Amber perrodin

Inspired by the Ozark region she was born in, Amber Perrodin is a community organizer, artist, curator, mother, and wife. Perrodin is the Artist Fellow and Curator of the Ozark Story Project.

A full-time artist living in Springdale, Arkansas, Perrodin received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Printmaking from the University of Arkansas. In 2020 Perrodin became a certified Northwest Arkansas Master Naturalist. For Perrodin, art, nature, and community go hand in hand. Often found foraging for wild mushrooms, swimming in creeks, and searching for tumbled creek glass, Amber brings the essence of these quiet moments into her artwork and community-focused projects.

Amber is the founder of The Little Craft Show, Perrodin Supply Co., and Team Springdale. She also co-founded The Creative Social Retreat with four other artists.

Angel cabrales

From the Border city of El Paso, Texas, Angel Cabrales, M.F.A., is an Assistant Professor in Sculpture at the University of Texas at El Paso and an active artist both Nationally and Internationally. Cabrales teaches all levels of Sculpture, created Experimental Systems in Sculpture focused on STEAM elements in art and Neon Sculpture. He was recently awarded a Maker Space and suite in the university’s new Interdisciplinary Research Building for his team, EASSI (Engineering + Art + Science = Social Impact) to work on community engaged projects involving arts and sciences. He also serves on the Dean’s Interdisciplinary Task Force for Community Engagement, a board member for SunHouse Arts’ Work Project, a member of the International Sculpture Center, the Texas Sculpture Group and the JUNTOS art collective. He was also the juror for the 2020 Student Achievement Awards for Sculpture Magazine. Angel’s exhibition record, includes the International TransBorder Biennial, Texas Biennial in Austin, TX, and The Sculpture Biennial of Texas. Cabrales is also featured in the Icons and Symbols of the Borderland book by Diana Molina and La Frontera: Artists along the Mexican/American Border by Stefan Falk. He is represented by the Ro2 Gallery in Dallas, TX and the Royse Contemporary in Scottsdale, AZ.

Cabrales examines the dehumanization of people through the politicization, marketing and spin that we are subjected to in our everyday lives by placing issues in an appetizing, yet, disturbingly consumable form through the exploitation of commercialism and nostalgia. Through multi-media installations and sculptures, he comments on immigration, inequality and domestic terrorism to not only heighten awareness of the subject matter, but to begin conversation where most would rather be entertained. Angel views everything as an artistic resource and utilizes this in all his creations. From his extensive experience with a variety of mediums and styles, to the intangibles, such as his upbringing, his work grows and expands with the requirements presented from each new idea. The artwork’s concept ultimately dictates the medium needed for its creation, so artistic evolution is intrinsic in his philosophy.