Are These Vessels Real?

ELAINE YORK MCGUE

In the Shadows

My first artistic medium -- my first love -- was photography, and it has been a cherished love for all the years since. I initially pursued that love in my flower garden. Recognizing the unique beauty of  blooms, butterflies, bees, bugs, and, birds, I found capturing their essence in a photo to be very gratifying.

I also discovered that when I go out with camera in hand for a photo shoot, it seems I’m more aware of the world around me. I see things I might walk past. I lose myself in the world of images, seeing light, shapes, sizes, and colors with a different eye. I look up, down, all around me, it doesn’t matter, though the world is the same, I just see it differently when I'm taking photos.

My efforts in photography were rewarded about 15 years ago with a solo show at the Barnes and Noble bookstore in Florence, Kentucky. And in 2010, I entered a photo in a nationwide call for the Roho Photo Gallery which was chosen as one of the final thirty for the gallery, book, and website. To be a part of that show was such an honor. It helped me realize how much I had missed that old friend: My Camera.

I’m so grateful for this gift, and for the joy of sharing my art it with others.

Thomas R. Kinsel - Artist Biography

    

   I am a Cincinnati native and my artistic background is rather diverse. I have experience with Fine Artsuch as painting, drawing, and print making. However, I am formally trained as an Industrial Designer (a designer of mass produced products). I earned my BS degree from the University of Cincinnati - DAAP in 1996. Since graduation, I have worked in both the field of Industrial Design and Graphic Design. I currently work in the mold-making industry and new product development where I design food safe silicone molds for the culinary industry.

I have always had an interest in all types of art from an early age. One of my passions that developed over twenty five years ago was photography. I started out with film and have been using primarily digital media for the last ten years. However, I like to remain as true to the art of film photography as possible.This means not drastically modifying or altering the image.

    I have shown my photography at numerous locations around the Cincinnati area including:

Milton’s, Pleasant Perk, HD Beans Cafe, Starbucks, Habanero’s, Redtree Gallery, RoHo Photo Gallery, Scene Ultra Lounge, Mt. Adams Art Walk, Art Design Consultants and the Kennedy Heights Arts Center.

Life in a Bubble

Photography to me is just “wandering around” and finding something cool that stops me in my tracks. I tend to look for the unusual, things that others might just walk past and maybe not see. Perhaps no one has seen this before... at least from my perspective?

Thomas R. Kinsel - Artist Statement

    One day while shopping for used building supplies, I happened to spot a grouping of used sinks outside that were all lined up in rows. My first thought was that they all looked like some sort of automobile “junkyard”. Are they waiting to be crushed up and then recycled? Or, perhaps they are patiently waiting for a new home and just have to sit there until the right person comes along to find them? This was my inspiration for the “Bargain Basins” image.

For my second image titled “Life in a Bubble”, I wanted to explore the idea of something that is very fragile and short-lived. At any second the bubble might burst, and along with it the fragile “world” within that it contains. I was also fascinated by the reflections in the bubble which shows its surrounding exterior environment.

Jenny Reed Artist Statement: 

I am very interested in ethical reasoning and perplexed by human activity, or inactivity, and how this correlates to the rest of life.

                                                                                               

I try to make objects that encompass a moment of nostalgia; a bittersweet, hazy memory of a forgotten perception or experience. These hybrid objects connect the almost illusionary concept of interconnectivity with the physical reality of life.

A Klein bottle is a hypothetical non-oriental surface. In three dimensions, it is manifested as a sort of “bottle” that has no inner or outer walls. Therefore, unlike a functional vessel, this bottle can only serve an aesthetic purpose. The smaller, inner neck of this Klein creates the outer exterior, and vice versa. I was interested in using the Klein bottle as a representation of human consumption. Specifically, I was thinking about the amount of natural resources humans consume and the impact this has on us as a species. 

Jenny Reed Biography: 

Jenny Reed was born in Louisville and currently resides in Newport, Ky. She is a BFA candidate at Northern Kentucky University. Jenny has received scholarships from her participation in the Kentucky Governor's School for the Arts as well as from work created during college. She was most recently exhibited at Northern Kentucky University’s Scholarship Exhibition. Her BFA show is anticipated for Spring 2014.

Consumption (Klein Bottle 1)
To see other surreal vessels re-visit these blogs; Klein Bottle 5/13/13 and Blue Ash Sculpture a Vessel of Enlightenment 101512