Art brings community together and promotes positive mental health, and we want to encourage community and creativity in this time of social distancing. Check out our #MotifVirtualGallery compilation page designed to showcase Rhode Island artists. If you like what they’re doing, consider making a donation through their preferred app, which appears below each piece.
The subject, frozen in a spot of light, surrounded by remnants of childhood,
is waiting for a new life to begin.
‘This image comes from something observed during one of my walks in the woods. It was a tree that had numerous vines climbing up its trunk. Those vines had a vibrancy and need to reach the light above. I am always struck by that need of growing things to reach sunlight that is persistent under any condition. All of these things seem hopeful to me…that nature survives and will remain a force we can’t dim in spite of humanities destructive tendencies.
Those interested in seeing more of my work can find it at nineteenonpaper.com and seekonkartistnetwork.com”
I find inspiration for these small sculptures in the ancient practice of securing white, water-rounded stones for purposes of healing or magical preservation. I’ve been calling them sanctuary stones. We could all use a little magical preservation these days. The stones themselves come from the shores of Lake Huron, soft limestone chunks smoothed into beautiful forms. The largest one here is about seven inches long.
In folklore the white stones are variously referred to as ‘charm stones’ “prayer stones” or even “Druid’s eggs”, round or egg shaped stones were pressed into service for healing cattle, curing kings, or cursing enemies.
I am still able to work in my studio these days, a real blessing; with the small white stones becoming a detailed, contemplative practice. I can carve a sanctuary stone for you if you like, or you can find them at lauratraviscarving.com, where you can also send me a message.
Venmo: @Sarina-Mitchel
Bio / Artist Statement
My name is Sarina Mitchel and I am a visual artist based in Providence, RI. My most recent artwork draws from microscope images of epithelial cells in human lungs. Though I started working on this ongoing series many months ago, these happen to be the same cells that COVID-19 attacks if it gets too far. I use tools like a laser cutter and a CNC milling machine to carve out the outlines of these cells into masonite (a thin, dense material made of compressed wood fibers). Then I pour paint on and wipe it off, nudge it into the grooves, and gently brush it over the tops. I go in with a fine brush to add any final touch-ups to these shimmering and dimensional creations.
Check out more of my art on sarinamitchel.com, on Instagram as @rina_the_beans, or sign up for my newsletter at http://eepurl.com/cVvX05
“Outside Air,” a poem by Tess Lyons
Queen of Healing Hearts is also available in paperback and kindle at Amazon.
Facebook: La Merritt and Queen of Healing Hearts; IG: LA’S Healing Hearts; Twitter: LAMerritt2; Cash app is 571-269-7322
Read “The Woman of Green Light,” by JL Metcalf
JL Metcalf lives in the Ocean State with her artist husband Frankie, and their artistic black cat Shadow. She one day hopes to live in a Hobbit Hole surrounded by her friends and family in the Shire making jams and jellies, while also writing many leather-bound books. She has self-published four novels: The Last Daughter of Lilith, Coming Undone: Musings on Life, Love and Hobbits, Menagerie of the Weird, and the sequel to Last Daughter of Lilith, called Dawn Seed. JL can be found on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. PayPal: paypal.me/JessicaWashington871
Part 1 of a series of paintings depicting different dimensions where animals are the dominant creatures. In the Amphibious Dimension humans work as attendants in Lord Bludgenhorn’s bathroom.
Venmo: @John-Rego-1
PayPal: jrego1@sva.edu
Frankie B Washington is an alumna from the Butera School of Art with 30 years experience in the art industry as a commercial illustrator. He’s worked on two Miramax films (Squeeze & Next Stop Wonderland), Animation (Olive Jar Studios), Advertising (Digitas LBI), Editorial Art (SoCo Magazine, Motif Magazine), Book Illustrations (Cemetery Dance Magazine, Outland Entertainment), Sketch & Trading Cards (Upper Deck, Sunstone Games), Toy Art for SCS Direct Inc, Planet-X Asia, Mechnoiz and for personal commissions.
PayPal : paypal.me/fbwash83170
Scituate-based artist Amanda Grafe paints abstracts, animals and more in her home studio. She is also one of Motif‘s arts writers, and the author of several children’s books and a book of horror poetry. She hunts for sea glass in her spare time.
“We were bandmates in the ‘60s to mid ‘70s and went our separate ways. We re-connected through Facebook in 2012. We released “Cutting Through Stone (Like A Feather)” in 2018.
Donations should be directed to any fellow artists in need…we’re getting by OK.”
written many years ago and performed with the band, Kimo Sabe. (paypal.me/cathrenArt)
18×24, Acrylic on wood, 2019
“Every Thursday morning I used to pass by a row of trees on the way to teach a watercolor class in Coventry. I would take pictures every day because the light and color were always different. Then I’d go home and paint it. Eventually I stopped making photos and just paint from memory. Then I added a birch tree and it sold immediately. I added a few more and they sold too. Little by little all the trees became birches. No one complained about the lack of authenticity, so now we have a whole row of them.
I still paint one or two every week. Big ones, small ones.”
Melanie Ducharme’s (she/her) work is a response to the world around her. The themes she works with are gender, identity, sexuality, memory, popular culture and/or political issues. Her imagery frequently uses symbols that are traditionally associated with being female. In addition, many of her pieces use the human body, particularly the female body, as a symbol.
Ducharme’s work is as much about a theme as it is about an exploration of color. Her work uses vibrant, sometimes contrasting colors. Each piece is an exploration of how color affects the overall tone of the work.
view larger or purchase: https://tinyurl.com/rpvnemg
Rachel Brask uses oil paint to created landscapes and skyscapes that appear distorted by a downpour of rain. This painting was inspired during an art residency in Maine in which the sun was setting, leaving a bright flare of fiery orange/yellow just above the horizon as the rest of the sky had turned purple and pink.
“After my dad passed in August 2015, I had a dream of a raven, flopping and struggling to fly. I picked it up and from it’s belly spilled all sorts of stuff – guts, bones, organs, but also flowers and bees and birds. It was from that dream that I began illustrating the idea of rebirth, resurrection and reincarnation.
While we are all coping with the corona virus pandemic I thought it would be nice to share a reminder that there will be a way through this, a message of survival, of hope, and life after tragedy and death.
I do not have a gofundme page, nor do I want any money for myself. Please send whatever you can to www.rispca.com, visit a local shop once they re-open (I am a former small business owner and know how much they are struggling) adopt a shelter animal, or just say a little prayer for your fellow human.”
16 x 20 house paint on canvas
“Swimming in Circles,” by Danielle M. (Paypal: paypal.me/igdjmart, Instagram: @djm.art)
“I made this in memory of one of my favorite artists, Mac Miller. It is a collage of his two most recent albums titled Swimming and Circles.
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