Woodhaven Art Circle

I am a professional freelance artist. I specialize in a medley of mediums from hand painted and graphic design illustrations to murals for a variety of clients. To me, the definition of a successful artist is one who not only can create physical manifestations of their ideas, but one who has a positive, lasting and rippling impact on society. My passion for art derives from my great-grandfather who emigrated from Italy to America in search of a better life for my family. He loved to paint the landscapes of his motherland and horses. It delighted him to watch me doodle as a toddler. When he was beaming with happiness, I felt a sense of pride and ever since the moment I first picked up a crayon, art became a part of my identity. I was determined that art will be my life path and followed it throughout my schooling from elementary through college where I graduated summa cum laude with my Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree. The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is to be able to inspire and bring joy into people’s hearts through my passion for the arts.

While I never called myself an artist, as I travel through life, I use art to gain a greater understanding of my place in the world, hence, "The Techno Quilter." My work focuses on desire, relationships, and death. Each piece generally takes four to six months to complete.

Using thumbnail pieces of magazines allows me to work through a myriad of emotions and complexities of a life event, discovering both context and understanding of the experience. As in a ritualistic act, each piece is cut ten to fifteen times to fit a neighboring piece without overlap. Messages are inscribed underneath each color module taken from journal entries written on the back of the foam core, never fully exposing myself to the viewer. A glaze is applied over the completed piece, preserving the essence of my development, and bringing closure to my work.

The intensity I feel creating a piece, while evolving through life's mysteries, provides new meaning to my approach to life. It is for this reason most of the original body of my work is not available to collectors.

My mission statement is simple: "I make quilts to send out into the world to make people happy.”

I am a textile artist who has been making quilts for artistic and practical purposes for nearly twenty years. Whether they are made for family and friends as gifts, donated for charitable auctions, or to charities that give them away to needy individuals, or sometimes for sale or on commission, or to be displayed in my home, they serve practical and artistic needs, both for myself, and for the recipients. They can be pieces as large as a king size bed covering, or as small as a twelve inch decorative piece, or anything in between.

I am inspired by color, and textile patterns, and how they can go together to dazzle the eye. With intricate shapes, I trust geometry just as a baker must trust chemistry. When I am “in the zone” the process takes over as the quilt develops into its final design. It is a calming and peaceful place to be.

Christine A. Barbour is a life-long resident of Woodhaven, NY and a direct descendant of Adam Mott, a founding family of Hempstead, LI. Christine received an MFA in Writing from Sarah Lawrence College, under thesis advisor Vijay Seshadri, 2014 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Poetry, and a BA from the City University of New York at Queens College. She has taught in the Adult Learning Center in the Queens Library System. In 2010, she founded the Iron Horse Poetry craft and workshop. Iron Horse has a Facebook page that includes poetry, information about poets, and all things the written word. Her poems have been published in Writer’s Digest, Performance Poets Association, Rhino, the Nassau County Poet Laureate Society Review, The Bards Initiative, and Red Penguin Collection: Ocean Waves Anthology, among others. Later in 2022, two of her poetry collections will be published: The Poet’s Owl and The Sudden Shock of Lightning.

A Woodhaven resident since 1965, The Reverend Matty F (aka Matt Faccenda) is a Multi-Instrumentalist, Singer, Song Writer, Lyricist, and YouTube Content Creator.

The Reverend has performed at all sorts of venues but is perhaps best known for his years of busking full time in the NYC Subway System, and his adventurous improvisations on YouTube.

DARKRECONSTRUCTION is an emerging nonbinary queer artist working in acrylic and watercolor paints, creating abstract expressionist paintings, found object art, textile art, and murals. Their work focuses on the contrast between urban life and nature. They are inspired by concrete walls overgrown by ivy and tree branches, train underpasses covered in graffiti and grass, a strong New York summer rainstorm beating against their window, the decaying Red Hook warehouses, tiny alleys, and the way the air smells on the first few days of September. Their work carries an eco-brutalist approach to expressionism, a marriage between organic textures and urban visuals.

DARKRECONSTRUCTION was born in Russia, but moved to New York City when they were 9 years old. They consider themselves fortunate to move here, as it allowed them to gain a deeper understanding of various art styles and techniques. They were blessed with a unique career path in graphic design, marketing, and ecommerce, and it led them back to where they started - with a paintbrush in their hand.

Their current pieces have a focus on reusing and recycling materials that are headed to the trash, with a focus on the harmful effects of excessive consumerism and fast fashion. To counteract the impact of their artistic practice on the environment, DARKRECONSTRUCTION has been creating art with found objects, remnant textiles, and secondhand/thrifted items.