20 Artists Share Their Vision

Meg BirnbaumCowGirl

Scanned film taken with a plastic camera

"This is the second photograph I took in what turned out to be a three-summer project exploring agricultural fairs of all sizes. I had always loved animals, but during the first year spent with farm animals, I became a vegetarian." megbirnbaumphotography.com

Kelly Rae BurnsEclipse #4

Gouache and graphite on medium-weight watercolor paper

"My body of work is focused on anthropomorphism, rituals, and identity. This particular piece focuses on moments of meditation where there is an awareness of the animalistic tendencies inside the human form." kellyraeburns.com

Alessandra CaveBreathe

Photography

"'Breathe' was recently included in my book, Shooting with Soul: 44 Photography Exercises on Life, Beauty, and Self-Expression. Visual reminders of what makes me feel good inspire me to cultivate a positive lifestyle." alessandracave.com

Gabriella CetruloUntitled No. 3

Pencil drawing fired onto ceramic pendant

"This piece is part of a limited-edition series of ceramics I created for a line called Sometimes She Does. I wanted to draw a collection of nostalgic images that appear innocuous at first glance but hold subtle ominous undertones." gabriellacetrulo.com

Melissa Jay CraigManifest, O

"Manifest, O is an artists' book that embodies a visual translation of the aural experience of significant, chronic hearing loss." melissajaycraig.com

Dominique FortinUnion III (corps-esprit)

Mixed media on canvas

"My present work centers on metamorphosis, cycles, inconsistency, and the lightness of life. Butterflies, like birds, are expressions of these themes. They symbolize the metamorphosis into a fully grown “higher being” and the rebirth of life. For me, they are the soul freed from its physical incarnation. In “Union III” body and soul are bound together (represented by a peacock), with the rope symbolizing the balance between physical health and mental, intellectual, and spiritual well-being." lafeedargent.com; or her Facebook.

Holly HarrisonSomething’s Gotta Give

Mixed media

"The Strata paintings were created using brushwork, photographic techniques, and collage. Meant to be reminiscent of the geological strata exposed in riverbanks, the artworks explore meaning in a nonlinear fashion through the resonance that occurs between layers of imagery." Holly-Harrison.com

Dorothy Simpson KrauseHoly and Enchanted

Mixed media

"This body of work relates to Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem "Kubla Khan; or, A Vision in a Dream. A Fragment," composed in 1797 after an opium-influenced dream. Coleridge's vision is of a savage place, with holy and enchanted caverns, walls, towers, and a sacred river where "the shadow of the dome of pleasure floated midway on the waves." These images of submerged passageways, lit from within, reflect the branches of trees and illuminate floating leaves and flowers. A beautiful destruction." DotKrause.com; or on Facebook

Dorothy Simpson KrauseSinuous Rills

Mixed media

"This body of work relates to Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem "Kubla Khan; or, A Vision in a Dream. A Fragment," composed in 1797 after an opium-influenced dream. Coleridge's vision is of a savage place, with holy and enchanted caverns, walls, towers, and a sacred river where "the shadow of the dome of pleasure floated midway on the waves." These images of submerged passageways, lit from within, reflect the branches of trees and illuminate floating leaves and flowers. A beautiful destruction." DotKrause.com; or on Facebook

Scott M. LaceyDamien Echols

Photography

"I try not to get into my subjects’ personal life too much, but I do try to find something they might be interested in that we can talk about. For Damien and me, it was our love for the town of Salem, Massachusetts, as he had recently moved there and I, being from Boston, visited every Halloween. Finding a connection tends to loosen the subject up and allows you to get those great in-between shots that photographers always strive for." scottmlacey.com

Lissy Elle LaricchiaThe Unbalancing Act

Photography

"I lived in a small town in Canada, between a cornfield and a tall forest, and frequently played pretend in-between them. I moved to big and scary New York City, where I may not have a cornfield or a forest, but I still make do in my imaginings. I document my journeys via camera so that others may reexperience a part of their childhood that they thought they'd lost forever." lissyelle.com

Karine LégerUntitled

Paper collage and acrylic on canvas

"This painting is part of a series of mixed-media portraits. This particular image was inspired by a photograph made in collaboration with another artist. For me, it speaks of self-consciousness, being connected to our own emotions, and having control." karineleger.ca

Kerry LemonPersonal Work

Drawing

"I wanted to create a drawing about the desire to improve our lives via external means, looking for quick cures rather than finding the solutions through time and effort." kerrylemon.co.uk

Misty MawnWhen I Am with You

Acrylics with collage

"With this painting, as in all of my work, I aspire to stir a sense of nostalgia for a sacred time spent with someone or somewhere that is tucked inside the heart, hopefully forever." mistymawn.typepad.com

Yevgenia NaybergStill-Life with Red Chair

Oil and collage on canvas

"'Still-Life with Red Chair' was developed from my installation piece called “Self-Portrait as a Chair and is a tongue-in-cheek exploration of how a portrait and a still-life could be synonymous." nayberg.org

Elena RayCosmic Cycles

Photo illustration

"I create mixed-media art exploring psychological revelation, spiritual unfolding, healing, and energy. My photography is focused on the holistic arts and the people who practice them." antaratma.me

Ellen RooneyGood Mood Food

Mixed media

"I start out working by hand to create drawn or painted details, colors, textures, and cut shapes. The elements are scanned, and the final piece is composed and assembled digitally." ellenrooneydesign.com

Joel SartoreSara, the Federally Endangered Whooping Crane

Photography

"At the time this photograph was taken, Sara was the only whooping crane in the world that you could literally walk into a portable portrait studio. She had been hand-raised by biologist Megan Savoie at the Audubon Zoo and helped educate the public about the plight of her species." joelsartore.com To learn more about the perils these birds face, visit savingcranes.org.

Jay SchmetzAiredale Terrier Eating Broccoli

Oil on canvas

"In my work I often paint animals and subjects that I personally enjoy, like dogs and coffee or wine. Or in this rare case an Airedale terrier with broccoli.  Lol, yes, it’s true, I like broccoli and eat it all the time." schmetzpetz.net; or on Etsy

Judith Gebhard SmithRebels

Pastel on canvas with acrylic varnish

"More often than not, I use images of crows, ravens, and large predatory birds in my paintings as metaphors for human behavior. The sophisticated social structure of corvidae, and their ability to awe and amuse me on a daily basis, form a foundation for much of my art. My focus follows form and color, then line, and always beauty. I believe that beauty is inseparable from power and content; these are important considerations in my work." nightwingstudio.com

Judith Gebhard SmithDreamcatcher

Pastel on canvas with acrylic varnish

"More often than not, I use images of crows, ravens, and large predatory birds in my paintings as metaphors for human behavior. The sophisticated social structure of corvidae, and their ability to awe and amuse me on a daily basis, form a foundation for much of my art. My focus follows form and color, then line, and always beauty. I believe that beauty is inseparable from power and content; these are important considerations in my work." nightwingstudio.com

Andrew Zuckerman

Desmond Tutu and Mpho Tutu

Photography

"Archibishop Tutu is really one of my heroes. It was such an honor to be able to spend some time with him to make the pictures. He has an amazing sense of humor, which makes him an incredibly easy subject. This photograph was taken for my 2008 book, Wisdom." andrewzuckerman.com

Andrew ZuckermanTecomanthe Dendrophila

Photography

"I was drawn to flowers for several reasons. I like to work with self-imposed constraints, and the challenge of trying to find a new way to explore flowers—which have appeared in paintings dating as far back as ancient Egypt—was very appealing to me." andrewzuckerman.com

Andrew ZuckermanFiddlehead Fern

Photography

"I have found that in art, flowers are more often than not stand-ins for something else. I saw that as an opportunity to divorce the subject from its metaphorical associations and investigate the essence of each species. I was also interested in taking a conservationist approach to the material. For me, the photographs are closely related to 19th-century botanical drawings." andrewzuckerman.com

Andrew ZuckermanPaphiopedilum Pink Fred

Photography

"The idea with Flower, as with Creature and Bird, was a kind of two-dimensional taxonomy: the precise representation of a given species extracted from the chaos of its ecological context. Given our larger environmental concerns, I think of projects like Flower as a kind of record keeping in a world that's being depleted of its natural resources." andrewzuckerman.com