Vegan Pig Farm - a truly magical pig farm.

Jessamy Kelly is a contemporary glass artist and designer, the material quality of glass and its reaction to light intrigues Jessamy and is the focus of her practice. She aims to harness light by manipulating the glass to reveal the inherent luminosity of the material. Based on the hand crafted sensitivity of glass making; her work is inspired by organic and naturally repeating forms. Working with simple forms to create a soft sensitive aesthetic, her sculptural and sensual blown and kiln cast glass draws inspiration from diverse natural forms, the local landscape and the human body. Jessamy’s work shows balance, precision and great delicacy. Her work has been exhibited throughout the UK as well as internationally in France, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and in the United States.

In June 2001, Jessamy Kelly completed her Bachelor of Arts degree in Glass and Ceramics at the University of Sunderland and went on to complete her Masters in Glass Design at Edinburgh College of Art, in 2002. In 2004 she started her practice based PhD at the University of Sunderland which examines the combination of glass and ceramics in her artistic practice.

Chez Kevito is one designer with over 20 years of designing and sewing expertise.
I am proud to invite you to infuse your visual senses with my couture quality handmade clothing designs, beaded wire jewelry, and accessories for women.
Please feel free to contact me with custom requests or
visit http://www.chezkevito.com
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Chez Kevito will also be exhibiting its LBD line:
LBD is your one-stop-shop for choosing the best designs in little black dresses and the necessities required to complete your look for everyday or for a special event. The "little black dress" is considered essential to a complete wardrobe by many women and "When a little black dress is right, there is nothing else to wear in its place." Visit http://www.herlbd.com for more.

"Tumbling" is a 4' x 6' work, which consists of 12 bands of steel, abstract ceramic "pod" shapes that attach to the steel with magnets and a layer of printed imagery.

I make low-relief surfaces that evoke displacement and change, alluding to earth strata, fossils, and the passage of time. Through the manipulation of materials - forming clay into abstract shapes and giving steel panels over to rain and other elements--I make objects that call to mind forces that fade memories and recycle once-living things back to the earth.

Artifact or Artifice

artifact n. any object made by human work; esp. a simple or primitive tool, weapon, vessel, etc.

artifice n. 1. a clever expedient 2. trickery or craft 3. a sly or artful trick —syn. see art, trick

Through the artifacts that remain we believe we understand the stories of places and times we have not personally experienced. In reality we have no way of knowing if those artifacts reflect a reality or if they are artifice.

In my sculpture I capture moments in a narrative and express them as artifacts (or sometimes artifice). In many cases the narrative is autobiographical, but through the reduction of the story to a few simple objects I hope to make the narrative more universal and at the same time create an air of personal mystery.

The work included in Artomatic 2009 is titled “Comforts of Home.” It is through the title that clues about the subject are given to the viewer, but little is revealed. The narrative is yours to imagine.

Clay is a kinetic experience. Responding to it at different stages of flexibility is a unique process. Constructing and deconstructing the form by building volume makes the movement created from manipulation a natural response that keeps the viewer excited. My ideas are driven by the movement within the clay, what the clay does, and the duality of challenging the clay to do things that it seems it can not do.

Edward S. Johnston is a visual artist whose work bridges sculpture, photography and 3-D technologies by taking imagery from his surrounding environments and manipulating it digitally to be transformed as sculptural objects. A native of Washington, DC, Johnston was raised on Capitol Hill and has taught at the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop. He is currently an Assistant Professor at Prince George’s Community College in Largo, MD teaching 3D technologies and digital imaging.

Johnston’s works have been exhibited throughout the United States and abroad, including the 2009 Technology Configured exhibition at the Ann Arbor Art Center; 2008 Krasl Biennial Sculpture Invitational in St. Joseph, Michigan; the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop in Washington, D.C.; and the Cothenius Gallery in Berlin, Germany. He will be showing some of his works in the ArcheTime exhibition in New York City this June. His participation in Artomatic is funded in part by the D.C. Commission on the Arts & Humanities, an agency supported in part by National Endowment of the Arts. He is the recipient of the DCCAH's 2009 Young Artist's Program Grant Award.

For a long time sculptors made things that were disappointingly fragile for their great weight, and basket makers made things that were amazingly resilient for their lightness—but only the sculptors’ art could make a shape so precisely formed as to conjure memory of something else. Now, through the power of mathematics and computers, sculptors begin to have access to the resilience and exposed structural logic of a basket without giving up the freedom to make any shape they wish. My Olivier’s Fingertip, pictured here, is an aluminum basket woven precisely according to 3D scan data in the shape of a particular man’s fingertip.

My work is all in paper, the focus being four bas reliefs. The approach I used was to cut, fold, and wrinkle a sheet of paper, and to position lights above or below the piece to create shadows.

My space is directly south of the elevators on the 6th floor. It is mounted on an 8 by 8 wall, rather than being standalone, like my entry states.

We vote with our dollars, our actions and our voices.

No person is evil - the only evil lies in the greedy wrath societies bestow on them.

Swedish industrial designer now living in UK. Began, eons ago, training as cabinet maker and later furniture designer in Denmark and worked as interior architect, industrial designer and university lecturer before moving to UK in 2001.

Glass has been a passion from day one when I, in the mid 1990ties, was asked to make design for some Swedish glass factories, and took therefore contact with Sunderland University when I moved to UK, and where I also got an MA in glass in 2003.

To design for glass factories - mass production, now belongs to the history books since many have closed down and those still with a furnace lit, doesn´t spend a single pound, euro or dollar on new designs.

So, Wonderful Future - I now make my own glass!
Mainly cast, fused and slumped gallery pieces, sometimes in combination with other materials, but also bigger(so far 9.5M)public art where glass often adds that magic extra dimension.

At the moment I also enjoy running a design and product development project of Fair Trade furniture produced in Indonesia and Vietnam.

It is not easy to make a living from arts/crafts being true to one´s ideals, but as long as ever possible, I stick to the motto based on my Scandinavian design heritage:

No Nonsence - Yes Essence

and so far, that has worked really well!

Laura Peery's work was originally inspired by childhood memories of time spent in her grandmother's New Orleans dress shop, "College Frocks". Her medium is porcelain clay, which she discovered can be made to resemble fabric by impressing it with textured materials. Her whimsical teapots have working lids and glazed interiors, but offer only the possibility of function rather than the true promise. Laura's work is on exhibit at Waverly Street Gallery and is in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Joanne is a professional glass artist who works from her studio at the National Glass Centre, Sunderland, U.K. Her striking vessels and sculpture have been exhibited throughout the U.K., as well as in the U.S. and Europe. Her glass work combines hot, cold working and casting techniques. Pieces are extensively ground, diamond wheel cut and polished to achieve the final form, exploring the tactility and sensuality of the material. Each piece is a signed and dated original artwork, crafted by hand to the highest quality.
Joanne studied Three-Dimensional Design (specialising in glass and metal) at Manchester Metropolitan University, U.K., graduating with first class honours, and completed a Masters Degree in Glass Product Design with the University of Wolverhampton. Following her M.A. she became in-house designer for the Edinburgh Crystal Glass Company, before setting up ‘Joanne Mitchell Glass Design’ in 2003. She set up company ‘Juo Ltd.’ with designer Jessamy Kelly in 2006, producing contemporary fused glass wall art.
“My inspiration comes from the irregularity and diversity of natural forms: the landscape, the human body, some significant aspect of one of these.”

Desiree Hope is an award winning glass designer and maker creating both one off sculptural pieces, and repeatable work which is exhibited internationally. She had obtained both a BA and MA in glass and has recently opened the 'Desiree Hope Gallery' in her hometown of Masham, England.
With a love of the countryside her glass ware is always inspired by nature. Fossil hunting along the North Yorkshire coast is a source of inspiration, and she is intrigued by the scientific investigation of nature through microscopy. The repetitive and intricate patterns that are revealed through the lens influence her engraved pieces. This is enhanced with extensive polishing, and in some of the pieces creates interesting optical illusions.

I really enjoy starting a new piece and the anticipation of the final result. There are always beautiful veins and grains in wood and stone and their natural colors. I try to bring out the most I can from each piece of wood and stone.
It's very rewarding to pass on what I have learned, through teaching, especially when I see my student's work on display.

The artists from Sunderland UK are delighted and proud that Charles has joined us in our participation in Artomatic. Charles has been an artist and glassmaker since the 1960s when he studied at London's famous Goldsmith's College. He then came to Sunderland in the North East of England and introduced glass to the University, commencing the course which, today is hailed as the largest and one of the best in Europe.

Having worked with and alongside many of the great names in glass he remains one of the UK's elder statesmen in the medium. His work reflects the rugged and peaceful surroundings in which he lives in the English countryside and he has pieces in important collections throughout the world.

Criss Chaney was born in Seattle, Washington, where she first learned to work with stained glass. After high school she moved to San Francisco to study at California College of the Arts, where she discovered the magic of molten glass. There, she won a scholarship to go to Pilchuck Glass School, where she continues to spend her summers. In 2004 she made the leap across the Atlantic and moved to England to finish her degree at the University of Sunderland.
Criss’ artwork deals with developing texture by integrating metals into the glass while hot, and then exploiting techniques for working with both materials. Inspired by prehistory her current work takes on forms reminiscent of stones and geodes, dealing with questions of the origin of the universe, life, and humanity. She is interested in pushing the boundaries between glass and other materials, and challenging traditional ways of thinking of glass. “It is important that my objects have interior and exterior space for the viewer to enjoy and interact with. My sculptural pieces have a fascinating interior landscape, and I would like to bring that out on a much larger scale using my glass to enhance the larger environment and engage its users.”
Criss Chaney is and internationally recognized glass artist, who has exhibited extensively in the UK and America. She now makes her work at the National Glass Centre in Sunderland where she has established her own art practice creating contemporary glass.

Management consultant by day (and night) and artist in between, I'm a painter turned sculptor. I work in clay because of its versatility and malleability. My work focuses on the human form and translating the beauty in its complexities and variations. Clay allows me to loosely capture the curves on the human figure. The pieces I've chosen for Artomatic 2009 represent a progression in my sculpting style.