KASIA SZABO

Kasia first became interested in metalwork in college at UVM; she then landed an internship her senior year at a metal shop in Burlington, Vermont called Metalworks, Inc. There she interned for a year, then she was hired on and is still employed today. Many of her materials come from the recycling bins at the shop. Kasia's love of metal work has brought her down many different avenues of creativity, working with a wide array of materials including steel, stainless steel, and copper. Kasia resides in Franklin County where she lives with her two dogs, Jake and Olivia.

LORRAINE PIKE

Lorraine Pike is a self-taught artist who resides in Franklin County with her husband Steve and their dog Jak and two cats, Bangs and Shadow. Lorraine's unique and distinctive style of tole painting and love of antiques have given a whole new meaning to recycling. She finds many of her wooden items at antique shops, garage sales, and auctions. Each item has a story and it shows in her original primitive creations. Her pieces have found their way into many homes. Most items are one-of-a-kind. She hopes you will enjoy her creations as much as she has enjoyed painting them.

KRISTAN DOOLAN

"I have lived in Vermont for nearly all of my life and find it an incredibly beautiful place to live. As a farmer and mother of young children I cherish the little time I find to paint, but everyday I am appreciating all that surrounds me. I spend a lot of time caring for painting and drawing. I love the potential of watercolor. In my work I try to let the paint maintain its vibrancy and life as I work to portray the beauty of Vermont."

NANCY HAYDEN

"Last April, I was a resident at the Vermont Studio Center for sculpture. My medium-- books! I cut, sewed, drilled, glued, painted, and filled them. At the Burlington Art Hop this past September, I showed six pieces that I had started at the VSC, but finished this past summer. I also attended a few meetings of the Vermont Book Arts Guild and came up with altered art and altered book ideas to last a lifetime. One of the sculptural pieces I am showing at AIR this winter is an altered book piece called 'Body of Knowledge.' Little by little people are turning themselves into machines, incapable of thinking and caring for themselves without the direction of some outside specialist. This piece, built from encyclopedias I found at the dump, is about the need to look inside of ourselves to find the wisdom and understanding inherent in our own bodies and psyche. This piece is interactive, and all the books open to an inner space that is sometimes dark and scary, sometimes joyful, fun, and wise. Another piece called 'Old and New' is made from a 1940's piece of linen (from my Great Aunt's upholstery scraps) with bean pods sewed on. Besides altered art sculpture, I still enjoy painting, especially scenes from our farm. Another piece I am featuring is a painting of corn (close up) called 'No GMO!' Over 85% of the corn produced in the US is genetically modified, most by adding genes from a bacterium that produces bacterial proteins within the corn plant. While genetically modified corn is literally everywhere, consumers had no say in this decision, there is no mandatory labeling of GM products, and the long-term ecological and human health effects are unknown. Pretty scary stuff! The corn on our farm is not genetically modified, therefore, 'No GMO!' is both a statement and a protest."

HARALD AKSDAL

"Because I came to my career as an artist relatively late in life, I usually include in my bio a comment about 'becoming the artist I always was.' I've been thinking lately, though, it might be more accurate to say, 'becoming the reclusive artist that I always was.' I find making art is an intensely personal, almost revelationary, experience. The act of capturing a tree's essence on paper seems to complete the communication began when we first met, and binds us together in an intimate relationship. I know it, and it knows me. And although I welcome visitors to my studio, the presence of others does become a distraction. This 'recluse suspicion' has been building for months, and I finally accepted its confirmation while on a hunting trip with my oldest daughter's husband and my youngest daughter's boyfriend. At a secluded cabin in northern New Hampshire, the young bucks set off each morning to track their trophies. I, too, set off with gun and ammo-- but more in case something stumbled across my path than the reverse. For more importantly, I carried my camera, sketch pad, and pencil, and my real hunt was for trees who wanted their stories told. The stillness of that area was beyond description and the hours spent there filled my soul in a way that chatter never has. One tree in particular called out to me, and I'm eager to continue our conversation-- and what better time than winter in Vermont to practice being a reclusive artist!"

*Note from the Editor*

I would like to extend my apologies to the November AIR artists for my belated posting of your work. My maintenance of the blog was delayed last month and I recently realized that I had mistakenly assumed I had completed your posting. All the featured artists from November are now posted with a backdate in order to categorize their exhibition month correctly.

I will do my best to not allow such an error to occur again!

CHARLOTTE ROSSHANDLER

Charlotte Rosshandler has worked as an Artist/Photographer for the past 30 years, exhibiting internationally, as well as being invited to provide photography for various types of books, catalogues, newspapers, etc. She has been living full time in Vermont for 10 years. Her artwork is now totally influenced by the nature around her and has become a personal interpretation of the spirit which she senses in the landscape. She would like for her pictures to be able to relate these thoughts and express her feelings. This present exhibition at AIR is a reflection of the sensations of her past summer.

JAN BRODSKY

"Knitting is a link to my heritage. It's one of the many crafts taught to me by my grandmother as a child some 40 years ago. In the past, I've designed my hand-knit creations based on the trendy colors of fashion designer's runways. Lately, I find my color palette imitates warm colors of nature... lots of green, gold, mulberry, and neutrals. Occasionally mixing it up with a shocking pink or a metallic eyelash yarn brings the WOW! factor to my one-of-a-kind designs. 'Knit to be Tied' is a unique scarf collection that can easily accessorize an outfit year round or provide fashion forward warmth on a cold winter's day."

ANN ALLEN

"The desire to create my own Christmas card and a photo taken at the family Christmas gathering last year was the inspiration for this painting. My hope was to capture the magic and excitement that children bring to Christmas. After all, isn't that what we all remember and cherish the most about the Holidays."

In addition, Ann shares her space with a few fellow artists:

Pamela Tobin, Covered Bridge

Mary Reed, Buck

Cordell Smart, Stone Wall

MELISSA HABERMAN

"At the beginning of spring, I am always anxious to get into the garden. This past spring, I was part of a new endeavor in my community; I, along with 11 other families, started a community garden in the town of Montgomery. I spent many hours planting and dreaming, waiting for the fruits of our labor throughout the spring and summer to sprout. My 4 newest pieces [on display at the AIR gallery] are the result of all that loving work."

KITTEN ELLISON

"I was born in the North of England; moved to the South of England when I went to a theatre school in London. Later, I lived in Bermuda for 43 years, from where I used to come to Vermont for the winter months. Three years ago, I had the good fortune to be granted my green card, so that I now live full time in this beautiful state of Vermont.
My passion in all three countries has been the countryside and my gardens. It is a long story as to how I started to paint -- suffice it to say that all my inspirations come from the beauty around me and the amazing colour combinations that Mother Nature devises. Use your 'seeing eye' and translate what you see into another form of beauty."

LENNY CHRISTOPHER

"What draws me to shoot in Nature is the energy that it exhibits. I try and capture the dramatic moment of light that reflects the energy that is being created. Through photography I try and tap into that energy and create pictures that reflect the moment.

JIM FOOTE

Jim Foote is a Northern Vermont artist. He continually studies art techniques through research and experimentation. Jim credits his artistic spark to his grandmother, who encouraged his interest and skills at a very early age. His media of choice is oil painting, but he is also a wood carver and enjoys creating painted wood sculptures. Most recently, he has explored digital art through Adobe Photoshop, Corel Painter, and Maxon Cinema 4D. His work reflects a keen eye for color, sunlight, and shadow. This summer he has enjoyed Plein air painting with friends using pastels.

PETER MILLER

Peter Miller paints luscious landscapes combining authentic settings with wild imaginings.

HENRY TRASK REILLY

Working out of his home studio, Hank has amassed over 200 paintings! He sketches from life or uses photographs. While most all artists use their hands to work the paintbrush, Hank uses his hands and fingers to manipulate the paint from the very beginning, saving him time and energy when first developing his paintings. If he changes his mind about the way things are going, one swoosh of his hands and presto a blank board to work with. Come and see how deftly Hank uses light in his paintings. His landscapes are familiar and encourage you to take a second and third look.

SUSAN DELEAR

"I've been working with clay for 30-something years. My pottery is earthenware, thrown, and hand built; glazed and decorated including mugs and practical everyday items as well as goblet drums and traditional southern ugly-face jugs. I enjoy exploring the endless possibilities that clay offers. I try to translate my life experiences through my work."

CORLISS BLAKELY

A life long Vermont artist, Corliss is now painting on the iPhone and iPad, which has "opened up a new world for artists," she says. "The world is changing and artists now have a wonderful new canvas to create on." Corliss has translated her realistic style in oils to the new technologies. Corliss got an iPad at Small Dog Electronics the day it came out and was the first artist in the world to display an iPad painting on the internet. The iPad is a mobile studio; artists can now create without the toxic paints and mediums they have used for centuries. Her favorite painting app on the iPad is ArtStudio.

FRANK TIRALLA

Frank is retired and now resides in Franklin, Vermont with his wife Priscilla. Nowadays his time is spent fishing in Lake Carmi, bird hunting with their dogs Patches and Maggie, and devoting more time to his passion for art. Frank custom frames the majority of his artwork using local hard and soft woods. Current art work includes a 34 x 24 inch oil-on-canvas of two Quebec Labrador Caribou. He is also working on an oil-on-canvas of a mountain caribou.

DAN PATTULLO

Daniel Pattullo owns the Village Frame Shoppe. Now with two locations (St. Albans and Enosburg). In his spare time he will occasionally find time to paint or do some photography. Dan says, "Painting is something that means a lot to me. I find satisfaction in standing back and looking at a painting that I have just completed. And to me, a painting is not finished, of course, until it has been custom framed!"

KATHLEEN PATRICK

"I became interested in quilting after seeing a play about pioneer women and their quilts. Over the past thirty years of taking classes and workshops, my style has evolved into making fairly traditional quilts, but with a touch of whimsy. In the past few years, I have done a lot of red work (a type of hand embroidery). More recently, I have been drawn to the 1930's reproduction fabrics and their quilts. And from here on out, who knows where else I'll go."

BETH MCADAMS

"My motivation for painting is color-- to experience it, to experiment with it, and to use it as a tool to define form, create depth, and balance composition. I love contained forms and so use a lot of line to delineate and link the various element of a painting. Shadows also interest me-- the stark contrast between light and dark, and the characteristics of shadow that allow you to understand the object without its being present. My goal is not to paint representationally, but to simplify objects to the point where they become iconic, or almost 'super real.' This applies especially when I am painting flowers. However, whether or not my painting is objective or non-objective, I hope that the end result will be pleasing to the viewer and inspire at least a second look!"

JOANNE WAZNY

"I'm addicted to taking photos and to the beauty of Vermont. I have tons of 'pretty pictures.' There is nothing wrong with that, but I started thinking about some of my other images: fungi, decay, pollution, the underside of things, the harshness of winter. And you know what? It is all beautiful! Beauty, art, and creativity must be important because they surround us. While the functional items made by humans may hit the mark occasionally, everything in nature is beautiful for no apparent reason. So, I've come full circle. I'll continue taking pretty pictures but with an eye toward the shadows as well as the light."

KAREN SCHEFFLER

"Our fourth year together! I am continually thankful for the opportunity to share with others this creative energy that flows, surges, whispers and shouts, or simply spills over with the joy of life. Stained glass can flood one space with illuminated color as it shelters another space from view, or can fuse with its surroundings giving a lustrous interpretation of light while hiding nothing. This year I have chosen to form smaller, portable panels to be moved from one place to another at whim-- in front of a window to translate the natural light there, or to a table where the light within the room gives it another transposition. As for the energy, it is a deluge of joy for the beauty in life.

MARTHA OHLIGER

"When I first started to paint and exhibit still lives, I was surprised at the positive reaction of the people who saw them. I realized that people looked on these familiar dishes with affection and nostalgia, so I began to try to make art about family connections, generations, and what people cherish. My paintings are a reminder that the rural character of Vermont never prevented people from appreciating beauty as well as function. I work intuitively without thumbnails, value studies or sometimes even a defined composition, using traditional oils in a realistic manner. I like to think of my paintings as snapshots from a family."

PAM KROUT-VOSS

"This exhibit includes works on the theme of the 'Great Blue Heron.' The study began several years ago after canoeing out to the heron rookery on Lake Champlain. I can now say, after spending a week at the Johnson Studio School in April, that I am ready to move onto the next venture. I have included 3 dimensional sculptures that combine my love of fibers and textures with this subject, photography, drawings from a nonfiction children's book, and a painting."