One and Only · 11.17.22-12.23.22
Parachute Gallery · 1624 E 7th Ave #240, Tampa, FL 33605 · November 17 - December 23, 2022
Opening Reception · Thursday, November 17 @ 6-9pm
Closing Reception · Thursday, December 22 @ 5-8pm
Featuring work by:
Sharareh Allahyari (Rancho Cordova, CA)
Jordan Blankenship (Estero, FL)
Leila Mesdaghi (Fort Myers, FL)
Golbanou Moghaddas (San Francisco, CA)
Pottery Boys - Glenn Woods and Keith Herbrand (Palm Harbor, FL)
Rebecca Stevens (St. Petersburg, FL)
Curated by Jessica Todd
One and Only · يكتا centers around the project Green Wedding by Fort Myers, FL-based Iranian artist, Leila Mesdaghi, and includes the work of six additional regional and national artists: Sharareh Allahyari, Jordan Blankenship, Golbanou Moghaddas, Pottery Boys - Glenn Woods and Keith Herbrand, and Rebecca Stevens.
In late 2021, Mesdaghi traveled to her childhood home in Tehran, Iran, to throw herself a wedding, sans partner. She writes, "As a child I had dreams about getting married and having a wedding in our house. An Iranian wedding is a heavily glamorized and festive event where the bride is treated like a princess and guests come celebrate and admire her with gold and jewelry. I decided to have a wedding for myself. I made my dress at a high-end fashion boutique, bought a beautiful gold ring with my dad’s money, hired Maryam Saeedpoor (a well-known photographer,) a hair stylist, played Persian wedding music, and had a few friends plus my aunt and uncle as my guests."
Documentation of the ceremony—a series of six limited-edition portraits by Saeedpoor and a collaborative video piece with director Khashayar Khalilkhani and vocalist Mahboubeh Golzari, reciting a poem by Iranian poet Houshang Ebtehaj about love and longing—beautifully articulates the complex emotions behind the project.
Inspired by this bold act of self-love, the exhibition One and Only · يكتا brings together elements of Mesdaghi's Green Wedding with six regional and national artists—Allahyari, Blankenship, Moghaddas, Woods, Herbrand, and Stevens—who create decadent, poetic works in ceramics, jewelry, and printmaking. Viewers are encouraged to indulge themselves in the visually rich installation.
Sharareh Allahyari creates etched jewelry pieces with an air of romance. She draws inspiration from her home country of Iran’s rich history and culture—its people, music, and poetry. Golbanou Moghaddas similarly draws inspiration from the literary arts of Iran. Her miniature etchings explore traditions of Persian story-telling, her expressive but unorthodox narratives pressed into paper. Rebecca Stevens makes elegant ceramic vessels that celebrate life’s small moments, often incorporating her other art practice, ballet. Jordan Blankenship’s functional ceramics encourage their user to slow down and mindfully enjoy daily rituals around nourishment. The Pottery Boys, Glenn Woods and Keith Herbrand, are experts of crystalline glazes on their elegant ceramic vessels, whose glossy, richly colored surfaces beg a gentle touch.
One and Only · يكتا gains new meaning as protests for women’s rights continue across Iran following the death of Masha Amini on September 16, 2022. Mesdaghi and I first discussed this exhibition in August, so I asked her if she wanted to continue with it once news of violent backlash reached the US. She confidently said yes. The protests and the project, she says, have always been about the celebration of women.
About the Artists
Sharareh Allahyari · Rancho Cordova, CA · Sharareh Allahyari is an Iranian-American art jeweler and the owner of Sheryz Jewelry. She is based in Rancho Cordova, CA, just outside of Sacramento.
ARTIST STATEMENT
I remember when I was visiting my grandfather as a child in Iran, I loved crafting with the old things I used to find in his house. The fragrances and stories behind those antiques have always held a deep fascination for me. And so my projects are inspired by the old stories of my Eastern culture. I like to view my work and even my life as a free soul with a free mind and free spirit. My roots are in Iran with its rich history and civilization with Rumi, music, and most importantly, the people from its varied cultures, all of which have significantly influenced my work.
Jordan Blankenship · Estero, FL · Jordan Blankenship is a functional designer; she explores developing ceramic sets that embrace practical thinking while playing with systems and outcomes that challenge expected limitations. Blankenship holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Florida Gulf Coast University and her Master of Fine Arts degree in Ceramics at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Blankenship’s collections can be found through partnerships with retailers across the United States. Blankenship works from her studio in Estero, Florida where she continues to hone her craft.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Pottery possesses a unique ability to provide an intimate space for well-being practices, becoming an approachable medium secured in domestic traditions. My interchangeable ceramic pieces create sets that service desires and daily routines, navigating how to make moments that assist in centering on mindful intentions and the enjoyment of food. The development of the wheel-thrown forms comes from the experience of using objects frequently, and each set was created in the studio to assist my life at home. I invite the user to ponder the importance of objects within daily rituals. I am allowing the user to reexamine our habitual rituals and relationship to objects in moments of nourishment.
Each collection has been thoughtfully crafted to adapt to individual preferences, reflecting on the duality between the domestic household’s simple and complex habits. I challenge the notion of our quickly paced life through a series of functional ceramic sets that embrace compact, functional design, and efficiency—and emphasize my desire for beauty to function in our life and our home.
Leila Mesdaghi · Fort Myers, FL · Leila Mesdaghi is an Iranian-Colombian artist born in New York City in 1977. She moved to Iran after the Iranian revolution in 1978 and lived in Tehran until she moved back to the US after graduating from the Tehran Islamic Azad Law University in 2000. She received a BA in Art from Florida Gulf Coast University in 2016, and was the Residency Assistant at the Rauschenberg Residency in Captiva, FL for three years. She is currently working toward her MFA at Bard College, and is the Chair of the City of Fort Myers Public Art Committee. Her interdisciplinary work includes painting, sculpture, video, performance, and installation, and depicts subjects such as shame and vulnerably.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Art is the glue that keeps me connected, allows me to play, and expands my understanding. I think a lot about relationships, love, and feelings of longing and abandonment. The complexity of growing up in Iran after the revolution, living through the eight years of the Iran-Iraq’s imposed war, heavy restrictions, and also growing up in an Iranian-Colombian household has all been informing my work.
To me, making art is about solving small problems and that’s how I find hope in bigger issues, and life. I think of my pieces as emotion-scapes as I challenge to give emotional and psychological concepts a visual realization. I have made work about capturing a sigh, telling dark secrets, punishing my tongue, and writing unreadable letters to my lovers. For each project I chose the medium that would best translate my ideas. I have been merging performance, video, and sound, to make installations and create multi-sensory experiences. My body, my voice, and sometimes my strength become my medium. In my recent work, I collaborated with photographers, vocalists, dress-makers, and my psychologist to make poetic images and videos in the house I grew up in Tehran, Iran.
Golbanou Moghaddas · San Francisco, CA · Golbanou Moghaddas is an Iranian-American visual artist and educator based in San Francisco, CA. She holds an MFA from San Francisco Art Institute and an MA in Communication Design from Central Saint Martins College of Art in London, UK. She has been an Affiliate Artist at Headlands Center for the Arts, a Kala Art Institute Fellow, a Manhattan Graphics Center scholarship awardee, and International Print Center New York’s New Print Program awardee.
Moghaddas's work is included in collections at Turner Prize Museum, Chico, CA; Colombia University, New York, NY; Waskowmium Collection, VA; California State University, Fresno, CA; Southern Graphics International, Kennesaw, GA; Framingham State University, Framingham, MA; California Society of Printmakers, San Francisco, CA; Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, OR; Mullowney Printing Company, San Francisco, CA; and private collectors in Europe, Northern America, and the Middle East.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Over the past few years I’ve been developing a body of miniature etchings inspired by Persian Literature and Poetry. The compositions and imagery are inspired by the manuscripts of the 17th century Safavid Dynasty in Iran. I have an ongoing series of 3x3-inch etchings corresponding to Attar’s 11th century The Conference of the Birds. Hoopoe, a significant leading bird from Attar’s book, is a reoccurring figure in most of my images. The Hoopoe enticed all the birds to embark on a journey to meet Simorgh, a fantastical bird representing perfection. Hoopoe and the birds became one along the way, realizing that what they were searching for was unity. I’m calling on Hoopoe to make a comeback and offer its leadership in the unstable world of today.
Each piece is framed off-centered to emphasize the unconventional layout of the authentic miniatures. There’s an indisputable perfection in the execution of the manuscripts. My effort in the transplantation of the patterns, poetry, and imagery aims to create an interweaving conversation between all of the pieces that traditionally stand alone in the manuscript.
Pottery Boys - Glenn Woods & Keith Herbrand · Palm Harbor, FL · Glenn Woods and Keith Herbrand work together to create a cohesive body of decorative and functional crystalline glazed pottery. Woods designs and creates the decorative pieces while Herbrand’s focus tends to be more functional. They both use the same porcelain clay and crystalline glazes.
GLENN WOODS ARTIST STATEMENT
Influenced by gourds, flowers, sea creatures, and patterns found in nature, I use porcelain to create vases, lidded jars, and other vessels. Many of my pieces are carved, pierced, altered, and beaded to create the illusion of overlapping flower petals and bodies which appear to be gourd-like. The beads create patterns that look like strings of jewelry adorning necks and collars. The surface I enjoy most is achieved by using matte crystalline glazes—it is soft and more subtle than the glossy crystalline glazes and allows the carving, beading, and altering to come through beautifully. I use glossy crystalline glazes when the piece requires a little more zing.
KEITH HERBRAND ARTIST STATEMENT
My focus tends to be more functional in nature—while I employ many of the same techniques, I use glossy crystalline glazes exclusively. The introduction of inclusion stains and post firing techniques helps to achieve unusual colors, contrast, and textures. We work out of two studios: Palm Harbor, Florida in the fall, winter, and early spring; and Blue Island, Illinois during the late spring and summer months. We are constantly testing new glazes, firing techniques, and surface treatment.
ABOUT CRYSTALLINE GLAZES
While there are many varieties of crystals, we focus on zinc-silicate crystals. Zinc oxide and silica in our glaze formulations are necessary to form crystals in the glaze layer. These crystals form during a cooling cycle which takes place after the glaze has matured. Our glazes are fired to 2345°F and then quickly cooled to 2000°F where the crystals will start to form. We slow cool and alter the temperature during the cooling cycle - reaching a variety of temperatures between 1800°F and 2000°F with a variety of holding times. Each change in temperature is marked by a change in crystal color and texture, producing growth rings. Matte crystalline glazes produce smaller crystals with a silky smooth surface. Unlike the gloss crystalline glazes, the colors are typically more pastel and have less contrast between crystal and ground. The softer, more subtle matte glazes work to enhance the details in Glenn’s work: beading, carving, altering, and piercing.
Rebecca Stevens · St. Petersburg, FL · Born and raised in the mountains of Asheville, NC, Rebecca Stevens grew up surrounded by a vibrant art and craft community. She fell in love with making functional ceramic art during her first high school pottery class in 2013. Stevens also studied classical ballet from a young age, and in 2017, she graduated from Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick, MA as a Dance major. While enrolled at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Asheville, she studied ceramics at Black Mountain Center for the Arts and Village Potters Clay Center. She also worked for the Southern Highland Craft Guild Gallery in Biltmore Village. Stevens graduated with her BFA in spring 2021.
While at UNC-Asheville, Stevens began to discover the ways that her background in dance influences her ceramic work, and she explored the influences of various art historical movements. In the summer of 2021, Stevens moved to Saint Petersburg, FL, where she is currently an Artist in Residence at the Morean Center for Clay.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My work draws inspiration from art history as well as my personal history with ballet in order to reflect the joys of life that are dearest to me. Each piece I make is a kind of self-portrait, as they combine elements of everything I love about art and life. My goal is that the objects I make will enhance the beauty of small everyday moments. By interacting with these precious objects, the user can take the time to slow down and notice how beautiful these small day-to-day moments can be. When they are elevated into intimately elegant experiences, it brings joy, excitement, and comfort to the user. A quiet moment such as enjoying a cup of afternoon tea then becomes one of the finer things in life.
In the Shop
During each exhibition, the gallery shop features artists who create work that speaks to the current exhibition.
Fairy Tale Teas, Marissa Kinsler · Odessa, FL · Marissa Kinsler is the creator, founder, and lead Fairy Godmother of Fairy Tale Teas. Forever a lover of fairytale princesses, desserts, and romantic tea parties, Kinsler knew from a young age that she would live a life that celebrated all things abundantly beautiful—a life where she would not only enjoy magic, but share it with others. Kinsler and her team of fae {fairytale creatures} scour countryside's all over the world in search of the perfect fairytale to inspire each magical tea blend.
Teresa Faris · Teejop Meskousing (Madison, WI) · Teresa Faris is an artist, jeweler, and educator who makes slow and ethical objects made from recycled precious metals—free from heavy metals—and conceptually driven reclaimed materials. Each piece is designed and constructed in a way that insures future recyclability. These one-of-a-kind, and limited production pieces are made to last a lifetime, be safe to wear, and never end up in a landfill.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Human identity is rooted in our co/existence with animals.
Through process, material exploration and design, my work explores the ideas of pacification, advantage and disadvantage that, adjacently, resides within all beings. When displaced from what is intended/natural and stripped of privilege/rights one must find ways of soothing the mind. A captive non-human animal may investigate an unnatural toy, pace or repeatedly chew wood, and a dis-eased human may pace or saw metal. The latest series of wearable objects titled Collaboration with a Bird(CWaB) is reminiscent of toys meant to pacify captive animals. The resulting objects of adornment act as a distraction and tool for introspective thinking for humans. Cast-off materials such as reclaimed perches and wood that have been altered and discarded by a captive bird are placed with sterling silver or gold support structures.
Anthropomorphism and dehumanization have been used throughout history as a way for privileged people of power to place blame, instill fright, disgust or contempt on disadvantaged persons or animals in an attempt to maintain control and diminish guilt.
Through weight, material and form these objects ask the wearer/viewer to question their own relationship to animals and how they choose to co/exist with “others”. By joining disparate materials this work challenges the popular models, misconceptions and superstitions that have led to the death of animals and marginalization of humans.
Babette Herschberger · St. Petersburg, FL · Babette Herschberger completed an AS in graphic design with honors at the Art Institute of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. She then developed a studio practice as a painter and collage artist. In 2015, she was an artist in residence at ArtCenter South Florida/Oolite Arts in Miami. In 2021, her work was included in the Skyway exhibition at the University of South Florida’s Contemporary Art Museum. Her work was published in New American Paintings, edition #112, and is in the collection of Miami Dade College’s Museum of Art + Design, as well as a number of corporate and private collections. Herschberger began a study in ceramics at The Morean Center for Clay after relocating to St. Petersburg from Miami in 2018.
ARTIST STATEMENT
As long as I can remember I have appreciated and collected the work of ceramic artists. After having formally studied and practiced graphic design for a decade, I began building contemporary primitive furniture which morphed into a full-time painting practice of 25 years.
Upon relocating from Miami to St. Petersburg in 2018, I discovered an extensive environment of ceramic studios and artists in the region. Just weeks after my relocation I began taking classes at the Morean Center for Clay and like many, I was smitten with the process and have earnestly continued my pursuit of this medium. It is the most challenging yet rewarding medium I have ever undertaken. I have a great love of industrial design and have focused almost entirely on functional ceramic work, making primarily drinking vessels that have a focus on form and color, each new piece or series is in itself a design challenge. They are small sculptures to me.
Working in this utilitarian direction for the last four years has afforded me the ability to teach myself how to hand build with clay and left me with the headspace I need to continue my painting process. It is my aim to bring both my painting practice and my clay practice into a more cohesive body of work.
Dierra Jones · Savannah, GA · Dierra Jones is a jewelry artist and K-5 visual arts teacher based in Savannah, GA. Jones is a native of Petersburg, VA, where she attended Petersburg Public Schools and received her B.F.A. in Studio Arts at Virginia State University (VSU). Upon graduation, Dierra moved to Savannah, GA to attend graduate school at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), where she earned an MFA in Jewelry.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Dierra Jones utilizes storytelling and place as the driving force in her studio practice. The medium of jewelry is transformed, resulting in delicate, small-scale, wearable objects and non-traditional installation works, containing her identity and emotions. She uses her practice as a method to achieve freedom and control from her past experiences, reflecting a keen eye for autobiography, processing her life stories through a variety of perspectives. Jones’s ability to create engaging and thoughtful works causes each story to be a continual, encouraging reflection and transformation within the viewer. Jones additionally uses her studio practice and background in jewelry to create everyday wear jewelry that is fun through color experimentation with enamel and bead and wire techniques (a self-taught skill that she has developed over the years).
Cindy Liebel · Fredericksburg, VA · As an artist, Cindy Liebel has been a passionate visual storyteller for as long as she can remember. Her grandfather first inspired her love for photography, a craft she explored and honed during her formative years. The opportunity to learn and develop basic metalsmithing techniques in 2007, captivated her creativity and ultimately inspired her to rebrand and launch Cindy Liebel Jewelry in 2014. Since then, she has been refining her craft and continually seeking new ways to evoke emotion and delight customers through intentional design.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Cindy Liebel Jewelry is jewelry for the individual, the ever-curious collector who actively engages with the world and thrives on exploration. For every empowered individual, each piece is made to feel effortlessly comfortable, making style easy and timeless. You'll always find a diverse assortment of styles, crafted to outlast trends, gift giving, and for regular enjoyment, from leisure to your next noteworthy event.
My unwavering commitment to ethical and sustainable sourcing pushes the limits of my creativity and invites me to explore new opportunities in design. All jewelry is mindfully crafted with sustainability in mind. I intentionally source all materials from supply chains that focus on environmental stability and that educate consumers about sustainable mining and ethical trade. To that end, I use recycled sterling silver, gold and other precious metals acquired from trusted, responsible suppliers, or I will recycle the metal myself. Whenever possible, I reuse raw materials and incorporate post-consumer materials in the packaging.
I draw inspiration from features of Scandinavian design aesthetics, contemporary architecture and Art Deco, including geometric patterns and abstract line art. My designs start with a hand-drawn sketch and are transformed into scaled paper models, allowing me to see the form and shape of the design in a more tangible way.
