Textile/mixed media artist Valerie Zeman’s work is mixed media with a focus on art textiles. Valerie loves cloth and her starting point is a plain, white piece of ‘canvas’; currently linen, silk or cotton. Using cloth offers Valerie the scope to work with a wider range of media – including dye and discharging agents, inks, paints, graphite and thickened dye. Hand stitch is important for Valerie as a meditative process, which allows her to get up close and handle the cloth. Machine stitching is also used as a way to bring overall cohesiveness. Stitching, either by hand or machine, adds layers and textures to each art textile piece. Valerie’s current work is a reflection of her lifelong love affair with the East End of Long Island and her ongoing discoveries of the sights and colors of Manhattan.
Harold Naideau is a photographer, artist, author and a Professor of Photography at several colleges on Long Island, New York. His most recent collection of fine art photographs, “Still Lifes” are printed directly onto birch wood, allowing the flowing patterns of natural grain to show through and enhance the imagery. Both his photography and his photographic techniques show us the melding of old and new.