Feature Artist: JOHN RETALLACK

JOHN RETALLACK

is a photographic artist from Rochester, New York.

John has an extensive and varied career in the photographic arts.   Since working in arts education at The School of Visual Arts NYC and Rochester Institute of Technology, School of Photographic Arts & Sciences, John now devotes his time and talents to his own freelance commercial and fine art photography projects.   John has participated consistently in  public exhibitions since 1973 with works in numerous publications and private and public collections including Wallace Memorial Library Archives, George Eastman House, Monroe Community Hospital, Russian Fine Art Photographers Union and Iron County Museum.

John explains himself on his website in 10 points:

1. Born in Michigan's Upper Peninsular:  Became a Yooper.

2. Got his first camera, age 10

3. Joined a MASH unit (US Army) and was trained as an X-Ray technician

4. Stationed in Germany during the Cold War

5. Studied photography at Rochester Institute of Technology, BFA Degree

6. Freelanced in New York City shooting magazines & ad agencies

7. Began teaching career at the School of Visual Arts in NYC

8. Accepted a teaching position at RIT which led to Tenure in the 

School of Photographic Arts & Sciences

9. Quit working at RIT (early retirement)

10. Continues freelancing in photography, doing things he's always wanted to do.

John's contribution to the Personal Histories exhibition is a touching and intriguing entry entitled 

"All My Love, Mike".

It is a collection of images and text on loose pages housed in a hand made clam-shell box.

"Dad was drafted in 1942.  He was a surgeon.  First he was sent to Texas to train with other doctors in an Army Hospital unit.  Mom followed him there.  When he was sent to the South Pacific she went back home to Michigan.  For Christmas in 1944 she traveled to Denver to stay with relatives for a few months.  Every day, as much as possible, they exchanged letters.  Mom would enclose pictures, mostly of their new son, me, which he was eager to see.

After their deaths, within a few months of each other, I found Dad's letters and Mom's pictures hidden in separate places.  The pictures I examined immediately but held the letters for years before I was able to read them.  This book is a tribute to the love, respect and longing I witnessed in the letters.

This book was created in 2014 over a period of about 3 months.  I am responsible for all scanning, photography and assembly.  After some deliberation I decided that the pages should be loose and in a box as the original letters and pictures were.

The text was scanned from letters to my mother (70 total) covering dates from September 1944 to February 1945 (the only ones I have).  The pictures were scanned from snapshots found in a book where Dad had kept them.  The backgrounds used in some of the pages were created in the studio.  Text, pictures and backgrounds were assembled and printed from InDesign and printed to archival standards.  The box was created with Canapetta Bookcloth and Flanders British Tan bonded leather, also to archival standards."

ALL IMAGES COPYRIGHT OF THE ARTIST - JOHN RETALLACK

Feature Artist: DOROTHEA FLEISS

DOROTHEA FLEISS

is an artist and educator from Stuttgart, Germany.

Dorothea has had more than 60 personal exhibitions and been part of more than 180 group exhibitions since 1996, when she began her arts journey at The Art Institute, Filderstadt/Stuttgart.  She has also studied at  IB University - Stuttgart (Creative Pedagogy and Art Therapy B.Sc.), L'cole Europeenne de Psychotherapie Analytique - Strasbourg, France (Psychotherapy), Societa Italiana di Biosistemica - Bologna, Italy (Biosystemic Psychotherapy), HKT University Nurtingen Germany (Art Therapy M.A.) and Art University Bucharest (Doctoral Candidate).

She actively produces book arts, installations, painting, ceramics and films and has represented Germany at arts events and as an artist in residence in the United States, Malaysia, Poland, Japan, Slovakia, Greece, South Korea, Hungary, Jordan, Austria and Romania.  Dorothea has organised &/or taken part in many international Biennales as well as teaching fine arts in China, Ecuador, Germany, Romania, the United States and Inner Mongolia.

Dorothea's works are held in many private and public collections in South America, North America, Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe.  She is a member of the International Association of Arts, UNESCO, Paris, France - Wurttembergischer Kunstverein (Artists Ass.) Stuttgart, Germany - d.f.e.w.a. (Artists Ass.) Stuttgart and the European-Liaison "Transcultural Exchange" Boston, USA.

In 2014 Dorothea curated the European International Book Arts Biennale in Moscow and is organising the 2015 Biennale in Bucharest (entries are due by April 15 2015, please visit the link for more information).

To: Te: Ma. SH Diary 2012-2014

is the title of Dorothea's work in the Personal Histories exhibition.

"Every artist creates his own journal/diary, that transposes his physical state of mind and embodies a part of their soul, constantly influenced by specific moments in life".

ALL IMAGES COPYRIGHT OF THE ARTIST - DOROTHEA FLEISS

Feature Artist: ILZE DILANE

ILZE DILANE

is a Latvian artist who currently specialises in paper making and pulp paintings. 

 She is based in Latvia's capital city of Riga.

Ilze attended Riga College of Applied Arts from 1985-1989 and in 1999 received a BA from the Latvian Academy of Art in restoration and painting.  In 2001 she received a Postgraduate Master's Workshop Diploma in painting.

Ilze has participated in many Latvian and international art events, received public art commissions in Latvia and Denmark and has had numerous solo exhibitions.  She has attended encaustic painting classes at Stamp Antonio as well as paper making, book arts, printmaking, letterpress and mosaic classes at the Southwest School of Art & Craft, with paper making and pulp painting becoming her primary interests.

In 2006 Ilze became a member of SAVA (San Antonio Visual Artists) and, in 2010, a member of Texas Wax San Antonio.  In 2009, one of her hand made paper works was awarded 2nd place in a juried group show Art and Archaeology at SAVA gallery, San Antonio.  In 2008 she was awarded the opportunity to participate in the Creative Capital Professional Development Retreat for Artists, the Cultural Collaborative Office of Cultural Affairs, City of San Antonio.

Ilze's submission for the Personal Histories exhibition is a family collaboration entitled "The Winter of My Gratitude".

The book was written by her eldest daughter, Nora Dilane,  and tells the story of how Nora picked the name for her younger sister, Sara.  The design and paper for the book were created by Ilze, the text edited by Gatis Dilans and the drawings provided by Sara Dilane.

The paper is made from jeans, text is letterpress and the drawings were solar plate printed at the Southwest School of Art, San Antonio, Texas in 2010.

ALL IMAGES COPYRIGHT OF THE ARTIST - ILZE DILANE