This  pop-up online exhibition is a  collection of self-portraits that visually and/or verbally describe what creating art has meant to each artist either as a veteran or as an artist working through the Covid-19 isolation, or both. The exhibition  will also be a featured part of our Omaha Gives fundraising day activity on May 20th!

KARA ANDRESKI (U.S. Army):

“Self Portrait [was] created as a second year art student at Drake University, February 2020. I am a 51 year old returning student and a disabled army veteran. ‘You are never too old to become what you might have been!'” -Kara Andreski

NEVILLE BRIDGFORD (U.S. Army):

“Art is a way for me to get closer with God by emulating The Creator—making ‘something from nothing.’ Art, for me, is a spiritual act, and artists are capable of being intermediaries for a Higher Power, and sharing beauty with the world.  For this, I am eternally grateful to God.  –Neville Bridgeford

SHARON ROBINO-WEST (U.S. M.C.):

“This sums me up pretty well. No need to take another shot! I was photographing the eclipse a while back. Didn’t even think about the flag in the background when I took it…I enjoy my continued work with veterans and also creating photography and artwork that capture the spirit of our American service members and their families. Photography and writing probably come in right behind that. I own 4 cameras and a Go Pro. I enjoy sharing my creativity with others.”  –Sharon Robino-West

BILL DUNN  (U.S. M.C.):

What does my art mean to me? I’m on this earth to serve other people in whatever way I can. God blessed me with an artistic and creative mind, so I use it to the best of my ability to make people laugh or cry or even jump up and down in joyful bliss. That’s my happy place, doing things for others. My art has taken me all over and I’ve had the fortune of meeting a lot of different kinds of people along the way. I have been blessed for sure and as the saying goes “Its been a long and (fun) strange trip.” –Bill Dunn

CHRIS POTRATZ (U.S. A.F.):

“I have always been an introvert, and perhaps my service connected issues with anxiety have amplified that. My love for photography is a perfect match for such a disposition – my ideal photo session is a solo trip to a beautiful landscape, or just driving around in nature to see what I find. It allows me to express myself creatively and be in the state I love most: isolation.” –Chris Potratz

BRYON LINE (U.S. Army):

“Art for me has opened up wonderful and unexpected opportunities with old and new veteran friends to express ourselves within the community. And for now, it also provides a solace of purposeful work during an uncertain time. “ –Bryon Line

JEFF WILD (U.S. Navy):

“In his book, Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury wrote, ‘It doesn’t matter what you do…as long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something that’s like you after you take your hands away.’ As an extension of my hands (and eyes,) the camera allows me to demonstrate, if even in small and perhaps insignificant ways, that I was here” -Jeff Wild

PAMMELA GARCIA (NE. ARMY NAT. GUARD):

“To me, portraits are everything. I absolutely love drawing other people’s faces, however, when it came to drawing my own face I didn’t know if I could finish. I started this self portrait when I was 17 and at the time it felt accurate to my interests and what I thought was interesting about myself. I couldn’t bring myself to finish it, however. It wasn’t that I didn’t like it, but i wanted to add all aspects of my personality and I felt like a self portrait could capture only a small part of that. So I left it unfinished. It is a reflection of how my life is unfinished but how I should never feel any shame for not having it all figured out yet. I hope one day I’ll come back to it when I feel satisfied enough to tell a complete story. ” –Pammela Garcia

TRACY STAMBAUGH (U.S.A.F):

“Being stuck inside, and having nobody to take pictures of, I have recently begun a self portrait series. Since everything in the world is so serious these days, I try to make my self portraits somewhat comical. I hope people smile when they see my work and it brings a little relief from everything going on right now. ” –Tracy Stambaugh

ERIN COLSON (U.S. Army):

“I have never been one to do the whole self portrait thing. I’d rather stay behind the camera. I know it’s important to put yourself out there sometimes… be vulnerable, yet it’s still so hard to do. This is a rough time for everyone. I have alot of anxieties about it. Having been in the Army has put me at an advantage during certain situations, this being one but it has also been hard because I’m a mom too. I have 2 sons, one on active duty Army and one trying to finish Army basic training. Not being with my boys during all of this and knowing they are out there trying to navigate this on their own without my husband and I, is the absolute hardest. I have my faith though and that gets me through everything no matter how hard, even the corona, the empty nesting and yes, even this self portrait.” –Erin Colson

PAUL CLARAHAN (U.S.A.F):

“This spiral project was in conjunction with a school project where the kids made their  own chalk art at home and posted it online. I was asked to join in. It kinda tells me about how crazy/messed up things are right now in the Country. Yet it also describes me a lot of time. With Bipolar, depression and different types of PTSD, sometimes I don’t know if I’m wrong, right, going left or right. To be honest with you, this is the first time I’ve opened up to a lot people about myself. I’m mainly a hands on building kind of person. I can dream it in my head, then go build it.” –Paul Clarahan

JIM O’KEEFE (U.S. M.C.):

“Given world events, it’s as though the rules of gravity have changed. Fortunately, we can still express and CONNECT with our eyes & ears. Visual storytelling is how I connect.” – Jim O’Keefe, JPOPhotoVideo.com

DEBORAH KING:

“When this isolation time first hit I cried myself to sleep asking God for peace and direction and hope.  Then as I laid there He began to give me purpose, painting ideas, and creative ways to reach out to  those around me.  I got up immediately and began to paint into the night.  Since then I have shifted my focus, I have started to use my painting, and my creativity as a way of reaching out, and sharing a hopeful perspective.  This time has been a creative incubator for me!”–Deborah King

JEREMY TUTINI:

“A digital drawing of myself keeping an eye on the neighborhood during the recent lockdown. With few opportunities to leave the house, I’ve found myself more than ever looking out at the world and finding that more than ever I’ve wanted to be closer to it. The best I can do for now is to use my binoculars to gaze out the window.” — Jeremy Tutini

STEVE ELLIOTT  (U.S. M.C.):

“Over the past several months, I’ve been reminded of a simple quote by Theodore Roosevelt: “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” This is something I learned firsthand while serving on deployments, and have carried long into my professional career. I think one of the most satisfying aspects of being an artist during a time like this being reminded of how important it is to do just that.” –Steve Elliott