 1st Place Winner!
'Reservoir' acrylic & mixed media on canvas 36 x 48 in. BDAC 8th ANNUAL PLEIN AIR COMPETITION DRY SPELL: Climate & Drought in the American West Each year BDAC asks Utah artists to step outside and create artwork in the plein air tradition. This year's theme, Dry Spell, encouraged artists to examine the climate and drought that has plagued the American West. A heartfelt THANK YOU to guest juror Annie Farley for selecting my work to receive this award. On View: September 23 - October 29  The Illuminated Desert Opening Reception Friday, October 21, 2022 6 - 9 PM Alpine Art Gallery, SLC, UT Curated by Susan Bonosconi The Illuminated Desert is an exhibition inspired by the Utah desert, the writings of Terry Tempest Williams, material exploration, the creative gesture and the spiritual connection between the artist and her work.
Created by Brazilian-born artist Samantha da Silva, the artist seeks to transcend conceptual barriers. da Silva's works become memories and relics symbolic of the artist’s conversation with the raw material that brought them into creation. da Silva has described her creative process as a “controlled chaos” that makes “something that is completely non-repeatable.” Known for her use of raw, natural materials including: iron-rich Utah dirt, salt from the Great Salt Lake, and foraged sawdust from the hurricane-force winds of 2020, da Silva has discovered an emotive power within the essential simplicity of her materials and the vivid pigments she sources.  MADE WITH SALT
A night of artistic expression of the Great Salt Lake in Visual Arts, Literary Arts, Movement & Sound thanks to The Alfred Lambourne Arts Program & Friends of Great Salt Lake.  "When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid." Audre Lorde
To be honest, I'm afraid of a lot of things. I'm afraid of being seen. I'm afraid of not being seen. But mostly, I'm afraid of not stepping into my power. Today I feel extremely grateful for my 3-week Organic Painting Residency at Arquetopia in Puebla, Mexico. The experience reminded me of a promise I made to myself nearly 15 years ago when I walked away from a relationship that ended in physical abuse and a job at a law firm that sucked all the life out of me: To be a happy, successful, extremely well-fed artist, and to do it on my own terms. My paintings, my workshops, it's all rooted in transformation because that's how it all started for me. The Canvas Is Your Mirror organic pigments on canvas 40 x 60 in.  I thought I came to Puebla to get away from my art. Then I thought I came to Puebla to feel closer to my dad. Now I realize I came to Mexico to get closer to myself.
 Look past the reflection:
You will start to see less of What you are & more of What you can be. N.T. Cloever |
