Art Shows: Total Eclipse

"Flowing out of her encounters with God's Creation and the beauty of the cosmos, Rhonda's pursuit of art is largely in response to her lifelong love of hiking and exploration.  She enjoys several forms of art: painting (multi-media/acrylics), macro photography, fabric construction, and poetry composition.

"Her family, pets, and friends are ever a huge source of joy, energy, and gratitude. This is her first show displaying acrylic art—a fun change as all others involve photo compositions. She is a retired career Occupational Therapist."

"I am an Art Therapist and painter inspired by personal stories, healing and growth. Guiding others on an inner journey through creative therapies is my passion. The therapeutic relationship changes the narrative of the story for both client and therapist. My clients’ journeys have guided me on my own path of creativity and growth. The Jungian theory of light and dark or the shadow comes up often in imagery created in therapy. When we can recognize and face our shadow, we can become more whole and balanced. The shadow is not to be feared for it gives us the gift of insight.

"The idea of exploring shadow images as they related to the solar eclipse was intriguing to me. A solar eclipse is defined as the moon positioned between earth and sun casting a shadow over earth. The study of nature is the subject of my life’s paintings and the moon appears in them quite often. Two images appeared to me that reflect my own personal work towards growth. The first image tells the story of acceptance in grief work. The second image tells the story of the gifts in shadow work."

"Jonny Gray is an Associate Professor in the SIU School of Communication Studies where he does scholarship and performance work related to arts-based advocacy for environmental issues. He teaches classes in comics and visual rhetoric as well as Performance Studies. He uses visual art as contributions to production designs in the Kleinau Theatre, for which he serves as faculty advisor and technical director. He also has studied field sketching and plein air painting as tools of experiential environmental learning. He is a founding member of the Beloved Puppetistas, participating for the last ten years in puppet-making workshops for the All Species Puppet Parade. In addition to painting puppets and watercolor compositions, he is also experienced with face-painting as Sister Mothra Stewart, one of the founding members of the SOIL Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. Jonny uses art and performance as tools for exploring the world as well as advocating for more sustainable relationships with our environment."

I am primarily an expressionist, dancing with my love for nature, movement, and meditation. I cherish my sense of awe and wonder, and attempt to convey that heartfelt sense in the work I create. My aesthetic is sometimes minimal and elegant, sometimes richly layered and chaotic, sometimes light and ethereal, sometimes dark and raw, just like nature herself. To learn more visit

Eclipse Portals
Ancient cultures around the world experienced eclipses as dangerous omen, often fraught with fear of potential crisis or a blight upon the land. Having learned many of these myths and stories in my art history and astrology studies, I was curious about what the 2017 Solar Eclipse might portend.

Floating with family and friends in Little Grassy Lake, that day was one of the most transcendent experiences I've ever had. For a few blazing afternoon moments, day became night, and became day. We were suspended in a holy quiet. A still dark mystery. It felt like a second, and also a forever. Very akin to the state of meditation. ONE WITH ALL.

My memories of the sky remind me of Ensō, a circular form painted in Japanese Zen. Ensō symbolizes absolute enlightenment, strength, elegance, the universe, and mu(the void). All of the feelings that rose in my heart that magical day! May these images be a portal to a place of stillness and peace.

"Beth uses art to speak on her favorite themes –birds and gardens. Acrylics, oils, and pastels are the mediums she uses. Painting murals has produced her most courageous conversations, the largest of which is 1200 square feet inside a local winery’s cupola. After so many hours of working, her vision gets infused with her colors –like a filter. In the future she looks forward to experimenting with palette knives. Having her own art show is her next goal."

As I practice
Life
Art
Grief
Experiments in Joy
Dance
Qigong
Bicycling
Breath work
Alphabets of Contemplation
Rhythms
Traveling
Time
Space
Finding
Patterns
Movement
Creation
Process
Hope
Grace
Good
Beauty

Tim lives in Carbondale Illinois. He grew up along the rocky coast of Maine and first became interested in painting during his time at Rockport College, where he studied film. After marrying the love of his life, he and Tina moved to Florida, where given his surroundings his desire to paint only grew stronger. After five years of living in the sunshine state they now call Carbondale home—a home Tim believes to be filled with wonder.

Tim's paintings seek to introduce the observer to these wonders that he finds everywhere in southern Illinois. He states:

"I paint fast and loose and try to give my work a sense of excitement and vibrancy. It’s this technique, I believe, that makes the audience engage with the work. I try to make my emotion come through the painting so that the observer will take note of it and in turn be moved and delighted. My hopes are that when a local observer sees the common places that I paint with such energy and passion they too will start to notice the real allure that I see in Carbondale and the surrounding areas. I hope to engage the viewer, reminding them that this truly is a marvelous region of the world. I truly feel all of our lives become richer when we have an awareness, noticing those recognizable landmarks I see and paint."

Using an engaged eye and the right mix of contrast and color, Tim's work translates a scene to canvas accurately, while embellishing degrees of contrast and exaggerating the colors to form a new way of looking at a familiar place. The beauty, he says, is not just found in the breathtaking geography of the area like Giant City or the Little Grand Canyon, but also here in the heart of Carbondale. "I love painting pictures of places like Pk’s or Dairy Queen or buildings on campus. It’s paintings of these kinds of places that really serve to remind all of us that artistry is all around us, in everything!"

"I spent the first 18 years of my life in southern Illinois. My dad taught me to love the Shawnee. Hiking, fishing, and what is now called wild swimming gave me an indelible closeness to this vibrant environment. After graduating from high school, I went to university in Nashville, Tennessee and from there, I studied medicine in Chicago. Upon graduation. I moved to the mountains of southern Appalachia in West Virginia. There I practiced emergency medicine and in my free time worked with the wonderful individuals who taught me drawing, oil, painting, and watercolor. My mentors were children of the gentle, southern mountains, so I learned representational art.

"In this exhibit, I attempted to go in a different direction with a tongue in cheek homage to some of my favorite old school, abstract artists. I hope that Kandinsky, Jackson Pollock, and Miro can forgive me. I also hope you enjoy the show."

"I graduated from S.I.U., Carbondale, with a B.A. in Art Education. I experienced a life changing, final semester in Paris, France, at SIU Artists Workshop, under the direction of Master Patrick Betaudier. I moved to New Orleans, Louisiana where I started a family, taught High School Art, raised children and painted. As director of the Louisiana Art and Artists Guild, I had the opportunity to meet many talented artists and exhibit my work. We moved back to Illinois in 1989. While living in Makanda, I enjoyed the wild outdoors, taught school, and opened Visions Art Gallery (a venue for local artists to sell their work).  

"I am currently retired and can devote more time to paint and curate Alto Vineyards art show. I have participated in art shows for many years including: Chapulier, Paris, France, 1974; Colliers, New Orleans, LA. 1979; Guild Gallery, Baton Rouge, LA. 1980-88; Southern Artists Week, Dallas, TX. 1987; and in Southern Illinois galleries, wineries, and cafes from 1989 to the present day.

"My paintings include large, brilliantly colored closeups of flowers, seed pods or fruit; landscapes with large dominating skies; and portraits of faces from around the world. The physical, emotional, spiritual relationship that I have with textures on the canvas, the smell of the paints, the feel of brush strokes loaded with paint, the vibration of the subject matter and the energy of the ideas are my inspiration."