Poe Dismuke: "Scarecrow" detail
poe dismuke  
Nothing is static in sculptor Poe Dismuke's studio. His pieces, sleight-of-hand artifacts that sinuously switch from old to new and back again—move, squeak, and roll. Like toys found in a brilliant child's playroom, Dismuke's creations harken the dusty toil of a traveling vaudeville act, have the dark brilliance of a Fellini film, and spark an immediate sympathy in the heart of anyone who has ever wished to run away and join the circus.

Like a magician, Dismuke transforms his materials into road-travelled leather or cloth; he tricks them into receiving a mantle of history. He draws from the mechanical fortune tellers, side show geeks, and quack curative elixir sellers of the early 20th century to create a harmony of aged modernity that greets the 21st. Each piece carries with it a unique beauty not found in multiples nor in the current wave of conceptual art.

Dismuke is a rarity, an innovative artist and craftsman who exhibits qualities fast disappearing from today's world, working as he does from the creaking steamer trunk of memories found in yesterday's world.

Autumn House - acrylic on canvas - 24 x 24
sam woolcott
Sam Woolcott is an Arizona artist with a contemporary and abstract flare. This tends to blend her subject matter into a contemporary work of art. Sam Woolcott is one of a kind in her unique portrayal and blending of the old and the new. Her use of color is indeed striking. She uses bright reds, blues and yellows and contrasts these colors with the cool whites and blacks.