February 2012: Maryanna Hoggatt & Chris Giffin

Maryanna Hoggatt works with ink, watercolor and pastel on paper. Her new body of work is a collection entitled "Sticks & Stones". Hoggatt was born in the Philippines and due to her father's service in the Navy was transplanted all over, including Spain, Puerto Rico, and Maryland. “I spent half my life growing up in the deserts of Arizona, but it wasn't until I left for the lush green landscapes of the Northwest that I truly appreciated the beauty of the desert.”  In these drawings the two worlds collide - bright bursts of color & delicate florals blended with dusty brown and rose hues and sun-bleached bones.  This organic, earthy imagery is combined with her love of patterns and atmospheric textures for lavish visions tinted with a bit of psychedelia.

Chris Giffin uses the medium of assemblage to create her found-art sculpture. There is an imaginative and fanciful thread that ties her cast of characters together. "These are characters in a world that is confounding and beautiful, a community of characters that represents an autobiographical vision of the multiple states of my dreams/psyche. This work is like a community in diverse states of being. It's kind of basic, like our day-to-day consciousness. Like a painter who is informed by their psyche or dreams, I just do the same thing, except with found objects. These objects form the palate and composition just like a painters medium would." She creates one of a kind art from recycled materials and found objects. The ingredients in each piece are chosen for their beauty, mystery or whimsical spirit. The patina and aging of these parts is essentially the palette. “I create objects from materials that capture my eye, and that can be recycled materials or found objects. I try to take things that have had a past life and then give them a new life.”