Art Showcased at Local Studio

An artist showcase was recently held at the WH Design Studio presenting work from artists Ted Stamatelos, Chris Taylor, Titus Kana, Mark Maas, Dawn Wakiya, Ellen Dickinson and Clarence Simpson.

Ted Stamatelos's "Artifact 4C," a mixed media piece from his Beneath series, was produced using cardboard and string, as he states, "I believe in recycling." The small proportions and all the blue in this piece are unusual in his work. Joint compound is responsible for the depth of the piece. A washed-ashore feeling comes from his work, a sense of belonging and a random continuity.

Chris Taylor's "Pink Ladies II" is a batik, an ancient and difficult process of dyeing silk, popular in Indonesia but considered a rarity here. Her image is sketched as an outline in charcoal; she then applies a liquid wax to white fabric and dyes it a light color. After numerous repetitions, it's then wrinkled to produce cracks while stretched and suspended on a frame. Although Taylor was reluctant to go public with her work, she now has an exhibition of 15 pieces at the Bellport Arts & Framing Studio.

Titus Kana is a third-generation photographer whose "Shell Study no. 57" expresses his deep adoration of Fire Island. He uses digital infrared, high dynamic range (HDR), and triple exposure techniques while the water crashes into the shells, lending the piece movement and clarity. His collection of his father's and grandfather's photographs captures his devotion to the history of Long Island. Of one black-and-white shot of his mother, he notes, "She's the only one…probably in the history of Great South Bay that went crabbing in a dress." Kana has a wide range of seascapes, landscapes, even his grandfather's negatives of the T-Dock at Davis Park.

Mike Maas's "Confronting Mortality" is a mixed media piece that challenges rational perception with a collision of graphic style, using conte (a French crayon), colored pencil, gouache (a designer watercolor) and acrylic. The work confronts the theme of aging. Only the framing was preconceived.

"The artwork will lead you once you get a start going. Sometimes there's sort of an undefined feeling that you have, almost like, I need to do this, I need to breathe," Maas said.

There is also a collection of his solar plate etchings at the gallery. Maas was trained traditionally, copying Dutch paintings at the Met for his undergraduate studies. Maas comes from a family of renowned artists.

Dawn Wakiya, the curator of the gallery; presented her piece, "Imperfection," which is oak wood with whitewash paint. A high-end staircase company supplies her with their scrap wood or mistakes. Wakiya turns these otherwise discarded pieces into experimental art, adhering fiber using matte medium gel. The technique was inspired by the Huichol tribe of Mexico. The piece marks a change in aesthetic for Wakiya, distancing herself from precision.

"It was an exercise for myself to not think too much about it," Wakya said.

Ellen Dickinson's, Loops, is a linen, cotton cord sculpture based on an African basketry coiling process. The work is painstaking, beginning from clothesline that is wrapped in stiff layers. Although most of her work is presented on pedestals or shelves, "Loops" is hung on the wall. Dickinson is also an elementary school teacher.

Clarence Simpson's "H20 Calla" is a collection of photographs of the calla lily, a flower that also serves as a creative interest for artists Georgia O’Keefe and Diego Rivera. Simpson, who grew the lilies he photographed himself in his father’s greenhouse, says that he has fallen in love with the flower. Simpson uses a Nikon and a watercolor filter through Photoshop enhancement. His most recent project focuses on old farm trucks.