North Loop: Ben Lance
Artist Bio: Coming soon
Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/benlance/
Village: Teya Saadeh
Christian-Palestinian/Irish artist based in Austin, Texas
Currently studying Cowboy Bootmaking at Texas Traditions Boots under Lee Miller.
Member of Viva Palestina Orchestra.
Organizer of ATX Events for Palestine.
My family has little to no photographs of their lives in Palestine. I cannot know what our family orchard looked like at the time it was sold, or the house they grew up in, or the churches my great grandfather built. Their daily lives are a visual mystery to me. I often find myself daydreaming of the stories I am told, and imagining what living in those moments looked like. In a way, I am making up for our family’s lack of photographs through my art. My pieces are a crude and mythicized representation of reality; they hold the meaning I have imposed on someone else’s memory.
Far West: Mike Matthews
About the Artist –
Mike Matthews is a professor, published poet, and artist. His three books are titled, Water of Joy,
and Ashes, and Waysides, all three published by Finishing Line Press. Waysides includes his art
and poetry in it.
Mike Matthews lives with his family in Copperas Cove, Texas. He teaches college English
courses including Creative Writing I Three Genre, Creative Writing II Novel Writing, and
Literature for community college students in Killeen, Texas. He studied for his Masters of Fine
Arts in Creative Writing, Poetry, in San Marcos, Texas, at Texas State, and he studied English,
Music, and Fine Arts in undergrad school at the University of Texas at Austin. Mike Matthews’
mediums include words, acrylics, oil pastels, and digital. After his classes are over and he is not
busy revising or painting, Mike Matthews goes for walks to the pond in the park to practice
listening for the whispers that manifest the moments of poetry and art.
If interested in prints or the originals, or if there are questions, contact him through email:
Mikdavid@hotmail.com
