Every Memory Has A Golden Name

Irene Wills , Mark Sloniker and Ellen Sadler

April 3 - 25, 2010

Twist Art Gallery & Twist Etc.

Mark Sloniker grew up in rural Wisconsin, the son of a factory worker/wood craftsman and a substitute teacher.  He spent most of his youth in the woods watching the animals and putting on operas among the trees.

In high school, he studied music and took a few art courses.  He received an associate arts degree from Cornerstone College and a Bachelor of Music from Millikin University. In 1997 Mark moved to Nashville.  Through small steps and good friends, he started taking freelance jobs in commercial art while also working at a non-profit organization. He eventually quit the non-profit and took various jobs ranging from the decorative arts to graphic design.

In 2004, he was approached by his friends who make up the band Venus Hum to do the artwork for their next album, The Colors In The Wheel.  This collaboration grew to encompass everything visual for them including CDs, posters, and even characters. Currently, he is employed by Animax Designs as a workshop supervisor building puppets for major theme parks all over the world.

Artists' Statements:

Mark Sloniker

Decoration has long been a favorite outlet for me in my life.  I’ve always taken mundane photographs and added wild elements to them to spice them up.  Drawing on inspiration from Victorian cartouches and similar forms of adornments, I have created a series of chandelier-like forms covered in filigree
and flowers.   Within this beautiful setting are hidden secret scenes from my childhood and my private thought life.  Scenes that, long ago, seemed to too shameful to reveal to anyone, but now seem to require some measure of decoration much like a reverent monument to a lost part of myself.  

Irene Wills

Her vision for her art is to focus on nature and the landscape around me. Her interpretations are all in the spirit of American impressionists. "Since I am essentially a colorist, color gives me many of my inspirations.  I have been painting for 25 years and have worked in watercolor and oils- now I concentrate on oils. I am attracted to any garden views and landscapes."

Ellen Sadler

She has always loved the beauty of nature, the scope of color and the subject matter to be discovered in creation. She has a special interest in the delicacy and excitement of watercolors, which she has manifested in her paintings for many years. More recently, Ellen has broadened the medium of expression of her artistic interests to include oils.