~ Jonathan Paul Wagner
Pen and ink, Conte, charcoal, gouache, on watercolor paper

I have gone outside of painting to find influences in a variety of subjects. Philosophy, math, and science have informed my work. I have worked with musicians, dancers, and actors to create ensemble pieces that mix all of the forms into a seamless whole.

I find that in creating art through faces and figures, I challenge myself to grow not only as an artist, but also as a person. Sharing expressions as reflections of emotion is my way of sharing the best of all human endeavors; understanding that, through art, we see reflections of ourselves.

The melding of sculpture and modern dance inspired a multi-faceted approach to my renderings of Stefanie’s rehearsal. I created pieces that focused specifically on captured moments in which there was a direct correlation to the figures and the spheres. The subtle balance between shape and form is reflected in the depth of the lines on each figure.

~ Antonio Lai da Teulada

Charcoal on drawing paper

The indivisible is that which we admire: nature, that which is suspended in the air, that which appears eternally alive. Confused and dejected, we wander aimless, with lusterless eyes, and humbled feelings.

~ Carol Prud'homme Davis
Ink on paper
Liquid pastel on paper

When a dancer is auditioning or asked to not move, but to watch a phrase they are expected to learn, they dance or mark with their hands. When I draw live dancers my pencil and hand channel the dancer. Both pencil and dancer are rebounding, dropping weight, and flying off the floor and paper.  I am taking the class.  I absorb what the teacher is saying.  I breathe with the movement, and remember where the choreographer wants the movement to be initiated, where the weight is dropped, and where the power for a jump or a turn comes from.  This is the same process that the dancers are going through in order to get to the place where they are no longer thinking, but their body has absorbed the information.  At that point the dancer owns the choreography - not the choreographer.  I too can get to that same place.  I call that being unconscious.  I am not looking at the pad, and I have stopped looking at the dancers, but only feel the energy and see the line.

I don't make it to that level every day, but it happens often enough that each day it could be possible; and when it is I am having the same emotional high that I experienced as a young professional dancer after having a good class, rehearsal, or performance; that feeling of knowing that I had communicated in a voice that all people could hear and make their own.

Drawings by Carol Prud'homme Davis were made from Photographs and Video by Benjamin Heller

The Sun Project, 2012

Photos of Carol Prud'homme Davis' works by Dominika Kramer