Nicole received her BFA from Boston University in 2006, and has shown in Boston and Portsmouth, NH. She received a Fulbright Teaching grant to South Korea in 2009, and now currently lives and works in Boston.

website: www.nicolemaloof.com

Arena Matthis was inspired to begin her art career when she moved to Massachusettes in 1995 after owning a successful income tax and real esate business for over 40 years.   She remains inspired by the beauty of Stonington, MA as well as flowers around Cambridge, MA, and plans to capture all of them in her paintings.

website: ArenaMatthis.com

Rachel Mello is an artist and art instructor, living and working in Somerville, MA. She has been honored by the Massachusetts Cultural Council as a Finalist in Painting in 2010, and has been a two-time grant recipient from the Somerville Arts Council. Her work was shown as part of the 2010 gala opening for the Museum of Fine Arts new Art of the Americas wing. In Fall of 2011 she will serve as an Artist in Residence at the Ucross Foundation in Wyoming. Mello sits on the board of directors for Somerville Open Studios.

The “Small Revelations” print series was printed using traditional woodblock techniques, of contemporary Somerville rooftops.

website: www.rachelmello.com

Kayla Mohammadi received her BFA in 1998 from the University of Washington in Seattle and her MFA in 2002 from Boston University. Currently she is a Lecturer in Fine Arts at Massachusetts College of Arts. She has been a visiting artist and lecturer at Brandeis University in Waltham, MA, and is currently teaching at Mass. College of Art.

Awards include: The 2008 Joan Mitchell Foundation Award for painters, The Dedalus Foundation Award for a fellowship at Vermont Studio Center in 2008, The Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation Grant for 2006, Blanche E. Coleman Award for 2004, the Constantin Alajalov Scholarship, and Vermont Studio School Fellowship in 2001.

She has had numerous exhibitions throughout the US.  She currently has a exhibition of her work at Aucocisco Gallery in Portland, Maine (Sept. 14th -Oct. 8th).

website: www.kaylamohammadi.com

Jen Munch is most fond of painting dream imagery and scenes illustrating the hijinks of predatory animals. Her favorite subjects are rattlesnakes, wolves and bears of all types. She also paints satire pieces of fashion industry leaders, such as Anna Wintour and Karl Lagerfeld, who are predators in their own right.

She has been a Boston-based artist for 9 years, and hold a BFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts.

website: jenmunch.com

I began my art career with the idea of art being an approachable and tactile experience, even an interactive one, where people who are often intimidated by art, learn that it can be relaxing and fun.  In other words, I wanted an environment where people would feel free to touch my artwork, and wanted it to beg the viewer to interact.

My ideals have evolved for me over time, and grown with maturity into a love of art that reflects my belief in the therapeutic value of art in everyday living.

I now use vintage and created textiles to develop pieces that can be hung on a wall, worn, or just used in everyday life in a modern context.

website: www.alysmyers.com

Creative pursuit has facilitated the depth and struggle of my own complexity, it has mirrored the meaning of life experiences and the clash of cultures. For me, art is the pursuit of ecstasy. Capturing a photographic image or completing a design is euphoric.

“The contemplation of objects, the image that rises out of the reveries those objects provoke – those are the song.” — Stéphane Mallarmé.

website: www.planetweather.net/art.html

Jay Pastorello is a Cambridge, MA based ceramic artist, who has been working out of Harvard’s Ceramic Program since 2005. Currently a member of the Cambridge Art Association, Pastorello has more than a decade of experience in the ceramic medium.

website: www.jaypastorelloceramics.com 

Kitty Pechet is an artist and surfer.  Her paintings reflect her love for life, what we see and what we feel in its force and energy.

website: kittypechet.com

Peter Pizzi is a filmmaker, photographer and installation artist from Boston, MA. In 1999, he formed the production company Magic Club Productions. His work explores themes of sexuality, gender and identity. His work has been described as provocative, political and comical. He enjoys working with props such as, puppets, masks and his alter ego – Mr. Bunny. His films and artwork has been featured in Art Galleries and Film Festivals both nationally and internationally. More information about his work can be found at www.magicclubfilms.com.

After receiving from RISD my BFA in Painting followed by MFA in Photography in 1971, I exhibited photography at ICA Boston, DeCordova Museum in Lincoln, MIT Hayden Gallery, and U. Mass. Boston Gallery. Since then I’ve produced many AV productions, worked in multi-media avante garde performance theater, and owned a corporate video production company. I am now focusing on photography for my artistic expression and usually work in series, such as my Anima Mundi series. I teach photography locally in both public and private schools and recently have exhibited at Blanche Ames National Juried Exhibit, VT Photography Workplace and Chandler Gallery.

website: http://rleep.www.see.me/onelife2011

Rosamond Purcell is the author of Bookworm and Owls Head. She lives in Medford, Massachusetts.

website: http://rosamondpurcell.com/index.html