Artists

John Balkwill is a book artist and printmaker residing in Santa Barbara, California, where he operates the Lumino Press, which is dedicated to producing handprinted and bound limited-edition books as well as prints. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Notre Dame and a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Institute for the Book Arts at the University of Alabama, where he studied under the internationally-recognized private press printer, Gabriel Rummonds. He also studied at St. Mary's College in Rome. Balkwill learned the techniques of wood engraving from John DePol, the dean of American wood engravers, and studied Japanese woodblock printmaking with Akira Kurosaki, one of the most respected contemporary Japanese printmakers.

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Drawn particularly to large cabochon (un-faceted) stones, with which the first jewelry from all the ancient cultures of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Asia was made, Steven handpicks unusual precious and semiprecious stones that often carry with them some manner of inherent imperfections. The natural characteristics of the stone become a part of the feeling and energy of the piece. Utilizing both painstaking traditional handmade techniques and current processes, he has developed a line of jewelry that melds the classic line of these ancient motifs into objects of functional and timeless beauty.

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Merab Gagiladze, who is of Georgian origin, was awarded a diploma by the Beaux Arts of Tbilisi. His artistic journey has taken him to America, England, Ireland and France. An excellent draftsman and colorist, he reinterprets the tales and legends of his country so richly imbued with European and Eastern cultures. His work takes the viewer on an imaginary journey populated with characters who bear a message at the crossroads between reality and dreams.

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Roza Goneva was born in Bulgaria in 1959. Surrounded by the richness and divinity of Byzantine Art and the relics of Bulgarian Medieval Folklore, she started drawing at the age of five. At six she won her first artist competition at the prestigious National Art Festival for youth artists. Roza received her master's degree in Fine Arts from the State Academy of Art in Sofia in 1987. From there, her paintings have been a part of every national exhibition, and in recognition of her distinctive style in 1989, she became a member of the Association of the Bulgarian Artist. Twice, in 1987 and 1988, the Bulgarian National Television invited Roza to be a guest in its prime time, and presented her paintings to the public.

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James Groleau was born in Lewiston, Maine in 1960. He is the recipient of numerous awards, grants, and fellowhips, including a MacDowell Colony Fellowhip in 2001. His work is included in the collections of the Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco; Portland Museum of Art, Portland, ME; Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH; Oakland Museum of California; National Museum of Fine Art, Antwerp, Belgium; and the Janet Turner Print Museum, Chico, CA. He divides his time between San Francisco and coastal Maine.

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Basically a self-taught artist, Frank Kaczmarek has worked with various media including watercolor, etching and silkscreen printing, specializing in sailing and nautical scenes and landscapes. The work is realistic, yet each image relies more on mood rather than a specific place or object for effect.

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Juan Kelly grew up in Limon, Costa Rica where he began painting at the age of six. He is well-known in his native Costa Rica and has exhibited his work extensively throughout Europe, America, and Jamaica. During much of his career he painted realistic Dutch-master still lifes, and many of the traditional elements in those paintings are still found in his work. Contradictory elements appear throughout Kelly's work: objects and animals coexist in an exotic, surreal world with its own laws and logic. The lighthearted, playful, and unreal qualities of his paintings emerge as a deliberate departure from academic realism. Yet his departure from realism into a visual fantasy land is less a denial of reality and realism than an affirmation of life and magic.

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Beki Killorin, a native Oklahoma, received most of her training in art in her home state. Oil, ink, mixed media, and watercolors have been the cornerstone of her artistic growth. Through the years she developed her skills in these media and has gained national recognition. In 1983, she took a major step into intaglio printmaking. With her already well-defined skills as a professional artist, she readily took to the technical challenges of printmaking and it soon became a full-time career. Today her etchings and watercolors are represented in private and public collections both nationally and abroad.

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Willi Kissmer was born in Duisburg, Germany, in 1951. Multi-talented as a teenager, Kissmer was undecided whether to dedicate himself to the visual arts or music. He studied at the Folkwangscule, University of Essen, and later taught printmaking at the University of Duisberg. As for his music, Kissmer is now an accomplished guitarist and has recorded three albums to date. Although Kissmer's art is relatively new to North America, the artist is no stranger to the Americas, Europe, the Former Soviet Union, or Asia, all through which he has traveled extensively. Described as a contemporary master, Kissmer has been represented by galleries and museums from California to Leningrad.

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Joanne Kollman's broad experiences range from commercial illustration to fine etchings and oil paintings. With 20 years of experience producing illustrations for magazines, children's books and commercial clients, along with original gallery art and graphics, Joanne has established a lighthearted style and a unique eye for design.

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Regarded as one of the world's foremost watercolorists, Daniel Merriam has captured the hearts and curiosities of many. His highly detailed dream-like images define landscapes of imagination that are uniquely his own, yet accessible enough to inspire us all to take a step beyond what we have known as our threshold of consciousness.

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Kelly uses a variety of precious metals, natural cabochons, gemstones and ivory from recycled piano keys to create necklaces that celebrate the Divine Feminine. Each piece of her jewelry is designed by the artist and is completely hand-crafted. The goddess necklaces tell a story chosen from mythologies from around the world, ranging from the oceans of the Caribbean to the mountains of China. As an artist, Kelly Morgen aims to draw out the inner goddess in every woman.

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Mikio Watanabe was born in Yokohama, Japan, in 1954. After graduating from the Ecole des Beaux Arts of Tokyo in 1977, he was drawn to Paris to perfect his mezzotint technique. Admission to the prestigious Atelier 17 of Stanley William Hayter soon followed and he studied engraving there from 1979 to 1981. In 1989 he was awarded at "Salon de la Gravure Originale" in Bayeux, France, and in 1992 at "Miniprint International" in Cadaques, Spain. Mikio is a member of the International Academy "Greci-Marino" in Italy. He has dedicated his work to mezzotint since 1981 and after over 50 one-man exhibitions, his work can be found in public and private collections internationally. His hand-rocked, copper plate images are Mikio's sensuous, reverent, and intimate homage to the female form, with a fine quality that bespeaks the artist's many years of devotion to his craft.

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In a small atelier in Hong Kong, stately trees guard a meandering river, lilies float peacefully on a pond's surface, and ancient stone cottages cast shadows across a path of sunshine. Such images endlessly inspire Joseph Wong as he transfers the artful ideas in his mind, first to sketchbooks and then to copper engraving plates that will produce multiple prints of the original theme.

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