From the foreword of the catalog, The Souls, NJ Chapter, Volume 2:
Souls Shot Portrait Project, now in its sixth year, began in Philadelphia and has expanded to New Jersey and Pennsylvania beyond Philadelphia. As the COVID epidemic winds down, the epidemic of gun violence worsens. Souls Shot Portrait Project is dedicated to reminding viewers of these powerful artworks what we as communities and a country have lost and continue to lose every day.
To create these portraits, artists participating in this Project were randomly paired with families and friends of victims. The artists meet with the families and friends and get to know who the person was in life through photographs, videos, mementos, and the all important stories. The artists then set out to illuminate the lives of these loved ones. The varied approaches and mediums used by the artists are a fitting testament to the unique qualities of each of the souls portrayed.
Families of the victims constantly face questions and comments about their loved ones, mostly about the circumstances of the gun violence. Souls Shot Portrait Project seeks to focus on the lives that were lived before that split-second, unacceptable decision was made by the shooter. These people did not deserve the consequences of that devastating choice. These people were—and are—more than numbers.
This catalog represents the commitment of all who are involved in Souls Shot Portrait Project. We will continue to bring to the public intimate glimpses into the lives cut short by gun violence; to raise awareness of the terrible cost to our communities; to touch hearts and minds; to move people to take action.
On behalf of all those who participated in creating this exhibition, we hope you will be moved by the images and that you will get to know the depth of these unique human beings; our kindred souls.
Laura Madeleine, Executive Director and Curator
SCHEDULE OF HOST VENUES
You can view more details on our prospective calendar for this exhibition by clicking HERE
View The Exhibition Catalog Below:
The Artists
Yanlexis Arizaga
Yanlexis Arizaga is a talented artist who graduated from Creative Arts Morgan Village Academy in 2017. Currently, she is employed at a nonprofit organization in Camden, New Jersey, where her focus is on diversifying the tech workforce in underrepresented communities. Yanlexis's passion for art started with graphite drawings, but she has since expanded her skills to include digital mediums. Through her work, she aims to use her artistic abilities to make a positive impact on the lives of those around her.
Website: yanlexis.com | Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/yanlexis
Susan Barth
Susan learned early on that she loved being creative. As a child, she drew and created elaborate bead necklaces in her room where she lived with her parents in the Bronx, New York. Bead stringing led her to develop an eye for designing and sketching her creations. In her early 20's, Susan enrolled in an intensive six month course in jewelry making at the Abbey School of Jewelry Art & Design where she discovered she had a natural aptitude for carving, otherwise known as the lost wax process. This is a technique where a design is carved into a special hard wax and then cast into metal. After creating prototypes for independent designers, working as an inhouse modelmaker for two jewelry companies, she finally created her own collection. Susan is considered a master carver and now teaches the lost wax process to others at the 92nd Street Y in New York City. In 2021, Covid allowed her the time to try her hand at something she always admired and appreciated, portrait drawing. She decided to take a class online with artist Nancy Johnson and has never looked back. It opened up the world of drawing again and has unleashed a wonderful new creative direction.
IG portraits: @susannyc56 | IG jewelry: @susanbarthdesign | Website: www. susanbarthdesign.com
Pearle Raine Bromley
Hi, my name is Pearle Raine. I enjoy illustration, oil painting and figure drawing. In addition to my love for art, I deeply appreciate history and find that many of my pieces embody historical figures during specific time periods. I especially love to draw women from the past, whether they be from ancient Rome or the Victorian Era. I am thrilled to be part of Souls Shot Portrait Project to assist families in finding meaning in the face of gun violence.
Eileen Campbell
Eileen Campbell is a family nurse practitioner and has worked in health care for over 35 years. She enjoys painting as a hobby and loves sharing her artwork with family and friends.
Loren Dann
I am a multi-disciplinary fine artist, painter, studying in mixed media, oil, unraveling layers of questions and attempts at answers. My goal is to inspire intersectionality and unity for artists and women. To create, to teach and listen to those who feel distorted by society’s aesthetics and expectations.
Website: Lorendann.com
Corinne Hackman
Corinne Dreyfuss Hackman works with mixed media, including charcoal, acrylic and collage. Her landscapes and portraiture express joy in nature and a reverence for beauty in the simplicity of everyday pleasures.
Lisa Hendrickson
Experimenting with oil paint and mixed media, figurative artist Lisa Hendrickson tries to visually tell the stories of people and places she has experienced. Heavily influenced by human expression, her work strives to capture the mood and emotion of the moment. She paints people and places with interesting features which reflect their rich histories and lived experiences. Closely cropped compositions and strong lighting are also an important aspect of her intimate, almost invasive portraits. In connection with her community volunteer work, she creates artwork to raise awareness about the societal issues of homelessness, gun violence, and gender equality.
Website: lisahendricksonart.wordpress.com | IG @lisa.hendrickson.art
Eoin Kinnarney
Eoin Kinnarney is an Associate Professor at Rowan College South Jersey.
Sara McMahon
Sara McMahon is a classically trained actress with tendencies to fly by the seat of her pants, an improv instructor and performer, who teaches others how to enhance listening skills, playfulness, empathy, connectedness, and liberation from fear of failure. Her art has been featured in literary journals, art galleries, and public works projects, among others. Sara is a member of the Guild of American Papercutters.
Website: saradelighted.com | IG @saramacpapercuts
James Erik Montgomery
Erik James Montgomery is a fine art photographer, educator, and “art-ivist” who focuses his lens on the pressing cultural and social justice issues of our time. Initially self-taught, Montgomery went on to study at the Academy of Art University and Columbia University. Erik has showcased shown his photography at notable museums, galleries, universities, and art events over the past 25 years. Erik’s fine art photography focuses on inspirational, cultural, and societal themes. His viewpoint is from a photojournalistic perspective where his imagery tells a complete story in one image. Erik’s photography gives a visual voice to every one of his subjects. thereby becoming a photographic storyteller and an important documentarian of this era. In 2011, Erik founded the Erik James Montgomery Foundation. The EJM Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to instructing youth and college students in the artistic development of professional photography. His students learn various aspects of the art form as well as being introduced to entrepreneurship. The Foundation also creates public works of art for underserved neighborhoods in order to transform blight into beauty. Erik is tirelessly working on several projects including creating community photo galleries in low-income cities, PSA’s targeted at social issues, a photographic version of the Bible, and ongoing exhibits featuring his artwork. Through art exhibitions, photographic books, public photography murals, and various collaborations, Erik James Montgomery plans to impact the world one photograph at a time.
Patricia O’Halloran
Born in Kenya, lived in England and Ireland before coming to the USA. Did B. A in fine art, Rosemont College, Msc in Educational Counseling at Villanova University, and then studied four years at Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art. Retired teacher.
Website: www.patriciaohalloran.com
Jacqueline Sandro-Greenwall
Jacqueline Sandro-Greenwell has been working in ceramics for over 30 years. She received her Master of Fine Arts from Tyler School of Art in 1993. She has taught at several community colleges in the region and Rowan University. Currently she is the Director of Fine Arts and Clay College for Rowan College South Jersey, located in the Arts and Innovation Center, Millville, New Jersey. She has exhibited at the Noyes Museum and New Jersey State Museum Gallery in Trenton, Rowan University, at the Stanek Art Gallery in Philadelphia, and at the College of New Rochelle.
Stephanie Smith
Stephanie Smith is a painter and muralist living in Maryland. She focuses on human expression through portraiture and murals and works in a variety of media.
Website: stephaniesmith1.crevado.com | Website: chesapeakearts.org/cacblog/in-the-studio-with-maryland-artist-stephanie-smith
Susan Stefanski
I have experimented with many mediums such as metalwork, stain glass, printmaking, drawing and painting. Although all avenues of creativity are interesting, I am drawn to representational painting in oil, watercolor and pastel. Painting is spiritual and serene and promotes a feeling of contentment and joy to be shared with others. I participated in numerous juried and non- juried shows, and have had commissioned works and multiple awards, notably the Grand Prize for Haverford Library’s Art of the Garden Exhibition in 2011. My representational natural subjects—predominantly landscapes—capture light, color and feelings falling under an umbrella of “God’s Gifts.”
Website: susanstefanskiart.com | IG @sstefansk
Rebecca Thornburgh
Rebecca Thornburgh writes and illustrates books for children. She has worked with Souls Shot Portrait Project since its founding in 2017, and is grateful to have had the opportunity to create a portrait.
Website: rebeccathornburgh.com | IG @rebecca.thornburgh.books
Edward Waring
I was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina, and now live in San Antonio, Texas. I’ve been drawing & painting since I was 10 years old, when my father gave me my very first art books. He was the first person to recognize my artistic abilities and encouraged me to explore them. Being an artist has been a lifelong journey of sharing my life experiences through art. My high school art teacher Mrs. Dorothy B. Wright helped me to develop an understanding of drawing and painting. I studied for two years at the Atlanta College of Art, High Museum, in Atlanta, Georgia where my technical skills, and understanding of the human form were enhanced. Beyond my formal art education, life has been my greatest teacher and these experiences have increased my artistic vocabulary. I work primarily in pencil, colored pencil, pastels, and oil. My plans for 2023 will include working in oil paint. Creating art has always been a therapeutic process for me. Art has always made me feel better about myself, the world and my place in it. My work is a constant search for the best way to interpret the world around me and share that with you. If my artwork makes you stop for just a moment to reflect on a piece I have created, then I have succeeded in my work.
Juliette Watts
Juliette Watts is a painter and illustrator living near Philadelphia. Her career includes a number of years as a medical and scientific illustrator. She monitors and participates in life drawing workshops at the Plastic Club, one of the oldest art clubs in Philadelphia. In recent years she has focused on the human figure, both in movement and in portraiture. She is deeply interested in the human form: its movement, the textures and shapes of the hair, the face, the structures. But in addition, she is intrigued by the inner person that is manifest in these outward forms — the spirit of a person that expresses itself in subtle, often unspoken ways. She finds the fluidity of watercolor lends itself well to this. Looking for and exploring the inner person is what keeps me her excited and passionate about painting people, and in particular, their portraits.
Website: Juliettewatts.com | IG @juliettewattsillustration