Amy Jurelovic

amy jurekovic, mixed media, self-portrait

Amy's art and style have always been outstanding.  She was a student at the University of Wyoming the same time I was and since has continued to create art in a variety of mediums including painting, mixed media, and tattooing.  Her style is edgy and beautiful.  to see more of her work, check out her website.

Her mixed media paintings certainly serve as inspiration for my book arts style and upcycling work.
Check out my blog to see more of my work.

Riki Klages

Interesting juxtapositions of nature and man-made 

(though I am not sure that is the concept Riki was going for in her paintings).

More images and a full bio on the University website.

My last semester at the University of Wyoming I had a chance to get to know Ricki more.  In my watercolor class I learned that she is a master when it comes to understanding, creating and mixing colors.  She is well versed not only in technical aspects of oil paints but watercolors as well.

Check out my blog to see some of my watercolors.

Diana Baumbach

Evidence (1 & 2), Diana Baumbach, 2010

Diana Baumbach is one of the 2D Foundations professors at the University of Wyoming.  She was my supervisor for a gallery internship and has taught classes such as Critical Art Theory, where students discuss contemporary and even controversial topics in the field of art.

Her work tends to be tedious and repetitive.  These works were created by punching many tiny holes through white paper.  Diana's work always inspires my repetitious nature such as creating 230 nooses as well as the use of an achromatic color palate also from my Make it Plain series. 

Pat Kikut

Patrick Kikut is a professor at the University of Wyoming.  Though I have not taken him for many classes (which I would still like to take his painting class) I have had the opportunity to get to know him through Student Art League (SAL).  As the SAL adviser, Pat has taken us to Santa Fe (which I just learned is the second largest art market in the nation) for a trip each year as well as Denver and helped with many other events.  Though I do love Pat's artwork, I think that his ambition and entrepreneurship as an artist may be what is the most inspiring to me. These are both skills that I think are often forgotten about but absolutely necessary for an artist to survive.

Pat has taken on many endeavors including starting a small gallery in his back yard while living in Santa Fe. The space was called "No Man's Land Gallery." The gallery featured artists from all over the country. Along with the gallery Pat set up a small stage and would have bands play and someone would be cooking on the bar-b.

The business and marketing aspects are a huge part of what I would love to take from what I have learned from Pat Kikut. I would really enjoy setting up an exhibition in a small gallery space like this.  (I will post some pictures of the space on my art blog) I would love to have a studio and gallery space for my artwork some day. In addition to a gallery/studio space I certainly want to teach art lessons from the space.  

Be sure to follow my personal art blog.

Adrian Molina

Although this blog began (and is primarily) to be a place for me to store my visual inspiration, I have decided to add one of my personal heroes when it comes to social justice type inspiration.  Adrian is a culturist and a conscious hip-hop artist.  I first met Adrian when he was a professor at the University of Wyoming.  Even though he has a law degree (which I don't think he would tell anyone), he was teaching a class titled "Hip-Hop and American Society" through the Chicano Studies program.  This class taught me about underground hip-hop and introduced the idea of art as activism.   His lyrics are powerful and intelligent.  He is not afraid to address serious issues and that is one of the most important qualities I can find in an artist which I would like to translate into my work.

The part about his degree in law was significant (and is inspiring) to me because he was a model of how someone can follow his dreams to remain an artist and make that path work because it is what he was designed to do.  Despite the fact that I am sure he had to deal with a plethora of friends and family telling him to take the path that they see as success, he chose what he knew he was created to do.  I know that I was designed to create art and share important social topics with others.  Thanks for being a model of this.

For more information on Molina's work check out his Facebook page, this interview, his current focus (the Occupy movement), one more occupy article he wrote.

Here is a clip of his most recent project ...This link will not be available to the public for a few more days...so enjoy!


To see some of my socially conscious art, check out art blog "Felicia Follum Art + Desingn" or Facebook page.

Ashley Hope Carlislie

Ashley is a professor at the Univerisy of Wyoming.  Her sculptures represent who she is and her life experiences.  I do now know much about the above image but I believe that the bottom one came from a time when she was in the hospital or had just hurt her back and she was limited to what she could create.  The cocoon shapes were how she responded to her injury.  I chose these two images (over some of the ones I know more about) because I find them particularly interesting.  I love the repetition of line and shape. 

One of the aspects of Ashley's work that I would like to inspire my own at some point is the use of textures, colors, and shape to create beautiful movement and a subtle story.

Jenny Venn

Jenny Venn is the graphic design instructor at the University of Wyoming.  I have taken 6 classes from her and her classes have really helped me to have a passion for for concept development and research.  One of the projects from her Graphic Design II class is a Social Justice poster series based on historical styles.  This project was one that really helped me know that I don't want to do traditional graphic design work but rather focus on social issues and use my graphic design skills in conjunction with my drawing and other work.  Some of my work inspired by her poster project.

The poster below is a design that Jenny did for the Shepard Symposium on Social Justice.  To see more of her work, check out her blog. 

Jenny's University of Wyoming Profile

Doug Russell

Professor Russell's drawings never cease to amaze me.  There is something new every time you look. Though I really enjoy this unique style, I don't think that I have drawn much from it. I have had him for several classes and have absorbed a lot of technique, especially when it comes to ink and wash and seeing value.

Work from Entangles Worlds series.

To read more about Doug Russel, check out his website and the University site.

Leah Hardy

I had Leah for a couple foundation art classes and have always enjoyed her work.  I like the intimate nature of her metal work as well as the use of manipulated body imagery.  The piece below is interesting because it certainly draws from book arts and shows how many fields one artist can cross into.

Gift (open and closed)

See more of Leah's work on the University of Wyoming site.