Dylan Collins – Morgantown, WV - Blacksmith

Dylan Collins was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1974, and grew up in east central Illinois.  He attended Eastern Illinois University and received a B.A. in 2-D Studio Art in 1996 and an M.A. in Sculpture in 1997.  In 2000, he moved to Ohio to attend Kent State University, earning an M.F.A. in Sculpture in 2003. 

Since earning his MFA, he has held academic positions as Adjunct Instructor at Kent State University, Visiting Assistant Professor at Oberlin College, Instructor of Studio Foundations at Southeast Missouri State University, and Visiting Assistant Professor at West Virginia University.  Dylan is currently Lecturer and Sculpture Program Coordinator in the School of Art and Design at West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia. 

Recent exhibitions of his work include Color Coded at the McComas Gallery, Mississippi State University, OH + 5 2012 at the Dairy Barn Arts Center, Athens, Three Rivers Arts Festival New Juried Art Exhibition, Pittsburgh, You Become Your Thoughts at the PUNCH Gallery, Seattle, Diagrammatic Disarray at the Mattie Kelly Arts Center, Northwest Florida State College, Apparatus at the University of Texas at San Antonio Satellite Space, Phenomena(l) at SPACES Gallery, Cleveland, and the 21^st International Juried Show at the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey.

Zen Clay Studio - Morgantown, WV - Clay Pottery

Zenclay’s Studio Potters, Kurt Teeter and Susan Ting, will be demonstrating how to throw pots on the wheel. These two artists have very different approaches to clay and will show how they make what they make.  Kurt will demo a few various objects from large sectional pieces to more utilitarian everyday objects. Susan Ting will demonstrate some of the carvings that she incorporates into her work.

Tim Terman - Morgantown, WV - Pastel Painter

Nautical to nothing: Using pastels

Tim Terman, a WVU art school dropout, has been a Morgantown resident since 1979 and has been painting in pastels for the past five years. His nudes have been shown at the annual Mon Arts Center Bare Forms exhibit, and one of his pastels was used on last year’s Arts Walk event promotional material.

He will be demonstrating representational use of pastels to paint nautical scenes of sailing ships, the ocean and sky, and he will also show how he uses pastels to create nonrepresentational paintings that suggest their own form based on color, balance and other esoteric elements, including what he had for lunch and the music he happens to be listening to at the moment.

Malissa Goff - Morgantown, WV - Big Knitting

Malissa Goff has worked as a commissioned artist and portrait painter for 20 years. She studied to earn her Bachelor of Fine Arts at WVU with a dual focus in painting and sculpture. After a childhood spent on U.S. Military bases, she came to live in her family’s home state, WV in 1989.

Now a mother of three daughters, Malissa has been a Morgantown resident for 12 years where she’s organized and participated in several community events. Her work can regularly be found in local businesses such as Tonique Trilogy, Richwood Grille, The Black Bear Burritos, and has been featured in solo or group exhibitions in Arts Monongahela, The Blue Moose, Hotel Morgan, Wild Zero, M.A.C., 123 Pleasant St., and the Creative Arts Center at WVU. Malissa was one of three featured artists selected,in May of this year, for the launching of a monthy art and music series in Fairmont. 

For those interested in portrait work, contact info for the artist will be available at www.malissagoff.com, as well as a gallery of work, the means to upload source photos, pay online and ship artwork..

Ian Bode - Charleston, WV - Live Painting

Watch as Ian uses the spontaneous insperation of the music from the Main Stage to bring The Passenger to life before your very eyes!

The Passenger, the simple figure you will see in nearly every piece of Ian Bode’s work, is a resident of the town of Chuckburgh, which is a nod to Charleston, WV, the town that Ian grew up in and currently resides. Inspired by artists such as Charles Shultz, Sergio Aragones (Mad Magazine), Gary Larson, Keith Haring, Rene Magrite and John Lennon, Ian uses a “less is more” style for The Passenger which allows the surroundings of each panel to convey the indended thoughts or feelings.

Ian’s pieces often take a reactionary emotive view of social, political and cultural issues. In his work, Ian examines the song lyrics, movies, and books that are part of our culture, along with overheard conversations and his own thoughts. He then takes these inspirations and puts them into new contexts which are conveyed by the surrounding imagery. Generally, the title almost always comes before the panel, however, sometimes an image is born first. In those cases, if a title does not come immediately and organically, it remains untitled. Some images are repeated in several panels (i.e. hearts, clouds, the moon) to create themes and explore ideas and concepts that he feels require more than one panel.

Washboard Dave - Charleston, WV - Live Painting

Dave Thomas, commonly known as Washboard Dave, is a West Virginian artist and musician. A native of Oak Hill, WV; West Virginia Tech educated; and current Charleston resident, Thomas has been creating art for as long as he can remember. Elizabeth Kavitz, a West Virginia lawyer and collector of art, finds that Dave Thomas' pieces are "cartoon-like visions that reflect the proportions we feel rather than the ones we see." Edgy and playful, his work also has a distinct rhythm and pulse that is at the heart of his work. It is no wonder that his artwork has been featured in many of Charleston and Morgantown’s downtown art galleries, as well as residing in the homes of many of West Virginia’s and the United State’s private collectors.

Ian Bode, a West Virginia artist and friend of Thomas, describes his work as, “Post modern abstract cubism created in a prolific style that lends itself to his use of frenetic repetitive imagery and line - melodic and cacophonic at the same time without working against itself. Much like a lot of the music I hear Dave listen to.” As music is a driving force behind Dave Thomas’ art, it is not surprising that Thomas also plays percussion instruments, most often the washboard, for Charleston's own "Taste Like Chicken" and “High Voltage,” as well as sitting in as a guest with most any other band that takes the stage at any number of West Virginia’s stages. He refers to himself as "that washboard guy who makes crazy art."