BIOGRAPHY

Early on drawing was a joyous pastime for Sherry, but by 12 years of age clay became her medium of choice. Extensive dance training came in handy when creating dance figurines. These works received attention from her high school art teacher. Encouraged by her, she entered the Mid-west Ceramics show where she won six awards including best in show for her age group. A scholarship to “Art school of choice” was extended to her. In 1973 she was accepted into The University of Cincinnati as a double major in Musical Theater at Collage Conservatory of Music and art at the college of Design Architecture and Art.

In 1977 she received her Bachler of Fine Arts degree, after which she acquired her Equity Card and pursued a professional musical theater and light opera career. She appeared in over 48 musicals locally and throughout the Midwest Such notable roles include Eliza Doolittle in “My Fair Lady, “ Ado Annie in “Oklahoma,” “and Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz.”

The love of French antiques led her to accept a position at Samuel Aronoff’s, in Cincinnati, restoring ceramic figurines, cleaning oil paintings, and mending elaborate picture frames. Several local jewelers also found her skills invaluable, working and carving in wax to create one-of-a-kind creations in gold and precious stones. Sherry also tried her hand at framing at a contemporary art gallery that effectively propelled her back into the world of art.

Longing to get her hands muddy again, she took a position as a sculptor at Turtle Creek Pottery. After four years of creating early American reproductions, her attention turned to a new and collaborative endeavor, large and elaborate creations became the focus. With emphasis on whimsy and fantasy these pieces take flight. Months of work go into each piece, and the scope of detail is taken to new levels. This fulfills a lifetime desire to become a full-time artist.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Stories from our collective past are reworked into ceramic creations. Each of these sculptures are meticulously crafted by hand and require at least six months to complete. An observer could spend an hour in front of a single piece, consuming the story within. Sometimes I refer to this new body of work as little pieces of “Theatre-in-the-Round”. Take the time to stroll around every piece. Each time you do, the humor and sheer energy will captivate your senses.

I hope people can feel the fun and joy that I experience while making these sculptures. I love to watch people’s facial expressions as they recognize some characters from their past. They seem to marvel at the detail and always walk away with a smile. It doesn’t matter if you are 6 or 60; everyone appears to be fully entertained and reminded of a more tender time...So, viewers grab your glasses and be inspired as “Once-Upon-a- Time” ... gets a facelift!

BIOGRAPHY

Steven Finke was born in 1957, in New York City. He received a BFA from Ohio University and a MFA from the University of Miami in Florida.

After graduate school he settled in Ohio and taught sculpture at Northern Kentucky University for 32 years. He currently lives in SW Ohio where he is working on a long term environmental project that integrates sculpture and forest in an aesthetic reflection on impermanence.

ARTIST STATEMENT

As a young artist I was concerned with understanding myself and what was happening to me in this world. Fortunately, I became bored with myself, and my artistic exploration expanded to the world; how it came to be and what humanity’s role was as part of this living system. When I turned 40, I turned my attention to impermanence and the mortality of creatures.

My work for the past 28 years has been the creation of objects and spaces that are conducive to reflection on impermanence and mortality. Most of this work is site specific in the forest where I live, in SW Ohio. For me the forest speaks clearest and most eloquently on impermanence and it is the environment where I find subject, context and material.

I have been fortunate to have my work supported by academia and organizations such as Summerfair. They make it possible for creativity that might not be sustainable in an economy to continue. This Summerfair grant allowed me to purchase needed materials and hire a part-time assistant. I am very grateful for their support.

BIOGRAPHY

Jason Franz is a Cincinnati, Ohio based artist and educator, and has served as the co-founding executive director of the nonprofit Manifest Creative Research Gallery and Drawing Center for the past 21 years. He received a BFA degree from the Art Academy of Cincinnati in 1988, and an MFA from the University of Cincinnati in 1998. After a decade serving in the exhibitions department at the Cincinnati Art Museum, and before and after the launch of Manifest, he taught drawing, painting, and design across 15 years at UC, Xavier University, and the AAC. Franz continues to exhibit his drawings nationally, with recent solo exhibitions at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Ky., and New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas, N.M., and scheduled solo exhibits at Western Illinois University in Macomb, Il.l, and Buckham Gallery in Flint, Mich. His work is held in multiple museum, university, and private collections across the U.S.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I've made it my practice to draw from the live model nearly once a week for the past 27 years. This endurance has changed my work. My process embodies a philosophy about looking, merged with an appreciation for eastern and Indian historical art forms. My drawings offer a two-fold experience; one of insight into my unabashedly raw hand-eye efforts at drawing from life, and of a body of work that serves as a tangible testament to time shared between two living beings—the artist and the model.

Each work is a measure of time spent in contemplation of the physical manifestation of time—life itself. Ink has emerged as a favorite medium because the idea of using a substance that one could find on nearly any office desk, whether in the form of a ball point pen or fluid ink in a bottle, to make a drawing that evokes the energy of both a living subject and the living artist is very important to me. For this reason my practice has become like Zen ensō painting which "evidences the character of its creator and the context of its creation in a brief, contiguous period of time.

Please describe your current work:

Caught in the whirlwind of modern life, the art of being still emerges as a precious gem, often overlooked amidst the clamor of streaming content. The demand for more immediacy and authenticity is ever-present even as we self-select filters to receive skewed news that numbs our ability to engage in critical thinking. It is in only a moment of stillness the accurate observations are made in real time. Using simple backyard nature motifs as inspiration, I make art to evoke wonder and contemplation of long-held beliefs from new perspectives.

The artistic process requires intense spotlight-like observation to see and understand how light hits every fold and crease of a petal, and the shape, line, and texture of every hair, feather, or scale. At the same time, my art requires lantern consciousness to capture accurately the whole of my subject within the greater context of its environment and how my art fits within the larger context of contemporary art. 

Currently, I work in two distinct media: scratchboard and ink, and acrylic on canvas. Scratchboard is a gorgeous, retractive medium. Each mark is made via scratching with a sharp tool, e.g., a sharpened knitting needle, to reveal white clay underneath a top layer of matte black ink, The drama of the black and white is alluring. Often, I add colorful ink and iridescent paint to the white marks, to create jewel-like effects. Acrylic on canvas is useful for exploring color and creating larger pieces, e.g., 48” x 48” paintings, for solo exhibitions.

What future direction do you envision your art taking?

I see my artwork evolving into a single medium, instead of two, and larger in scale to explore the challenging world of public art installations. I will be moving away from small square scratchboards to mosaics composed of individual 48” x 48” panels of CLAYBORD®, which is a wood panel coated in white clay that allows the artist to express her creativity in applying the top layer of ink and provides for scratchboard techniques to expose the underlayer of white clay. While the individual square panels are small enough to fit comfortably in my studio, they may be installed in a mosaic format of any size to fulfill commissions for hospital lobbies, corporate offices and hotels.  

I have already experimented on small clay panels. Beginning with the white surface instead of black, I applied swaths of colorful inks to the surface with a brush, sponge, and even plastic bags. After the ink dries, I scratched into them, repeating the process until I was satisfied with the completed composition.

Working on large-scale square clay panels will incorporate my painting and cratchboard skills into a unified body of work ready for installation in  a mosaic format in public art settings. 

How will you use this award to move toward this vision of that future direction?

I want to use the Summerfair Individual Artist award to increase the scale of my art to position my art for public art installation. After having had a solo art exhibitions across the commonwealth of Kentucky and had my work included in juried group shows across the country my work is represented by respected
Cincinnati-based international art gallery with corporate art consultants.

Specifically, the award will help my art business acquire 48” x 48” CLAYBORD® panels, each of which retails for $511 plus shipping. I plan on applying ink to the white clay panels and removing portions of the surface with scratchboard techniques. Having once supported myself as a muralist in Greater Cincinnati, I understand how to develop and execute a composition of large scale and plan to breathe composition of the square panels in a mosaic format to custom fit the completed artwork for installation in interior spaces. 

I will use a portion of the award to have the artwork professionally photographed after my sample panels have been made and installed in a mosaic format in a gallery setting. Alternatively, I could use the remaining funds to purchase a digital camera to use for better photographs of my work and for better reference photos of flora and fauna. 

With sample artwork and great photographs, I will be able to demonstrate to corporate art consultants and on public art applications that I may be commissioned for any size interior installation, such as lobbies of hospitals, conference rooms in corporate offices, and feature walls in hotels.

Please describe your current work:

I am a storyteller, I weave my tales of my life, my family and the world around me with my narrative quilts and dolls which can be larger-than-life-sized self-portraits. The media I use is dictated by the story I am telling. Gigantic pink fake fur bunny sculptures beaded and embellished in a compulsive, almost meditative way. Wooden marionette puppets hand carved in the traditional techniques. Marrying age-old traditions with a contemporary, pop art palette and costuming. Using objects traditionally associated with children and play, e.g. dolls, stuffed animals, toys, music box ballerinas. And puppets, I strive to create a childlike whimsy, honesty and playfulness in my work. Found toy objects are dressed, covered, costumed and embellished using embroidery and beads. The quilting and embroidery are all done by hand using a simple running stitch. I use garish, bright colors and tactile fabrics, the viewer is pulled in for a closer exploration of the narrative within. My most recent body of work has been my most challenging to date. My art for this exhibit is informed and inspired by my grandfather’s immigration to America. Using the House of Fun as the entryway to the installation, juxtaposed by the dark interactive installation art. These pink bunnies, stuffed animal monkeys, wooden puppets live within the environments I create. 

What future direction do you envision your art taking?

This path I have embarked on through my recent body of work is just beginning. I will continue to create whimsical creatures and characters using large stuffed toys, sculptures and marionette puppets to tell my stories. I will further explore my Jewish family history. I will continue to blur the line between art and craft as I use multiple media - including wooden marionette puppets, fiber arts, animation and installations to articulate the stories I tell. I am intrigued by the juxtaposition of the House of Fun as a vehicle welcoming the viewer into the space to see the art that lies beyond the entrance - dealing with subject matter that is darker and shows a side of humanity that is not very pretty. However, continuing with a call to action to be better, more resilient, and to find the joy will always be the most powerful take- away from my art exhibitions.

How will you use this award to move toward this vision of that future direction?

I have always been intrigued with stop motion animation and have used that technique as well as digital animation in a supporting role in my exhibits. I would  like to expand on the use of those methods and have them be a more prominent focus - using some of the same puppetry, materials, construction, embellishments and environment from my past work. The puppets, characters, figurative sculptures I have carefully crafted all have dynamic stories I’d like to expand upon. I will create additional figurative sculptures and using animation can make them come to life in a way that is not possible in traditional marionette puppetry. Thereby providing more color and depth to my storytelling. 

I would use this Summerfair grant to purchase technical equipment, and attend in- person as well as virtual training and workshops in animation techniques.

BIOGRAPHY

Paul Kroner is a contemporary visual artist based in Cincinnati. A lifelong maker, Paul’s creative instincts first led him to a career in graphic design, earning his degree in graphic designfrom the University of Cincinnati  in 1982. But his passion for fine art remained a constant thread. In his late 40s, that passion took center stage, and his art practice fully emerged.

Primarily a sculptor, Paul’s work moves fluidly across media and styles—ranging from representational to abstract, 2D to 3D. He draws inspiration from artists such as Picasso, Matisse, Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Pablo Gargallo, and the Bay Area figurative artists of the 1950s and ’60s. His work often explores the nuances of intra- and interpersonal relationships, conveyed through a balance of form, gesture, and emotion.

Paul’s art has been featured in solo and group exhibitions throughout New England and the Midwest, and his paintings and sculptures are held in private collections across the U.S. and abroad. He is a recipient of the Ohio Arts Council Artist Opportunity Grant and the Cincinnati Summerfair Aid to Individual Artist Grant, and has earned recognition in numerous juried exhibitions..

In addition to his studio practice, Paul is the owner and curator of Studio Kroner, a contemporary art gallery in downtown Cincinnati. Since its founding, Studio Kroner has presented numerous solo and group exhibitions, including curated shows focused on timely and challenging themes such as climate change, political discourse, and artificial intelligence. 

ARTIST STATEMENT

At the heart of my work is a desire to explore the intersection of art and design. My background in graphic design taught me to value clarity, composition, and the power of visual storytelling—and that foundation continues to guide my work. Whether in paint, wax, clay, or digital media, I approach each piece with curiosity and a deep love for form, gesture, and space.

Sometimes the work is representational, sometimes abstract. At times it’s a quiet exploration of line and balance; at others, it’s raw and expressive. What connects it all is a need to communicate—something felt, something seen, something shared.

I’m especially drawn to the human figure—not just its form, but its gesture, struggle, and connection. I find beauty in the in-between moments: tension and release, balance and imbalance, stillness and motion. I’m captivated by the elegance of form, the fluidity of curves, and the expressive potential of negative space. 

My creative practice is a search for clarity within chaos—a way to process the world and my place in it. I make art to make sense of things. And in doing so, I hope to create a space for connection: between myself and the viewer, between ambiguity and meaning, between reflection and discovery.

BIOGRAPHY

JeeEun Lee, born and raised in South Korea, has been an exhibiting artist for more than 20 years. She received her B.F.A. and M.F.A. in sculpture at Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea, and moved to the U.S. in 2010, where she earned a second M.F.A. degree at Syracuse University, New York. She is currently the head of the ceramics area at Northern Kentucky University.

Lee has exhibited solo exhibitions in the U.S., Korea, and Japan, as well as numerous group exhibitions. While clay is her primary medium, her work includes large-scale installations with mixed media, sculpture, public art, and functional objects.

ARTIST STATEMENT

In recent years, I’ve focused on exploring through sculpture how nature influences my sense of self, which for me feels similar to searching for the fundamental truths of nature. Nature is mysterious. It creates in me a sense of awe for the universe while urging me to reconsider the meaning of life and to be more self-aware. In my current practice, the elements of nature that inspire my work are water and mountains. For me, water is an essential element of nature and an object for meditation; it evokes thoughts of time and memory. It inspires me to project my creative spirit into my artwork. Mountains convey limitless energy and make me think about space, time, and my life. In connection with these two elements of nature, I am interested in self-image, memory, reflections, and shadows.

BIOGRAPHY

Joshua Maier lives and works as both artist and college educator in Cincinnati. He received the Summerfair AIA award in October of 2024.

Josh grew up divided across farmlands spanning from Southern Ohio to Northern Kansas. He earned his BFA in creative writing and 3D art from Bowling Green State University of Ohio in 2004. After nearly a decade of working as an artist in Kansas City within the production glass art industry, as a production potter, and an academic studio technician he began his graduate studies at the University of Missouri – Columbia in 2013. There he received his MFA in Ceramics & Sculpture, with 3 years of focus culminating as a visual science fiction tale of ceramic insectoid creatures, vibrant color, and wild textures in a show titled Friends from Isolation in 2016. In the Fall of 2017 he returned to the Cincinnati area to engage in a residency at Queen City Clay where he began his post-grad artistic practice designing expressive, vibrantly colored printed graphic surfaces on both sculpture and functional clay forms. 

As a deeply committed educator Josh has occupied both full and part-time roles as an instructor in Ceramics & Sculpture and the Foundations department within the School of the Arts at Northern Kentucky University since 2019. The Fall of 2025 sees Josh also joining the faculty of 3-D Design Foundations within DAAP at the University of Cincinnati. 

Joshua Maier currently lives in the heart of the Northside area, emersed in a jungle of his own making, under towers of cracked-spine fiction, in close bonds with snakes and wildcats.

ARTIST STATEMENT

When at work in the studio I am quietly engaged in a challenge, and the execution of a puzzle that exists between imagination, materials, and the process. Clay is always at the core, and fine craftsmanship is always a chief goal.  As a young man, I started my pursuits in the arts as a fiction writer. Early on I found that I was not satisfied with the spatial limits of the page. I began to put more faith and trust in the path that runs from eye to hand to tool. I found far more satisfaction in the communication of my imagination spilling out for all to see, physically present, and free of the page and its silly margins.  I am interested in what what has been shaped in the hand to serve, to store, to survive, to exalt. 

My work is always founded on methods and traditions within clay craft. My sculptural dreams are channeled into works that take shape as a kind of “flash-fiction.”  For almost 20 years I’ve seen my sculptures this way. This one is a character, this one an environment; these are objects that become a catalyst, a protagonist, a climax; each a story without words. These are my fictions in the third dimension, the enigma – both mine and yours.

While concepts have changed from time to time, the work’s final look, feel, and the inspiration for its creation have remained the same, taking shape out of the safe haven of a maker’s obsession. 

The results are an amalgamation of many of my loves and creative pursuits. As a creator, I don’t like the word “subtle.” I don’t do “subdued.”  I make, to pull you across a room, to string you along with wonder, with mystery, with the intoxication of puzzling possibility.

Please describe your current work:

As an artist with disabilities cased from Spinocerebellar Ataxia 5, a rare neurological disease that is progressive, affecting my ability to walk, talk, balance myself and use fine motor skills,my artwork not only considers the essential structure of animal references but has become a vehicle to interpret transformative changes occurring in my body caused from the progression of the disease. My artwork researches and brings awareness to people living with disabilities while pushing the boundaries of contemporary art. My work uses sculpture as vehicles to explore material, challenge the pedestal and give evidence to connection with the world around us. This work discusses these concepts by focusing on movement's copious flow, a manner of passage of the living body to one’s gait and gesture. The work drives examination and permits curiosity uncovering aspects of human nature and wonder of origin. The juxtaposed ideas reveal blurred distinctions between connections and dysfunction exhibited in julti-media mutivalent invocations of the body. My work serves as a metaphor between our connections, wonder of the natural world and to our future. Like a river or the blood flowing through our veins, our human connection and vessel is the continuous change, tradition and movement. The work explores the malfunction of systems to communicate with the whole body and the interrelated fluid parts that flow together. My work discusses and celebrates the fluid connections and movements of body and time, like a river in motion moving toward transformation and hope for our future. I have been weaving different paper qualities and gauges of copper and steel wire together while strengthening the materials with liquid starch, paper clay slip and epoxy. Each piece is incredibly light weight because the material used and the audience has the opportunity to interact with my work in an intimate way.

What future direction do you envision your art taking:

I envision the future direction of my work experimenting with new concepts, materials and traditional Hispanic weaving techniques to create an outdoor installation that abstractly investigates themes of redefining, repurposing and generational dysfunction of genes/systems communicating with the whole body. Also, I want my work to develop/expand traditional cultural techniques inherent in both weaving and ceramics, experiment with the applications of color, investigate the dysfunction of connections and bring awareness to the community of people living with disabilities. The work will become the catalyst for future outdoor, environmental installations which push the boundaries of contemporary art. These mixed-medial materials and techniques used will create many woven forms that are pieced and installed together higher than the publican reach but can see the detail, texture and patterns while surrounded by the cast shadows and light from above. I want my work to generate awareness to our community who might not have knowledge of ways in which bodies are impacted by disabilities. The work will expose the essential core of the human body while exploring what happens when the body's systems break down and interrelated parts no longer communicate. The media and artistic practice/ processes used for work, will be fire, paperclay, woven fabric, thread and plastic, woven copper and steel wire, cast and woven paper, fired,clay slip-coated fiberglass screens, molded epoxy and cast glass in hand built molds with pate de verre techniques. The materials and methods used in the creation of this work embrace the possibilities of alternative installations strategies and challenge the plinth and pedestal. Also, this work and activities will engage people, cultivate learning and excellence through the arts.

How will you use this award to move toward this vision of that future direction:

I would use this grant to move toward the future direction of my work in four ways; purchasing materials and equipment, continued working time to explore provocative concepts, materials and techniques, hiring a prime studio assistant to assist me in the studio, climb a ladder, lift work/supplies, create hanging systems for my work and help pack and transport my work and assist in photography, shipping and installation expenses of new work for an upcoming outdoor exhibition at the University of Cincinnati and future publications. With this awards help, I will create work that is incorporated with paper elements and constructed from public involvement in artist workshops and artist talk. The collaborative work will investigate the dysfunction of systems to communicate with the whole boy and interrelated fluid parts that flow together. Throughout the award period, I will create hundreds of paper strips and journal while responding to questions; What does it mean to connect? Do you ask enough questions? How can I help one person today? I will present an artist workshop/artist lecture, paper strips/drawing materials and ask the public to respond then question, as well. In my studio, I will use all paper strips with traditional Hispanic, Plain and Negative Space weaving techniques to create large circular forms with different gauges of copper wire, paper and glass frit into ceramic molds for burn-out techniques in a gas kiln to create ceramic shells of form. The work created with this awards assistance inspires healing and accountability through outreach, learning and advancement in the arts., This work serves as a vehicle discussing the healing power within each of us and our interconnectedness with one another.

BIOGRAPHY

Emily Moores is a visual artist living and working in Cincinnati, Ohio. Sheearned her BFA from The Cleveland Institute of Art in 2008 and her MFA from The University of Cincinnati in 2014. Her work consists of hand-cut and ornately layered materials, which create both wall works and large-scale installations. Emily’s work investigates the playful engagement of the body as essential to understanding and experiencing spaces or objects.

Emily was selected as one of the Women to Watch 2020 by the Ohio Arts Council’s Riffe Gallery in collaboration with the Ohio Advisory Group of the National Museum of Women in the Arts. She created “Let’s Celebrate,” a large-scale installation consisting of wood, paper and fabric. With a party-like atmosphere, this work immersed the viewer in a celebration.

She has shown her work nationally, including the Akron Art Museum (Ohio), the Contemporary Arts Center (Ohio), the Ruffin Gallery (Va.), the Loudon House (Ky.), and the Edward A. Whitney Gallery at Sheridan College (Wyo.).

Emily Moores was a recipient of the Ohio Cultural Arts Individual Artist Award, the Summerfair Individual Artist Grant and the ArtPrize Seed Grant.

ARTIST STATEMENT

My artwork uses playful and joyful colors and textures to create spaces for

viewers to get lost in. I use everyday materials (such as paper, fabric, and

plastic) because I want viewers to already have a tactile connection to the

textures. My work explores tactility and its ability to embody feelings of play

or joy immaterially.

I transform a physical space or surface of a paper into a whimsical

environment using colorful patterns, textures, and ornamentation. The

inspiration for my intricate patterns and design elements derived from

everyday objects, like wallpaper, decorative china and playgrounds. With

overstimulation from screens and a fast-paced accomplishment culture, the

physical nature of textures and patterns can bring viewers into the physical

reality.

Viewers can feel connected to the tangible space that surrounds them.

My goal is to use the movement of an individual’s body to empower their

imagination. I often find that my bright colors and patterns remind individuals

of an experience or an object. I want people to be empowered to make

their own connections when looking at my artwork. Simply looking at and

observing abstract art is play.

BIOGRAPHY

Brigid O’Kane earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1990 from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Mich., and her Master of Fine Arts in 2005 from the University of Cincinnati. In 2005, she co-founded Manifest Creative Research Gallery and Drawing Center, a not-for-profit arts organization in Cincinnati. At Manifest, she is actively engaged in many areas. Since 2000, O’Kane has been sharing her expertise as an associate professor at the University of Cincinnati, where she teaches drawing and advanced studies at the undergraduate and graduate levels. She has received 18 noteworthy awards, including the Special Dean’s Recognition Award in 2007 and 2017, the Professor of the Year Award in 2007, DesignIntellegence National Award for One of the 30 Most Admired Educators for 2014. O’Kane has been awarded two Artist Residencies in Italy and Ireland, has hosted 10 significant workshops in the USA, Ireland, China, and Belgium, and has had her drawings featured in numerous national exhibitions.

ARTIST STATEMENT

The disruption of climate change, human-caused disasters, and the evolution of technology on and as our landscape has been the driving force of my creative research for several years. Citing art historical roots from the Hudson River School to Land Arts, I examine the interrelationship of landscape, environment, and technology. In the experimental video, Exquisite Corpse, stacked and segmented videos and stills create a feeling of connectedness despite the varied landscapes shown. Each of the landscapes here is compromised from brownfields, extraction sites, or wildfires. These places are sites of vulnerability and uncertainty.

BIOGRAPHY

Charity Rust-Jordan is a multidisciplinary artist and educator based in Northern Kentucky. She holds a BFA in Spatial Arts from Northern Kentucky University, and is certified to teach mindfulness and mediation. As an instructor, Charity provides workshops and classes, largely focused on ceramics and an Art and Mindfulness class which she developed. She primarily teaches at Baker Hunt Art and Cultural Center, as well as the Cincinnati Art Museum, and other local organizations. She also provides these same experiences on a volunteer basis at local resource and rehabilitation centers. Her teaching style is gentle, conversational, and fosters reflection from the student; encouraging curiosity and exploration.

As an artist Charity prioritizes these same elements within her home studio.

Her work reflects a deep connection to nature, mindfulness, and the transformative and healing potential of the creative process.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Art making and mindfulness are deeply intertwined. Art making is not just an act of creation, but an act of being, doing, observing, much like mindfulness practices. Art making and mindfulness teach us that the value lies not in achieving perfection or the finished product, but in the beauty of being fully engaged with the process and the present moment. Art and mindfulness offer a profound way to connect us with ourselves, with others, and the natural world around us.

My work is centered around these ideas, as well as an exploration of texture, spontaneity, and organic orms, using materials like clay, wood, rocks, and fibers that carry inherent histories and tactile beauty. I allow myself to release expectations, to embrace imperfections, and to remain open to transformation, both with my work and as an artist. My work reflects my belief in the beauty of small details, the power of the natural world, the strength of the human mind, and the gravity of being present. My intent is to create an opportunity for pause and reflection.

The connection between art making and mindfulness is further deepened through the use of natural materials, which serves as a medium, a tool, and a metaphor for mindfulness principles such as presence, ebbs & flows, and impermanence. Nature, in all its imperfections, rhythms, and growth mirrors the fluidity of thought and the impermanence of life. This current body of work incorporates the use of organic materials that are inherently tied to the natural world.

These materials carry with them their own histories, textures, and patterns, and with their forms and textures solidified.

BIOGRAPHY

Gary Sczerbaniewicz was born in Upstate N.Y. He earned a BFA in sculpture from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, and an MFA in sculpture from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, and an MFA in sculpture from the University at Buffalo

in 2013. Sczerbaniewicz was awarded a Pollock Krasner Foundation Grant to attend a residency at the historic Byrdcliffe Arts Colony in Woodstock, N.Y. He is a 2023 recipient of a Summerfair Cincinnati AIA Award, 2016 New York Foundation for the Arts Fellow in Architecture/ Environmental Structures/ Design, and a 2022 recipient of a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant for his exhibition “Folie a Deux” at the Ely Center of Contemporary Arts in New Haven, Conn. Sczerbaniewicz’s works are included in the permanent collections of the Burchfield-Penney Art Center in Buffalo, N.Y., and the Sanford Underground Research Facility in Lead, S.D. He has exhibited nationally and internationally and has completed artist residencies at Yaddo, I-Park, the Constance Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts, Sculpture Space, the Sanford Underground Research Facility, and AIR Byrdcliffe.

Sczerbaniewicz served as visiting assistant professor of sculpture at the University of Notre Dame from 2017-2020 and is currently assistant professor of spatial arts – sculpture at Northern Kentucky University.

ARTIST STATEMENT

My practice involves an insatiable fascination with architectural spaces that evoke a sense of physical and psychological disorientation. This compulsion toward an aesthetics of bewilderment fuels two concurrent modes of work — installation and sculpture. Each format articulates differing aspects of my chosen subjects — often feeding upon and cross-pollinating one another in the process.

My installation work comprises the larger trajectory of my practice. Within this mode I fabricate odd intimate spatial scenarios into which the viewer is invited to physically enter and explore or peer into through various prescribed vantages. These hybrid constructions inhabit a nebulous

space between architecture, environment, installation, sculpture, and theatrical stagecraft — and act as delivery systems for the often-baffling species of subjects I am interested in communicating. Within these larger structures I install miniature dioramas to create a blended-scale three-dimensional environment. The conceptual language for each composition is articulated through subject, form, materials, and physical interaction.

My recent work investigates the anxious co-existence between the rational / materialist worldview, and the irrational – and how these antagonistic ontologies often co-mingle to shape our current cultural landscape. A recovering child of Catholicism and the Cold War, my works possess an acute fondness for cultural marginalia: the science-fictional (post-apocalyptic, cosmic horror, the weird, the eerie), theoccult, alternative histories, anomalous.

Please describe your current work:

My current body of work bridges sculptural ceramics and fiber art as a process-oriented exploration of the margins of material, self, and ecosystem. While my work is mostly figurative, I often play with dislocation or ambiguity to deepen questions around the separation of nature and culture. I hand sculpt or throw and alter all of my ceramic works. The individual play between my hands and the clay is a crucial part of my practice and is in support of conceptual aspects of the work. I also hand-dye and generally grow or forage the dye materials for all of the knitted and crocheted elements of each piece. Any fabrics used are recycled from garments or found in thrift stores. I strive to engage materials with known sources, situated in ancestral knowledge and re-use, which create layered histories. My most recent works show a shift to wood and soda firing due to newer availability of those firing processes in my community studios. Wood firing produces surfaces which are naturally dynamic and do not require high inputs of heavy metals, excessive burning of fossil fuels, or use of synthetics for color. The resulting work is imbued with an alchemical quality that is harder to achieve in neutral firing environments. After ceramic elements are fired and fiber is dyed, I negotiate the transitional spaces between each medium through play, adaptation and attention as they coalesce into new formations.

What future direction do you envision your art taking?

I am already shifting into expanded media and contexts as I finish up my most recent body of work. I would like to extend my research beyond animal and human subject interactions to include more direct links between the plants all animals depend on for respiration and food, and which I am growing or foraging for fye materials. This has led me back into my early training as a painter, as I can more effectively render plants pictorially than in three-dimensional clay components. I plan to continue the hybridization of materials, reaching into more 2-dimensional work to engage a larger swaths of wall space creating more vibrant worlds for sculptural elements to inhabit. I also plan to deepen my practice in weaving, quilting, and natural dying. I am challenging myself in the next year to completely blur the lines between my media practices to achieve more immersive environments in future shows.

How will you use this award to move toward this vision of that future direction?

I will use this award to purchase necessary materials for new research and experiments including sustainably sourced cotton and wool fibers for weaving and dye materials. The award will also increase my budget for clay, firings, paints and general art supplies. This will allow me to build at a larger scale and to create the immersive qualities I hope to achieve in future works. In addition, an award will support my application and attendance at artist residencies and research travel during the coming year. The biggest gift is always time. Any additional funding ensures that I do not have to take on seasonal work to pay bills during semester breaks and do not regularly overload myself with jobs that distract from my goals as a maker.

BIOGRAPHY

My art journey began many years ago with the support and encouragement of my family. My late grandfather Robert Wheeler and father Michael Wheeler are both professional artists and superb role models. I began writing and illustrating as a young teenager and became increasingly passionate about creating visual art. I now hold a BFA in painting from Northern Kentucky University and work full-time as an artist exhibiting and working with clients all over the country. I am amazed, lucky, and grateful that I am able to create work I truly love. Everyone who engages with my art gives me the motivation to keep creating! The Summerfair AIA grant has been pivotal to my art journey allowing investments in the studio and supplies that have allowed me to grow as both a businessperson and an artist!

I am a storyteller. My work is meant to bring joy to others through wonder, beauty, and humor. I create paintings of whimsical realism: colorful scenes and characters from the realm of imagination and play. My portraits and open-ended narratives invite endless interpretation and invention. My art is a celebration of beauty, wonder, and a world of endless possibility.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I strive in my art to engage the mind, lift the heart, please the eye, and celebrate serious craftsmanship. I create open-ended narratives in a whimsical realism style. My work invites the viewer to enter a childlike realm of imagination and curiosity. My images range from charismatic animal portraits to implausible landscape epics. My body of work has slowly evolved into a universe with its own characters, content, and inner logic. Drawing ideas from dreams and daydreams, I often place subjects together that don't fit, creating a logical gap for the viewer's imagination to fill. The touchstone of my painting practice is to create what I would love to see as a viewer, and then go out and find viewers who love to see what I have created.