Local Artists

 Bandra Casey

Bio: I am a self-taught artist and enjoy expressing my concerns visually. 

Artist Statement: As an activist, I am involved in the hard work of creating social awareness and change. If we don’t resist in every way possible, we are doomed.

Sharin Jones 

Bio: Born in Topeka, Kansas, Sharin Jones lived in and grew up in Mesa, Arizona before moving to Flagstaff.Sharin began exploring artistic expression at the Hozhoni Artist Studio and Gallery. Her work is inspired by video games, cartoons, movies and comics, as well as mythology and the world around her. She uses bright, bold colors and self-taught techniques to create creatures and stories. She has worked with coloring pencils, acrylic paints, watercolor, and ceramics. Sharin exhibits locally and internationally.

Artist Statement: When I think about disability awareness, the first thing that comes to mind is sight and Illusion. We all see the world, just like everyone else. But the way we see it is, well, different and very abstract. The picture you see here represents lost in thought, shapes, colors, and vision. I guess this is how our minds work. It also represents how we see the world. In other words, we are just like you. We have Art Syndrome. 8-10-17. 

 Linda Kucera

Bio: Linda Carter Kucera likes making things. She makes food and welcomes others to share. She makes friends. She makes gatherings comfortable. She makes a joyful sound and calls it singing. She makes her home welcoming and peaceful.

Artist statement: Linda has been a maker all her life. She has made things using paper, and things using wood. She has tried her hand at pottery and painting, and found it was not the right time for her to do those things. Always, though, Linda has enjoyed making things with fabric. The tactile sensations, the colors, the malleability of fabric, the emotional associations, and so much more make textiles Linda’s favorite medium. 

Red, white, and blue. No eagles, just friendly prints on cotton, sewn into happy stars to celebrate an all-inclusive America, with a soft, flannel backing. A nicely patriotic quilt, made by a nicely patriotic woman. Then the Black Lives Matter movement opened my eyes to America’s systemic racism, and to injustice suffered by People of Color, and to the horrifying reaction of friends who insisted “All Lives Matter.” My nice, patriotic quilt was a symbol of my white privilege. Not to deface the quilt, but to enhance it, I stenciled the Black Lives Matter slogan onto the quilt, and it was not enough. I asked my white friends to write the name of one of the many victims of being killed while black.

 Say Their Names. You are invited to write a name of an unjustly killed person on the quilt. To see a list of 330 names please consult https://exhibits.stanford.edu/saytheirnames/feature/330-names

 Lori Kruse

Bio: I grew up in Iowa where I learned to love the wildflowers and butterflies of the prairie. I have lived in many different places within the US and Europe and now live in Flagstaff, Arizona. I have been sewing since I was a child and making quilts for over 40 years. I taught first and second grades for many years. Helping people make sense of the natural world is my passion. My artwork is informed by my love and awe of nature. I am a self-taught artist and I sketch, paint, and manipulate fabrics to express my joy of the natural world. 

Artist Statement: As a teacher, my classroom activities often focused on an appreciation of the environment and wildlife. Every year I brought monarch eggs and caterpillars into the classroom so the children could experience the incredible transformation of the butterfly life cycle. The children wrote poems, drew pictures, and created maps involving the monarch butterflies. After retiring, I was finally able to go to California to see the monarchs in their overwintering grounds. I was absolutely shocked to find so few butterflies. They have experienced a 95% decline in population in my lifetime due to habitat loss and pervasive use of pesticides. This is a horrifying fact. I just cried. I decided I needed to create a quilt that tells the story that the butterflies cannot tell themselves. Every day we make choices that either hurt or help the environment. My hope is that people will make thoughtful and informed choices that support all of nature, not just the monarchs. Please think before you spray!

Janet May

Bio: I learned to sew from my mother when I was a child and taught myself simple embroidery by studying books. In the 1960s, I took classes in drawing and painting from Costa Rican artists. and I began quilting around 1998, studying books, taking classes online, and attending workshops. I have enjoyed taking numerous online quilting classes, attending workshops, and learning from individual quilting friends. This has helped me to experiment with a broad range of techniques. I draw inspiration from daily life, travels, visiting art museums and seeing the work of artists far more skilled than I ever hope to be.

Artist Statement:  This piece is in three parts:

Farewell, sister…It I had a difficult relationship with my sister. When she passed away, my first thought was that at least she could no longer hurt anybody else.

It wasn’t your fault…This panel is drawn from a personal experience of violence and years of silence, followed by therapy in which I finally realized that it wasn’t my fault. Images licensed by Vectorstock.

I wish you . . .This is my message to women who have experienced trauma.

Alexandra Esparza

Bio: Born in Mexico and now living in the US, I learned sewing and embroidery as a young schoolgirl but never made more than a few small items. I am mostly self-taught but also took a brief workshop years ago.

Artist Statement: This is my first major embroidery artwork. It represents the hope that the disappearances of girls and women in Mexico will cease.

 Gennievie Parish

Bio: Gennievie Parish is a Native American artist and member of the Diné nation. 

Artist Statement: She began exploring artistic expression at the Hozhoni Artist Studio and Gallery. Her interest in the world around her is expressed in her own unique style. Whether in embroidery, drawing, or printmaking, her focus is on the shapes. She invests endless hours into each of her needlepoint pieces, where she uses vibrant colors and small stitches to create intensely textured patterns and designs.

Gennievie is inspired by animals and enjoys creating stories with each work. This print is an experiment in expanding her artistic tools. What are these animals talking about? Are they talking about how humans are destroying their habitats and food sources?

 Libby Stortz

Bio: I’m a local painter and activist, creating art for 64 years. I was an art major in college and a MSW/LCSW in community organizing and clinical social work from graduate school. 

Artist statement: Given the challenging and frightening times we are living reminds me of the many struggles and protests we've repeated so many times throughout our history. This piece gave me an opportunity to express my feelings through the past and now. Through fear, anger and frustration, I hope it encourages us all because the work toward justice requires determination and a moral compass. 

 Marie Tymrak-

Artist Statement: I made three quilts between 2014 and 2019, celebrating the Winter Olympics in Sochi, which was part of Ukraine at that time. This is the third quilt in the series, reflecting the growing awareness that the Olympics were a prelude to the Russian invasion of the Crimean Peninsula.