Artist Statements
Evelyn Becker, Sun Prairie
I love colors and needed to do something while watching TV. I started with small bedside rugs, then switched to a lightweight yarn and started making afghans. I do not like static rows of color, so I determined that I would use a set number of stitches for each color. I use six different colors, just because there are six major colors in the color wheel. This also determines the size of the afghan.
Listen to Evelyn’s artist statement
Listen to Evelyn Becker’s artist statement
Ellen Connor, Oregon
My interest in photography began when my children were little and I was photographing them. I became interested in nature photography when I started taking nature classes through Björklunden, the adult learning programs at Lawrence University. I wanted to look up what we found on hikes, and I realized I could enlarge photos on the computer to see small flowers or mushrooms. Now most of my photography is nature. However, the photo in this year’s Gallery Night exhibit was taken to remember a special evening with chosen family in Ephraim, before sunset.
Listen to Ellen’s artist statement:
Listen to Ellen Connor’s artist statement
Beulah Ford, Green Bay
I am currently 89, and as a child I admired my great grandfather’s paintings and wished I could make things look real and lifelike. I kept studying how things I saw were put together and copied what I saw. Later in life, I took a class using pastels and classes on sketching western scenery. Other than these classes, I am mostly self-taught. In 1995 I became legally blind in my right eye and a few years ago I had cataract surgery on my left eye. I am very nearsighted and use a magnifying glass to read and see close.
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Listen to Beulah Ford’s artist statement
Alison Fortney, Milwaukee
My first experience with photography was in my senior year in high school. While I have a visual impairment, it has not stopped me from doing what I love. I enjoy exploring nature and capturing its wonder. By using my camera, I am able to create beautiful, visually captivating works of art.
Listen to Alison’s artist statement:
Listen to Alison Fortney’s artist statement
John Giallombardo, Merrill
My mission is to create art to help raise funds for organizations that promote human dignity for all people with disabilities.
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Listen to John Giallombardo’s artist statement
Gerald Johnson, Medford
I have always created art pieces of whatever medium that inspires me at the time, including miniature stonework building a tiny functional lighthouse, carving wood sculptures and clocks, building sailboats out of seed pods… Most recently I have been building tables which I find easier now that I have difficulty seeing.
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Listen to Gerald Johnson’s artist statement
Eli Santin, Madison
The Simpsons got me into animation because it is so fluid, smooth and energetic. My visual impairment helps me realize the way I see the world is unique and it translates into my art. Creating art is important to me because I have an active mind. The only way I can get ideas and visions out of my mind is to draw.
Listen to Eli’s artist statement:
Listen to Eli Santin’s artist statement
Mark Weber, Medford
Art has been a part of me since childhood. After several conditions and surgeries on my eyes, distorted tunnel vision remains. While the visual aesthetic of my artwork remains, I find that I am working more with the tactile sculptural mediums of metal, wood, and drywall mud.
Listen to Mark’s artist statement:
Listen to Mark Weber’s artist statement
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