Artscape
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Spring & Summer 2020



Artscape Spring & Summer 2020 Exhibition
Artist Biographies 

Allyson Allen is a textile artist, author, instructor and curator. She was raised in Los
Angeles and moved to Riverside County in the mid-1980s. Allyson's work has been
featured in numerous books and publications, and has been exhibited in galleries,
museums and embassies around the world. https://kuumba421.wixsite.com/quilts421

Raymond Argumedo is an artist based in Riverside. Raymond started drawing at the age
of 7 with his older brother George. His brother passed away at the age of 21 in a fatal
shooting on Gramercy Place, the street they grew up on and now Raymond’s business
name. Since that time, Raymond has been creating and imagining art that is primarily
inspired by ancient cultures, gods, mythology and astronomical beings. It is then blended
with a 1900s art nouveau, old soul feeling. His art has served him as a platform to express
his feelings when words cannot. “Gramercy” is also an archaic term which is used to
express “gratitude or surprise.” Gratitude is what keeps Raymond grounded and growing
with his art and in his everyday life. www.gramercyartcompany.com
@raymond.argumedo

Fernando Blanco is an expressive creator that works with a variety of mediums. He was
born in Paramount and moved to Riverside in 2016. Fernando has been expressing
himself since he was a young child, starting by learning the drums and guitar. From
producing and playing music he also plays with a psychedelic style of visual arts,
literature and painting. Fernando is currently working as the junior curator at Mind &
Mill’s Toil Gallery, and is also coordinating a collective show called “Solitude.”
Fernando has had a solo visual art show at Toil Gallery, and from that show has been
working with some great local artists and working to develop his figurative polymer
painting style that he now works on. Fernando’s main motivation is to keep raising
awareness on mental health and to break the stigma that has taken hold of it by practicing
creative art therapy. @fernvndo__

Jon “Roach” Brosius is a post-psychedelic artist who was raised in Riverside, CA. Jon
has been creating art from the time he was born and is currently teaching drawing in the
Riverside Arts Council’s Arts and Minds program. Jon has shown his work and curated
art shows at various galleries around Riverside. Jon’s artistic style combines elements of
screen printing, graphic design, collage and fine art. The creation of his artwork begins
with the canvas as the creativity flows through and spills over, holding back intent and
reason. Geometric shapes and patterns formed in each of his pieces can create hidden
landscapes and characters telling each viewer a different story. @roachez

Ashleigh Clayton is a digital composite photographer who was born and raised in
Rancho Cucamonga and moved to Riverside in 2016. Ashleigh has been creating art from
the time she was 15 and is currently completing her Masters of Fine Art at Claremont
Graduate University. Ashleigh has shown her work at Claremont City Hall, Claremont
University, ConDor Convention in San Diego, The DA Art Gallery in Pomona and
Anaheim PetCon. Ashleigh started out as a photographer but over the years has come to
enjoy making installation art. In the near future Ashleigh hopes to scale up her art making
and begin to show in larger galleries. Her MFA in studio art will round out her education
and be her third master’s degree, with other degrees including a MA in national security
and a MA in museum studies. When not creating artwork, Ashleigh spends the majority
of her time running her own business and hanging out with her dog, Quentin.
Ashleighclayton.com @ashleigh_clayton_creative

Rachael Dzikonski is a multimedia visual artist based in Riverside. Born and raised in
the Inland Empire, Rachael has been creating artwork since childhood and has spent her
life working and learning within the realm of the arts. She earned a BA in Art Education
with a focus in Ceramics, and most recently received her MA in Art History, Theory &
Criticism in June of 2019. In 2009, Rachael was hired on as the Program Manager of the
Riverside Arts Council, later to be promoted to Program Director. In her art
administration position, she has consistently been a curator, gallery manager, critic, arts
education supervisor, event coordinator, and has implemented many programs throughout
the County of Riverside. Over the last few years, Rachael has begun to focus her artwork
on woodworking, building custom furniture as she tries to master the medium. Rachael
has exhibited her ceramic art, drawings and photographs extensively throughout the
Inland Empire, and has also been curating and coordinating exhibitions outside of work
in order to offer opportunities for her fellow artists. www.rachaeldzikonski.com
@rdzikonski

Derek Fickes was born July 11 in the year 1980, to a roving band of travelers near
Chicago. At an early age he fell in love with the American landscape and graveyards,
which are a constant muse for his artwork. Whether it be in photographs, paintings, wood
carvings or boxes, Derek allows the inspiration to guide the creation of his work.

Bill (Balvant) Gorajia is an artist who was born in Tanzania, Africa and raised in Africa
and India. Bill came to the United States in 1959 and in Riverside County in 1989. Bill
has been creating art from the time he was five years old. He is currently retired but is
still painting as a hobby. Bill is a member of the Corona Art Association where he is
participating in art shows at CAA, as well as various other places in the communities, and
has received numerous awards. He enjoys working and experimenting with all mediums
(oil, watercolor, acrylics and pastels) and all subjects (portraits, still life, landscapes,
wildlife, etc.). Besides artwork, Bill enjoys photography, gardening and listening to
Indian and western classical music. He has a degree in mechanical engineering, the field
in which he worked until he retired in 2005 from UCI.

Maurice Howard is a Moorish American, who was born in Waco, Texas. At 69 years of
age, he enjoys working in oil, acrylic and color pencil. His goal is to become a successful
artist who is totally financially independent. He has been creating artwork for over 45
years, and his style contains elements of surrealism, cubism and realism. Maurice gives
credit to his mentor Charles Bibbs for his support and guidance.

Matisynn Johnson is a multidisciplinary designer and photographer with a background
in fine arts. She was born and raised in Riverside. She currently attends California Baptist
University, where she is wrapping up her Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design with a
concentration in Digital Media and anticipates graduating this coming spring. Matisynn
started creating at 4 years old, and since then has had work shown at various galleries.
Matti enjoys trying to emphasize a certain mood or theme when planning a project.
Sticking to theme is important in her own creative work as well as her work as a
Marketing Associate at Mind & Mill. She enjoys taking on new opportunities as they
come, and works diligently to achieve anything and everything that she possibly can. @matisynn.johnson

William S. Myerchin has been a photographer in the Inland Empire for thirty-five years.
He owned a commercial photo studio in Riverside from 1981 to 2006, providing services
for local businesses, manufacturers and educational institutions. After graduating from
the University of North Dakota in 1970, William taught in Rialto until being drafted into
the US Army the following year. While serving in the army, he was stationed in Viet
Nam where he worked as a combat photographer, photo journalist and general staff
photographer, documenting various events at the very end of the war. His service as an
Army photographer nurtured his passion for taking pictures. Upon leaving the Army,
William decided to make photography his life’s work and attended the Art Center
College of Design in Pasadena. Finally, in 1979, he opened a studio in the Inland Empire
and has been shooting photos ever since. Now semi-retired, William’s involvement in
photography has become a fine art discovery of self and the world, with a photo being a
fixed expression of that perception.

Estelle Shay is a painter who was born and raised in New Jersey, and came to Riverside
to live in 1978. Estelle has dabbled in drawing and painting for many years, strictly as a
hobby, while working in hospital public relations. She later worked as a writer/editor for
her husband, who published Cinefex, a magazine on movie special effects. Over the
years, she has taken numerous art classes to explore various mediums, but is currently
focusing on acrylic painting. Now that she is retired, she attends weekly art classes at the
Janet Goeske Center. Estelle and her husband Don spent twenty years traveling
extensively throughout Africa, photographing the wildlife, and she particularly enjoys
creating wildlife paintings based on the photography from their travels.

Maria Vega is a gouache and oil painter who moved to Riverside when she was 18 to
attend UCR. Maria has been creating art for the past five years and is currently taking
online art classes and workshops to continue learning. She will keep creating with the
hopes to further share and exhibit her art. Apart from art, Maria also loves to dance and
spend time with her animals. @mariavegapaints

Steve Walag is a photographer who was born in Mesa, Arizona. He came to this area in
1968 to attend UCR, and later also received a BFA from the Art Center College of
Design in Pasadena. Steve has been creating art from the time he was about 23. He is
currently semi-retired and concentrating his time on his artwork. He has shown his work
at various art shows and galleries in the local area. His art pays homage to the Japanese
painters who inspired his current style, which is a hybrid that mixes the methods of
photography with the touch of traditional Japanese painting. He is also deeply involved in
music and is now working on guitar-piano duets with his talented wife Barbara.
www.stevewalag.com

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