for individual taste… whether it be whimsical, ladylike with an edge, or classically reverent with a little attitude, they’re all modern, funky and fun. Hopefully each bag will find the owner it was meant for, because the unique elements & visual back story speak to that one person. If that past reaches out & grabs you, then you owe it to yourself to buy that piece & cherish it. www.etsy.com/shop/undercoverpopular

RAW Location: 1800 W. Cuyler, 2nd Floor (Mosaic)

http://www.etsy.com/shop/undercoverpopular

Partly due to my experience with science, and partly due to unusual personal circumstances, I am inspired by the confounding intersection of dualities: the unity of opposites and the ways in which they can be integrated or interchanged. This conundrum propels my work and informs my approach to materials and equipment. Whether it involves randomly spilled ink, a homemade pinhole camera, or a double-walled ceramic vessel, my process usually begins with simple materials and some unlikely combination of chance and exactitude.

RAW Location: 2116 W. Montrose

http://www.vesnaonline.com

The Welles Park Bulldog photographers see themselves as journalists and as artists. As journalists we must grab an image that tells a story. It must meet or exceed all the ethics demanded of any journalist. We work on deadline. We are in competition with organizations that have greater resources and better equipment. But they don’t have our spirit and our local knowledge. We support and encourage each other. We are open to new visions and challenges. We are an artistic community working within the format of modern media. It is fast. It is instant news. It is defined by short attention spans and long memories of errors perceived. Great photography is in the eye, not in the name on the paycheck or the camera.

RAW Location: 3759 N. Ravenswood 2nd Floor

http://Wellesparkbulldog.com

I enjoy working with a variety of media - especially papercuts, woodcarvings, painting, and 3-dimensional pieces.

RAW Location: 3701 N. Ravenswood 2nd Floor

Decorative and functional porcelain ware which are altered in form, carved or decorated with glaze trailing and brushwork.

RAW Location: 1802 Berteau 1st Floor

http://www.artoverture.com/ynyhan

Traditional printmaking methods combined with painterly techniques to create finely detailed images merging fantasy and realism.

RAW Location: 3711 N. Ravenswood 1st Floor