Bill Wolak has just published his eighteenth book of poetry entitled All the Wind’s Unfinished Kisses with Ekstasis Editions. His collages have appeared as cover art for such magazines as Phoebe, Harbinger Asylum, Baldhip Magazine, Barfly Poetry Magazine, Ragazine, Cardinal Sins, Pithead Chapel, The Wire’s Dream, Thirteen Ways Magazine, Phantom Kangaroo, Rathalla Review, Free Lit Magazine, Typehouse Magazine, and Flare Magazine.
All of us jammed
into the back seat
perhaps
accidentally
I end up next to you.
The force of the curves
presses me against you
and I feel your warmth
through your coat.
My stomach aches, cramping
as my body
sheds blood tears
aching for you.
And as the city blurs by
indifferently
I watch
your lips
not move.
Violet Jaffe has been painting for over 30 years. She started with oils when she was 13 and her older brother passed down his paint bin to her. She still uses that paint bin today. Through high school she focused on art, particularly painting, and received a bachelor’s of art degree in art. She attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and graduated from California State University, Northridge after moving to California.
She has shown work in Denver, Los Angeles, and Chicago. For five years she was featured in the Around the Coyote Arts Festival in Wicker Park, Chicago and was awarded the Curator’s Choice Award in 2008. In 2018 she was invited to paint a piano for a public art display called the One Book One Village Piano Project in Arlington Heights, IL.
Her major influences have been Salvador Dali, David Bowie, Yoda, Albert Camus and Teddy Roosevelt.
blackstar
2018 / 24”x18” / acrylic on board
This painting was inspired by David Bowie’s final album Blackstar. I often paint birds and I had read a very touching story about an albino raven that was shot and left to die. The image of this rare, ghostly bird kept coming to mind while I listened to Bowie’s music. I saw a connection between his work and the striking, bizarre and delicate animal.
Shannon Elizabeth Gardner is a graduate from the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point with a Bachelors in Studio Art and a Minor in Art History. Her interest in horror and the macabre came about while exploring nature and the paranormal. The work explores the natural and organic process of death, evoking empathy for decay. She believes life is beautiful when left to fate, leaving art to chance assists the viewer to witness beauty hidden within imperfections. Her process appreciates nature’s process and discovers the earth’s imperfect beauty. The ethereal mood of her work reaches the extreme and address the taboo.
John Van Houten is originally from Grand Rapids, MI, but currently resides in Buffalo, NY. He achieved his MFA in Studio Art at SUNY Buffalo and his BFA in Illustration at Kendall College of Art & Design. His illustration inspired paintings have been exhibited across Western New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and across the Midwestern United States. In addition to his practice in fine art, Van Houten has worked on freelance illustration for Th3rd Coast Media Solutions, No Threshold Records, and Blunderwoman Productions. In his spare time, Van Houten likes dog petting, prog rock concerts, and drum solos.
South Broadway Ghost Society 