Every two months I feature a new artist on 1” buttons in my button vending machine located at Bad Apple Vntg. in Reno, NV.
January - February 2020: Ruby Barrientos
Ruby Barrientos is a first-generation American descendant of Salvadoran artists. Spirit guides her art as she speaks through her hands, pens, spray cans and any form that gives space to embrace her creative voice. It’s a reflection of her heritage, because of that, her images come from a deep inner place of need and ancestral honoring to express her authentic self without hindrance.
Her paintings reflect an intuitive inclination, which convey emotions to express her most honest and vulnerable self. Behind every creation, the art of soul, our authentic selves, are made visible. Through self-expression, soul is made apparent. The balance of dark-light, the feminine-masculine, and the old/young that resides in Ruby’s art echoes the duality of the inner self.
November - December 2019: Alan Kaplan
A.L.Kaplan is a comic book artist interested in exploring queer narratives in psychedelic and sci-fi settings. When not drawing comics, he can be found biking, picking up shiny rocks, and blasting doom metal to his two cats.
You can find Alan online on Twitter and Instagram @alkcomics
September - October 2019: Metal Jeff
Metal Jeff may say he’s from Reno, but he might actually be from space which is why he uses it in his art. His work is rooted in heavy music and mythology and hopes to just make weird and interesting pieces.
You can find Jeff on Instagram at @metaljeff
July - August 2019: Teri Barnes
Teri Barnes is a Northern Nevada artist who works with various mediums, including photography, ceramics, and printmaking. She uses abstraction and patterns to bring texture and visual interest to her work and shares her vision of the details in our daily lives that viewers might normally overlook. Teri is beginning the Master of Fine Arts program at Sierra Nevada College this Summer and received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at The University of Nevada, Reno in 2017. In her spare time she enjoys taking art workshops, helping with raku ceramic firings at The Wedge Ceramics Studio, and volunteering with Laika Press.
You can find Teri on Instagram at @barnesteri to see more art and follow her journey in grad school.
May - June 2019: Ally Messer
Ally Messer is a maker and artist born and raised in Reno, Nevada. Ally’s work often takes the form of zines, books, soft-sculpture, and installation. She recently received her Bachelors of Fine Arts degree in Printmaking. Ally’s work features fruit and veggie characters to address topics surrounding social justice, women’s craft, beauty standards, and queer identity. Ally values accessibility to art and is increasing accessibility to printmaking in her community through co-founding and teaching workshops at Laika Press. When she’s not printing or making, Ally enjoys a good fruit and putting together penpal packages for her sweet friends.
You can find more of Ally’s work and stay up to date by following her on Instagram @babyavacado!
March - April 2019: Em Jiang
Em Jiang was born and raised in Reno and likes to do a lot of things! They draw a lot, make animations, tattoo (hand-poke), and has recently learned how to crochet. They currently live in Providence, RI studying film and animation at RISD (The Rhode Island School of Design).
Check them out on Instagram at @gentlepokes to follow their tattoo and art etc. and @ems_eyeballs to look inside their sketchbook.
January - February 2019: Ana Mckay
Ana McKay is an artist and illustrator based in her hometown of Reno, Nevada, USA. While Ana's go-to medium is ink on paper, she is always experimenting with different mediums, from fiber and audio to pottery and printmaking. Ana's work is informed by, among other things, handicraft, pop art, nostalgia, medieval imagery, yé-yé, love, girls, fear, and friendship. When she's not making art, Ana can be found DJ-ing and program directing at KWNK 97.7FM, and volunteering at The Holland Project.
You can find Ana's work and get in touch at anamckay.com, and keep up with her on Instagram at @fizzaster!
November - December 2018: Kaylyn Dazey Harper
Kaylyn Dazey Harper is your girl when it comes to illustrating badass women, be it in traditional pen and ink or a digital rendering. She’s always ready to draw a babe on a mission. Currently she’s a freelance illustrator, part time designer at StanCan Design, part time designer for Biz Nevada Magazine and part student of animation at Truckee Meadows Community College. Needless to say, she’s either drawing, designing or sleeping. She grew up watching anime and reading manga, which explains her current habit of binge reading Webtoons during vacations... she remember being glued to her mailbox once a month waiting for her subscription of Shonen Jump Magazine to arrive in the mail. She loved that most of the female characters in Japanese media were dynamic heroes in their own right. They were always beautiful, and witty, AND STRONG. She took a look at the women around her in everyday life and uses their stories to inspire new characters and compositions.
Check out her website and follow her on Instagram at @dazey_duck
June - July 2018: Nathaniel Benjamin
Nathaniel Benjamin approaches printmaking and painting through a surrealistic lens, examining the interaction between self and other. Raised mostly in the Midwest, the religious environment of his formative years inspired him to study mysticism and mythology. With this foundation, his artwork seeks to bridge the spiritual and carnal, representing the human figure in an environment as mental as it is physical. He earned his BFA from the University of Nevada, Reno, and actively shows his work in the Great Basin. Recent exhibitions include Saint Mary’s Art Center, Sierra Arts Gallery, and the Holland Project.
Check out his website and follow him at @nathaniel.benjamin on Instagram.
April - May 2018: Haleigh Hoff
Haleigh Hoff is a designer and goods maker, aka a mega freak girl who has somehow found a lifestyle that allows her to make fun things and share them with the world for a living. She is back living in Reno, NV again after a few year stint in Oakland, CA, and is happy to be bak in the 775!
Find her on the internets at @hoffgoods and @hayreehoff or www.haleighhoff.com
February - March 2018: Traci Turner
Traci L. Turner is a painter who uses bold, expressive colors to address deeply personal themes. Her work is a battle between aggressive textures and tender emotions.
Check out her website and follow her @tracilturner