For Belgian ceramicist, Guy Van Leemput, the creation of his porcelain bowls provide a journey within and a space for reflective thought. Guy says, “I hope to get to know myself better this way. Every piece is a reflection of myself and the better I know myself, the deeper I can go in my work. By expressing myself in form, I hope to touch another soul. To find peace and quiet. Peace of mind.” Guy works in series defined by process and the results of experimentation. He says, “They set boundaries, but at the same time enable growth. Not in breadth, but in depth.” 

    The bowls are fired once, upside down on a supporting form which leaves room for shrinkage. During the wood firing, temperature reaches 1300°C, which gives the pieces a white translucency. The smokey firing produces a subtle ash glaze and a slight movement in the shape. “When a piece comes out of the kiln and lies in my hands, I feel – when it turned out well – deeply moved. It feels like holding air in your hands, nothing but dreams … And if someone else feels that same emotion, I am twice as happy.” 

  When American painter, Amelia McMurrin was asked what inspires her, she remarked, “I'm often drawn to light - the way light plays across surfaces, dances with shadows, enhances certain colors, and makes an ordinary setting uniquely beautiful... I've been inspired by how John Singer Sargent shows this so well, especially with his watercolors. His brushwork and attention to light, shadow, and color have helped shape how I see the world and how I approach a canvas.”

    Amelia aims to capture glimpses of the wonder to be found in the world. It’s her intention to present everyday beauty within her work as a reminder to keep an eye out for it. She says, “I want to help the viewer step out of everyday life and take time to stop and truly be in awe of the world around them.” Aside from the beauty of light, Amelia says the painting process lends its own unique satisfactions, “I love oil paint - the buttery smoothness, rich texture, and the way it shapes and blends under my brush. Painting with oil feels both versatile and grounded in rich history, and I love being a part of that tradition.”

    German photographer, Reinhold Adscheid has experimented with photography since he was a child. Working out of his home bathroom as a darkroom, Reinhold made prints from various cameras such as an Agfa Box 50 and some of the first mirror reflex cameras. However, with the advent of digital photography, Reinhold’s passion for photography became more of an obsession. Digital darkrooms allowed the photographer to be in full control of all the super-imposition effects he was originally drawn to. Reinhold’s work in the sciences and a natural inclination to work with computers led to him creating his own software for manipulating photographs. 

    Now the artist could make true cubist compositions of objects, architecture and scenery that spanned time and space, affording a view of the world from every direction, never before seen. He says, “At last I could produce impossible views, at last I could explore whether the world, viewed from different perspectives at a glance, still looked recognizable. Since that time I have been investigating the question: What would the world look like if we could see it at a glance from different positions in time and space?”