AVNA ARTISTS

ADRIANA ALEXATOS in a North Adams based artist specializing in letterpress prints, up-cycled jewelry and unique mandala paintings.

AMY COON is a multidisciplinary artist and designer. Her practice encompasses personal, collaborative, and client-based projects. She currently resides in Massachusetts where she is a Junior Graphic Designer at the Clark Art Institute and her studio is located at Greylock WORKS.

ANNA THURBER creatives art of frozen botanicals in a complex process that involves the composition of materials submerged in water followed by watchful freezing. The freeze building process often occurs in layers that require different attention to timing, color, and temperature. The un-molding process can be demanding — some freezes weigh upwards of 50lbs. Once a sculpture is removed from its mold, photographs are taken for hours to capture moments of change as the ice melts.

BEN WESTBROOK has twenty years of custom ironwork, fabrication and mentorship experience. He received a BA from Hampshire College in 2002 where he specialized in blacksmithing. In 2003 he started BMW Ironworks, now Hammer on Steel, which he has been successfully operating ever since. Before settling back in Western Massachusetts, Ben traveled the country working as a journeyman blacksmith to a range of master blacksmiths in Wyoming, Brooklyn and San Fransisco. Ben’s expertise may be in shaping hot steel into new and organic forms, but his passion for the craft goes hand in hand with sharing his skills through teaching.

BRI MORRISON was Born and raised in Berkshire County. A member of the Common Folk Artist Collective, Bri has a wide range of creative interests, but enjoys making collages the most because she thrives best in chaos. In this modern age of internet social media stalking, who wouldn't enjoy getting a classic anonymous stalker-style love note? Each letter is uniquely hand crafted and may or may not contain traces of cat hair.

CARISSA (HOWLAND) TOOMEY is an artist who primarily creates art using printmaking and cyanotype processes. While she has been a graphic designer for over 20 years, in recent years she has wanted to pursue artistic expression with a hands-on approach rather than digitally. What she loves about printmaking is letting go of absolute perfection and admiring the beauty that results from that. Every print is an experiment of textures, materials and techniques with the possibility of human error. Living in a world that strives for perfection, she enjoys not getting the same exact result every time. Ultimately, Carissa hopes that her work allows the viewer to come to their own conclusions on how to think and feel, as well as appreciate imperfection and not take everyday life too seriously. She is also a member of Future Labs Gallery on Eagle Street in North Adams, a collaborative art gallery and community where artists support one another.

CK FIELD is a new media artist and musician currently working and living in Massachusetts. His work filters and repurposes media content to explore its effect–intentional, implied or imagined–on those who experience it. He is also a co-founder of the studio W/Field Workshop, which creates public art installations and multimedia experiences and a member of the band Stereo Soul Future, which has released five albums, most recently "Sex Scene" in 2019.

DIANE ROUSSEAU is an artist and conservator who has worked with fusible glass for more than two decades. She began experimenting with the medium in order to produce convincing glass fills, for gaps in damaged museum objects. Years of research and practice allowed her to replicate ancient pitted glass, Tiffany jewels, and Italian millefiori. In the pandemic spring of 2020, she turned her hand and heart entirely to creating new work, inspired by the art at MASS MoCA, the intricacy of tapestry patterns, and the energy of cellular life. This spin-off business, Greylock Glassworks, has now fully infiltrated her conservation lab on the MoCA campus. She is a member of the Vermont Glass Guild, and lives on the North Adams/ Clarksburg border with her son, cat, and Australian cattle dog.

ELLIE KREISCHER teaches studio art at Miss Hall's School in the Berkshires. In 2016, Ellie traveled to Sweden to research the artist Hilma af Klint. During her visit, she connected with Klint’s family, and their medium. Through conversations with the medium, Klint instructed Kreischer about how to improve her practice and better connect with her inner voice. She continues to study the life and work of Hilma Klint, traveling to see her shows, reading her writings, and staying in touch with her family. Beyond her connection to Klint, Ellie draws inspiration for her art from her daily life which includes caring for her six-year-old daughter, supporting her students, walking in the Berkshire woods, and practicing meditation.

ERIC D. JOHNSON rarely lingers at one location too long.

“There’s always been motion in my life between one place and another,” says the Fruit Bats songwriter.

As a kid growing up in the Midwest, Johnson’s family moved around a lot, but it wasn’t — ERIC D. JOHNSON rarely lingers at one location too long. “There’s always been motion in my life between one place and another,” says the Fruit Bats songwriter. As a kid growing up in the Midwest, Johnson’s family moved around a lot, but it wasn’t until he became a touring musician years later that motion became a central part of his identity. That transient lifestyle stoked an enduring reverence for the world he watched pass by through a van window. “It weighs heavily on me—the notion of place,” Johnson says. “The places I’ve been and the places I want to go.” “The songs exist in a world that you can sort of travel from one to another," says Johnson. “There are roads and rivers between these songs.”

FRANCESCA OLSEN (No Aesthetic Quilts) is a quilter, marketer, and multidisciplinary artist. Also a professional marketer and communications consultant, she works with creatives in the quilting/textile space giving them the tools needed to make an online business thrive. Olsen lives and works in the Berkshires. In May 2022, the day after her child’s first birthday, at age 35, Olsen was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. This was a huge shock to her and to her family. She has since undergone chemotherapy, a mastectomy and radiation, as well as further infusions. Olsen is currently working on a quilt pattern series called “Quilts of Power.” based around the most common cancer treatments: chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery. The designs for these quilts are inspired by Medieval and magical imagery representing healing, alchemy, strength, and resilience. It’s her hope that these quilt patterns will resonate with others, and bring some hope, magic, and light to people in a difficult time. Twenty-five percent of the proceeds from these quilt patterns will be offered as mutual aid for cancer patients in perpetuity.

GOLLY WILLIKERS is the brainchild of Annie, a self-taught collage artist based in North Adams, MA. Her work combines surrealism, storytelling, and humor with a responsible amount of whimsy.

ISABEL TWANMO is a visual artist and food lover translating food puns, humor, and the joy of eating and cooking through small-scale, whimsical black and white illustration--I think of these illustrations as a way to play with my food in the least messy way possible. While I'm not drawing faces on dumplings and giving limbs and thoughts to vegetables, I'm taking inspiration from botanical and everyday life.

KATIE HAIG is a visual artist, Berkshire county native, and mischief maker. She just really likes to create and share art.

KERI GRANDA is a Massachusetts native currently living in the Berkshire Mountains of New England. She dabbled with ceramics in High School, but ultimately went on to receive BFA in Painting from Massachusetts College of Art and Design. After working as a production assistant for several great ceramic and glass artists after college, her love of ceramics was rekindled and she began exploring entrepreneurship in 2017. Her background in Painting continues to influence her ceramic work: color and surface design are always at the forefront of her pieces. When she's not in the studio, Keri is making delicious sourdough concoctions, growing epic gardens, and raising & homeschooling her two young daughters.

MEGAN KARLEN is an award-winning painter who is bringing her strengths of abstraction to textile art. Currently, specific focuses include limited-edition Kitchen Cloths, Scarves and Masks. Each is inspired by the slow-art movement and the recognition that hand-made, quality-conscious pieces bring with them an intrinsic feeling of satisfaction simply by having them around. Megan lives and works in North Adams, MA because, well, a mill town needs weavers!

MICHELLE DALY (she/they) is a multi-disciplinary creative practitioner living and working in the Berkshires. They have exhibited their work across the country, including solo or two-person exhibitions in Portland, OR, Los Angeles, CA, Brooklyn, NY, Manchester, VT, and North Adams, MA. In addition to their own artistic work, they are an independent creative producer, curator and conceptual collaborator working within and between the visual and performing arts fields.

MISA CHAPPELL is a self-taught, self-described visionary artist whose work is an intuitive and personal exploration of the feminine divine, from the Madonna to mother nature. She uses a variety of media, including acrylic and watercolor and paint; collage, and a variety of found materials from home and outdoors. Influences include the Viennese Secessionists, Medieval illuminated manuscripts, and Mexican retablos. Misa grew up in Amherst, MA, and earned an art history degree from Columbia University. She is currently the Curator at the local Common Folk Artist Collective in North Adams, and homesteads on Florida Mountain with her husband, chickens, and five cats.

MOLLIE O. TROVA was born and raised in the mountains of Southern Vermont and spent much of her time in the wilds of New England. A graduate of Bennington College, Mollie received a BA in Theater and visual art. Previously a studio assistant at Mason Hill Clay Studio in Pownal VT, Mollie currently works with Sift Ceramics in North Adams, MA. Mollie O. Pottery is hand built stoneware ceramics, drawing inspiration from the natural world. With a focus on textures, shape and most of all functionality each ceramic piece embodies both utilitarian crafts and functional art. Mollie O. Pottery is designed for everyday use, both sturdy and beautiful.

NICO DERY strives to create a sanctuary of contemplation and connection through art. In a increasingly fast-paced and digital world, Dery invites viewers to slow down, to immerse themselves in the layers of meaning and texture, and to rediscover the joy of engaging with art in a tangible, tactile way. Just kidding, she asked Chat GPT to write her an artist statement and this is the garbage it came up with.

STACEY SILKEY SCHULTZ is an abstract painter from the Berkshires who focuses on promoting empathy. Her paintings are based on hurried sketches of moving images or photographs that her consciousness has not fully processed. Transforming incomplete memories, her paintings bring new connections to the surface. Stacey's work has been exhibited both locally and internationally. Her MFA was completed at Lesley Art + Design. In addition to an active exhibition schedule, Stacey instructs Art Appreciation and Art History courses for two colleges and is the director and curator for Art Close to Home, which organizes and promotes short-term exhibitions in nature.

TINA LOUISE WALLIN is a North Adams based artist, who began creating one eve in her youth during an intense migraine. Once the pain had retreated she found herself surrounded by colorful artworks on cardboard that she did not even realize she was making. Through this experience she learned that the making of her art is a powerful force to help navigate this world. A self described tetrachromatic, Tina can see colors within other colors that are not visible to most eyes. This is evident in her colorful and detailed pieces that she creates with the intention to inspire a zest for life. Her playful and vivid style is much influenced by all the hues she can see in the great outdoors thanks to her extra cone pigments.

PAST EXIBITORS

AMANDA HARTLAGE is an artist and educator born and raised in North Adams. Her preferred medium is punch needle embroidery. Punch needle is an American rug making craft dating back to the 1800s. It has now evolved into a fine art embroidery. She is most interested in exploring the fundamental interconnectedness of humanity through the many strands and layers of fiber, which come together as a whole. Her art is free form and abstract as energy itself. She balances this energy and entropy by varying bright and neutral hues of thread. Each piece is its own energetic suggestion and revelation.

ARTHUR DEBOW: Most of my work for a number of years has revolved around a body of work which is a dream world where the main and superior inhabitants are crows. This dream world is a place where I can integrate all the fascinating things that crows have represented and been a symbol for in different cultures for centuries and the relationship between them and the human world. Much of my work explores overlapping and intersecting layers of patterns and imagery that have strong meaning and order. They have a basis in reality and to some extent, establish location, purpose and a sense of place. This sense of place, ours and crows, anchors my own work.

BRUCE HOLES is a mutli-disciplinary artist and a recent transplant to North Adams from New York City. Having been fascinated with the human body since he was a child, he sees beauty in the forms and functions of all its parts, especially those which modern societies have created a culture of shame around. He seeks to shift the conversation about our bodies away from that of shame and guilt to one of celebration and love. He hopes you enjoy the playful nature of his wearable art.

CIARRA FRAGALE is an indie pop singer/songwriter, producer, and actor from New York's Hudson Valley. By blending the nostalgic traditions of songwriting with unique new-wave sensibilities, she creates a refreshing sound all her own. In addition to making her own music, Ciarra has composed many works for theater and film.

COMMON FOLK ARTIST COLLECTIVE is a group of local and emerging creators who share and utilize resources to explore and thrive in our creative endeavors Common Folk members collectively invest in a shared studio, retail, and performance space that is available to all members at affordable costs. Leadership Members organize opportunities for members to share their creative work with the community and actively advocate for and promote member's work to the greater public. We contribute to our communities by providing a safe space for community gatherings, generating revenue for low-income creators, and hosting accessible creative events. We address needs within the community by collaborating on projects that make a positive impact in North Adams and beyond.

DIANE SAWYER lives and works in an old mill building in North Adams. Best know for her pastels, she has exhibited widely, winning numerous awards. Soon after the onset of the pandemic, Diane began working with oil and cold-wax-medium. Working with this medium opened up a new process of discovery for her, with great leeway to experiment. She especially enjoys its resiliency as she works abstractly and intuitively. Diane often starts her daily practice with small studies which provide inspiration for larger works. A selection of these small pieces, mounted on cradled board, are for sale through the Art Vending North Adams at MASS MoCA.

EVIE STORM is a mom of two young boys and a lifelong artist. She is always looking for ways to get her hands dirty. What better way than playing with actual mud? Evie's work is heavily focused on nature and the native flora of the Berkshires, with some pop culture mixed in.

GABRIEL VANORE is a man of many interests and painting is one of them.

GEEG WILES is nineteen years into his lifelong hobby of keeping the chronicles for Captain Ahab, a three-foot-tall, forty-pound, bright yellow wooden fisherman/wannabe. When Geeg and Ahab aren’t traveling the world capturing it through the eyes of a gnome, they reside in their hometown of North Adams. You can usually find the pair burying treasure on the Windsor Lake Disc Golf Course, operating some form of white water vehicle on the Deerfield River, or in conversation with strangers who let curiosity get the better of themselves and ask, “What’s up with the gnome?”

JONAH JABLONS is a multi-disciplinary artist and member of the Common Folk Artist Collective in North Adams, MA. He is currently living in Williamstown and working at the Williamstown Art Conservation Center as a conservator in training. He works with many different mediums and themes covering everything from the internet to religion. His art can be found at jonahjablons.com and on instagram @IDIOTARTPRESS.

JULIA BEN-ASHER is an artist, writer and art teacher whose favorite place to draw is somewhere along a hike, on a ski or around a campfire. Through art, she hopes to convey the feeling of being in awe of nature, and to encourage us all to further appreciate and take care of this magical planet we call home.

KATHLINE CARR is a North Adams-based writer and artist, working primarily in painting and printmaking. She is the author/artist of Miraculum Monstrum, and publishing credits include CT Review, Alexandria Quarterly, Earth's Daughters, Entropy Mag, Hey I'm Alive. Carr has exhibited in New York City, Canada, and widely in New England, including Boston, where she earned a MFA (AIB, Lesley), and is a core member of Fountain Street Gallery. Her work is about observing landforms and often resembles 2D representations of sculpture, with references to environment, iterative process and multiples.

KENNY RIVERA is a local to North Adams who is also known as Captain Kenny. He is small business owner of Captains Patches Shop, an embroidery shop which primarily operates under the Etsy platform selling patches and other embroidered goods. You can spot the Captain working front end at Pop’s Variety Store in North Adams along with some of his own products located on Pop’s shelves.

LAURIE MILES is an artist and a gardener, by way of advertising. She works with many materials. Typically, nature takes the lead, but whatever medium, her work shows the influence of strong imagery from the world of print design. Laurie has a BFA from the Massachusetts College of Art.

MOLLY RIDEOUT is a writer and bookmaker and the 2021 writer-in-residence at Edith Wharton’s The Mount (Lenox, MA). Her 2019 fiction-nonfiction chapbook, Transient, was published by Antenna::Paper Machine. Other essays and stories can be found in River Teeth, Fourth Genre, Mississippi Review, and elsewhere. Her interdisciplinary writing installations in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Ohio have received a Pushcart nomination and been featured in Poets & Writers, on Iowa Public Radio and by the American Library Association. A militantly Midwestern girl for three decades, she now lives in North Adams.

NIAN PALAEZ is a poet, artist, and art historian whose multidisciplinary practice stems from an interest in place and the interconnectivity between bodies (both human and non-human), objects, and environments. Her AVNA series of original cyanotype prints, Beautiful Intruders, celebrates the wild weeds and invasive plants found in the local Berkshire landscape. A Brooklyn native, Nina has joyfully rooted herself in the Berkshires where she delights in building community around art and ideas as the Curator of Programs and Interpretation at the Williams College Museum of Art. She holds an MA in Art History from Williams College and is an MFA candidate in poetry at Bennington College.

OSKAR & ALEX WEBBER created Webber's Nature Shop in 2020 to combine their passions for art, the outdoors, and engineering. They are based in North Adams and have been inspired by the mountains, local architecture, and exhibits from Mass MoCA. Designs are hand drawn and then laser cut to create unique earrings.

RACHEL CAPEK is a North Adams resident that works in the mediums of painting, jewelry, and soap making. Her paintings represent the natural world using bright contrasting colors in order to captivate viewers and help grow an appreciation for the world around us. She has been painting for 9 years, and during her time at MCLA, she focused on getting her art into the public view. When Rachel isn't busy with art, she can be found tending to her plethora of plants she grows and sells.

SARAH MILLER is a Corporate titan by day, and a classical musician self taught sewer obsessed with color and prints living in the Berkshires of Massachusetts every waking minute.

SWAN is a tattoo artist and the owner of Union Street Tattoo in Pittsfield, MA. He has worked at Top Shelf Tattoo in Queens, and Lucky Cat in North Adams.

WALLASAUCE is a clothing-based brand from North Adams, Massachusetts, owned and operated by Andrew Casteel and Sarah DeFusco. Our focus is on making handmade, quality products from up-cycled and alternative materials including, but not limited to, clothing, hats, shoes, bags, notebooks, and more. We source our materials mainly from secondhand sellers, giving new life to old things and turning what could be considered trash into fashionable, functional, and unique products. Using processes such as screen-printing, embroidery, cut-and-sew and more, we are able to create one-of-a-kind pieces while trying to produce as little waste as possible. All alterations are done by us unless otherwise stated in collaborative efforts.