“The fact that everybody in the world dreams every night ties all mankind together.” – Jack Kerouac Editor’s Note: I met Steve Sangapore at an art opening last year when he was showing one of his pieces (Virtuality) below. What struck me about his work was the complexity of ideas being communicated all at once. My eye would focus on one aspect of it, only to be drawn away a moment later to another section, forcing me to visually zoom in while I pondered its significance. The interconnectedness of all these seemingly disparate parts – some instantly recognizable, others more abstract – was one of the reasons I put a check next to his name on my exhibition notepad. I’d like to mention that two of the pieces – Virtuality and Omneity – are painted…

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Editor’s Note: Recently, we were contacted by Jasmine Stirling with an invitation to view her new photography website. We loved what we saw – in particular her use of space, light, color and social commentary. There’s shadow-play from above, a shoeless shoe-peddler, some Hitchcockian birds, striking facades, bold tones and a tongue-in-cheek wind sock. Please enjoy these photographs, taken from coast to coast and across the globe. * * * The first six photos are from the “Order” series, the next four are from the “Color” series and the final photo is from the “Take a Bite” series. Our featured image is from the “Africa” series.   * * * Jasmine Stirling has been an obsessive photographer since she was a kid shooting blurry shots of the woods, her feet, and a stranger’s dog with…

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Editor’s Note: Hank Keneally’s “Diffusion Portraits” series captures real life images and presents them in a blur of color that toes the line between dream and apparition. Read on to hear what he has to say about his “a-ha moment” with this series and how he achieved his effects in his photographs. Click on any image to see a larger version. Click your browser’s Back button to return to this page. * * * A Moment Of Discovery: The “Cosmic Download” During a class I was teaching for Brio Fine Arts Center one of my students got a call on her cell phone. She headed for the door to answer the call so as not to disturb the class. As she opened the door I got my “Cosmic Download”: Hank! You Should Photograph The Entire…

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Editor’s Note: We met Erica Nazzaro at an art exhibition this fall. Her mixed media watercolor paintings of scenes in the forest and by the water instantly grabbed us because of the way the colors popped and played with each other. We needed to see more. If you’d like to see more, Erica has two exhibits opening this week and two more next month: November 7th and 8th at Roslindale Open Studios, 141 Aldrich St. in Roslindale, MA November 6th-29th in the “Abstracted” exhibition at Uforge Gallery, 767 Centre St. in Jamaica Plain, MA with an opening night reception at 6pm November 6th. December 4th from 6:00-10:00PM: ART 100 BOSTON at Piano Craft Gallery, 793 Tremont St, Boston December 5th and 6th from 12:00-5:00PM: Pop Up Holiday Shop at Loring Greenough House, 12 South, St. Jamaica…

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Here at the Fictional Café  we pride ourselves on publishing talented artists who create fun and unique works of art. The first time I saw Nicole Beauchaine’s guitar art, I knew we just had to get her work on the Fictional Café. Further perusal of her website revealed that she’s talented in many artistic areas including illustration and stop motion. A truly creative person, we are excited to bring you her guitar art.   These violins were painted and carved into wall-mountable lamps Artistic, musical, practical: Guitar shelf Decorative guitar art  Carved back of another guitar lamp Day of the Dead guitar art Like what you’ve seen so far? If so, go check out Nicole’s Halloween-inspired guitars at her current exhibit in spooky Salem, MA at the Howling Wolf Taqueria. Here are just a few…

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Last October we featured an excerpt from Daughter of Fire, a novel in progress by Dory Fiamingo. Shortly thereafter, Dory received an invitation to exhibit her art, a series of sensual and erotic nudes, at Westwind Frame and Gallery in The Dalles, Oregon. She told us: “Every time I think my work isn’t a big deal, not really, I think, yeah, how many artists get told by a gallery that they want 11 paintings to display!?! You should have seen the owner greedily grabbing canvases and saying, “I want this one and this one, and definitely this one!” Dory likes to paint nudes, and she reports the show was a smashing success. When the show ended, Dory had sold one and gotten three commissions. More commissions have followed. Most recently, Dory has submitted a few pieces in the Artists of the [Columbia River] Gorge competition taking place October…

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Editor’s note: We are excited to bring you Erich Griebling’s sculptures, made almost exclusively from typewriter parts. I first saw these sculptures when I was young, living on Plum Island. His use of items from the shoreline – some organic, some man made – resonated with me as a junior beachcomber. We invite you to enjoy the intricacy of his art: both visual and symbolical, as well as his essay about the typewriter. *** Homage to the Typewriter Underwood, L.C. Smith, Royal, Remington — these were the names of the real authors of the information age. They made it possible to produce a unique printed page (and one that was legible) at the rate of sixty and more original words per minute. This was a feat unparalleled in human history and resulted in a leap…

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John Woods has been taking pictures most of his life, but only with the advent of digital photography and the time allowed after his children were grown did he get serious about it. Most of his work includes travel photography, especially from Europe and Mexico, as well as his home state of Wisconsin. He loves to take pictures of egrets and blue herons, mostly during his annual visits to Los Cabos, Mexico. All these pictures were taken at the estuary in San Jose Del Cabo. The ones shown here are among his best from hundreds and hundreds of pictures taken. Although photography is his love these days, John made his career in book publishing for over 40 years. If you like what you see here, you can see more of his work at his Facebook…

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