Be Inspired by the Independent Spirit of North of Boston Artists and Artisans 

Meet 13 autonomous thinkers putting their own stamp on the present. To paraphrase an old TV jingle, the spirit of North of Boston is the spirit of America. Nowhere is this more evident than in the artist community. Selecting just a baker’s dozen of merit was a challenge for the ages. Once you read about how they’re engineering steel into sculptures, painting on nautical charts, and depicting coastal life with pigments and pulp, think independently yourself and set out to find even more makers who call this creative region home.

Sammia Atoui and Adrian Rodriguez, Salem

Fans of woodblock and linocut relief prints are sure to dig the work of Atoui and Rodriguez, whose studio name, MiraMar, translates to “look to the sea.” The pair drops collections in eclectic themes ranging from mythological (mermaids) to Massachusetts (Nahant Beach).

Nate Bibaud, Amesbury

Primary colors punctuate the beauty of the ordinary in the prints and paintings of this former skateboarder. Left paralyzed from the neck down by a car accident, Bibaud put his punk-rock ethos to the test by soldiering through therapies and learning to draw without assistance. Today, his vast body of work—and merch—is an inspiration for everyone.

Meg Black, Topsfield

The process and tools behind Black’s texture-rich renderings of flowers are palpable. Her canvases are handmade from a mix of raw cotton, banana-plant fiber, and water, and she applies colored pulp with a baster for a three-dimensional effect.

Lisa Boemer, Marblehead and Swampscott

Boemer’s use of NOAA navigational charts as canvases led to her fascination with endangered right whales, once the dots representing the animals’ habitats caught her eye. More than just visually appealing backdrops, the maps glimpsed beneath her paintings are also intended to raise awareness about vulnerable species.

Alan Bull, Newburyport

Bull’s vivid brushstrokes have appeared on everything from birch-wood panels to album covers, but his monotypes of sand dunes convey quiet luxury with their muted tints. Every print is inherently unique as the inked printing plate can’t be used more than once.

Beverly Cook, Lynnfield

From even a few steps back, it’s difficult to comprehend that atmospheric scenes, like a boat on the harbor at golden hour, were hand stitched with embroidery thread by this award-winning fiber artist.

Joe Higgins, Gloucester and Rockport

Higgins brings the Japanese tradition of gyotaku to the North Shore, where he applies ink directly to a fish, covers it carefully with rice paper, and rubs along the raised portions, resulting in a patterned print with seaside allure.

Vanessa Michalak, Gloucester

Emotion abounds in the expressionist oil paintings of Michalak. With points of view that feel personal, and inventive brushwork lending a dreamlike feel, it’s easy to get lost in her depictions of the natural world.

Garima Parakh, Andover

Techniques like wet-on-wet application and painting outdoors combine to bring immediacy to the lush oil work of Parakh. Born and raised in India, her work is a love letter to her adopted country, with subjects including Essex Marsh and produce from the Andover farmers market.

Dale Rogers, Haverhill

For his large sculptures, Rogers opts for either rust-proof stainless steel or sure-to-rust weathering steel. Whether shiny or patinated, each larger-than-life creation makes a whimsical statement that’s hard to miss.

Jonathan Sherman, Marblehead

Rebelling against the latest trends, Jonathan Sherman creates new works that seem sprung from the 19th-century gallery of an art museum. Portrait drawings using the sight-size method, sculptures in bronze, and still lifes painted in oils on stretched canvas are all part of a repertoire that is as current as it is classical.

George Sherwood, Ipswich

Whether you know it or not, you’ve likely been dazzled by Sherwood’s glittering kinetic sculptures, as they’ve made their way into numerous New England museums and botanic gardens. Each stainless-steel piece moves with the wind, reflecting the world around it.

Image Credits: Courtesy of Dale Rogers, Haverhill, Courtesy of Nate Bibaud, Courtesy of Lisa Boemer, Courtesy of George Sherwood

*

This blog is an excerpt from our digital guide “250 Ways to Explore, Discover, and Celebrate North of Boston”. To view the full guide, click here.