“Nature is my model, sometimes literally, always conceptually. With clay and glaze I imitate nature. With function and form; color and texture; history and need, I attempt a layering of forces and structures similar to that found in natural things like flowers.” Lawrence Bush is a potter, collaborator, and educator who has taught ceramics at the Rhode Island School of

Nicole Chesney, born in 1971, moved to Providence seven years ago, after undergraduate studies at the California College of Art and the Massachusetts College of Art, as well as an MA from the Canberra School of Art, Australian National University. Source: NetWorks 2009-2010 Catalogue Credits: Video: Richard Goulis Music: Written and Performed by Michael Delia “Piece

Rosanne Somerson is the president at the Rhode Island School of Design, she came to the institution as a freshman photography major but quickly discovered the joys and challenges of woodworking and furniture design. Studying with Tage Frid, she received a BFA in Industrial Design in 1976, eventually teaching in the program and helping to

The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary defines proportion as ‘the relation of one part to another.’ Pleasing proportions render the whole harmonious, symmetrical and agreeable. I feel that this is central to good furniture design. With considered, but rough, mathematical proportions arrived at visually, I strive to create furniture which is graceful, balanced and sensuous. I

Mary Beth Meehan is a photographer whose work explores issues of culture, community, and visibility. She undertakes long-term, in-depth projects, with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, RISCA, RICH, and others. “City of Champions,” her first public installation, in her hometown of Brockton, Massachusetts, was featured on the New York Times LENS blog,

The son of Greek immigrants, Philip Jamoulis Jameson was born in 1930, in Fall River, Massachusetts, and his parents stressed the importance of education early on. Jameson’s first passion was medicine. He became a radiologist, pioneering in radiotherapy in Fall River. His second passion was photography: he sees a relation between the interpretation of minute

Erminio Pinque is the founder and artistic director of BIG NAZO, an international performance group and creature-making studio in Providence. Originally from New York, he has lived in Providence since receiving his BFA in illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design, where he now teaches a course in creature creation. Source: NetWorks 2009-2010 Catalogue

Barbara Owen received a dual degree in sculpture and poetry at Bennington College. She wrote a creative thesis under the direction of the poet Ben Belitt, studied sculpture with Brower Hatcher and painting with artist Sidney Tillim. Her work has been featured in numerous venues nationally and in 2016 she was asked to exhibit with

Born in 1973, Brian Chippendale grew up around the Philadelphia area. His entry into the Providence art and music scene came after graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design in printmaking in the early 1990s. He began to make posters and comics and was one of four founders of Fort Thunder, a warehouse space

Collage is at the heart of John de Melim’s art; to him it is the most cohesive way to represent the myriad of differing realities we experience each day. His images derive from extensive travel and study of ancient cultures in the Amazon, New Guinea, and Mexico, as well as visits to Mali, Japan, and Greece, with his late

Her love of Celtic culture inspires the creative life of artist Laura Travis. She is a sculptor, carving primarily in limestone, soapstone and slate, and has more than 20 years experience teaching Visual Art at all levels. Travis came to Rhode Island College from New York to study art education. For many years she had a studio at AS220,

Photographer Annu Palakunnathu Matthew was born in England in 1964, grew up in India and lives in Providence; she is a professor of art at the University of Rhode Island. Source: NetWorks 2009-2010 Catalogue Credits: Video: Richard Goulis Additional footage: David H. Wells Music: “Kirvani” (Veena Improvisation) performed by L. Ramakrishan, Recorded at Lars Nesbakken’s house, Portland,

Brian Shure is a painter and printmaker working with representations of people in public spaces. He received a BA from Antioch College. He worked as a professional lithographer for 15 years, has published and printed editions under the Smalltree Press imprint, and was a Master Printer and Coordinator of the China Woodblock Program at Crown

Born in 1957 in Massachusetts, Daniel Clayman trained as a theater and modern dance lighting designer. He received a BFA in glass from the Rhode Island School of Design and has a studio in East Providence, Rhode Island. Source: NetWorks 2009-2010 Catalogue     Credits: Video: Richard Goulis Music: Myles Producer: Joseph A. Chazan M.D. Additional

McDonald Wright transferred from the Pennsylvania College of Technology to the Rhode Island School of Design, where he graduated with a BFA in photography. He lives in Providence, and continues to use a manual camera and film photography over digital technology. Source in: NetWorks 2009-2010 Catalogue   Credits: Video: Richard Goulis Music: Debra Mann Additional

Nancy Friese obtained her BS in nursing from the University of North Dakota, in the state where she was born and maintains a farmstead studio. She changed her career course and studied painting and printmaking at different venues, culminating in an MFA from the Yale University School of Art in 1980. Primarily a landscape painter

A native New Englander who graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design, Gretchen Dow Simpson spent many years living in New York City, where she completed over 65 covers for The New Yorker magazine. In 1985, an exhibition at the Newport Art Museum brought her back to the area, and she moved to Providence’s

Installation artist, filmmaker, and author Ann Fessler has spent four decades using her platform as an artist to bring hidden histories and stories to light. She turned to the subject of adoption in 1989 and has produced three documentary films, numerous audio and video installations, and written an award-winning book, The Girls Who Went Away,

Julie Gearan enjoys exploring a narrative in her painting; she describes herself as “a painter of themes that connect human relationships of past and present, linking ancient myths with our current everyday lives.” She also is interested in the portrait as a genre, and has recently been selected to paint the official portrait of Governor Lincoln D. Chafee. Gearan received

Dean Snyder’s sculpture has been characterized as “uncanny ‘graphical’ organicism experienced through seamless assemblies of highly considered forming, molding, and lamination.” Drawing plays a large role in Snyder’s studio. A native of Philadelphia, Snyder received a BFA in photography and sculpture at the Kansas City Art Institute in 1974; a British Arts Council Fellowship for

With camera in hand, Reenie Barrow is equally happy photographing flowers from her back yard as well as packing her bags and traveling from Havana to Hanoi, through the Mid-East, Europe, Mexico, Asia, Easter Island and several movie sets. She says, “The thread that binds my work is a straightforward presentation with the ultimate goal

Irene Lawrence is a painter, printmaker, and maker of books as well as a musician who studies the cello and the viola da gamba. Born in California, she grew up on Long Island and came to Providence, where she lives, to attend the Rhode Island School of Design. Lawrence’s work is characterized by an integration of rhythmic strokes using monochromatic

CW Roelle grew up in and around Palmyra/ Shortsville/ Manchester NY. The Finger Lakes region. It’s pretty up there. After high school he moved to Baltimore MD to attend The Maryland Institute College of Art. First a Visual Communications major, he quickly realized that graphic design and computers and all that weren’t his thing, so

Ilse Buchert Nesbitt was born in Germany and spent her childhood in Japan, absorbing the influence of sumi brush painting practiced by her mother. In the 1950s she studied at the Art Academies of Hamburg and Berlin, concentrating on typography and book design. As a personal art form, the woodcut seemed a natural progression from typography; both processes involve the

Born in 1954 in Wisconsin, Donna Bruton received a BFA from Michigan State University, an MFA from Yale University and a certificate in painting from the Art Institute of Chicago. She resided in Portsmouth, Rhode Island and was a professor of painting at the Rhode Island School of Design. Source: NetWorks 2009-2010 Catalogue Credits: Video:

Paul Housberg creates site-specific works in glass for corporate, hospitality, healthcare and public environments. He says, “my work explores the juxtaposition of order and randomness, as well as the natural human tendency to seek pattern in chaos, our persistent desire to find meaning in disorder. I’m inspired by the ordinary, yet strangely beautiful, phenomenon of

Born in Rhode Island in 1963, Stephen Brownell has a degree in botany from the University of Rhode Island, but pursues a painting career at his Providence studio. Source: NetWorks 2009-2010 Catalogue Credits: Video: Richard Goulis Still Photography: Scott Lapham, Erik Gould Music: DB Leonard Executive Producer: Joseph A. Chazan M.D

My inspiration comes from absolutely everywhere, and I truly mean everywhere. I probably cannot find a place in the known universe, especially the unknown, in which I don’t find some inkling of interest that might someday or another translate into a piece of artwork, video, or performance. But I don’t dwell on that. Its a

Tayo Heuser’s father was in the diplomatic corps; she was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up attending French schools in Europe and Africa. She came to the Rhode Island School of Design, pursued post-graduate study there and obtained her MFA from Vermont College. Originally a painter, but becoming known for sculpture, Heuser today has

Kate Blacklock’s early love of ceramics came from her viewing of the Pre-Columbian pottery at New York’s Museum of Natural History where her mother worked. Blacklock received her BA from the University of California at Santa Cruz and an MFA in ceramics from the Rhode Island School of Design. In her studio art, Blacklock has

Dennis Congdon holds a BFA in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MFA from Yale University. In 1983 he won the Prix de Rome and became a Fellow at the American Academy in Rome. He has been on the faculty at RISD since 1984 and has also taught at the School

The art of Jane Masters is multi-faceted, like the artist’s upbringing and education. Born in 1962 in London, Masters grew up in Europe and the West Indies, where her father owned a hotel. She received an undergraduate degree in art and art history from the College of William and Mary, a BFA in ceramics from

A musician and visual artist, William Schaff is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art, and works from his studio in Warren, Rhode Island. Source: NetWorks 2009-2010 Catalogue   Credits: Video: Richard Goulis Music: “Spooky Will” performed by William Schaff, I Love You & I Miss You Accordian Tune, “Lioness” Songs: Ohia, The Lioness ©

In 1978 David Frazer began teaching at the Rhode Island School of Design, and he is still there in 2016, as head of the painting department. Frazer received his BFA from RISD in 1970, and as a participant in the European Honors Program, he traveled in Italy and The Netherlands, becoming influenced by the painting

Astrid, an American artist born in Havana, Cuba, has a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design, and an MFA from Hunter College; she works from her studio at AS220 in Providence. Source: NetWorks 2009-2010 Catalogue Credits: Video: Richard Goulis Music: “”Opus I,”” Es Kisher Lousnyag Kisher (This Starry Night) Komitas © 2009 TFA-13-E, Cuba,

Nicholas Benson, at the age of 15, began an apprenticeship at The John Stevens Shop with his father, John Benson. This shop in Newport, RI, founded in 1705, specializes in the design and execution of one-of-a-kind inscriptions in stone. Architectural and memorial lettering is generated by hand with a broad-edged brush in the manner of

Lucas Foglia’s recent photography exhibition at Brown University’s David Winton Bell Gallery, “A Natural Order,” portrayed people who left cities and suburbs to move off-grid in the southeastern United States. A graduate of Brown, Foglia, born in 1983, received his MFA in photography from Yale University in 2010. His impressive curriculum vitae belies the fact

Nilton Cardenas, of Inca heritage, grew up in Lima, Peru where he studied journalism and painting at the University of San Martin de Porres and the Institute Superior José Sabogal, respectively. At the age of twenty, Cardenas arrived in Miami and after six years followed his brother to Providence where he has established himself in

Richard Fishman grew up in Roxbury, Massachusetts and attended Boston University before transferring to the Rhode Island School of Design for his BFA. In New Orleans, at Tulane University, he earned an MFA. In 1965, Fishman began teaching at Brown University where he has contributed to the remarkable growth in the institution’s arts departments. His

Duane Slick identifies himself as a first generation urban Indian, born of a father from the Meskwaki Nation in Iowa— where Slick was born in 1961—and a mother from the Ho-Chunk Nation in Nebraska. He received a BFA from the University of Northern Iowa and an MFA from the University of California at Davis. Slick

After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1984, with two degrees in Industrial Design, Peter Diepenbrock launched his sculptural career. He simultaneously supported his studio, producing limited edition furnishings and tabletop functional objects. While designing for his private label TROY, as well as Dansk and Umbra, Diepenbrock’s sculpture continued to develop. His

Alan Metnick was born in Chicago and came of age in the 1960s. Shaken by the political turmoil of the era, he earned a BA in history at the University of Wisconsin. Determined to forge a meaningful life as an artist, Metnick first embraced photography, creating sensitive and strong work under the guidance of photographer Harry Callahan at the

Howard Ben Tré’s sculpture, and especially, as we shall see, his public works, are permeated by idealism. Even when his sculptures are intended for more private viewing, they draw on forms that are at once simple and universal. Ben Tré recounts that he began to cast glass when he looked at the molten liquid and

David DeMelim pursues parallel explorations in printmaking and photography. He earned a BFA from the University of Rhode Island, studying with Bart Parker and Chris Cordes, and has been involved in advancing computer driven printing technology. With a focus on the built landscape and its human connections, DeMelim considers form, weight and proximity in his

Well-known as the creator of The Plaza of Art and Cultures/La Plaza del Arte y Las Culturas, the mural on Broad Street in Providence, Agustín Patiño was born in Ecuador in 1969, studied architecture at Cuenca State University and received his BFA in painting from Central University of Quito. He paints and resides in Providence.

Performance art was the catalyst for David Allyn’s career as a ceramic artist. His gigs as “Uncle Thirsty” led him to make ceramic cups, which he says led to a “more grounded” approach to his craft. Using photo decals and silkscreen printing on porcelain, Allyn creates one-of-a-kind handmade porcelain objects, filled with color and imagery.

Andrew Raftery’s roots were in East Providence, from where his first generation Irish father came. He grew up in Washington, D.C., made his first print at the age of eleven, and attained a BFA from Boston University and an MFA from the Yale School of Art. Raftery, a professor of printmaking at the Rhode Island

Allison Paschke explores dimensionality and geometry in her abstract sculptures and installations. She uses reflective and translucent materials such as mirrors, porcelain, and resin. Her work is interactive, affected by space and light, and is intended to stimulate one’s inner psyche as well as one’s aesthetic appreciation. Paschke received a BFA in ceramics from the