April 30, 2021: Tilly Strauss, Shloka Shankar, Angela Aiosa, Candlelitpoems, Ronald Botts
Tilly Strauss - Tire Swing, 2019
I paint whimsical and colorful paintings that deal with the anxieties of our time, questions of relevance, loss and ritual. Reflecting on my circumstance and surroundings, the work lays bare an emotional terrain drawn within a visually compelling rural and or domestic scene.
Working in acrylic paint and within self-imposed parameters of a certain color, time frame, random text choice, or symbolic object, I feel my way through each painting and am always surprised to see how the work will turn out. It grows of its own making- following its own logic and is successful when it carries a message to be absorbed on a visceral as well as intellectual level. Brushstrokes, text, and nature are strategies I explore in transforming the material to the spiritual and harvesting the spiritual to be material.
Starting May 3rd, I will be launching a limited time offer of my "Conversations with Trees" series of panel paintings done during the virus lockdown this last year. Available through my Instagram , Facebook , and my website store.
ringing silence
a window of smoke
before the ax
– Shloka Shankar, India
Source: A haiku remixed from p. 36 of The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris.
Shloka Shankar is a poet, editor, publisher, and self-taught visual artist from Bangalore, India. She enjoys experimenting with Japanese short-forms and myriad found poetry techniques alike. A Best of the Net nominee and award-winning haiku poet, her poems and artwork have appeared in over 200 online and print venues of repute. In addition, she has edited and co-edited five international poetry anthologies since 2016. Shloka is the Founding Editor of the literary & arts journal Sonic Boom and its imprint Yavanika Press. When she isn't poring over manuscripts, you can find her making abstract art, digital collages, or conducting poetry workshops. Website: www.shlokashankar.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/shloks89
Instagram: @shloks23 & @bricabracartshop
Angela Aiosa is a mixed media artist and graphic designer living in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her work mainly consists of drawing, painting, collage, art journaling, and digital art. She has a large collection of vintage magazines and books which are a large source of inspiration and image material for her work.
More about Angela here.
Your love was iridescent,
and luminous too,
Saturated my heart with the rainbow that was you,
Then an alternate angle changed the view,
You left me abused,
With a darkened hue,
Purple and blue,
Broken and bruised,
Now my world is monochrome,
Without tones of you.
- @candlelitpoems
Candlelitpoems started as a form of self-therapy. I am diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, therefore I experience difficulties managing and regulating my thoughts, feelings and emotions. I find writing helps me release some of the pressure and the tension in my mind, body and soul.
My name is Ronald Botts, 37 years old. I've practiced art all my life. I'm from California, but have lived most of my life in Texas, in a suburb of Austin. I mainly draw, and enjoy sketching fantasy, wildlife, lots of happy plants, and cactus. It helps me keep my mind busy. I'm glad I have art as an outlet to express myself in a positive way. I've been featured in three art exhibits: "COVID + YOU" (2020, by Round Rock Arts and Culture), "Tiny Treasures" (2020), and I helped out in "Round Rock Hearts" (2020). I've been featured in several books and magazines. I've also illustrated a children's book published just this year (2021), titled "Bartleby the Brave." I hope everyone likes my art. That's the biggest reward.
Instagram: RonaldBottsArt