Visiting Artists at J.P. Licks

Kaylee Rota is a skilled and inventive artist based in Andover Massachusetts. From childhood to today, she has exhibited a great interest in visual arts and how they can be used in our understanding of humanity. Kaylee pursued education in the arts and psychology, combining both within her work. Her work is defined by comforting colors, familiar compositions, and bittersweet nostalgia. She draws inspiration from the uniquely human aspects of her life and the lives of those around her. She creates pieces that invite viewers to revisit emotions and personal experiences long since past. Each artwork is a testament to Kaylee’s commitment to the exploration of being human and what it means to reflect on old memories with new perspectives.

You can follow her on instagram @kayleerotaart.

Find original pieces and prints on https://kayleerotaartshop.etsy.com

Michael Metcalfe

The work of British artist Michael Metcalfe embraces the post-medium stridency manifest both in medieval art and movements such as Dada and Pop. Harkening even to the dawn of mankind’s need to make sense of his existence. Thus Metcalfe’s work incorporates the metallic pallet of a singular certain world-view projected in visceral brutality by cave-paintings and Flemish Primitives. However, Metcalfe melds this unified iconography of the distant past with our contemporary disparate icons scattered through the multi-media of popular culture. In this way Metcalfe’s work digs to the fundamental depths of human psychology that spans the ages. Consistent with the fusion of past and present, Metcalfe’s images are rendered in a reinvention of the ancient technique of decoupage. Bourgeois delicacy and precision are replaced with an industrial physicality, immediacy, chaos and sculptural dimension. The pure emotion evident at distant viewing becomes enriched and subverted on intimate inspection. Consequently, Metcalfe’s work not only reflects the human condition through horizontal time, but also its vertical complexity at every instant.

Karen is a landscape artist from Medford, MA. Born in 1999 and raised in Hong Kong, she moved to the United States in 2015. Karen pursued studio art during high school from 2016 to 2017 and later earned a degree in Biomedical Engineering. Despite her technical background, Karen's love for art remained strong, and she now enjoys sharing her creativity with local communities.

Visiting Maine in 2021 had ignited Karen's deep appreciation for nature, and led her to start practicing landscape painting. Since then, she has traveled to parts of  Asia and Europe to find unique landscapes in order to expand her vision. Karen primarily works with acrylic and explores with other mediums occasionally.

Karen have been on a journey to find herself in the art world. The majority of her inspiration comes from nature around the world and teachings from the universe. Her work usually features animals, landscapes, and plants. Karen aims to cultivate a friendly, calm, and vibrant environment for viewers to take space in order to reevaluate their relationship with the world and find happiness within themselves. Her goal is to create pieces that are not just for aesthetics but allow viewers to utilize it as a vehicle to explore their body and mind.

To learn more about Karen, visit her website or visit her on Instagram @karenpoon.art

The Advent School Students with Maria Acuña

The Advent School is located in the Beacon Hill neighborhood.  It is attended by children from ECC to 6th Grade from all over Boston. Since 1961, this small school has stayed true to its founding vision: an urban school whose community reflects the diversity of Boston; a forward-thinking curriculum that inspires and engages a child’s passion for learning; a commitment to social justice; and a culture of collaboration where every child has the confidence to take action in a connected world.With their Spanish teacher, Maria Acuña who holds a Master in Education and a degree in Graphic Design, students learn Spanish by creating lots of artwork.  Ms. Acuña tries to incorporate environmental awareness with every project reusing materials.  Every art project relates to a unit students are learning about. The current displays are:“Tiempo de Suéteres” ( Sweater Weather) was created by First Graders when learning about clothing.  They worked on reused grocery shopping bags.“Ajolotes” ( Axolotls) was created by Fifth Graders for their describing animals unit while step by step directions were given in Spanish.

Robin Hicks

I've been interested in fine art since childhood, but it truly became my passion in adulthood. I employ traditional oil painting techniques to capture everyday subjects, focusing on how light, shadow, color, and pattern transform ordinary objects. Through meticulous attention to detail, I invite viewers to engage with the work more intimately, sparking curiosity and deepening their appreciation for the beauty in everyday items.

After 26 years as a pediatrician, I decided to trade my stethoscope for a paintbrush and embrace the life of a full-time artist.  The enthusiasm I felt for medicine and child development now fuels my creative journey. Just as every child is unique, so is every painting.

I’ve trained at the Compass Atelier School in Kensington, MD and the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, RI.  My work has been shown at galleries and shows in the Boston area, the South Shore of MA, and Providence, RI. I am also a member of the Newton Art Association in Newton, MA.

To learn more about Robin's art visit her website or on Instagram @robinhicksart

Jenny Wechter is a songwriter, visual artist, and climate activist from the borderlands of El Paso, Texas, now residing in Cambridge, MA. Her art practice is an ode to MotherEarth and a devotional inquiry into existential meaning. Her collection, 'Trees of Life,' plays with our perception of trees. What happens when we see their hidden beauty and all the colors of our interconnection? Learn more or reach out at www.PoeticConjecture.org.

From artists at the Jamaica Plain Open Studios

"Life on Earth"

A celebration of the human

experience here on earth, and

a consideration of what is at stake in the face of climate changes.

The artists created unique images:

A need for a home, the beauty of

oceans and gardens,

The consequence of war, weather

and rising sea levels..

Our ancestors' knowledge and our

current engagement with the world.

We hope you enjoy the art work.

Ginny Zanger, watercolor on yupo

Ann Turley, oil on panel

Susan Thompson, fiber art

Marnie Sinclair, mixed media assemblage

Janet Kawada, sculpture

Mary Harman, fiber arts

Pat Burson, weaving

Terry Boutelle, mixed media painting

Gail Bos, mixed media sculpture

Phyllis Bluhm, mixed media on paper