“Living in the Moment” Exhibit – Michelle Phillip Junkin, Carl Shortt & Dan Garrett

Feb. 27, 2011 - PRLog -- Opening & exhibit by Oklahoma artists Michelle Phillip Junkin, Carl Shortt & Dan Garrett in the Historic Paseo Arts District. “Living in the Moment,” is an exhibit of pottery, monoprints, photography and sculpture that captures a moment in time by each artist. Opening reception is Friday, March 4th from 6:00pm-10:00pm. Show runs thru March 26th.

Michelle Junkin first fell in love with throwing on the pottery wheel in high school. Her passion for making things from clay became a quest to learn more about the world of craft and fine arts.

In December 2008, while pregnant, Michelle was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was during this difficult time that Michelle decided to rededicate herself, her time, and her priorities to pursuing art, which in the past, was often left on the back burner. As a survivor, she strives to cherish and make the most of everyday; this includes making time to pursue her passion for creating art, “living in the moment”, family and spending time with friends.

Recently, Michelle has discovered a way to bring her love for many mediums together through creating mixed media clay monoprints, which uniquely combine her passion for clay, printmaking, painting, and image transfer together into one art form.

Thus, the process of clay monoprinting in combination with mixed media brings elements of working with clay, printmaking, painting, and techniques of image transfer together to create pieces that draw

Carl Shortt, Jr. and his dad shared many interests: tools, working with their hands, and photography. His dad often had a camera in his hand while Carl was growing up, capturing birthdays, holidays and vacations. This inspired Carl to start capturing his own special moments with photography.

It wasn’t until he contemplated early retirement that he started pursuing photography with a more artistic eye. Loving tools of all kinds, Carl was an early adopter of the digital camera. Capturing images in a digital format led Carl down a path of researching photos, reading books and taking several intense photography workshops. Carl developed his photographic style and his ability to “see” the beauty of light and shadow so he could capture everyday scenes and objects from a different perspective than seen ordinarily.

Dan Garrett comes from a very artistic family and was encouraged from childhood to explore different artistic forms. His artistic endeavors were put on hold while raising a family and pursuing a career. Now that his children are grown, he again has time to reflect and create.

Dan is an accomplished landscaper and exterior designer, so his initial metal work revolved around art to enhance an outdoor setting. Many of his creations translated to interior art, which is where his primary interest now lies. Dan’s artistic vision has many facets, and his exploration of artistic media is ongoing.

Dan is intrigued by the human response to contemporary art. His curiosity has led to experimentation with color, shape and form, and the results of this approach tend to be graphic and abstract rather than representational in nature.  His three-dimensional work consists of interior and exterior sculpture, both abstract and representational. As Dan’s understanding of the conflicts between heat and pigment, oxidation and preservation on the mediums he has chosen to work with deepens, he discovers new outcomes and spurs his imagination to new heights.

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In Your Eye Studio and Gallery is located in the center of the historic Paseo Arts District near NW 30th and Walker Avenue in Oklahoma City. The gallery is owned by a consortium of 10 Oklahoma artists featured during monthly Paseo Art Walks.