Stéphane Calvin

Bio & Artist Statement

At the heart of Stéphane’s artistic journey lies a profound commitment to weaving the rich tapestry of her diverse cultural influences into a visual narrative that speaks to the complexities of the human experience. Through her work, Stéphane invites viewers to explore themes of social justice, Black identity, and the passage of time.

As an artist and educator, Stéphane seeks to cultivate a space where art becomes a vessel for dialogue, a mirror reflecting the kaleidoscope of cultures that have shaped her perspective. Rooted in her Haitian heritage, nurtured in France, and thriving in the United States and Africa, she blends the figurative and abstract to articulate the nuances of multiculturalism and personal resilience.

Whether in the quiet sanctuary of botanical watercolors or the intricate layers of mixed media, Stéphane finds solace in, and channels a slow tactile process. With a background in international affairs and conflict management, she infuses her art with a deep understanding of the human condition, creating pieces that provoke thought and resonate with authenticity.

Guided by core values of curiosity, respect, excellence, and honesty, Stéphane aims to expand her artistic footprint through jewelry designs, product creation and surface patterns. Through every brushstroke and crafted piece, her mission is to inspire reflection, foster connections, and contribute to a world enriched by the beauty of diverse perspectives.

In 2019 she received her Licence d’Arts Plastiques ( BA Visual Arts) from the Ecole des Arts of the Sorbonne University in Paris. At that time she was lucky to be tutored and mentored by the late Martine Nostron, a consummate visual artist, and to learn watercolor techniques with master watercolorist Mireille Pizzano.

In a previous life Stéphane trained in international affairs and worked in that field.

Follow Stéphane on Instagram! @stephanecalvin.art

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Lauren Jackson

Bio & Artist Statement

Lauren Jackson is a multimedia printmaker, graphic designer, and art educator from the DC Metropolitan Area, living and working in Baltimore, Maryland. She completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), majoring in Printmaking with concentrations in Graphic Design and Book Arts. Jackson received her Master of Arts in Teaching for Art Education from MICA in 2022, during the height and in the midst of the global pandemic.

Focusing on printmaking, artists’ books, and contemporary graphic design, Jackson’s work often involves complex typographic solutions paired with illustrative, bold compositions. Her work is heavily influenced and informed by letterpress printing and hand typesetting. Using her extensive relationship with printmaking and print design, she specializes in designing printed materials expressing ambitious narratives and identities.

Currently, Jackson is thinking about the intersections of art education and culture and how might her work as a printmaker and designer lend itself to building an art classroom that thrives on the different cultural makeup of its students and expels anti-Blackness in school institutions.

Jackson is extremely dedicated to her students and her craft. Lauren has exhibited work nationally, including spaces in Maryland, Hamilton Woodtype & Museum in Two Rivers, WI, and Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center Gallery in Indianapolis, IN. Her work is also included in the permanent collection of the Dolphin Press & Print Archive in Baltimore, MD. Jackson has been the recipient of many awards in leadership and merit as an artist and art educator, those rewards include but are not limited to, the Patricia Lion Krongard Award, Leslie King Hammond Fellowship, and the MICA Alumni Leadership Award. She was recognized as early career visual arts teacher of the year in Baltimore city public schools in 2023. Additionally, In 2024, Lauren Jackson was recognized as the Maryland Art Educator Association agent of change awardee.

​Recent artistic explorations include communicating unapologetic narratives of her surroundings and community through the use of multiplicity of symbols and icons sourced from current pop culture.

Follow Lauren on Instagram! @jacksonpressco

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Sarah Matthews

Bio & Artist Statement

Sarah Matthews’ work reflects her commitment to exploring the complex issues of race, equality, and gender while shining a light on social injustice. Through her layered prints and artist books, she documents the struggles of breaking through barriers in our society. As an African-American, Mrs. Matthews has experienced firsthand the impact of negative media images that portray her community as inferior. Through her art, she aims to challenge these stereotypes and empower her audience to see all individuals’ beauty, intelligence, and importance, regardless of race.

Sarah Matthews is a highly skilled printmaker and book artist with a background in art and business. She holds an MA in Art & the Book from the Corcoran College of Arts and Design at George Washington University, an MBA with a Marketing Concentration, and a BS in Sociology from Bowie State University. Her works have been exhibited internationally and are part of prestigious collections at institutions such as the National Museum of African American History & Culture Library, Yale’s Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, George Washington University’s Gelman Library, University of Puget Sound, and Samford University. Mrs. Matthews is also a dedicated educator, teaching Artist Books at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) and bookbinding and printmaking classes at various art centers and platforms.

Follow Sarah on Instagram! @iamsarahmatthews

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Justyne Fischer

Bio & Artist Statement

Justyne Fischer examines the legacy of racism and memorializes pivotal figures and events in American history. Working between woodcut printing and using wood-burning (Pyrogravure) on live-edge wood panels, Fischer’s socially-conscious images offer graphic indictments of systemic racism and ask us to remember both the victims of injustice and those who have fought against oppression.

Fischer’s recent print collections including “Social Memorials”, “Bad Asses from History”, and her newest series “Burned in History.” The woodcuts making up the “Social Memorials” series shine a light on the myriad of unjust events involving unarmed Black men, women, and boys. “Bad Asses from History” (2020) honors the legacies of Frederick Douglass, John Lewis, Harriet Tubman, and John Mercer Langston. “The Root” (2020-22) explores the origins of systemic racism and white supremacy in America which is rooted in slavery, explicit police brutality and our biased criminal justice system. “1921” (2021) was the first work in the series “Burned in History”. This wood-burning created on the 100-year anniversary, reframes the buried atrocities of the Greenwood Race Massacre.

Without the aid of a press, Fischer’s woodcuts often depart from the usual associations we make with traditional printmaking processes. She burnishes, and hand pulls large-scale compositions onto sheer fabric. As light passes through the image, the layered fabric creates intentional moirés, optical movement, and illumination.

For “Burned in History” (2022), the most recent series, Fischer uses medium of Pyrogravure, or woodburning in combination with dry and wet pigment, oil, and wax on live-edge wooden panels to memorialize influential figures such as John Brown, Harriet Tubman, Bass Reeves, Sarah Rector, Robert Johnson, and Angela Davis. The works celebrate these leading figures’ inner light, wisdom, and tenacity. She deliberately chose the act of burning to create the portraits, in reference to the burning of the Greenwood community of Tulsa Oklahoma by white supremacists in what is known as the “1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.” The process also recalls the horrific practice of branding flesh during chattel slavery. By inscribing these heroic likenesses in heat, literally burning them in, Fischer conceptually connects these figures and their struggles for liberation with the atrocities and daily degradations that Black people endured during slavery, Jim Crow and that continue in many forms today.

Disillusionment with current divisions and hatred in American society has caused Fischer to look back at moments in history that shaped our systems and beliefs. She is interested in questions such as: How do oral and written histories shape our perceptions of the truth? Is the truth even valued anymore? Likewise, the artworks in the work exhibit, ask the viewer to interrogate their own understanding of history and recent events, and hopefully begin the work of reframing the narrative.

Follow Justyne on Instagram! @justynefischer

Visit Justyne's Website