Rita Elswick is a Lakewood, Ohio-based photographer with over 20 years of experience capturing nature, wildlife, landscapes, and portraits. Her work has been exhibited throughout Ohio and serves as a visual expression of healing, resilience, and hope. 

“Photography is a means of expression for me, and through my photographs I want others to see how beautiful the world can be – even through the struggle of pain or disability. The human spirit is amazing, having the ability to heal itself through art.” 

Elswick shares how photography became a vital part of her recovery after a spinal cord injury: “My journey has been a long one… but photography has been a healing source of HOPE for me.” This piece is also in memory of her sister Tammy. “She was loved and strong and a beautiful human being. She wasn’t her addiction – she was a person who loved life and had hope. She will always be in my heart.” 

Amelia Golec is a multidisciplinary artist from Kent, Ohio, who works primarily in upcycled textiles and mixed media. She earned her BA in Art Education from Kent State University in 2020. Her art explores themes of pop culture, mental health, and personal memory. 

“Colorful and inviting, just like sprinkles on a cupcake, pills can pull you in. They can feel reliable when you have mental health issues – a possible ‘fix’ or way to manage your feelings. But at what cost?” 

This work is dedicated to her aunt, Jamie Lallathin, who died of an overdose. “She had attempted suicide with her medications several times throughout my life. Pills just seemed to sprinkle themselves into her life everywhere.” Through bright visuals and stark symbolism, Golec invites viewers to consider the complicated relationship between mental health and medication. 

Anne Snyder is a painter and mixed media artist based in Summit County, Ohio. She has exhibited and sold artwork for over 15 years and teaches art at a private school. Snyder earned her degree from The University of Akron and has taken graduate courses at Kent State University. 

“I create art because I cannot not create art. I grew up in a family of artists and have always made art.” 

Her recent work has explored portraiture and wildlife, and she is expanding her practice into watercolors and more sustainable materials. “Art is a necessity. It makes us feel emotions we may not have experienced otherwise. It can relax us – or call us to action. It connects us to others.”

Marla Dawn Kassoff is an artist, art educator, and art therapy facilitator. She earned her master’s in art education from Case Western Reserve University and works in hand-painted ceramics and expressive drawing. 

“My tiles and drawings are expressions from my heart and soul,” Kassoff says. Her work in this show continues her lifelong commitment to healing through art, rooted in emotional honesty and compassion. 

Janet Dodrill holds a BFA from Washington University in St. Louis, where she studied printmaking and painting. Her work has been widely exhibited in Northeast Ohio and explores themes of memory, portraiture, and nature. 

“In 2024, I assembled a book of portraits of Julia and asked other artists to participate. I alone did 12 portraits for the project. A copy of it was given to her mother, father, and closest friends at her memorial.” 

Dodrill continues, “This year I visited the Iris Garden dedicated in Julia’s name and did a painting on location… where I could sit and spend time with my thoughts and memories.” Her work serves as a quiet place of remembrance and personal reflection. 

Janet Mikolajczyk is an artist with a studio art degree from Barat College and a master’s in art history from Kent State University. She creates both digital and physical assemblage works and regularly exhibits locally. 

Of her digital collage, she shares: “I used my own photographs and found images… and the text from King Lear, ‘The weight of this sad time we must obey.’” 

Her assemblage combines personal and symbolic materials: “The nails relate the wood to the box which has bottle caps and pins and paper.” The work speaks quietly but powerfully of grief and preservation. 

Meaghan M. Reed is an artist based in Hudson, Ohio. She holds both a BFA and MFA from Kent State University and has worked as a studio assistant and instructor in textiles and fine art. 

Reed’s layered pieces combine paint, plexiglass, and wood to “draw the viewer in for closer examination.” Her work uses transparency and depth as metaphors for personal and collective history, and the way we process emotional layers over time. 

June Hund is a Cleveland-based artist originally from Detroit, working in photography, AI, collage, and installation. Her interdisciplinary practice often addresses mental health, loss, and cultural pressure. 

“This piece was a creative way for me to express myself during the challenging period that I witnessed my daughter struggle with substance use disorder,” she shares. “I watched her battle with addiction, loneliness, shame, and depression.”

Unconsciously drawn to a palette of deep red, purple, and black, she says, “The piece was my gut reaction… I incorporated images of human skeletons in a subtle manner, allowing them to float randomly throughout.” The result is a raw, intimate work that channels helplessness into art. 

Sarah Gordon is a student artist at Case Western Reserve University whose work investigates emotion, memory, and inner turmoil through layered visual storytelling. 

“I use art to tell the stories I feel are expressed better on canvas than in words,” she explains. In 5 O’clock Somewhere, she reflects on addiction and escapism: 

“For some, happy hour is a few hours long with many, many drinks… The dopamine and smiles linger… But if happy hour is every hour, when do you come down? When do you rest and stop the fun?” 

She adds, “Pain can be very physical, but also internal… invisible. Screams from the pain of memories, guilt tearing through your heart, and agony making your stomach turn.” Gordon’s work speaks with emotional clarity and urgency about what remains unspoken.