Artists
Alan Nakkash
Alan Nakkash grew up in San Diego, California and is a first generation Iraqi-American. He received a BA in Studio Art from the University of California, Riverside in 2014. He currently resides in San Diego, working as a freelance photographer. Yes, he has watched too many Wes Anderson films.
www.alannakkash.com
@alannakkash
Alanna Airitam
New York born and San Diego resident, Alanna Airitam is a self-taught fine art photographer who creates portraits that help shift stagnant (and often negative) narratives about communities of color and other misrepresented and/or underrepresented people. Using photography as her delivery system, she offers the audience a look into a reality that is not based upon the limiting constraints of narrow media messaging about people of color but instead offers a glimpse into her belief about the necessity and beauty of diversity in culture. Currently, Airitam’s work can be seen in the exhibition “How Do You See Me” and panel discussion at Catherine Edelman Gallery. She was the subject of the award winning short film titled “From Haarlem to Harlem” about her portrait series, The Golden Age, and has been featured internationally in numerous publications, podcasts, and speaking events centered around the subject of representation of people of color, stereotypes, and questioning the validity of racial traditions.
Amel Janae
Amel Janae is a San Diego based artist working in oil paint upon mirrors. She is inspired by the human form, as well as the reflective nature of glass. She hopes to help her viewers with self reflection.
Angela Garzon
Angela is a color-obsessed, Irish-coffee-drinking photographer in a constant state of wanderlust. When she isn't hiding behind the lens of her camera she is binging podcasts, catching up on Great British Baking Show, or stopping people on the street and asking them if she can pet their dog.
www.createwithgusto.com
@createwithgusto
Bronwyn Huddleson
Bronwyn Huddleson is an authentic Fine Art Photographer based in San Diego, ready to travel globally. With over ten years of experience, including a degree in photography from Purdue University, Bronwyn’s passion has become her career. She has honed in on the entrepreneurial culture and her deep connection to the people within it. Bronwyn’s passion for helping others correlates directly with her passion for creating and sharing the stories of other passionate, dedicated people. Her love for the environment & outdoor adventure fuels her desire to create captivating imagery that encourages and excites others to explore more, learn more, respect, love and DO more! Bronwyn thrives on the energy of new and different cultures and experiences.
www.bronwynhuddleson.com
@bronwyn_photog
Brynna Bantley
Brynna Bantley’s artistic style is both subtle and intimate. While working across a broad spectrum of mediums, including ink, charcoal, watercolor, and acrylics, she draws inspiration from the human body in its many forms. While living in Paris in 2015 and 2016, Bantley studied great artists such as Rodin and Matisse and was hugely influenced by their art. Bantley’s work has been exhibited most recently at “Elements Art Show”, the “Holladays” exhibition, and in local shops around San Diego.
www.brynnabantley.com
@brynnabantley
Cameron Ballensky
Cameron Ballensky is a portrait and fashion photographer living in San Diego, California. He bought his first camera and started shooting photography while deployed overseas in the Navy. Soon he discovered a passion for shooting Polaroid film and eventually amassed a collection of over 15 Polaroid cameras and several hundred packs of film.
Believe me, it is insane.
CATAPHANT
Catalina Bellizzi-Itiola (CATAPHANT) is a multi-disciplinary artist based out of San Diego. She graduated from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in Art Education. She taught art in the Chicago public schools for several years while serving as creative director at a small church in Chicago and producing music. After moving to San Diego, CATAPHANT circled back to visual art full time. She now creates oil paintings, designs book covers, album art, and sells handmade products online.
Bellizzi-Itiola is half-Colombian, half-Argentine and uses the cultural complexity of her upbringing to bring nuance and a sense of "in-between-ness" to her work. Growing up in the midwest, where yet another culture (this time, one of self repression and homogeny) was lived out, Catalina's art practice thrived on seeking liberation and transcendence, both physical and spiritual. The spiritual themes within her work are closely tied to ones of justice, in particular for women of color.
Chitra Gopalakrishnan
I am a graphic designer with a great affinity for new media and traditional craft forms. I have an MFA in Graphic Design from the Cranbrook Academy of Art and the ESAG Penninghen, Paris. I have also taught several courses in graphic and interactive design in the Department of Art and Design at Grand Valley State University in Michigan. I am currently based out of San Diego, CA.
Co-founder of a handloom revival project called Kara Weaves which I helped initiate with Indu Menon, a social anthropologist, I am in love with social marketing and its impact on rural art forms. Kara Weaves works with local weaving co-operatives across Kerala to produce and promote the craft of these artisans to a larger global audience through our online store.
As a commercial designer, I have worked for Illum Design Project and often for Play Clan. In the past I have also been a mentor of the Mobile Applications and Services Lab at Grand Valley State University, where I advise students working to design mobile applications.
Dave Keck
Dave is a Landscape Architect retired from California State Parks after 34 years in park planning. He graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture in 1974 from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. He currently lives in Sacramento, California with his wife Joni. They are the proud parents of two beautiful children, Brian and Stacy Keck.
Dave has always enjoyed drawing and sketching and in recent years has developed a love of the watercolor medium, producing creative designs and expressive art. His inspiration comes from nature’s beauty and unbounded imagination. The subject matter for his work is wide-ranging from animals, birds, landscapes and people, to more recent abstract designs and expressive color compositions.
The painting titled “United” is the very first painting Dave has submitted for exhibition and sale. To date, his artwork is shared only among family and friends, and encouraged by a small group of fellow painters that gather together monthly to learn and share different painting techniques and styles.
Evan McGinnis
Evan Abram McGinnis is a San Diego based photographer whose focus is on documenting people around him and creating authentic photographs. Most of his photographs come together after approaching the subjects due to their uniqueness or being approached by them for mere conversation.
www.evanmcginnis.com
@evanmcginnis
Hanna Gundrum
Hanna Gundrum is an illustrator and printmaker living and working in San Diego, CA. She holds a BFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and is especially interested in vibrant colors, patterns, and repeating forms. Most often her work draws inspiration from the natural world and patterns found while traveling. She has recently begun learning graphic design and is pursuing collaborative projects which aim to transform her illustrations into textiles for clothing.
Israel Castillo
Israel is a photographer working out of southern California, specializing in editorial and commercial photography. He graduated with a BA in Visual Journalism from the now closed Brooks Institute of Photography.
“Photography is a way to see and document the world around me. I use three different formats at any given time, film (35mm and 120) and digital to document what I see in the streets and my surroundings.”
Israel lives in his hometown, San Diego, with his wife and daughter.
www.israelcastillo.com
@iz_not_is
Jeszica Jean
My work focuses on exploring art’s pedagogical impact. I am interested in art as a medium for knowledge production, its potential for community building and cross disciplinary collaborations. I approach this through both object making and community engagement. My focus on object making has been in the development of interactive works which facilitate independent critical thinking for the viewer using both analog and digital methodologies. For non-interactive objects I focus on image making which investigates the roles of relationships through my use of collage and mixed media applications. My work in the community focuses on institutional collaborations within spaces such as museums, libraries, local nonprofits and schools.
Kayla Clements
Kayla Clements is a creative entrepreneur, author, and self-proclaimed time traveler who believes in design and sustainability. She is the founder of Una Volta Studio, a creative agency that specializes in elevating artists through content duration and beautiful design, and Luna Volta, an eco-conscious plant-based wellness company. She is the author of Daytripper: 60 Days on the Road Exploring America’s National Parks - a woman-written, thoughtfully-designed coffee table book inspired by 60 days of #vanlife across America. Learn more at www.daytripperthebook.com.
www.daytripperthebook.com
@kaylaclements
Kim Curran
Kim is a 20 year resident of North Park and was a professional photographer for 15 years with an active studio in the East Village neighborhood of San Diego. In the Fall of 2016, she experienced a series of unfavorable events that made her rethink everything. She stopped photography completely and started real estate classes. While doing the real estate coursework, she found herself at the art store with a cart full of paint and a few canvases. Perhaps she needed a new creative outlet to fill the photography void. Although she was very hesitant and a bit afraid to paint in the beginning, she finally convinced herself to try and began. It felt good and she liked int. While pursuing real estate, Kim continued to paint in her free time. Then the combinations of being “let go” from the broker with whom she was working under and the crazy, wonderful fact that she was given an opportunity of having a solo exhibition nudged (shoved) her away from real estate and into the arms of art. Kim is currently represented by COSMOPOLITAN FINE ART in La Jolla.
http://kimcurran.bigcartel.com
@kimcurranpaints
Lauren Siry
Lauren Siry holds a Masters in Contemporary Art from Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London and a BFA from Tufts University and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. As a practicing studio artist, Siry has completed fine art programs at the San Francisco Art Institute in California and the Studio Arts College International in Florence, Italy. In 2012 Siry returned to San Diego to open 1805 Gallery, an artist studio and exhibition space in Little Italy.
1805 Gallery encourages critical conversations, creative thinking, community growth and development through exhibitions and artist residencies. Offsite projects and events enable a greater reach beyond the gallery, fostering external partnerships with local organizations while establishing a supportive and sustainable cultural network in San Diego.
Michelle Jean
Three years ago, Michelle gathered the art supplies she had in her home and sat down to create. The product of a quiet afternoon resulted in a painting that won an art contest on Minted, and heralded the beginning of a life changing journey for Michelle.
Leaving their corporate jobs and embarking on a honeymoon of over 8 months traveling through Europe and the UK, Michelle and her husband travelled with only their bicycles and whatever they could carry on them. As they enjoyed life’s simplicity and living in the moment, Michelle gained clarity and insight - no matter what, she wanted to pursue her passion for art, and share that love with others.
Michelle’s mind runs with a million ideas at once, tumbling over each other and tangling in their effort to get out. This serves to explain her love for different mediums and materials, as they allow a full spectrum of feelings, textures and outcomes to be achieved depending on mood and method, as well as endless experimentation.
Self taught, Michelle is constantly learning, and draws her inspiration from all that surrounds her, both the spectacular and the quiet beauty in the mundane. She believes it’s possible to find inspiration anywhere and in anything, and to allow the universe to utilize you as a conduit by which to express itself. With this philosophy in mind, Michelle doesn’t overthink her art, but rather allows it to flow naturally and intuitively, to achieve an expression of feeling.
Her goal is to create art which evokes emotion in people – sometimes calming, sometimes mysterious, sometimes erotic. Art as a means of expression tells a story that words cannot. The visual aspect allows a singular interpretation for each individual with a nuance that can only be felt by the beholder as a result of their own perception. For people to simply feel, rather than seek to analyze or understand, is the desired outcome – not everything requires figuring out.
www.michellejeanstudio.com
@michellejeanstudio.com
PRICELESS
AND WORTHLESS
I am exploring the idea of the digital world emerging itself with the physical world more and more everyday. We are already at the point of no return where our physical life revolves around technology. Perception of the psychical has changed into the realm of the digital, so our eyes have shifted to looking at life through a screen. The pixels in my work represent the scars technology has left within and around us, we now leave a digital footprint behind with every action we take through the internet use and social media networks and mobile applications (fb, instagram, twitter). I am bringing awareness of this through my work. I have had a few group shows and a solo exhibition in Miramar. In my previous work I used photography and graphic design. Now I am using painting as my main tool of expression.
www.pricelessandworthless.com
@pricelessandworthless
Rhea Vega
Rhea Vega is an Alaska Native, an enrolled member of the Tlingit tribe, Kaagwaantaan Clan.She is Mexican and Filipino. Her multi-heritage and her ties to the indigenous community in Seattle, WA has strongly influenced her perception of self and thus, her approach to art. Art allows her to maintain her connection to her ancestors; it is a means of healing. She says, “I consider my artwork to be self therapy. Therapy is aimed to better the self, which is a healing endeavor. I also view myself as a minimal vocalist/communicator, therefore working out emotions and communicating through art is my healing process. My confession to the world lifts the weight of being vulnerable and enclosed; I am empowered.” Rhea has worked with a variety of media and currently favors acrylic and charcoal. In addition to practicing empowerment through the canvas, Rhea also practices healing through achieving spiritual health for herself and others as a licensed massage therapist. She is a breast cancer survivor and is currently soaking up vitamin D in sunny San Diego, CA.
Samantha Marret
Samantha Louise Marett is a self-taught abstract artist known for her bold & unexpected color palettes and blending watercolor with acrylic paint with various textures on canvas. Her work is mostly created from palette knives and mark making with highly pigmented colors using the tubes to paint. Recently, Sam has been enjoying expanding her portfolio to large scale mural & installation work with local brands & businesses. Her event design experience as a former wedding planner translates into each project through merchandising and styling to compliment the artwork.
www.samanthalouisedesigns.com
@samanthalouisedesigns
Suzanne Ofeldt
Shewanders Photography is a San Diego, California-based studio available for worldwide travel whose lead photographers are Suzanne Hansen Ofeldt and Mike Ofeldt. We capture the powerful essence of relationships and celebrations by collaborating with creatives who live life loudly. We are honored to skillfully combine a professional framework with photography to create art that is honest, quirky, engaging, and personal.
Through our 15 years of experience, we have refined a practice that uses our clients’ vision and style as a north star for our work. We blend formal and editorial photography to provide complete coverage of your proposal, wedding, family gathering, or bucket list adventure. We want to know you, and we bring genuine enthusiasm to each project we have our hands in.