Vittoriana lives in Mordana, near the city of Imola, near Bologna. She was featured once before at ARTS Encounters and returns with new paintings. Well known in Italy for her figurative paintings, with numerous one-woman exhibitions, she concurrently paints her "bambole" series, the doll babies as shown in her playful piece, Passione Dicharata (A Declared Passion), on display in the galleries. Vittoriana is the cousin of Benini.

Joy Goldkind  | St. James, New York |Goldkind and The Bromoil Process

Goldkind's ARTS Encounters presentation dovetails with the exhibition sponsored by
Photography 414 on Main Street in Fredericksburg. March 28 through May 31, 2008
For more information visit www.Photography414.com or call 830-990-1330.

                                                            

Joy Goldkind

 Adagio, is a series of images that are about the movements of dance. I have worked for the past year with dancers from various dance companies. These are portraits of the dancers done through their movements and gestures. The work is about the movement of the body in light and space. These images are a departure from reality into the rituals of dance and music.

 As with my past work the spirit of the person is more important the actual portrait. The body moving is an essential part of all dances. Here we try to capture just a moment in time, light, and space.

 My work is done in the Bromoil Process. A Bromoil print is a silver gelatin bromide print that has been bleached to remove the silver. The image is than inked with a greasy pigment such as lithographic ink to replace the silver. I use this process because it enhances the softness and adds mystery to the images. Taking it a step away from reality. The images from my work are at times created and inspired from a fantasy world to have another “worldly quality”.

  I use double exposure and slow shutter speeds to change what is true and expected in a scene. This process gives me the freedom to soften, blur or completely erase an aspect of the original negative. I use a Wisner 4 x5 with one lens for most of my work. Polaroid’s type 55 is the film I use when working with models since with motion it is necessary to see the results immediately. 

 Creativity by deviating from the predictable is a valuable tool for furthering the artistic vision. Basic techniques are simply a starting point in the process of developing a recognizable style. This method allows me to alter a traditional photograph, and create a unique painterly print. My subject matter adds another dimension, so that the final product is a multi- layered, glimpse beneath the surface. The portrait for me is a picture of a persons place in life as well as what that individual feels inside..Goldkind.

---

RIGEL THURSTON|Austin, Texas |Classic Jazz Piano and Vocals

 

Rigel Thurston, was originally from Port Townsend, Washington.  He has been plinking around on the piano since he was about 8 years old.  Now, at 25, he's in Austin dazzling local audiences with his vocal and piano talent, a bluesy style similar to Harry Connick, Jr. As a young boy, he began taking lessons from Overton Berry, a jazz musician who is well-known in Seattle and other parts of Washington.  Studying with Berry for over three years, Thurston stuck with jazz, and in his early teens began studying with Barney McClure, a renowned jazz musician...

That's really where my growth as a jazz musician catapulted. Music has taught me a lot in regards to interpersonal communications when dealing with a group and people individually. It has given me a lot of insight as to how people work. I live the moment, and especially enjoy those that involve music, whether it's coming from me or someone else.  When I hear something that really inspires me, I get tingles - I start laughing out loud--I just want to shout for joy...Thurston

Thurston played with "the Liz Morphus Band," a blues cover band, until 2003.  Initially the band played at Nat's Pub in Lakeway (now called Bull & Buzzard Pub), and then regularly at the 311 Club on 6th Street.  Theyalso played at Steamboat, Momo's Club and Flipnotics & Satellite Cafe. Currently, Thurston is a one-man band....