Feminine Face
The Feminine Face of Dreams, Myths, and Terrors
Goddess, queen, witch, angel, nasty woman, crone; whatever the label, however the story is told, within such perceptions lies means of limitation, control, and power. Artists journey into those cultural perceptions and mine the embedded messages.
A note from the curator
At the beginning of the discussion of an exhibit on the idea of the influence of cultural perspectives, I already was familiar with a few artists making work that was quite relevant. As so often happens among artists, they not only wholeheartedly offered support they also shared their connections.
Everything begins with examination, acknowledgment, and sharing. Here a wonderful and diverse group of artists took the idea of The Feminine Face and made it personal. Now sharing their enormous talents and distinct visions, they are saying “LOOK”.
I hope this examination is a start of exploration, acknowledgement, and conversations.
I am extremely grateful for their collaboration and inspiration in the journey of the Feminine Faces of Dreams, Myths, and Terrors exhibit.
~Mary Jo Fitz
Feminine Face runs from March 5 – April 23, 2021 through this online gallery space. Please scroll down to view the works.
Constance McBride
Statement
Bodyscapes is a series of pastel drawings on paper that I continue to work on. For ages, women have been barraged by ugly messages… It is exhausting to combat the everyday affronts directed towards us. In response, I include sags, rolls and wrinkles to illustrate real bodies. I use myself and women my age as models and I look closely. I use a pretty pastel color palette to emphasize the beauty of a body that wears the marks of living. Timescapes is a smaller series in clay made to compliment the Bodyscapes series. “Everyone wants to have an illusion of themselves, that they’re a bit attractive, but the older I get it seems more important to be absolutely honest and direct.” – Chantal Joffe
Bio
A native of Philadelphia, PA, Constance McBride’s work explores themes of identity and memory with an emphasis being placed on issues most experienced by women. When residing in the Southwest, observations of the desert made a transformative impact on her practice. Her work has been supported by grants from the Arizona Commission on the Arts, Phoenix Art Museum’s Contemporary Forum, Philadelphia Sculptors and the Arts Aid PHL program. Museum exhibitions include Phoenix Art Museum and Udinotti Museum of Figurative Art in AZ, Las Cruces Museum of Art in NM, San Angelo Museum of Art in TX, The State Museum of Pennsylvania and Biggs Museum of American Art in DE. Notable gallery exhibitions include Craft Forms at Wayne Art Center and The Clay Studio National in PA, America’s ClayFest International at Blue Line Arts in CA and Beyond the Brickyard at Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts in MT. McBride’s work has received attention from several publications including Yahoo News, Visual Art Source, Philly Artblog, Philadelphia Stories, Schuylkill Valley Journal and the international platform Ceramics Now. Now living and working in Chester Springs, PA, she is actively involved with art communities in the Philadelphia metro area. McBride earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Arcadia University, Glenside, PA.
www.constancemcbride.com
cmcb@constancemcbride.com
Elizabeth Haubert
Statement
The mantra that I live by as an artist is: “Simplicity is the essence of good design.” This was ingrained into my artistic psyche by my high school art teacher and has carried me through my collegiate and professional careers. When an idea/inspiration comes to me for a project, I generally try to find the solution that is succinct. I pay attention to details but try not to detract or deflect from getting to the source of the creative purpose. For inspiration, I study the lives and artworks of artists from the 1950’s and 1960’s and those from the turn of the 19th century through World War II. These were transitional periods for artists due in part to the Atomic and Industrial Ages. To me, the Industrial Revolution was a most exciting and expansive period in history as it set in motion a time of new expressions in the [art] world.
A good line is the attraction of any artwork with an engagement of subtle details culminating the experience. I look for clean lines in most of my compositions due in part from my professional experiences in design. My artwork tends to be explorations into diverse mediums and concepts to which I incorporate elements of respective artistic movements. The context of most of my artwork is derived and translated into an original approach of an artistic style; a collaboration of sorts. The credit goes to those who have influenced me, whether a master, a movement, a professor or a colleague, I am deeply appreciative of the motivation to explore an articulation between me and the creative process.
Bio
Originally from Rome, New York, Elizabeth Haubert received an AAS degree from Cazenovia College in Advertising and Design as well as an AFA degree from Cecil College; she is currently pursuing her BS degree in Art History-Research at Towson University. Haubert has worked in the commercial photography industry as a darkroom specialist and property stylist and as a project manager in the commercial printing profession. Currently residing in Bel Air, Maryland, Haubert’s work has been exhibited at the Elkton Station Gallery in Elkton, Maryland and was selected for the juried 12×12 Exhibition in 2019 as well as being a Faculty Choice Award Winner in the Fall 2019 Cecil College’s Art and Design Capstone Student Exhibition.
Erica Harney
Statement
I find myself compelled to create paintings that interpret physical, mental and emotional space. While it has taken on many forms, the majority of my work involves the depiction or invention of some sort of space- architecture, landscapes, interiors- or the play between “foreground” and “background.” While my formal education has been committed to the visual arts, I spent my childhood and early adulthood on stage and was deeply immersed in the performing arts, which- along with many years as a professional scenic artist- continue to influence my practice.
When painting scenery or a mural the goal is to construct or transform a space for an immersive viewing experience. Paint is crucial to the magic and the illusion of the new created space, and the way I would approach a new painting is strongly influenced by the way I would consider a theatrical design. Play, exploration and experimentation are integral to my practice, and I frequently work with repurposed or imperfect materials, found objects and scraps left over from actual scenic projects. These materials not only limit waste but they also inspire creative challenges. The work I make is varied and eclectic, and often combines styles, techniques, patterns and images. Deliberately constructed, edited, and presented, the work is theatrical in nature and relies heavily on the play between foreground and background. Playfulness and whimsy propel my work, allowing each individual piece to take on its own aesthetic and identity- each one completely different from the one before.
Since the Pandemic I have been particularly drawn back to watercolors, allowing me to work quickly and on a smaller scale. The renewed importance of “home” has inspired me to paint “portraits” of homes in my immediate community as well as places I have traveled.
Bio
Erica Harney (b. New York, 1984) is a fine artist, curator, scenic painter and educator based in Philadelphia since 2011. She holds a BFA in Drawing and Painting from Alfred University, Magna Cum Laude (2006) and an MFA in Drawing and Painting from the Pennsylvania State University (2010). She has also studied at the Santa Reparata International School of Art in Florence, Italy.
The artist the recipient of numerous awards, including a Graham Endowed Fellowship, a Daniel J. Murphy II Award for Creativity, a Christos N. Apostle Grant, a microgrant from Blick Art Supplies. She has been an artist-in-residence at ArtScape in Toronto, Weir Farm Art Center in Connecticut, the Palazzo Rinaldi Artists’ Residence in Italy, and has had two partial fellowships at the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, VT.
Harney’s work has been exhibited widely in galleries at the local, national, and international level since 2006. In recent years, the artist’s focus has expanded to include several large public commissions for institutions such as the Fulton-Montgomery Community College, Penn State Hershey College of Medicine, The Bancroft School and the 3M Corporation. She has curated group exhibitions throughout the northeast, and has organized benefit exhibitions for Opera Philadelphia, The Philly Kitty Rescue and The Killian Mansfield Foundation.
Before the Pandemic, the artist regularly collaborated with visual artists, musicians, writers, and choreographers on a wide range of creative projects. She is affiliated with the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program and has worked as a muralist and restoration artist in and around Philadelphia. Most significantly, Harney has worked professionally as a scenic painter for theatre, ballet, opera, television and museums until March 2020. Notable production partners include Opera Philadelphia, Opera Delaware and First State Ballet (both in Wilmington, DE), the Fulton Theatre in Lancaster, PA and HBO. She has held teaching positions at Alvernia University, the Pennsylvania State University and Cecil College in Maryland as well as Philadelphia-area art centers. She joined the Lansdowne Arts Board in 2020.
Since the Pandemic, she has recommitted to her personal studio practice and has been focusing on paintings of landscape and architecture, influenced heavily by her extensive experience in painting backdrops for theatre.
Artist, Curator, Scenic Painter and Educator
ericaharney@gmail.com
ericaharney.com
ETSY: EricaHarneyArtist
SCENIC WORK: coroflot.com/ericaharney
INSTAGRAM: @erica_harney_artist
FACEBOOK: Erica Harney, Artist
Heather Morris
Statement
As an artist and designer, I work in many different mediums. My process involves gathering elements and arranging them in a way to communicate an idea, express an emotion, or to please the eye. As a photographer, I place elements to evoke emotion or develop a narrative. As a floral designer, I explore color and texture through the arrangement and pairing of different flowers. As an artist, I manipulate and combine paper, paint and color to create visual effects.
My ideas develop from drawing and observing my surroundings. The act of drawing and organizing visual elements in a composition is a way to focus. Drawn to simple shapes and lines, I am interested in repeating elements to create rhythm and patterns. Circles are a recurring motif along with organic and geometric shapes with floral references. The process of making art and the final product are of importance; exploring the push and pull between chaos and order.
Much like pairing elements in a photograph and flowers in a bouquet, I pair colors and shapes to create abstract designs. Abstraction allows each viewer to experience the work in their own way, bringing with them their own experiences and associations. Each piece can provide a separate and unique journey.
Bio
Heather Morris was born in Camden NJ and grew up in Northeast Philadelphia PA. Heather’s mother taught her art as a young child and encouraged exploration and play with art materials. She studied visual communications at Cecil College and photography at Drexel University. Heather graduated with an Associate of Fine Arts in Art and Design from Cecil College in December 2020.
Drawn to abstract art, Heather works with paper, paint, and color to create visual works that allow the viewer to bring with them their own experiences and associations. She also explores black and white photography, which exhibits characteristics like depth and occasional graininess resulting in a unique and classic look. By placing characters in unexpected locations, her work encourages the viewer to investigate the scene.
As a professional floral designer, Heather created elaborate designs for prestigious events such as the inaugural balls for the President of the United States. She also produced designs for weddings and other events. Her work has been featured in Style Me Pretty, a popular online wedding magazine.
arts.cecil.edu/project/heather-morris
morris5879@chawk.cecil.edu
Lauren Rinaldi
Statement
Lauren Rinaldi’s work lives in the space where objectification, female power, and sexual empowerment intersect and blur. She uses oil paintings, mixed media drawings and sketches as her vehicles to explore ideas about intimacy, gaze, body-image, sexuality and self-identity. She looks to the women in her life for inspiration and works to weave their experiences with her own to create a shared narrative. While Rinaldi’s portraits are often modeled after her own body, they communicate stories of universal importance in our contemporary moment. Typically focusing closely on particular regions of the body––legs, heads, torsos––Rinaldi detaches the image from the self-portrait, instead offering psychological representations that manifest societal pressures that affect her as a woman, particularly as an artist, mother and civic activist. Through observing the nature of women seeking affirmation under the guise of anonymity online, she also is informed by the influence social media has on female identity and how detachment from the depictions of the reality of the self affects and reveals who women desire to be.
Bio
Lauren Rinaldi (b. 1983, Brooklyn, NY) is an American artist living and working in Philadelphia, PA. She studied painting and drawing at Tyler School of Art, where she earned her BFA in 2006. Since then, her solo shows have included Still Standing (2018); Hunger of the Cheeky Sisters (2015); At Arm’s Length (2014); and An Accidental Masterpiece (2011), all at Paradigm Gallery + Studio in Philadelphia and she has exhibited her work extensively in group shows throughout Philadelphia and the US. In addition to her active studio practice, Lauren is a mother, a yoga teacher, and an activist.
www.laurenrinaldi.com
laurenmrinaldi@gmail.com
Mary Jo Fitz
“Man is willing to accept woman as an equal, as a man in a skirt, as an angel, a devil, a baby face, a machine, an instrument, a bosom, a womb, a pair of legs, a servant, an encyclopedia, an ideal, or an obscenity; the one thing he won’t except her as, is a human being, a real human being of the female sex.” –D. H. Lawrence
Statement
Interested in cultural narrative and how the connotations of the subsequent labels negate, limit, and influence identity consequently controlling or empowering individuals, I have been using form in ceramic pieces to explore the subtext of such perceptions.
Bio
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Mary Jo Fitz still studies fine art at Cecil College, (North East, Maryland) presently focusing on ceramics. Drawing inspiration from the natural world, myths, stories, and dreams, her work focuses on finding within vulnerability, shelter, nurture, and resilience. Her work has been exhibited in regional and national juried shows. Both her 2D and 3D work have received awards.
gfitz@zoominternet.net
Marijke van Buchem
Statement
Ever since my young years I loved to play with clay. I started to sculpt after college and when I came to the US in 1966 I took pottery classes at the Delaware Art Museum. I fell in love with hand building. The freedom to create whatever you like using all the hand building techniques is mind-boggling. The potter’s wheel never became my favorite tool but to create perfectly round, useful objects you can’t beat it.
Over the years I have made a lot of pottery, went to many exhibits to be inspired by other artists, participated in craft fairs and started a pottery program at the school where my husband taught: St. Andrews School in Middletown, DE. It was there that my art really took off because I could use the class room that I created as my studio.
I started sculpting again when I found a group of artists who sculpted together with a model. That’s what I like best. To build a figure with the help of a model is fascinating and an enormous challenge. You have to check your work constantly to see if the likeness is coming along. The dialogue between the model, you and your sculpting hands is magic. Since sculpting is 3-D you move around the model with your sculpture stand on wheels. It is like a dance with the model frozen in her or his pose. It is a different world I loved to step into.
Now, retired for many years, I am in my own studio making larger hand-built, sculptural, useful objects like 20x12x12” tables that could double as seats or sculpture stands.
I also sculpt alone in my studio and I love the constant conversation I have with myself while figuring out how best to create a sculpture that looks alive and relaxed. I make a sketch and go from there.
marijkevanbuchem@icloud.com
Maggie Creshkoff
At its best, making art can be like writing a poem: within a formal structure, all manner of unexpected and beautiful things can happen.
Bio
Maggie Creshkoff lives on the family farm in Cecil County with far too many cats
and her very large Daniff, Puccini.
She received a BA in American History from Antioch College, Ohio and an MFA in Ceramics from the Instituto Allende, University of Guanajuato, Mexico. She moved to Maryland in 1982 and founded the Backlog Pottery to continue her childhood dream of playing in the mud.
Maggie teaches Sculpture and 3-D design at Cecil College, and has given a wide variety of classes and workshops in the tri-state area. She plays Baroque recorder with the Philadelphia Recorder Society, and is part of the TrashyWomen art collective; she has organized shows for that group since 2005.
Mike Dawson
Statement
Growing up I could not understand why the TV channel was often muted or changed when a Victoria Secret commercial, or something pertaining to feminine hygiene, came on.
Mike Dawson is a ceramic artist who lives and works in Newark, DE.
Xyare Lambert
Statement
I like to emulate strong posed curvaceous female figures paired with tranquil nature scenes to make a cohesive work. My work is fueled by my African American roots and mental illness struggles, giving strong emotional content across my work. I began my work as a coping mechanism to deal with all my mental illness battles, art became a meditative and therapeutic space. I can’t ever imagine living without art because it is a big piece of who I am. I create by channeling my emotions and releasing them into my art. each piece of art is really an extension of me and what I was feeling or going through at the time. When painting, my work tends to feature strong colors, I use them to convey certain emotions. I use nature to represent a calmer world outside of myself and my emotions but still represents power as well. I believe these two are both powerful but instead of competing they complement each other. I enjoy working on large scale oil paintings because they make big statements and grab the attention of my audience. I find nature calming and powerful which is why it is included in my work. Although originally only an oil painter I later became a ceramicist as well. When sculpting I try to emulate the same thing in my ceramics as I do in my painting’s sensuality of organic figures. Using the skills from my painting background I apply them to my ceramic work; I like to focus on the surface design Along with the form which consist of curves and fluidity. The oppressed history of African American people is what drives me to use them as my main subjects. In my painting I use African American women to represent my culture, in my ceramic work I use dark brown clay to represent African American skin paying homage to my roots.
Bio
Xyare Lambert was born May 21st, 1995. Growing up watching her father draw everyday really developed the love that she had for art; absorbing everything that he was doing with her adolescent mind she naturally started drawing as soon as she was able to hold a pencil. From there art quickly became her favorite subject. All of Xyare’s teachers recognized her talents and love for art and entered her into school art shows every year from k-12. Originally when Xyare went to Wilmington university after her high school graduation in 2013, she was a behavioral science major, in an attempt to understand her own psychological disorders which included bipolar, depression, and anxiety. Eventually realizing her heart was not in the right place she then changed her major to art media and design. While going to Wilmington University Xyare’s grandmother passed away in 2014 leaving all her painting supplies, oil paint, canvas, and brushes to her. Although she had tried painting before in high school, it left a sour taste in her mouth, but with her new found motivation and an attempt to connect to her grandmother who was in her afterlife, Xyare tried painting again. Although she always loved drawing this is when she really fell in love with painting. From there she knew her major at Wilmington University was all wrong for her and she needed to venture out to find a school more suited for her needs. Xyare in 2017 applied as a fine arts major at Cecil College. She finally had found her place. When entering Cecil college she took the bull by its horn and tackled almost every art class and ceramics class they had to offer. While at Cecil she also fell in love with a new medium, ceramics. After showing signs of potential a favorite teacher of hers convinced her to get a degree in ceramics. In 2019 Xyare graduated with three associates of fine arts in the concentrations of drawing and painting, ceramics, and studio.
xyare.r.l@gmail.com
302-650-8469
