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Fresh A.I.R. (Art in Recovery) Festival

Atithi Studios, Sharpsburg, PA

September 28-29, 2024

 

Artist Bios and Artwork Descriptions

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*Artists are listed in alphabetical order by last name/initial except when anonymous, pseudonym, or only one name is used.

 

 

 

Bailz                                                       Millvale, PA

Bailz is a multidisciplinary artist, educator, and advocate. they are inspired by process - observing cycles in nature and Self to create about connection, transformation, and imperfection. as a teaching artist and harm reductionist, bailz affirms autonomy and experimentation as integral to authentic living. heir activism is reflected in their art, with motifs of environmentalism, accessibility, community care, and emotional wellness. bailz is especially skilled in upcycling, sewing, and movement arts. they are most at home in the performing arts, currently teaching at Art in Motion Pittsburgh and often work with Longturn Music, Attack Theatre, and Spiritus Vitae.

 

  • Artwork #49   Fifth Season

 

  • Artwork #50   Awake//Aware(again)

 

  • Artwork #51   Leap Year

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Aaron Barnard                                       McMurray, PA                                     

Aaron grew up in the South Hills, and moved around a lot after college. With the support of his girlfriend and family he started carving wooden figures about a year into his sobriety. That progressed to bigger pieces. With the help of his higher power and his "we," he is working towards 4 years clean in January.

 

  • Artwork #3           Ouroboros     

The ouroboros can signify death, rebirth and the never ending circle of life. It has depictions as far back as the Egyptians. It was also heavily used in Norse culture.

 

  • Artwork #4           Thunder Bird

Thunder birds hail from many native cultures. They arrive before the storm. They can carry messages from the sun. They also protect against moral sins. They are both predators and protectors.

 

  • Artwork #5           Dragon

As a recovering drug addict. I have heard addiction described "as chasing the dragon." Well, I caught him and hung him on my wall.

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Par Bilger                                               Hazelwood, Pittsburgh, PA             

Photographer and philosopher who is trying to keep important questions open while sustaining a beginner's curiosity

 

  • Artwork #6     Difficult Cadence

20” x 16”

 

  • Artwork #7     Out of Rot, Life

20” x 16”

 

  • Artwork #8     New Clarity

20” x 16”

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Lauren Broyles                                      O’Hara, PA

Lauren Broyles is a self-taught analog and hand-cut collage artist, founder of the Pittsburgh Collage Collective, and a founding board member of Artspiration. She works with a variety of papers and images, but is especially drawn to vintage ephemera and retro advertisements from the early 1900s to 1960s. A former addiction researcher, nurse, and woman in long-term recovery, Lauren looks for ways to tap into the creativity than can help heal people and communities, as well as share stories that can help break down stigma and stereotypes. (Instagram: @Soraya_and_Daisy)

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  • Artwork #9     Chair-ished Kitchens

Wooden chair decoupaged with 351 colorful vintage food- and kitchen-related hand-cut images from original Better Homes & Gardens and McCall's magazines, 1930s-1960s

 

  • Artwork #10   “Time Moves Slowly But Passes Quickly” (Alice Walker)

Hand-cut paper collage, 9" x 9"

 

  • Artwork #11   Fall Forest

Hand-cut paper collage, 9" x 12"

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Christy Cianelli                                      Wheeling, WV    

 

  • Artwork #12   Moreheart or Lessart

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Victoria R. Deans                                  O'Hara, PA                                     

 

  • Artwork #16   Vail —Two Elk

 

  • Artwork #17   Amalfi Coast

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Kayla Ann Doty                                     Glenshaw, PA                                     

Kayla Ann Doty is an emotional release artist, as she is currently attending college in the Pittsburgh area. She works mainly through digital drawing and painting and is in the midst of learning different digital programs as well as new painting techniques. As an artist, and

a young woman with children in recovery she believes in the healing that comes with releasing the intensity of emotions through art.

 

  • Artwork #18   Serene Self

A tranquil version of oneself

 

  • Artwork #19   Nostalgia Flower

The illumination of the power of nostalgia

 

  • Artwork #20   Pull Forward

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Denise Duryea                                       Wilkinsburg, PA          

Denise Duryea is a daydreamer, ponderous and enthralled by the world. Her goal in creation is sharing a moment, a concept, an idea, or an emotion with the viewer. She aims to create pieces that are full of emotion, magic, wonder and color. Denise works in photographic collage, ink, charcoal and encaustic.          

 

  • Artwork #21   Sister Support

 

  • Artwork #22   I Am the Hand That Creates

 

  • Artwork #23   Eye of Wonder

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Kyle Harder                                           Sharpsburg, PA                   

Recovery means something different to everyone and it is worthy of celebration in all its forms.  Recovery doesn’t mean we used to be broken, or there was something wrong with us.  We are simply striving to be the best versions of ourselves we can be and trying to show up for those we love. We really have 2 choices available to us—evolve or keep doing the same thing.
 

  • Artwork #24   Brave and Kind

 

  • Artwork #25   On Track

 

  • Artwork #26   Road to Happy Destiny

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Kelli Horan                                             Forest Hills, Pittsburgh, PA                          

  • Artwork #27   Hometown

 

  • Artwork #28   Gentle Dreams

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Inner City Cryptid                                  Pittsburgh, PA                                          

  • Artwork #14   Cyclic Didelpha

 

  • Artwork #15   Cryptid #2

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Juyeon Kim                                           Pittsburgh, PA                                    

I obtained a design degree in Italy and pursued a master's in the same field. Despite my academic background, I have a penchant for traditional hand drawing over digital methods. While working as a painter in South Korea, I also undertook teaching responsibilities. Presently based in Pittsburgh, I engage in artistic endeavors, with a particular affinity for employing lines in my paintings.

 

  • Artwork #29   Happiness in Ordinary Life

 

  • Artwork #30   PNC Park

 

  • Artwork #31   Market Square, Pittsburgh

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Erin L.                                                    Brighton Heights, Pgh, PA  

Erin L is a joyful member of the Pittsburgh Collage Collective.  She is an analog collage artist, with a love of patterns and layers.

 

  • Artwork #32   Possibilities

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Patty Lilja                                               Point Breeze, Pittsburgh, PA

My love for mosaics began many years ago when I was desperate to get sober. I felt like a raw, exposed nerve without alcohol or drugs in early sobriety. In addition to recovery practices, I needed to do something with myself and began creating a mosaic on the side of my house. It provided some safety, purpose, and joy while I was learning to live sober by keeping my mind and hands busy. That gift of desperation turned into my now regular practice of the art of mosaics, which I have been enjoying and refining for many years. It’s been such a blessing in my own life and sober journey and I’m grateful to be able to share it today with others and give back.      

 

  • Artwork #33   This is What Recovery Looks Like

 

  • Artwork #34   Laftka

 

  • Artwork #35   Just Pecking Away 

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Jennifer Matesa                                     Friendship, Pittsburgh, PA          

Jennifer Matesa is a psychotherapist, author, and lifelong writer and artist. A long-time member of the Pittsburgh Watercolor Society, her art has won awards in juried competitions and has been commissioned for private collections. Among her published books are two about recovery from substance use disorders: SEX IN RECOVERY and THE RECOVERING BODY (both from Hazelden). She uses her Instagram feed (@jenmatesa) to practice artistic ways of sharing mindfulness with viewers.

 

  • Artwork #36   Imperfections

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June O.                                                  Pittsburgh, PA

June O is a local multimedia artist, printmaker, lover of new experiences and dogs, and emerging Art Therapist who believes in harm reduction, restorative justice, and always being open to being surprised. 

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  • Artwork #1     Playing the Tape Backwards

Cyanotype print depicting a photo negative of two women walking surrounded by marigolds

 

  • Artwork #2     Reach Out

Linoleum print carving depicting a hand emerging from a vast ocean

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Wyeth Olmsted                                      Irwin, PA                              

Wyeth Olmsted has always been drawn to bright colors, eccentric shapes, and playful designs. Throughout her life she has used art as a form of self-expression, encouraging experimentation and getting a little messy in her practice. Wyeth focuses on using lighthearted, amusing motifs and vibrant color palettes that spark one’s imagination. Currently, Wyeth is pursuing a career as an Art Therapist. It is her hope to continue her cathartic art practice that was a pivotal role in her sobriety while helping others find healing and growth through art as she has. (Instagram: @wyeth.olmsted.art)

 

  • Artwork #37   Exploring Sunset

 

Rachel Radke                                        Bloomfield, Pittsburgh, PA          

Rachel has just recently returned to creating art after a long hiatus spent as the single mother to three awesome children. She seeks to create work that explores issues including modern womanhood, life under a capitalist oligarchy, mental illness, and recovery. (Instagram: @rachelradicalart)

 

  • Artwork # 38  Moon

 

  • Artwork #39   Sanity

 

  • Artwork #40   Wonderland

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Hannah Tallerico                                   Mount Lebanon, PA                      

Hannah Tallerico is a self-taught artist with a background in English graduate studies.
Recently she has started to take the concepts of her poems and portray them as paintings.
Hannah uses acrylic paint and a variety of random objects to create 3D collages. She
loves finding discarded things outside and repurposing common household items.
Hannah aims to capture the chaos and challenges she has experienced in life and in
recovery in hopes that anyone who relates feels less alone.

 

  • Artwork #41   Reaching 

Handprints reaching for the word hope

 

  • Artwork #42   Playing with Fire

3D collage depicting a fire. When you are born in a burning house, you assume the rest of the world is on fire. 

 

  • Artwork #43   Healing

3D collage highlighting the physical and mental aspects of breaking the addiction cycle

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Ron Weiss                                              South Hills, Pittsburgh, PA

I am a woodturner. My artwork is all about the wood. Typically, I find some aspect of the wood that I wish to feature and turn and artwork 'around' that feature, e.g., a knot, crack, void, space, etc. In this collection, my focus was on crafting turned works that incorporate the wood's 'defects.’ Instead of viewing a crack or a missing piece as a 'problem,' I approach the materials' 'imperfections' as 'opportunities,' which put my creative juices to task. Sometimes, it's what's 'missing' that totally completes the piece, and this sentiment is certainly reflected in these three works. 

 

  • Artwork #44   The Goblet of Your Own Understanding

The goblet is of YOUR own understanding, not mine…

 

  • Artwork #45   Mending—Two Steps to Go

We CAN be repaired. Easier said than done, but yes, we can be repaired.

 

  • Artwork #46   Work in Progress

Reminds me of the beauty that shines from the newcomer as they begin to sober up.

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Jocelyn Wrzosek                                   Pittsburgh, PA                              

 

  • Artwork #47   Hope Floats

 

  • Artwork #48   Healing: Even the Trauma Monster Needs A Hug

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