2020 ArtPop Street Gallery: additional works by artists in Charlotte, NC (Part I)

Third in the mandala series: stained glass, vitreous tile, handmade porcelain tiles, Italian millefiori, ceramic tile, tinted grout
12” x 36”
photographer credit: Mitchell Kearney

"Diane as Medeina; Goddess of the Trees: Part of the Modern Day Gods and Goddesses Series, this portrait of Artist Diane Pike equates her with the Lithuanian goddess of the forest. Pike's work centers around our relationship with nature and the communication that happens between the roots of trees." -Emily Andress

"Woman in a Red Hat (After Vermeer): Frequently, I will go to master works and put my spin on them. This has been a practice throughout art history and allows me the opportunity to learn from the past masters whose voices are still as strong today." -Emily Andress

"Call For Harmony: Based on the Hopi Tribes' stone tablets, this painting equates the four original races of the earth with the elements water, fire, air, and earth. Removing one upsets the balance in life." -Emily Andress

"Self portrait, with my children.
I plan a story for an image in my head, long before I find the right spot or click the shutter. Shel Silverstein is one of my favorite authors to read to my children, and I had been looking for a tree like this for a few months, with this concept percolating in the back of my mind. While we were driving down an otherwise ordinary old highway in the middle of nowhere, I realized the time was finally upon us. A beautiful day and this single tree stands in a small empty lot between a gas station and a warehouse. An easily overlooked location, my favorite kind of opportunity.
I perched my camera on the hood of the car, and as we ran to our spot to dance beneath the (giving) tree, I wanted to give my children a sense that our purpose here is to create more good, more joy, more kindness and sustainable abundance, than what we found when we arrived. And to create beauty and treasure Nature, in a spontaneous and otherwise mundane moment. Everything is beautiful, if you appreciate it.
This tree and the image we created reminded me of the quote "the true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit" (N. Henderson). -Jamie Lucido

"There is a dreamy quality to a long sunny summer day at the beach, and a magic in the stories children create, when they are playing with each other. I wanted to convey that dream-like quality with the blur of free lensing. I chose to leave the Storyteller child mostly in focus, but his hand dipping into the wading pool is blurry, giving the viewer a sense of the magical story he was telling (pouring water on his sister's feet, so that she could become a mermaid)..
My freelensing collection is a nod to my first teacher, my grandmother, watercolor artist Jeanne Bellmer. She and I spent many years together at the shore, and I often imagine what she must have seen, when she watched me play as a child, just as my own ideas wander, watching my children play." -Jamie Lucido

Collective History, 2019, 66"x47"
quilted fabric, hand embroidery, mesh, paper, acrylic and oil on canvas

Mama Says, 2019, 20“ x 20“
quilted fabric, hand embroidery, acrylic and oil on canvas

Shadow Boxer, 2019, 20" x 15" x 2"
quilted fabric, hand embroidery, eggshells, child's boxing glove, wood shadow box

Gelatin Monoprint, Watercolor, Ink, and Watercolor Crayon on paper

Acrylic, Conté, and Graphite on canvas

Acrylic, Conté, and Graphite on unstretched canvas

"As we transition from one 5th Root Race to the 6th Root Race in the period of Aquarius (the transition covers next 2500 years), these species factors, such as the physiological functions of the human body, are rapidly responding to the massive alterations that are occurring in the earth body. This means that the collective human Blueprint and human bodies are responding to the impending biological evolution that is required as a result of the planet’s structural shift but, it must be done by Nature itself. The current evolutionary pressures are causing (energy to form) anomalies to occur, especially within many environmental and physical factors. This new evolution requires specific physiological adaptations to the genetic changes that are occurring in the human race, in order to acclimate to the new set of conditions and energies that we are being further exposed to, as they are related to the human evolutionary process. Those awakening now are in the forefront of embodying these adaptations as they are the consciousness bridge spanning into the future birth cycle of the next Root Race of the human species.
Within certain potential timeline cycles, humanity was being spiritually prepared to achieve greater and greater levels of enlightenment and ultimately become fully connected, powerful Multidimensional God Beings of Chrystal design. The core turns into a crystal form, and Galatea (Nature) with produce the changes with the help of Heaven without the intervention of a group of humans that without the knowledge want to assume the role of God being Demiurges of the new cycle." -Luis Ardila

"In the scriptures the function of the KHERUB assigned by God is to protect the Tree of Life and the entrance of the Paradise, both currently prohibit to mankind. Now a days the modern science has found numerous secrets without the increasingly closer relationship of illumination and knowledge, but it has not generated in the new scientists the acuity of conscience necessary to direct the investigations. In addition to the risks of physical nature always present on the occasion of an inconsiderate manipulation of the DNA or the unleash of considerable energies locked in the deep structure of matter, the effects of these manipulations on the researchers themselves and, on human populations as a whole, could reveal themselves very harmful even before being discovered by the precariously partial knowledge they have. Science demands a prudence which may be feared to be lacking who let themselves be dominated by the drunkenness of their illusory power. The consequences of these errors trying to manipulate the Tree of Life could allow the intervention of the Kherub." -Luis Ardila

"This work focuses on the rulers exercising power over a extreme large mass of population. The art of exercising power requires great prudence and it is to be feared that those who allow themselves to be dominated by the drunkenness of their own power lack it, because it remains purely external and therefore illusory. It is us who grant that right to our leaders, and they are nothing more than puppets of a greater power that remains hidden in the gloom and in secrecy. They are Demiurges who, through the Media, hypnotize us and under that effect we serve as mediums to call and invoke the demons of the Abyss. It is a call to bring the Ragnarok of the Nordics, "Time of Wolves" or the "Destiny of the Powers". The writings of the past from the Apocalypse, through the writings of the Hindu Vedanta, which prevent us from a possible catastrophic future for whose coming, some are already working hard." -Luis Ardila

"Another summer themed piece. taking photos of splashes in a pool and the ocean you notice the water mirrors what's around it and reflects the swimsuits, your skin, or the birds overhead. It's meant to be a fun colorful exploration of water and water drops. I hope people find playfulness in searching for its meaning." -Holt Harris

"visiting Belmont I noticed the tracks and when I returned home I used leftover house paint and oil paint and began to press in textures, and splatter paint, and make large circles. Just feeling the movement of the piece without drawing tracks was a challenge for me. I like to work from images and push the colors. This piece was working from within, feeling the wheels rolling along the tracks. I hope viewers will see this in the piece. It is presently on an electrical box in Belmont North Carolina." -Holt Harris

"Breakfast is my favorite meal and my husband Randy makes a great one. Sunnyside is the inspiration for our morning feast. I enjoy exaggerating the juxtaposition of the yolk and the white while contrasting each other while using complementary colors. I hope you lean in and study the blues of the egg white and the bright oranges of the yolk." -Holt Harris

"Our daughter McCarter is the focal point of this piece. Using a layering technique I call photo, collage painting this piece was made to celebrate her love of Yoga. During a demonstration in the upper school art class I teach at Gaston Day, I used acrylic while creating layers of words, drawings, and photos for this narrative. This is all about yoga and meditation. The rust orange is the clay from the earth and the words are ones used in the traditional yoga vocabulary. Her image is embedded in the rust of the earth with the words barely viable in the background." -Holt Harris