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Mark Witzling

A Few Creative Endeavors of Joseph Baldwin Artwork Submissions from Kaila King and Mark Witzling Bump Kowalski and The Ten Commandments

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Serving Up Art, Music, and Culture for the Metro Area’s Enjoyment 1 GessoMagazine.com Gesso Magazine

Inside Page

July 2020

Editor’s Word – July 2020

Straight Up Magazine is now Gesso Magazine and it is here with its 60th edition ‘Serving Up Art, Music and Culture for the Metro Area’s Enjoyment’. The St. Louis Metro deserves its own arts and entertainment magazine. And here it is. It’s called Gesso!!!

We are very pleased to have Mark Witzling as our featured cover artist. Mark is a well-known Metro artist with works currently on exhibition at Green Door art gallery in Webster Groves and in September at Jacoby Arts Center in Alton. With his unique abstract oil and cold wax techniques, he creates vibrant yet subtle, dynamic works. And he is a published author on Cold Wax Medium. See more of Mark Witzling on pages 28-29.

In March, we proudly sponsored and curated another Governor French Gallery exhibition, Jacque Davis's "Dreaming in Color", which, technically, ran through April 10th. Technically, because right after the March 13th Artist Opening Reception, the world shut down. And, though the exhibition is still hanging, it can only be seen from the sidewalk windows as the Gallery - and the Governor French Academy - is quarantined until further notice.

The Governor French Gallery is located at 219 W Main Street in beautiful Downtown Belleville, IL. Walk or drive by and see the amazing textile artwork of Jacque Davis with a complement of other visual artists.

We thank our writers for their poignant features and all those who contribute to this project. We appreciate all of those individuals who have submitted their works for publication. And “Likes” to all you followers on Facebook!!! We are grateful to you, the reader, for reading this latest issue of Gesso Magazine – issue #60 in the Str8 Up Magazine legacy!!!

Like Straight Up before it, the mission of Gesso Magazine is to support local arts and artists and the businesses and organizations that support local arts and artists. We invite you to contact us with ideas, comments, information, etc. that might assist us in our mission to serve you, the residents of the St. Louis Metro area.

WE WANT YOU! - All you artistic and creative types out there! You should contact us. Show us your work. Tell us of your craft and brief personal/artistic history. Submit any art form that you’d like.

Perhaps, you can be one of our next published contributors or even a featured cover artist. Check out the Submissions Pages to see who’s featured this month. Next month, that could be you!!

Enjoy Gesso! Tell your friends. Send us your work. And visit our website at GessoMagazine.com. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook daily for new and additional events and content. For the time being, you will not see Gesso Magazine at hundreds of area distribution locations! We will be online only till the brave new world returns. Stay safe and be healthy.

P.O. Box 412 Belleville, IL 62222 * (314) 266-9199 Editor@GessoMagazine.com

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July Credits

Staff

Editors: Jake Bishop, Dylan Seibert, Paul Seibert Layout Design Artists: Jake Bishop, Dylan Seibert, Mark Polege Sales: Thomas W. Allred Sr, Jake Bishop, Jake Choate, Dakota Kramer, Michelle McGee, Jennifer Lynn Reida, William Schmitz, Paul Seibert, Dylan Seibert Ad Artists: Jake Bishop, Mark Polege, Dylan Seibert, Wil Sullivan Calendar: Dylan Seibert, Paul Seibert Website Design & Up-Keep: Mark Polege (MarkusDesignWorks.com), Jake Bishop Photography: Mark Polege (PhotographyofMarkPolege.com)

Contributors

Cover Artist: Mark Witzling Cover Logo: Jake Bishop Comics: JW Game Page: Dank By Design Fun Page: Jake Bishop Photography: Courtesy of: Bump Kowalski and The Ten Commandments (pg. 6-7), Susan Norsigian (pg.10-11), Craft Alliance (pg.28-29) All material in this publication and its affiiated on-line content are copyrighted to the individual contributors or Gesso Magazine, LLC and may not be reproduced without written consent. We are very grateful to those who have submitted material to be considered for publication. However, the opinions and views of those contributing content to Gesso do not necessarily reflect those of Gesso Magazine.

The Gesso Movement Relies on Your Support!!

We are committed to supporting local artists, musicians, & businesses and providing this printed material FREE to readers month after month!!

We invite you to reach out to us!!

Together we can discover how we can best help you, your band, your business or organization, etc. and how you can best help us in our continuing mission.

Hit us up on Facebook or Instagram or via GessoMagazine.com Editor@GessoMagazine.com

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Table of Contents

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Bump Kowalski and The Ten Commandments

by Paul Seibert

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Sunday Morning Game Night from Dank By Design

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July Comics

by JW

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A Few Creative Endeavors of Joseph Baldwin

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Using Art Therapy as a Tool in Group Counseling

by Susan Norsigian, LCPC

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Craft Alliance Center of Art & Design

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Friends of Gesso Membership Program

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July Submissions

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featuring: John Dorroh, Kaila King, Mark Witzling

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July 2020 Bump Kowalski and The Ten Commandments

by Paul Seibert The young Bump Kowalski got his name for the body maneuver that pinball players use to influence the trajectory of the silver ball. Young Bump was a pinball champion (NOT a pinball wizard - a pinball CHAMPION). In his glory days (think Bruce Springsteen) he was somebody. And that somebody wasn’t always around for those that he meant allot to. And in this case, the person that he meant so much to is Bump’s estranged college-age daughter. Bump is no longer young nor a pinball champion. He wanders and wonders, how can he become something again that might fill the gap that grew all those separated years when “all he is” is a shadow of the “wizard” of days gone by? In “Bump Kowalski and The Ten Commandments”, Bump is on a journey, following his heart, looking for love and meaning in a post-pinball-arcade world.

And Bump Kowalski is the feature character of “Bump Kowalski and the Ten Commandments”, a new release feature film. And it isn’t just any Hollywood feature film. It is a locally produced, indie, punk-rock film written, produced, filmed and starring all local talent. And, after almost three months of pandemic delays, it is debuting on Monday, July 13 on the really big screen at a local Covid-friendly venue, the Skyview Drive-in Movie Theatre in Belleville, Illinois.

From the comfort and safety of your very own socially distanced motor vehicle space, you can not only watch this epic film, you will also be treated to the live music performance of two local bands, Bruiser Queen and Brother Sparg and the Rapp Band. They are not only the warm-up entertainment. Their music is featured in the soundtrack of the film.

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So, who is the local talent that you will see up on the big screen? (in alpha order) Jillian Bovinette as Tina Kowalski / Joshua Bovinette as Bump Kowalski / John Patrick Costello as Jimmy Boring / John Sparger as Flip Campbell / Alex Usherwood as Pretzel Tigg / and Ann Westbrook as Charlotte Cake.

Directed by Joshua Bovinette, the screenplay is written by Joshua Bovinette with story by Joshua Bovinette and Nick Wells. Produced and distributed by Phantom Mentor Digital.

“Bump Kowalski and The Ten Commandments”. Skyview Drive-in. Monday, July 13. Gates open 6:30pm. Music starts 7:30pm. Film starts 9pm. This event is cash only. $10 per person. Limited admission: first come, first serve.

“THOU SHALT NOT MISS THIS MOVIE”

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July 2020 Bump Kowalski and The Ten Commandments, A Metro-made indie-punk-rock-pinball movie http://bk10film.com/

https://www.facebook.com/ BumpKowalskiandtheTenCommandments/

Skyview Drive-in Movie Theatre 5700 North Belt West, Belleville IL https://www.facebook.com/SkyviewDriveInTheater/

Phantom Mentor Digital http://www.phantommentor.com/

Bruiser Queen https://www.facebook.com/bruiserqueen/

Brother Sparg and the Rapp Band https://www.facebook.com/BrotherSparg/

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Comics

July 2020

Facebook.com/GessoMagazine 8

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FUN PAGE Solve each Brain Teaser Square

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July 2020 Using Art Therapy as a Tool in Group Counseling

by Susan Norsigian, LCPC

Art therapy can be a helpful tool when counseling groups. Its versatility lends it well to many situations. Art activities can be used to foster cooperation, empathy, tolerance and understanding of others. Art activity by nature provides an indirect way to bring out feelings visually, which is sometimes helpful with people who are not very verbal or resistant to sharing their thoughts and feelings. Groups can be tailored to many issues. Art therapy groups can help people to work through depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and anxiety. They can be effective in building self-confidence and self-esteem. Groups can also aid in learning communication skills and socialization, especially with children.

There are many versions of and applications for art therapy with groups.

I like to always make a point to remind the reader that art therapy has nothing to do with talent or ability. Clients need to know whatever they put on the paper is valuable.

Feelings come through during the act of drawing and painting no matter how skilled the person creating it. So remember the word “art� is used loosely and simply refers to making pictures, or any art form.

The benefits of using art therapy when working with a group are, as in any group therapy situation, potentially many.

Observing the work of peers and getting their feedback can be extremely effective, in some cases more effective than individual 10

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therapy. Group members can sometimes confront each other or point out observations as peers, in non-threatening ways, which gives the experience more validity. A group art project gives group members a chance to develop skills mentioned above, especially cooperation and empathy. It can be open-ended or the therapist might give a specific directive.

Once a project is finished, group members can discuss their experiences. They may address conflict, dominance, respect, and any other issues that may arise during the making of a group project. The therapist plays an important role here in keeping group members focused on learning from what can be challenging experiences,

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July 2020 to use art therapy with families. Observing family dynamics as they work together on a family drawing can provide much insight.

I’ve learned that when working with groups, I may have an idea of what will happen after I give a directive, but that the group takes on a sort of life of its own, and I must respect that, and follow the lead of my clients.

Group therapy can be challenging, but very rewarding and helpful work.

Susan Norsigian is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in private practice in the StL Metro area.

She can be reached at 618-223-4502 / SNorsigian@gmail.com.

www.NorsigianCounseling.com

and stay mindful of the purpose of the group. Both the experience of working on a group art project and the discussion/ processing afterwards are important. The art therapist also often asks members to make their own individual artwork during the session, to be brought to discussion

so each member has a chance to share their thoughts, feelings and insights.

Painting by Susan Norsigian Small Landscape with Three Trees Acrylic on Canvas, 14w x 11h

I have led group therapy sessions that incorporate artmaking with children and adults, with multiple diagnoses, including dual diagnoses (both substance abuse and mental health). Less frequently I have had the opportunity GessoMagazine.com

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Introducing:

The Friends of Gesso membership program * Donate any amount to become a member * Donate $10 or more and receive a Gesso sticker as a thank you gift * Donate $100 or more and receive a Gesso sticker and a T-shirt as a thank you gift All Members will be thanked in print in the next issue (unless they wish to remain anonymous) All members who provide a valid email address will periodically receive invitations to access special bonus content on GessoMagazine.com, as well as other perks!

(No email addresses will be sold to any third party EVER) Gesso Magazine reaches THOUSANDS of people on both sides of the river & serves the local art & music scene by continuing to make this publication available to the public free of charge.

This community project relies on the support of the community it serves. Help us keep LOCAL art and music ALIVE.

July 2020

BECOME A MEMBER TODAY

To become a member, send us an email at Membership@GessoMagazine.com Or send us a message on Facebook Or cut out this form and mail it to: Gesso Magazine P.O. Box 412 Belleville, IL 62222 Your name, or that of your business, band, group, or organization: Email (optional): Donation amount: Would you like to have your name excluded from print in the next issue?: (those who do not answer will have their name included) GessoMagazine.com

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July 2020

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Attention Gesso Readers: We are seeking to continue highlighting in our digital magazine, on our website, and on social media those local artists, bands, musicians, performers, and businesses that are continuing to do their thing during this Corona Shutdown time period.

Please help us in that mission by sharing with us any such examples that you are aware of either via email at: editor@GessoMagazine.com or via our Facebook Page Thank you so much and please stay up with us via social media and GessoMagazine.com GessoMagazine.com

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A Few Creative Endeavors of Joseph Baldwin

Joseph Baldwin

July 2020

Front Burner:

Sometime around 2008, I had a discussion with another artist. We talked about how in addition to making art, most artist’s practice must be aware of the present, past, and future contextual relation to the art, be their own agency, their own marketing team, and the list goes on.

If anything, that scenario has gotten more amplified.

Sometimes that process goes well. Like many professions a small percent of the players go on to bigger, better opportunities in terms of access, tools, audience, and capital. Other times artists end up with lots of notes on projects they hope to see realized. This is where my practice currently resides.

Attached is a small selection of projects in production from the accumulated notes of the past, present, and future work.

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Scan and Destroy. All the masters have been destroyed and all that’s left is digital. A hand-numbered limited run print catalog of remastered artwork from 1996 to 2004.

About There. A digital book about the process of making the mobile garden project. The project started in 2008, and realized in 2011 as part of the Art on Track festival in Chicago.

Prisoner’s Cinema. I want to give the viewer a sense of being stuck in a body that’s not connected to their sentience.

The viewer sees through the first-person point of view of a marionette as it comes to terms with topics like grasping and aversion, whimsy and austerity. Shot in 360 video. www.noisivelvet.org

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Joseph Baldwin

July 2020

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Joseph Baldwin

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Joseph Baldwin

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July 2020

outside and in the basement. It continued to rise and we realized that we were going to have to leave. We decided to pack up the house to try and save anything possible knowing we could only leave with a few items by boat. Our friend and neighbor Charlie boated my Dad (Brad), and our friend Richie down to us for help.

I watched helplessly as they fought the rising water Working in heavy construction as a union laborer, to move things up to our second level while Mama playing in a band and making sauce on the side kept D packed some things in suitcases to take with us. I me pretty busy. On Labor Day, September of 2015, was still recovering from the surgery and couldn’t lift after my lovely wife and I walked in the Belleville, anything. We evacuated New Year’s Eve. Charlie, Illinois Labor Day Parade, we had planned on a trail Liz and family invited us to stay with them a few nights ride on our four-wheeler back at home. My mother while waited for the rain to end and the water to cease called and told us that my grandma was having a BBQ. rising afraid of how high and how much damage would My uncle Bill is a master on the grill and mom offered be done. The water was 10 inches onto our first floor. to be our chauffeur for the evening, so we decided to The house had to be gutted it was a disaster. We go. After the very nice BBQ, on the way home a full moved into our neighbors, Kent & Susan’s basement size pick-up truck in a hurry from a dead stop floored while we rebuilt. 6 months later we were home. May their truck from the turn lane on a highway head on into of 2017 the water rose again. They said we had 2 us……BAM! Life changing blunt force trauma, I had to one hundred-year floods in 2 years. Fortunately, the have open brain surgery ASAP because of the severity water didn’t get as high as it did in ’16 but once again of an aneurism. The operation had to be performed we found ourselves out of our home while repairs were immediately, life or death decision. made. Oh, and this time Mama D was pregnant due June of that year.

We had a nice Christmas 2015 and right before the new year the water started to come over the road.

June 9th, 2017 a healthy John Oliver was born. Mama We were used to a small amount of flooding in the D enjoying maternity leave dreamed of having our own summertime. Having a very wet Fall and the ground business with the BBQ sauce and started taking steps being saturated, beaver dams in the pond, etc. the to create it. Several months after returning to work water kept rising and rising and it kept raining and she was laid off. Embracing the situation after over 20 raining. We started battling with the water in the years of service, she started focusing her free time on basement with the help of my Pops and my sister the business. Things progressed fairly quick and here Krystal but the water finally won. That was the last we are today trying to make a living with the sauce I time anyone could get to our home in a vehicle. Every created over 10 years ago. morning we woke up we would check the water level

Discover

OUR STORY

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www.JohnnyBBQSauce.com www.Facebook.com/ Johnny-Sauce-502689276810563/

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Craft Alliance announces mo Larger facility will bring all exhibitionsand events. With over 14,000- square-feet, the facility will feature larger studios, an expanded exhibition gallery as well as retail space and administrative offices.

New studio space will include facilities for ceramics, metals, wood, fiber, glass, and other craft media.

ST. LOUIS (Jan. 30, 2020) Craft Alliance Center of Art + Design, a 56-year-old nonprofit arts organization, will move to a new, larger location in the fall of 2020. The organization will remain on Delmar Boulevard, relocating two miles east to its new home at 5080 Delmar.

“We are thrilled to have a larger space that will be built out to meet the specific needs of our community,” said Mark Witzling, executive director of Craft Alliance. “As the educational resource for craft in the region, we wanted a larger space with a more open concept that allows our vibrant community of artists, collectors, teachers and students to better collaborate, share and support each other under the same roof. Additionally, the new space will allow us to host gallery talks from regional and national experts in craft.”

The organization, which offers classes, exhibitions, artist residencies, a retail shop and extensive community outreach programs, engages over 25,000 people annually and has occupied the same Delmar Loop location since 1969.

In preparation for the move, the organization consolidated operations by closing its Grand Center facility and relocating it temporarily to the Loop location until the final move is complete. The new Craft Alliance location will have increased capacity to serve more students and host larger 28

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This area of Delmar Boulevard, located in the City of St. Louis, is home to several creative organizations including Third Degree Glass Factory, MADE and the recently opened Magic House at MADE.

“We are excited to have Craft Alliance as a neighbor and a collaborator on this stretch of Delmar,” said Doug Auer, co-founder of Third Degree Glass Factory and MADE. “The Delmar Maker District is becoming the go-to destination for many local artists and creators, and having Craft Alliance as a part of this community will be a huge step forward.”

The future home of Craft Alliance will undergo extensive remodeling and renovation. Mademan Design, the firm that recently designed and provided architectural services for the expansion of nearby Third Degree Glass Factory, will also assist Craft Alliance with design and architectural services.

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ove to new Delmar location services under one roof ABOUT CRAFT ALLIANCE CENTER OF ART + DESIGN Craft Alliance Center of Art + Design is a nonprofit art center dedicated to empowering and enriching communities through craft. Located in the Delmar Loop of St. Louis, Missouri, Craft Alliance offers exhibitions, education classes for all skill levels, free community programs, artist residencies and a gallery shop. The organization’s annual Makers Ball fundraising event will be held March 13th at the Four Seasons Hotel in St. Louis. Craft Alliance Center of Art + Design is funded in part by the Arts and Education Council; the Regional Arts Commission; the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency; and the generous support of its members.

For more information, please call 314.725.1177 or visit www.CraftAlliance.org.

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Submissions

July 2020

Cover Artist Mark Witzling Mark Witzling’s path to artistic memory keeper has been decades in the making. As a marketing and branding strategist, Mark spent his professional career around writers, designers and artists who visually shaped his ideas. It wasn’t until he was in his 40’s and on a trip to Italy that he was moved to helm his own creative trek. Stirred by the frescos of Rome and Florence, where art was intended to be part of the landscape, he picked up a brush when he returned home, diving headfirst into a variety of creative experiences to unleash his own artistic ambition. His foundation began in representational oil painting, but the combination of oil and cold wax together with more introspective subjects steered him toward abstract art. Studying in the studios of various artists he began to hone his craft. He has studied in studios across the country, from Santa Fe and Albuquerque to Wisconsin and Montana. He continues to paint regularly in the same studio where he started over 15 years ago, and is pleased to have his own dedicated studio space in his hometown outside of St. Louis.

Mark’s work has touched a variety of audiences. His award-winning abstract oil and cold wax paintings have been presented in galleries, group and solo shows and in private collections from the Midwest to New York, Berlin, and Mumbai, and adorn the walls of organizations, homes and businesses. His first solo show was held in 2013 at Picasso’s in St. Charles, Missouri and he has since had solo exhibitions at locations such as the Renaissance Hotel, Space Design, Third Degree Glass, Starlight Gallery and 1900 Park Creative. Based in St. Louis, Mark is a member of the Greater St. Louis Art Association, St. Louis Artist Guild, and Art St. Louis, and he is a past board member of MySLArt. Mark is a juried member of Best Of Missouri Hands and was selected as a St. Louis Art Fair Emerging Artist participant.

Mark and his art have been featured in multiple print and television interviews and his art is included in the recently (2017) published book Cold Wax Medium – Techniques, Concepts, Conversations by Crowell & McLaughlin. His work can be found online at www.MarkWitzlingArt.com.

Mark is currently showing this month at Jacoby Art Center in Alton, Illinois and will be the featured artist in September at Green Door art gallery in Webster Groves, Missouri.

(South Taylor Glacier, 40x40)

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(Whisky Glasses - Heart & Soul) (Elements of Truth)

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Submissions

July 2020

(Mad Men, 22.5x30) (Inner Truth, 48x48) (Reflection, 20.5x28)

(Small Batch, 16x20)

(Sometimes Truth Is Simple, 36x36x1.5)

(Intellectual Rigor, 48x48)

(Avenue of Hope) GessoMagazine.com

(Little White Lies, 24x24x2)

(Red Blue, 18x24) Gesso Magazine

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July 2020 Kayla King Having learned from a young age that visual art was a form of sanctuary for me, I began constantly exploring new mediums and subjects. As a result, aspects of my artistic style have changed throughout my life. While going through quarantine I was triggered with a new inventiveness within me. Animals spark within many people a true sense of joy, even during hard times, and my intention was to create pieces that embody that feeling. With that goal guiding my use of watercolor and gouache, I attempt to bring that reaction into homes with a distinct uniqueness of craft.

Watercolor is my medium of choice for these projects because it allows me to capture character luminescent features of the subject when delicately layered. Although I do work with other mediums, I feel at home with watercolors. I am drawn to their fluidity and thoroughly enjoy how well they pair with gouache when desiring opaque touches. I strive for a balance between realistic details distinct to an animal and playful uses of color and line. I find it easy to lose myself in routine, I tend to become rigid and tense when I align too closely with one. This project reflects a newfound peace I have discovered due to rejecting conventionality for the sake of my happiness. I am truly humbled by the opportunities I have had to work with so many happy pet parents as I grow within my artistry. For questions about commissions and pricing check out my business page on Facebook.

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This is a painting compared to the reference photo.

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Submissions

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Submissions

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John Dorroh John Dorroh, “J.D.,” taught high school science for almost 30 years and lived to tell about it. He is a writer who has had some success with White Trash Nekid poetry, micro-fiction, and poetry. He has also written for a regional newspaper as a weekly business columnist. He lost the county spelling bee in the 6th grade to Connie Dick and went on to become a recognized swimmer and Moon Pie-eating contestant.

“To All the Old Attics”

by John Dorroh attics are horrifying places-- spiders and cobwebs, old mannequins from an era when women wore skirts and dresses, plied colored clay onto their skin every morning with palette knives her attic cries out for attention, for a drink of water, for music to fill up the gray space, for a magnet of some sort to pull in all the tiny dust particles that the universe spit out of its big black hole a million years ago, specks that still blow in a tortured air, a veil around this planet the smell of christmas cookies never reached the upstairs space, tucked under the ceiling like a fire blanket, ready for an emergency, but yet, every minute is an emergency when one cannot breathe most ignore the attic, its stacks of look and time and good housekeeping from decades when we were dating in station wagons with five speeds on a stick, shopping for specials at mom-and-pop markets where a can of English peas was 12 cents, when there was demarcation for black and white we dive headfirst into stacks and told stories about every single piece, every sauce pan and its lid, each rusted roller skate, every box of Halloween decoration. i am living for a chance to open the windows up here, to let new air into old lungs, but these frames have been nailed down and glued tight with hardened putty, dried like cement, a ploy for things to remain in a stationary existence attics need to breathe, fling their histories up into space where the stars are so forgiving for things we should have done differently all along

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Visit the RenewAudio.com/Music page for links and streaming music for our Artists.

Or Search Renew Audio Music or DrunkMouse Records for Spotify Playlist.

Renew Audio Music is available on all streaming services.

Search “Ian Buechele� in Spotify, iTunes and any streaming platforms to listen to Americana/ Blues songs by Ian Buechele.

Governor French Gallery Exhibition Dreaming in Color Textile Arts by Jacque Davis

Opening Reception: Friday, March 13, 5-8pm Due to the Covid quarantine, the Gallery is closed.

This exhibit is continued indefinitely.

"You can't come in, but... you can see the exhibit through the windows."

Sponsored and Curated by Gesso Magazine Governor French Gallery 219 West Main Street Belleville IL 62221