Amanda Hill

Amanda Hill is a multimedia artist and muralist. Amanda’s work is rooted in the deep exploration of objects. Some of her subjects include car parts, animals, and figures. She often simplifies the background of her work in order to elevate the status of her subject matter, heightening what many consider to be commonplace. Her paintings demonstrate an interest in color theory, color relationships, and structural tension. Her latest "parts" series explores Americana and human influence on the Earth’s ecological health and stability, through mechanical detritus. 

Amanda is focused on increasing the awareness and the accessibility of the arts. She advocates for the support of creative expression at large and takes a special interest in a community’s ability to make and experience art. Some of her accomplishments include: painting murals across the East Coast, designing and building a 300 square-foot performance art space, and developing and producing various art festivals across Massachusetts including an annual public art festival in Lynn, MA. 

In January of 2019, she was awarded the Boston Museum of Fine Arts’ Emerging Studio Artist Fellowship. Amanda has also been awarded grants to complete her artwork from the Amherst Arts Council, the Pelham Arts Council, and the Northampton Arts Council. She received a BA from Smith College (Northampton, MA), and an MS in Nonprofit Management from The New School, Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy (New York, NY). Amanda lives and works in the Greater Boston Area. 

Shany Porras

Shany Porras’s abstract paintings visually communicate, or translate, what is experienced through music regardless of genre or musical period. Her classical music training when young has meant that music remains an essential part of her daily living. She sees music as an abstract language, and she translates music to paintings, much in the same way she would translate one language to another. Her motivation is to extend the reach of music and paintings' reach to many people.  

Shany chooses music that is inspirational to her, selecting from topics such as Greek mythology, her home country of Venezuela, or simply today’s popular or politically charged music. Each painting is unique to each musical piece, and it is clear that the selection of medium, including acrylic paint, graphite, wax crayons, ink, and spray paint, among others, hinges on the artist’s interpretation of the abstract language of music. Her art is deeply influenced by Bauhaus and the American abstract painters of the 20th century, borrowing from their techniques, and applying them as needed to translate music. 

Shany Porras has a B.A. and a B.F.A. from Rice University in Houston, Texas. At Rice, Shany started as an architecture major, then transferred into the Fine Art program after her sophomore year, where she focused on painting and lithography, establishing a foundation of abstract art. Conception Arts and CAFA have awarded Shany’s art in juried shows. Shany currently maintains a studio in Framingham, and actively shows in both juried and groups shows around New England and New York City. Shany is an associate member of the National Association of Women Artists (NAWA). 

Anne Russell

Anne Russell often works from direct observation and is interested in multiple layers and changing views, looking for some balance between chaos and comprehension. In the layering process some objects transform and become abstracted whimsical shapes, while others are rendered in minute detail.  These recent monotypes explore a particular place and the objects within: in this case the printmaking studio itself. The technique of trace monotype uses the direct touch of freehand drawing to transfer ink and create marks on the paper.  It is “low-tech” and immediate and intimate. “Negative-trace” images show the reversal that is left on the printing plate. When transferred to paper the result is a print with delicate white lines in the background field of the original ink. Some of them resemble old blackboards with layers of partially erased marks, evoking time passed and memories; these comprise the series “Chalkboard Ghosts.”  

 Anne Russell is a printmaker and mixed-media artist. She is a juried artist member of Boston Printmakers and the Cambridge Art Association. Recent exhibits include “Current(s) 2019: Selections from Mixit Print Studio,” Brickbottom Gallery, Somerville, MA; MGNE 5th National Juried Show, Art Complex Museum, Duxbury, MA;  and 18th Roddy Open Competition, Concord Art Association, Concord, MA. Her work is in the permanent collections of Boston Public Library, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA. Anne studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, and with Joel Janowitz. She prints at Mixit Print Studio and maintains a private studio at Mad Oyster, both in Somerville, MA.