Meet the Artists 2024 - Part 2
As we approach this year’s Furnished for Good, we will feature our artists who have created pieces for the upcoming event and auction. This year we are working with 14 local artists selected by our Guest Curators, Damon Reaves and Lawren Alice. All of these artists work with different mediums, have diverse styles, and bring new perspectives through their artwork. This week we are featuring Beth Beverly, Gina Giles, Lea Saccomanno, and Sharon Ostrow. All four of these artists created pieces that were focused on artistic embellishments.
Beth Beverly
@diamondtoothtaxidermy on Instagram
Beth Beverly began to collect what some may categorize as detritus; fibers, bones, discarded objects from nature, and incorporated them into her artwork. When she found taxidermy twenty years ago, it was clearly her medium. Using animals that have expired naturally or were byproducts of humanely raised farm stock, taxidermy allows Beverly to reanimate that which might otherwise go unnoticed. The artworks invite a rare intimacy with nature. Beth's work has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, AMC's unscripted series Immortalized, Netflix's Stranger Things, and HBO's Righteous Gemstones. She has led demonstrations and workshops on taxidermy since 2013 at various schools and institutions, including the Wagner Institute, the American Philosophical Museum, and the Chemical Heritage Foundation. Her knowledge on the craft and her restorative skills have been tapped by museums such as the Academy of Natural Sciences and the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, as well as the Vadon Hunting Museum in Transylvania, Romania.
Gina Giles
@artfully.gigi on Instagram
Gina Giles is a painter and fiber artist with a background in photography and digital art. Since her graduation from Moore College of Art & Design where she studied Photography and Digital Arts, Gina has honed into a very personal approach to art making that blurs the lines between her more straightforward two-dimensional pictorial style and her trail-blazing interpretation of fiber art.
Drawing inspiration from her wide-ranging inner states and her peaceful communion with nature, Gina manifests a vibrant representation of her reality as an African American woman, feeling her way through adulthood and the nuances involved in one's personal take on femininity, empowerment, independence and vulnerability.
Lea Saccomanno
@sippinandstitchin on Instagram
Lea Saccomanno is a multidisciplinary textile artist and pasta lover in the city of Philadelphia. Originally taught by her grandmother, she's been practicing for over twelve years. She's been involved in multiple art shows as well as hosting her own and currently has an installation at the Philadelphia Airport.
Lea employs various embroidery techniques with a focus on mixed media embroidery. She enjoys creating new works as well as teaching others the art of embroidery via her local business, Sippin' & Stitchin'.
Sharon Ostrow
@artsyma on Instagram
Sharon Ostrow's art focuses on the fleeting nature of time and beauty along with a dose of playful whimsy. The spark of creativity occurs when a vintage object, or observation from the natural world speaks to me. She hopes to inspire curiosity about the ephemera and collectible items used. Viewing these pieces in contemporary Time and Place, further shifts perspective for the viewer and the artist. From the initial historical and cultural context to the adaptation of materials by a newer generation, folklore and sometimes legends develop about these everyday goods. Thinking about the journey of these vintage artifacts makes Sharon consider whether it is happenstance or destiny that caused their arrival in my hand at this precise moment to be included in her work. It fascinates Sharon.
