For the September 2022 exhibit at the Hanover Area Arts Guild, a diverse group of seven highly-respected regional artists was asked to share their works, allowing visitors to experience a variety of perspectives through art. Mediums and approaches varied widely, providing the area with an opportunity to experience a change of visual perspective.

Artist works shown here are property of the artist and are used with permission.

Text is from the artists, with some edits for this purpose.

Adrian Cordova

Adrian Cordova is an active event photographer throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. He studied at the New York Institute of Photography.

In addition to his photography work, he is a local businessperson, managing Hanover’s Paleteria Tocumbo, where you’ll find excellent ice cream and other treats.

https://www.instagram.com/adriancordovaphotography/

Ophelia Chambliss

Ophelia M. Chambliss has been successfully working as a fine artist for several years. In addition to a number of solo and group exhibitions, she has participated in distinguished juried shows throughout the country and has a number of large-scale and permanent art installations throughout the Commonwealth.

Her signature painting style incorporates realistic cubism, and she paints in both oil and acrylic. Her color palette is generally of rich jewel tones, but each piece fits a theme or the subject matter.

Ophelia has a BA in Communication from Penn State University and combines her visual communication with verbal and written communication to tell the story behind her work. She has a MA in Communication(s) from Penn State University with an emphasis on critical media discourse analysis.

Chambliss is originally from Chicago, IL but currently resides in York, Pennsylvania. Prior to her career in Fine Art, she was a business professional in the Publishing Industry, specializing in Graphic Design and Business Development. 

Ophelia was recruited from Chicago to York and held the position of Vice President of Publishing Services. As an independent contractor, she worked as the Business Development Director for a Publishing Services company in Maryland. She continues to do freelance work in Graphic Design and print production. 

Because she comes from a professional background, Ophelia also teaches, tutors, and mentors a lot of other artists on how to be smarter about their business practices and the industry they work in.

Most of her recent work has been in the realm of public art and murals. She is particularly fond of this because of the community contribution, client collaboration, visual language messaging, and the challenge of scale.

https://www.opheliachambliss.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ophelia-chambliss-9569785/ 

Kristin Kest

“The focus of my work has always been squarely located in the natural world. I’ve been an illustrator doing botanical work for over 30 years, and in that time, I have moved fluidly between science markets and product design, dropping into serious fine art painting with figurative and feminist themes. What holds all of these together is my penchant for storytelling, with an understanding that the magic of the story doesn’t negate the real world. Looking for the realm of the magical and fantastic doesn’t have to be escapism. Rather, it is by exploring the real world with a keen observation that the inherent magic in it is revealed.

My ceramic work is an offshoot of the work I’ve done as an illustrator of the real and fantastic. Bas-relief, in particular, scratches my itch for working in a pictorial space; it’s another opportunity to tell a human story from the lens of my perspective. I have often wondered about the unique phenomenon that is Art, and humanity’s drive to create it, to see it, to possess it. It seems to me that Art is just a wild spore, the seed of “the magic” which allows humans to be part of the living force of the natural world and to each other. Our desire to connect, to feel awe, wonderment, and beauty about our very individual, yet shared human experiences are those feelings that drive our definitively human existence. It is the artist’s job, then, to leverage open that door as wide as we can to whatever realm of magic we can see and to invite everyone in.”

Education: “I earned my MFA from Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) and my undergraduate degree from York College of Pennsylvania with an emphasis on Botany. Later I was a professor of Illustration and Drawing courses there for nearly nine years. I’ve also taught community classes in 2-d and hand-building ceramics and am a bona fide glaze nerd, making all of my studio glazes from scratch.”

www.kestillustration.com
www.kestpottery.com

Jess McPherson

“These works are unique manifestations of my self working to integrate thoughts and experiences. Initiated by instinct, they often become my teacher, line, rhythm, color, contrast, and composition reminding me of my first language, making sense of complex emotions, memories, and intentions. Here I am, releasing them into the world, hoping they find you when you need it.

On the most basic functional level, these pieces of thread-wrapped jewelry are an intersection of my York County industrial nature, my training as a fine artist, my time spent working on regalia, and my belief that part of every experience is universal.”

Jess McPherson is a multi-disciplinary fine artist, master artisan, and arts & culture strategist, born and raised in North Hopewell.

http://jessmcpherson.com/index.html
https://www.york365.com/artist/jess-mcpherson/

James Tompkins

A self-taught artist and native of York, Pennsylvania, the works of James E. Tompkins (“Uncle Jim”) are closely tied to his hometown. All media used in his art have been serendipitously procured by him in York.

The themes in his commissioned one-of-a-kind pieces reflect the physical and psychological make-up of the individual commissioning the work. During the creative process, Uncle Jim takes personal articles and weaves them with materials gleaned from the local environment. It is then that Mr. Tompkins’ work truly begins: bringing order to chaos.

His outsider artwork critically views social, political, and cultural issues. Having engaged in many controversial subjects, his work rearranges familiar visual signs into new conceptually layered pieces - taking mundane domestic objects and juxtaposing them with whimsical items to create a unique piece of art that portrays the thoughts and feelings of the artist at the time of creation.

Tompkins’ belt buckles and Zippo® lighters feature various metals - mainly pewter, silver, and brass. Turquoise is a salient feature in most pieces; other semi-precious stones adorn his works. However, Mr. Tompkins thinks nothing is as precious as having a unique piece created from your own personal collection of artifacts.

https://www.instagram.com/jetompkinsart/

Raine Dawn Valentine

Raine Dawn Valentine has taught middle school art for 14 years at Ridgely Middle School in Baltimore County Public Schools, MD. She is an adjunct instructor at Notre Dame of Maryland University. Raine is a member of the Turtle Mountain Tribe of Chippewa in North Dakota and is rooted in her tribe’s traditional spiritual practices. She has taught workshops in intuitive painting methods and has presented at state and national art education conferences. Raine currently serves on the board of the following nonprofits: Historic Hampton Incorporated, NAEA Caucus on the Spiritual in Art Education, and Executive Director of Creative Balance Institute, a holistic learning center.

Raine is an intuitive Spiritual teacher and creative arts director who pulls from her Native American lineage to facilitate a space for all to connect with their higher selves. Art is a powerful tool, not just for gratification of self-expression, but as a vehicle of personal and collective transformation. Art is Prayer, a sacred and vital discovery of one’s own special presence in the world. Through creation, a person illuminates and illustrates their inner being while creating something which also stands separate. Through exploration and experimentation, each of us can shine light on our inner world, allowing us to utilize expression as a means of awakening our Divine I Am.

www.rainedawn93.com
https://www.instagram.com/raine.dawn.art/
https://www.facebook.com/RaineDawnArt

Rayford Wofford

Rayford Wofford pursued his love of art at the Community College of Baltimore, where he achieved his Associate of Arts degree in May 1982. In addition, he served as an assistant artist at the Enoch Pratt Free Library.

Rayford continues to apply his own artistic expressions to paintings featuring a variety of subjects. Visitors may also enjoy more of Rayford’s works this month, as he is the featured Artist of the Month at the guild.

https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/rayford-wofford
https://www.raysfineart.com

The Diverse Views exhibit runs at the Hanover Area Arts Guild through September 2022.

Hanover Area Arts Guild
32 Carlisle Street
Hanover, PA
Open Tuesday through Saturday, 12:00 - 5:00

All works copyright the artists and/or Andrew T. Smith