Aaron Vonk is a Canadian-American who lives and works in San Francisco. Aaron's art reflects his current outlook on life--sometimes it's dark and sometimes it's joyful and full of light. Aaron sees art as a way of life and has been drawing and sculpting since he was a child. He thinks in terms of images: Whenever he wants to describe or explain something, he grabs a pen and starts drawing to illustrate his meaning.

Through Passages, I explore moments of transcendence that happen against the intense chatter of everyday contemporary life. Using found textiles, paper ephemera and wax paint I witness the apparently mundane nature of my days as a mother and grownup, much like traditional quilters used fabric and thread to do. Stepping back to see the rhythm of repetition in my days, I wonder, “Is there beauty here?”

I often start with a pieced layer of shopping and to do lists, receipts, article clippings, calendars and maps— fragments of my daily infrastructure. After painting a foundation of transparent color over the collage, I layer fabric netting which leaves impressions in the encaustic. Then I look for the hundreds of pathways that are left to slowly refine and carve into the surface. I scrape through layers of field color, excavating words and deeds, once important, that got buried in my race to the next thing.

The title Passages refers to time marked through these repetitive gestures, and echoes traditional stitch work.  It also refers to text and storytelling as seen in rows of through lines that appear to flow from left to right. Patterns emerge and suggest a sonorous, calm hum rising out of the hectic daily buzz. And, yes, there is unexpected beauty in these long days and short years.

I have been working with alternative process Polaroid photography for over a decade. I am drawn to the balance of technical precision and openness to unpredictability involved in creating this art. As ambient temperature and minute shifts in pressure affect the development of each image, I see each piece as a creation birthed from a particular constellation of variables at a particular moment. The Polaroid manipulations are made using an antique Polaroid Alpha - 1 camera and SX-70 film. The emulsion stays soft for a few hours, allowing me to apply pressure to the photo and gently move around the image, creating an impressionistic, painterly effect. For Polaroid transfers, I project a slide onto peel-apart 669 film, peeling it too early and pressing the negative onto watercolor paper, creating an antique, distressed-looking print. I also use Polaroid transfers in mixed media work. Both films have sadly been discontinued, but I have a stash of 669 film that I continue to use both for my own artwork and to give workshops in Polaroid transfers.

Very recently, I've felt called to express my meditations through painting. This devotional art is inspired by my spiritual practice. It's a departure from photography and very satisfying to feel this work just flowing out of me as I let myself become an unmediated vessel for Source: creative, free, and magical.

I have mostly been working with digital photography and image manipulation, but have recently started branching out into drawing and painting. My graphic design background (it's how I pay the bills!) is also bleeding through into my work. I'm concentrating on a series called "Lottery" which will include digital media and mixed media (and a little painting if I can get my act together). Another artist who has signed up for Open Studios, Takashi Fukuda, will also be sharing my space to show his pieces.

My new paintings display more free flowing shapes along with a vibrant palette intending to grab the viewer’s attention. References for my colors include illustrated greeting cards, wrapping papers, and fabric design prints on rugs, curtains, and tablecloths from home furnishing catalogs. This new series pushes me artistically and challenges me to be more creative, imaginative, and original.

http://raymonddifley.com/statement/

you can also check out my blog here:
http://raymonddifley.com/blog/

Linda Fries has composed her new series "Local Color/Local Earth" entirely of earth pigments found in the San Francisco Bay Area. She collects soils during the rainy season, which she then dries, grinds by hand with a mortar and pestle, and finally mixes with the sap of a tree to make the paint. The earth pigments are never combined to create new colors. In fact the variety of colors you see all occur naturally. The beauty of these colors combine with subtle images from nature to create a vibrant, organic art form.