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The Urban Vibe News is an independent student-run news organization for DMACC's Des
Moines/Urban Campus. Access to the website is free to the public. Follow them on Facebook,
Instagram, and Twitter.
Shane Freeman - About the Artist: Shane Freeman, is the artist who painted the piece
titled American Girl. He specializes in photo realism and loves to portray the ideology
of the subjects he uses. Keeping it subtle, sharp, and interesting, he really enjoys
portraits and lifestyles. Facebook @dream-rooms-custom-themed-rooms
Paige Kleckner - About the Artist: Capturing sunsets became Paige’s thing as a DSM
photographer. This night in particular was the most moving sunset she has seen. The
energy was electric; the colors were vivid. She enjoys interpreting that uniquely
to what feels right. She loves using art to manipulate an image, but sometimes the
image doesn't need anything from the artist. She hopes to show how majestic nature
can be alongside images of an otherworldly take. It's beautiful when the raw nature
is otherworldly in itself. Instagram @paigeklecknerphoto
Cara Shindler - About the Artist: Cara is moved by a fascination with the way that
color, shape, and space work together – or against each other - to create a story.
Each creation has a history and a meaning behind it, and I feel inspired to produce
a visual experience that sparks memories and brings comfort to the viewers based on
their own interpretation of what they see. As an artist she believes that she is constantly
evolving. Cara loves finding new ways to create, express herself and experiment with
color and texture. Her formal education is in graphic design, and because of that,
many of her projects begin on the computer. She tends to favor mixed media pieces
- combining plaster, charcoal & paint on a canvas or layered overtop of a photo/print.
Instagram @artwork_by_cara
Bozz - About the Artist:Bozz Prints was founded by John Bosley (Bozz) in Des Moines,
IA back in 2015. Specializing in prints, posters, and shirts, John grew Bozz Prints
from its humble beginnings in his basement, to a full blown brick and mortar shop
in West Des Moines’ Historic Valley Junction. Inspired by a love of travel, architecture,
and the scenery that surrounds us, John is all about making timeless designs to honor
the places and landmarks we all know and love. Instagram @bozzprints
Johnathan Fusco - About the Artist: Johnathan Fusco is an artist operating out of
Des Moines, Iowa. Working primarily in drawing media and oils, his work explores identity,
sexuality, body image, addiction, mental health, and form. Inspired by the classical
traditions, he specializes in figurative work, erotica, surrealism, portraiture, and
still life using energetic line work and a vivid palette. Instagram @jonathanfusco
Jacob Kuperman - About the Artist: Jacob is a Des Moines based, self-taught multidisciplinary
art maker. His motivation is rooted in a daily need to learn, create, and directly
shape the greater community. The images he produces embrace spontaneous gestures and
simple lines to create what he perceives as an authentic form of expression. Interested
and inspired by nature, imagination, homemade bread and our journey to create personal
meaning, Jacob is an advocate for mental health, a better food system, and leaving
any environment better than you found it. Instagram @kuperman.draws
Ian Brent - About the Artist: Ian has lived in central Iowa all his life. He is building
a business of painting custom auto finishes and native inspired jewelry. Ian also
works helping a local artist painting custom patterns and murals. His colors are inspired
by the 1980’s and street art. Instagram @mapletonpaint
Laura Wills - About the Artist: Laura is an Iowa native who takes pride in showcasing
her ever-growing city. While her subjects are primarily people, she couldn't pass
up the opportunity to photograph the Capitol building while attending a party on the
rooftop of a newly built downtown business and seeing the gold building from this
new vantage point. Sitting in direct sun, the golden Capitol literally shone against
the bright blue sky. Instagram @laurawillsphotography
Paula McArthur - About the Artist: Paula is both a visual artist and professional
dancer. Although different medium the art/design elements are the same. She uses the
view of her visual art as permanent in time and dance performances as temporary but
due to technology both those concepts are misconceptions. Video preserves dance performances
and having Paula’s art work in a rotating visual art show makes it temporary. Instagram
@vintagescottishpixie & @dsmdanzarts
Ally Frame - About the Artist: Ally has struggled to consider herself an artist for
a very long time as her work is lighthearted, not serious and deep. She is learning
that what she creates is still art and serves a very important purpose - spreading
joy. Every day she walks a fine line between being okay and spiraling with anxiety
so it is important for her to create images that put a smile on her face. Ally’s hope
in sharing her creations is that it will put a smile on someone else’s face and make
their day okay too. Instagram @latergatorart
Buffalo Bonker - About the Artist: Buffalo has been a portrait painter since he first
learned to paint as a child. He enjoys the rapid and loose quality of acrylic painting
with portraits that prevents a piece from being overworked. The human brain is wired
to see faces and that makes it one of his favorite subjects. Instagram @buffalobonker_art
Maggie Douglas - About the Artist: I see the natural world as living artwork, but
so often the details of this magnificent creation go unnoticed: how the wind becomes
a wave as it moves through tall grass, how the passage of time is evidenced in the
colorful layers of rocks, or how a beautiful pattern forms behind a worm as it eats
its way through a leaf. I work with mixed media to create abstract depictions of conversations
between unpredictable natural forces and my subconscious memories of details I have
encountered in the world. I employ processes that impact nature such as erosion, evaporation
and gravity to bring in details that cannot be recreated by the human hand. Painting
has become an ebb and flow between who I am as a natural being and how I am influenced
by the culture around me. Instagram @mdouglas.studio
Betty Walker - About the Artist: Betty Walker is an internationally recognized local,
Des Moines-based, artist known for her watercolor and coffee paintings. You can also
see her murals located within and on the windows of businesses within central Iowa.
She works from her home in Des Moines, where she lives with her three boisterous boys,
husband, and poodle. Instagram @bettywalkerstudio
Jill Wells - About the Artist: Art, for Jill, is about narration, advocacy work and
connectivity. Exploring and investigating accessibility, race, gender, history, stereotypes,
and human experiences is what her work focuses on. With endless inspirations to create
from, she specialize in oil painting, murals, and mixed media. In Jill’s practice,
her goal is to evoke internal or external conversations from observers, about complex
issues, in the hopes of a positive outcome www.jillwellsart.com
Kipp Davis - About the Artist: Kipp Davis is a graduate of Iowa State University,
class of 2018. He travels inside the Midwest painting murals of all kinds. He engages
in different types of fairs, festivals, events, ceremonies, and more. Some of his
works lie in the cities outlining the Midwest and in between Instagram @kidartmx
Pamela Ballard - About the Artist: My exploration as an oil painter allows me to explore
universal concepts and yearnings from a feminine perspective. Having grown up as a
dancer, I intuitively use the physical gesture of the human form as the primary communicator
within a composition. Feeling an affinity for both the Surrealist and Symbolist art
movements, I try to convey underlying messages and mysteries within my paintings.
It is equally significant for me to develop a purposeful ambiguity so that the viewer
may have an authentic space to interpret and connect with my artwork. -Pamela Ballard
Instagram @pamelaballard
Ben Schuh - About the Artist: Ben is a professional artist living and working in the
Des Moines Metro. His large scale studio is located in Polk City and he maintains
another studio at Mainframe Studios in downtown Des Moines. Since graduating from
Grand View University Ben has traveled the world looking for inspiration and promoting
his paintings. He has exhibited in a number of national arts festivals and has collectors
across the USA as well as in Canada and Europe.
Todd Huffine - About the Artist: Focused on creating artwork based on number, shape
and pattern. Using art to assemble and present knowledge as a way to search for truth
and understanding. Number, shape and pattern used to visualize the relationship between
symbols. Instagram @pegasus515
Miradieu Joseph - About the Artist: Born in St. Marc, Haiti and raised in Lake Worth,
Florida, Miradieu Joseph’s style is inspired by the colors of his homeland and those
he first noticed when he arrived in the United States. After graduating from Wartburg
College in 2001 With a B.A. in Social Work and four years as an All-American and National
Championship hurdler, he returned to his childhood use of art as a vehicle for expressing
life’s events. Instagram @haitianboatman
Rachele JB - About the Artist: The family in Persia means gathering at Grandma and
Grandpa's house with uncles and aunts and their kids every Friday. Staying overnight
in their house is the happiest thing that could happen to the kids of the family.
Because it means Grandma would tell them a fairy tale not from the book, from something
she knows from her mom and her mom knows from her mom. Storytelling is a heritage
in a family in Iran and nowadays, having access to the books makes it more accessible,
and these books are primarily from folklore stories. Rachele grew up with lots of
books from all over the world and, of course, her grandma's tales. Iran has vibrant
literature; the first illustrated manuscript was found in Iran years ago. When I started
to read Persian fables, her imagination also began to fly with those imaginative images
from the stories, which inspired her to paint them on paper in her style. Very Persian
detailed illustrations and mixing these fine details with satire gives her the idea
of being unique in painting. Now, as an artist from Iran living in the United States,
she has this chance to expand her inspirations from painting miniatures of humans
and cities to the beautiful nature of Iowa and its local animals. This helps her blend
her traditional background with contemporary times and let the children decide if
they enjoy her picture book illustrations. Instagram @rahele_studio
Jen Leatherby - About the Artist: Jennifer Leatherby is a multi media artist, hospice
and mutual aid volunteer, abortion advocate, and full spectrum doula. Jen lives and
works in Des Moines, Iowa where they co own Portrait Studio and companion people through
birth, death, and abortion. Instagram @jenleatherbyart
Amenda Tate - About the Artist: Amenda Tate is an Interdisciplinary Artist with a
background in fine art and metalsmithing. She is an Iowa Creative Incubator Fellow
and a 2019 - 2020 Iowa Arts Council Fellow. Her current focus is the Manibus Project
in which dance is translated into painted works of art. Her work utilizes scientific
and aesthetic processes to address topics such as identity, individuality, longevity,
and the culture of social interaction in our digital era. Her works have been featured
in solo and group exhibitions across the US. Instagram @AmendaTate
Michael Wilson - About the Artist: I’m a representational oil painter inspired by
classical drawing and painting. I like layered narratives and working within themes.
I’m primarily a figure painter because my mission with art is to create, illuminate
and translate the collective human spirit. Instagram @MichaelWilsonArtStudio
Justin West - About the Artist: Born and raised in Iowa, Traveler and Photographer.
I photograph what inspires or emotionally touches me.The power of photography isn't
just the aesthetic experience of what one sees; it's the emotional experience that
the image conjures in a unique manner for every individual. Instagram @happyhogtor