Bill Petz was born in Spokane and has lived in New York, Michigan, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Missouri before finally settling for the last 30 years in the mountains of western North Carolina. He has had careers as a minister, a student affairs administrator in higher education, a public health worker with HIV patients, and a criminal justice alternative sentencing consultant for men with mental health and substance abuse histories. After all this mobility he is semi-retired and now devotes more attention to his writing. His work life has always including writing, but now he is free to write for his own objectives. His poetry appears in Artists & Writers Quarterly.

Bill Petz's work appears in the TIME issue of Status Hat (December, 2011).

Maude Larke lives in Dijon, France. She has come back to her own writing after a career in the American, English and French university systems, analyzing others’ texts and films. She has also returned to the classical music world as an ardent amateur, after fifteen years of piano and voice in her youth. She has several short stories and poems, three novels, and two screenplays to offer so far. Publications include Naugatuck River Review; Cyclamens and Swords; riverbabble; Doorknobs and BodyPaint; Sketchbook; Cliterature; Short, Fast, and Deadly; and The Centrifugal Eye.

Maude Larke's work appears in the TIME issue of Status Hat (December, 2011).

Christina Elaine Collins works as an editor at a publishing company near Boston. Her short fiction has appeared in publications such as Weave Magazine, Otis Nebula, and Cliterature Journal. She is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross and studied abroad at the University of Oxford, where she backpacked to over a dozen countries and studied creative writing and English literature with a number of inspiring mentors.

Christina Elaine Collins' work appears in the TIME issue of Status Hat (December, 2011).

Greetings, it's me, Greg Johnson, buisness owner, artist, sculptor. It all started in 1967. High school years, helping out in a neighborhood body shop. Then body work became a way to pay for college. I wanted to be a marine biologist. "Right kid," take some buisness courses, gag. By 1975 I'd become a master of auto collision repair and painting. Work hard. Play hard.

First, acrylics on canvas surprised everyone. Then in 1979 I dumped all of my equity into opening "Auto Body Complex". The buisness survived, the reputation has always been good. However, I have found like most of us, that each success may find a void when things level off. In my case that void was a suppressed drive to bend my skills to creation of sculpture. There is no lack of skill or creativity required to restore a crunched vehicle back to pre-wrecked condition. Creating and repairing are parallel with very different outcomes. To repair is problem solving to duplicate the original. To create is problem solving toward an unknown and dynamic end.

In 1996 I added "Greg Johnson Sculpture" to my buisness, hoping to eventually replace collision repair with sculpture. In the 15 years since launching my sculpture dream my local reputation has bloomed,  my portfolio is bulging with unique creations, and it's time for me to get known in the art world. If I have to continue working hands on in my body shop, which is my  M.O., my artwork will suffer. And that breaks my heart. "Hello world". Here is Greg Johnson Sculpture.

Claire Bateman’s collections are Coronology (Etruscan, 2010); The Bicycle Slow Race (Wesleyan, 1991); Friction (Eighth Mountain, 1998); At the Funeral of the Ether (Ninety-Six Press, 1998); Clumsy (New Issues Poetry & Prose, 2003); and Leap (New Issues, 2005). She has received the New Millennium Poetry Prize as well as grants and fellowships from the NEA, the Tennessee Arts Commission, and the Surdna Foundation. She lives in Greenville, SC.

Claire Bateman's work appears in the VEHICLES issue of Status Hat (November, 2011).
 

Melodie Corrigall can't tell the difference between an Edsel and an Oldsmobile but can spot a red car at 50 feet. Her work has appeared in The Dalhousie Review, Toasted Cheese, This Zine Will Change Your Life, The November 3rd Club, Other Voices, Blue Lake Review, and Halfway Down the Stairs.  http://melodiecorrigall.wordpress.com

Melodie Corrigall's work appears in the VEHICLES issue of Status Hat (November, 2011).

Derold Sligh currently lives in the Detroit Metro area. He just recently returned to the U.S. from a year in Seoul, South Korea. He received a BA and MA from Central Michigan University and an MFA from San Diego State University. His collection of poems, titled American Still Life, was published in 2010 by Pudding House Press. He has taught creative writing workshops for San Diego State University, Gear Up and King/Chavez/Parks and was also a guest poet at the Theodore Roethke Memorial, where he ran a workshop for African American fathers and sons. In his work, he is most interested in “being human.” What does he mean by “being human,” you might ask? To be human is to exercise sincerity, patience, selflessness, courage, thankfulness, forgiveness, shame, compassion, humility and love.

http://www.puddinghouse.com; http://www.mythiumlitmag.com/current_issue.html; http://www.americanpoetryjournal.com/

Derold Sligh's work appears in the VEHICLES issue of Status Hat (November, 2011).

Pedro Ponce's fiction has appeared recently in PANK (www.pankmagazine.com/the-church-of-best-guesses/) and Ragazine (ragazine.cc/2011/06/pedro-poncefiction/).  He is the author of the story collection Alien Autopsy (available from Cow Heavy Books) and the novella Homeland: A Panorama in 50 States (Seven Kitchens Press). 

Pedro Ponce's work appears in the DREAMS issue of Status Hat (October, 2011). 

Gaia Bordicchia is a professional illustrator, based in Italy. She has worked as a natural history illustrator for magazines, field guides, food packaging and exhibitions, including Bologna Children's Book Fair. Since 1999 she works freelance for the children's book market in Italy and abroad.

www.gaiabordicchia.com

www.twitter.com/GaiaBordicchia

Gaia Bordicchia's work appears in the DREAMS issue of Status Hat (October, 2011). 

A. Minor, a 7th-generation Vermonter, is on a mission to spread color around Planet Earth.  Her artistic journey began with an obsession with quilting, and the process of sectioning and repositioning a design to form a repeating pattern is integral to her ever-evolving artistic visions.  Since the 1990's, she has been incorporating the psychadelic colors and designs of Mayan art into her work, creating kaleidoscopic art pieces that synthesize hand-drawn imagery with sacred geometry and fractals.  Now she goes beyond static images to shares her designs through "interplanetary video art" - animated video performance and sound/art installations.  She feels that her work is reaching a pinnacle of success now that it can move and evolve and dance. . .

You can visit her website at www.allbrightmoments.com, join her on twitter (www.twitter.com/BrightMoments) or check out her youtube channel to see her work in action: www.youtube.com/user/brightmoments2012.

A Minor's work apears in the DREAMS issue of Status Hat (October, 2011).

An American, T F Rhoden is an avid traveler. He enjoys good lit, cold beer, and learning new languages. Visit at www.tfrhoden.com.

T F Rhoden's work appears in the DREAMS issue of Status Hat (October, 2011).

Lois Elaine Heckman grew up in Los Angeles, receiving a degree in Italian from UCLA. She now lives in Milan, Italy. Her works appear, or are forthcoming, in several publications, including The Fib Review, Boston Literary Magazine, Shot Glass Journal, Pemmican, Victorian Violet Press, Lucid Rhythms and Tilt-a-Whirl. In 2010 she won the New England Shakespeare Festival Rubber Ducky Sonnet Contest.

Lois Elaine Heckman's work appears in the DREAMS issue of Status Hat (October, 2011). 
 

Australian fantasy artist Zian Silverwolf explores the natural and supernatural elements of the human condition through her images. She describes her work as "a combination of east and west, spirit and science, and a certain fascination with cartoons." Classically trained in fine arts and with 20 years of field experience in art and design, her artworks can now be found in her online gallery at www.zian.redbubble.com. 

Zian Silverwolf's work appears in the IMAGE issue of Status Hat (September, 2011).

Nini Baseema works as corporate communications consultant during her day time, after work hours she likes to balance her oftenwise unstimulating job in the corporate world with being creative: She is a passionate bellydancer (and teacher), she loves and collects all kinds of music, writes for several art blogs, enjoys to sketch and paint and spends an enormous amount of time with her cameras, shooting all kinds of interesting subjects - most preferably herself.

To characterize her style is as difficult as to pidgeonhole her personality. Nothing illustrates her urge for versatility better than her own recent project "one selfportrait a day for a year" in which she has set herself the task of creating something personal for 365 days in 2011.

Her complete series "Talking Hands" can be seen in the flickr set:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ninibaseema/sets/72157626258037652/

Just as you can find more works of her in her general flickr page too:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ninibaseema/

All selfportraits can be seen and followed via tumblr:
http://oneselfportraitaday.tumblr.com

Nini Baseema's work appears in the IMAGE issue of Status Hat (September, 2011).
 

Linda Umans is a native of New York City where she lives, studies, writes. She is also an ardent traveler with special interests in art and nature. Highlights from the not too distant past include Nunavut, Rajasthan, the Kalahari. She enjoyed a long career teaching in various public schools, elementary and intermediate, where there was no end to the involvement and the stories. She is currently indulging a love interest in poetry. Some of her work can be found in Switched-on Gutenberg, qarrtsiluni, The Broome Street Review, Terrain.org, Waterways and The Ghazal Page. She is very pleased to have been in all these places.

Linda Umans' work appears in the IMAGE issue of Status Hat (September, 2011).

Tonia Ott Storm was born in Toledo, Oregon, in a small town nine miles from the Pacific Ocean. There, in the surrounding rugged beauty of a logging mill community with salty fisherman, Tonia first began her love for the outdoors. She spent her childhood in this memorable environment and graduated one year early from high school. In the navy, Tonia succeeded as an aviation electronics technician, specializing in calibration and repair of test equipment onboard the USS Nimitz. After returning to Oregon, Tonia began her career as a mother and Millie was born, followed by a younger sister, Michelle. Mrs. Storm began medical school in 2008 and, though pursuing a career in medicine, she is temporarily on a medical leave of absence. She loves to play the fiddle, keyboard, and tin-whistle, and to sing, as well as bake mass quantities of cookies. In addition, she enjoys penning her thoughts through poetry and prose. Nestled in the woods of northeast Tennessee, Tonia enjoys her forest backdrop for inspiration to write and carry the responsibilities of life. Some of her work can be accessed at facebook.com/tonia.storm1.

Tonia Storm's work appears in the IMAGE issue of Status Hat (September, 2011).

Diana Anhalt, a former high school English and history teacher and newsletter editor, was a longtime resident of Mexico City up until recently, but is now living in Atlanta, Georgia. She is the author of A Gathering of Fugitives: American Political Expatriates in Mexico 1948-1965, (Archer Books, 2001) and of essays, poetry, and book reviews which have been published in both Mexico and the United States.

Diana Anhalt's work appears in the TRAVEL issue of Status Hat (August, 2011).
 

Kim graduated from Southwest Texas State University with a BFA in theatre. That early education influenced her eye for the dramatic and finding the story in an image. She was born and raised in Texas with a short stint living in Alaska as a child. That taste for mountains and green lead her to a dream vacation in Scotland that started her photography career. “I read a description of a character in a novel not long ago that immediately struck a chord with me. She was described as a “noticer” Yes! That’s me too! The tucked away gem. The everyday object that is overlooked. A small bit of nature’s magic catches my eye and calls my camera to “notice” and acknowledge. Let’s be like the bear that went over the mountain. Let’s see what we can see.

Kim’s work can be found at: 
www.kclarkphotography.etsy.com
www.postaltherapy.etsy.com
www.kclarkphotography.artfire.com
Photo blog and musings at:
www.kclarkphoto.blogspot.com

Kimberly Clark's work will appear in the TRAVEL issue of Status Hat (July, 2011).

Diana Blackwell is a self-taught artist in Berkeley, CA. She works in charcoal, acrylics, collage, block printing, monoprinting, and digital photography. Her subjects include abstractions and imaginary scenes, as well as human figures, still life, landscape, and religious, especially Christian, imagery. She belongs to the East Bay Figure Painters. Blackwell’s colorful, happy-looking monoprints are a regular feature at Mignonne Décor in Berkeley. A dozen of her works have used for cards by Over the Top Greetings. She has shown work in California, Massachussetts, Missouri, and Nebraska. Her digital photography can be seen at www.flickr.com/diana_blackwell.

Diana Blackwell's work will appear in the TRAVEL issue of Status Hat (August, 2011).

Richard Jay Goldstein has been writing fiction and non-fiction for about twenty years. He lives with his wife and kids and grandkids in the moutains east of Santa Fe, New Mexico, where it’s pretty quiet, thanks. He’s a lapsed ER doc, and has published fifty-something stories and essays in the literary and sci-fi/fantasy/horror presses, including a number of anthologies. He’s also had two Pushcart nominations, but neither got in.

Richard Jay Goldstein's work will appear in the TRAVEL issue of Status Hat (August, 2011).

Tanja Cilia lives with her husband and three children in the beautiful Mediterranean Island of Malta. She is an Allied Newspapers (Malta) columnist, and freelances for print and online media in Maltese and English. Contact her at tanjachilja@gmail.com

And my work may be found here:
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/author/21

and here

http://www.great-inspirational-quotes.com/haikus-by-tanja-cilia.html

Tanja Cilia's work appears in the GAMES issue of Status Hat (July, 2011).

I have been writing since I was 11 years old and am a self-published author of 4 books (fantasy and absurdist fiction--including an illustrated sequel to Alice in Wonderland). Two new books in the works for release this year--one is the final installment to the Twins Trilogy and the other is in the Steampunk genre--a Victorian adventure mystery. Additional info can be found at www.snailpie.com.

Heather Hutsell's work appears in the GAMES issue of Status Hat (July, 2011). 

I'm Ellen, and I have been writing songs, lyrics, and poetry since I was a teenager. Music and words are catharsis for me, and celebration. I am the mother of four grown children, and a spiritual practitioner of numerous modalities. I bring to my practice my insatiable curiosity and irrepressible optimism. It is my honour and privilege to offer in service what I have learned along the way. My greatest joy is to take you where I have been, to touch what I have touched, and see what I have seen. When I do that, then I have achieved my goal.

website: www.creativewellsprings.net

email: ellen@creativewellsprings.net

Ellen Polley's work appears in the GAMES issue of Status Hat (July, 2011).

Matt McGee is the editor & publisher of Falling Star Magazine in Thousand Oaks, CA. His short fiction collections Diversions and Leaving Rayette can be found on Amazon.com.

Matt McGee's work appears in the GAMES issue of Status Hat (July, 2011).

Technical hominid. Female.

Pat Weaver's work appears in the GAMES issue of Status Hat (July, 2011).

Nate was born and raised on a Minnesota pig farm. Growing up on a farm fostered his imagination where he and his brother would enjoy many adventures. After graduating from Moorhead MN with a BFA in Art, he moved out to Seattle in 2004 and immediately joined Sev Shoon Arts Center, which is a co-op printmaking studio. His roots grew and are still growing in the Pacific North West. Nate shows often in the Seattle area, works on various illustration projects, creates hand made board games, and always keeps an eye out for whatever is next. To see more of his work you can go to www.natestottrup.com, or search 'Dead End Press' to see the studio.

Nate Strottrup's art appears in the GAMES issue of Status Hat (July, 2011).

Rose Hughes brings her unique vision of life’s landscape alive through her seemingly magically stitched together art quilts. She uses her unique, yet simple method, called Fast-Piece Appliqué™, to transform shapes of colorful fabrics, building her landscapes layer by layer. Rose’s quilt journey now stretches over 20 years, and during that time she has learned much and continues to learn and build on all the fabric magic she can find. On this journey Rose has created and exhibited her work nationally and internationally. She started the organization called Quilts on the Wall: Fiber Artists that continues to be a place where anyone interested in quilt art can come and learn and share. She has written and appeared in books, CD-booklets/videos, and patterns where she shares methods and ideas. Her website is: www.rosehughes.com

Rose Hughes' work appears in the GAMES issue of Status Hat (July, 2011).

Will Pope, born in Fort Worth, Texas in 1965, is a third-generation painter. He began his painting career while working at the Bedford Schoolhouse in New York in 1989, working in the company of artists Stephanie Clifton and cartoon film artist Ralph Bakshi (Fritz the Cat.) From 1990-1996, he lived and painted amidst a host of Taos, New Mexico artists, to include Agnes Martin, Larry Bell, Ron Cooper, R.C. Gorman, Jim Wagner, and his longtime friend and roommate, Wes Mills. Will earned a Fine Arts degree at the University of New Mexico, focusing on painting and photography. He has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions. Currently, Will works as a painter and filmmaker in Bozeman, Montana. His artworks have been acquired widely in North America, including the University of New Mexico permanent print collection and the National Gallery of Mexico at Queretaro. He is also represented by galleries in Bozeman/Livingston, Montana; Park City, Utah; and Denver, Colorado.  His website is: www.willpope.com

Wiill Pope's art appears in the MUSEUMS issue of Status Hat (June, 2011). 

Martin Balgach’s writing and criticism has appeared in The Bitter Oleander, Cream City Review, The Dirty Napkin, Fogged Clarity, The Puritan, Rain Taxi, and elsewhere. He holds an MFA from Vermont College, works in publishing, and lives near Boulder, Colorado. More of his work can be found at www.martinbalgach.com.

Martin's poetry appears in the MUSEUMS issue of Status Hat (June, 2011).
 

Tara L. Masih is editor of The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Fiction (a ForeWord Book of the Year) and author of Where the Dog Star Never Glows (a finalist in the 2010 Best Book Awards). She has published fiction, poetry, and essays in numerous anthologies and literary magazines (including Confrontation, Hayden’s Ferry Review, Natural Bridge, The Pedestal, Night Train, and The Caribbean Writer), and several limited edition illustrated chapbooks featuring her flash fiction have been published by The Feral Press. Awards for her work include first place in The Ledge Magazine’s fiction contest, four Pushcart Prize nominations, and a Best New American Voices and a Best of the Web nomination. www.taramasih.com. 

Tara's writing appears in the MUSEUMS issue of Status Hat (June, 2011).

1994 - 1997  BFA The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL

1996 - Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow, Scotland

contact- stashwhite@gmail.com

Stash's art appears in the MUSEUMS issue of Status Hat (June, 2011).

Kari Meyer lives and paints in Montpelier, Vermont. She studied Studio Art at the University of Vermont. Kari’s inspiration comes from nature and the Japanese ideals of wabi-sabi, a philosophy of aesthetics which transforms negative to positive, ugly to beautiful. Loneliness, old age, and death become beautiful because they are inevitable and represent the constant flux of the universe. In her work, Kari attempts to address this idea of the movement of eternity, of everything either coming from or returning to nothingness. Her website is www.karimeyer.com.

Kari's art appears in the NATURE issue of Status Hat (May, 2011).

Nellie Bellows' poems have appeared in 42opus, Gulf Coast, and The Southern Review. She is the assistant poetry editor for Fringe magazine and currently works and writes in North Carolina.

Nellie's poetry appears in the NATURE issue of Status Hat (May, 2011).

LeRoy Lottmann was raised in central Missouri where he kept himself busy by drawing and reading. His work mainly focuses on formal aesthetic concerns. Whether working objectively or non-objectively he is most interested in controlling the visual relationships between shapes while directing light and shadow through various marks, textures, and colors. The goal is always to create an interesting image. If a context exists for the piece, it is layered on top of the compositional structure.

He now lives with his wife and dogs in St. Louis, Missouri, where he continues to draw and read. Find more of his work at: http://leroylottmann.com

LeRoy's art appears in the NATURE issue of Status Hat (May, 2011).

Deanna Benjamin writes and teaches in St. Louis. Her nonfiction is forthcoming in Fifth Wednesday Journal and has appeared in Brevity 34. Her fiction and poetry have appeared in The Houston Literary Review and The Gut. She is a graduate of Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Deanna's poetry appears in the NATURE issue of Status Hat (May, 2011).

Karen Greenbaum-Maya is a clinical psychologist in Claremont, California. In another life, she was a German Lit major, and read poetry for credit. She has placed poems and photographs in publications including Off the Coast, Umbrella, Abyss & Apex, qarrtsiluni, Poemeleon, Lilliput Review, In Posse Review, and Sow’s Ear Poetry Review. She was nominated for the 2010 Pushcart Prize. Her first chapbook, Eggs Satori, received an Honorable Mention in Pudding House Publications’ 2010 competition, and will be published in 2011. She has given up on Dragonspeak.

Karen's poetry appears in the TOOLS issue of Status Hat (April, 2011).

Crisha Yantis was raised in Olympia, Washington. After a few years working as a potter in Seattle she relocated to Athens, Georgia where she received her BFA in Ceramics at the University of Georgia. During her time in Athens, working on clay sculpture, enjoying the southern community of clay workers, watching rain storms, and dodging mosquitos, she now heads off to attend graduate school at the University of Nebraska to further her clay studies. Her website is www.crishayantis.com.

Crisha's art appears in the TOOLS issue of Status Hat (April, 2011).

Jill McDonough's first book is Habeas Corpus (2008), and she has a poem forthcoming in The Best American Poetry 2011. The winner of a Pushcart Prize and fellowships from the NEA, the Fine Arts Work Center, Stanford’s Stegner Program, the Library of Congress, and the Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers, McDonough lives in Boston and is always looking for work.

Jill's poetry appears in the TOOLS issue of Status Hat (April, 20110).

Born outside of San Francisco in Walnut Creek, in the same year and the with same name as the mass transit system in the bay, I moved with family before the first year, yet am amazed to return to that area and find absolute comfort with the colors. I spent the next 15 years, formative as they were, in Stone Mountain, Georgia, home of place-kickers, professional wrestlers, and friends for a life. That is one big hunk of granite, been here long before me and continues to grow as I age. Erosion at it’s base outpaces it’s transformation to sand. The next 15 years were spent in the greater Phoenix area, which is greater now than then. Dense and sprawling, development spreads across the farm land which replaced desert land in the valley once dams were in place to harvest and control the water. The death of my father. A walkabout brought me to Seattle where hills and water meet to nurture amazing life. A different pace of life, and notions of importance. Small meager living replaced the fast paced technology living that I learned in Arizona. Back to Georgia, Athens, smaller, more rural, more quiet, stranger customs, but common land to that I remember in my rearing days.

Find more of Bart's work at: http://bartlynch.com

Bart Lynch's art appears in the TOOLS issue of Status Hat (April, 2011).

Sivakami Velliangiri started writing as a child, when her congenital cataract was mistaken for a keen imagination by her parents. She has been writing ever since and has been published in national and international magazines such as, *The Little Magazine, Danse Macabre, Indian Scholar* etc. The Lily Literary Review brought out a electronic Chap Book of her poems, ’In My Midriff.’ Currently, she devotes much of her time to bringing younger voices into poetry.

Sivakami's poetry appears in the TOOLS issue of Status Hat (April, 2011).

Having lived from mountains to sea level, Ms. Stevie Krueger has an eye for the unusual and sometimes the forgotten obvious. She looks at the discarded materials left for dead. Buried and seeping into the earth even though most can be rescued, recycled, and reused but aren't. Chaotic patterns and emotions are deconstructed and then reassembled into 3D forms of metal assemblage, 2D painting on found objects & photographs that are begging for explanations. She is a 46 year old proud mother of her 21 year old son in his third year of college and two rescued dogs who think they are human and mean the world to her. She is a survivor of cancer and a working artist who exhibits in Wisconsin & on the web. After three years attending University of Wisconsin - Richland, she took her findings in her Environmental Science class as a basis for her desire to show others how wasteful as a culture we are and that these materials can live on, or break down properly instead of causing our own future demise.

Find Stevie's work on these sites: energyinkarts.imagekind.com;  www.energyink.deviantart.com and flickr.

Stevie Krueger's art appears in the CITIES issue of Status Hat (March, 2011).

Kyle Bryant was born in Lewiston, Maine in 1985. While growing up in Auburn he was always drawn to the Bates Mill area of downtown Lewiston. While skateboarding and doing graffiti in and around the mills he built a strong affinity to empty and ignored spaces. At 18 he moved to Boston where he studied at The Massachusetts College of Art, worked as a bicycle messenger and traveled the country on tour with a metal band. He graduated in 2008 with a BFA in printmaking and received the Donis A. Dondis Travel Fellowship. The award was used to travel to Berlin and participate in a six month residency at Culturia. He has exhibited in Boston, New York City, Lewiston, Maine, Richmond, Virginia, and Berlin, Germany. He currently lives and works in Portland, Maine. Find more of his work on his website: www.kylebryant.net.

Kyle's art appears in the CITIES issue of Status Hat (March, 2011).

Randall Bass once called himself a fine-art photographer specializing in abstract and urban landscape. Presently as a visual artist he blurs the lines between graphic design and photography without forgetting the importance of lighting design. Generally opting for scenes without people or other staged components, Bass focuses primarily on the relationship between light, composition, texture and depth before considering content, context or subject matter. Enamored by the work of greats like Nouvel, Gaudi, and Dali, the artist’s images can evoke a sense of space often illuminating hidden perspective.

Bass currently exhibits his art in and around New York and Los Angeles including LACMA, UCLA, William Morris Endeavor (WME), Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition (BWAC), Downtown LA and North East LA Art Walks. His work has been published locally, nationally and internationally. His artwork can be found in many private collections and as clothing designs at www.Shortomatic.com. Find more of his work at: www.RandallBass.com and on flickr.

Randall Bass' work appears in the CITIES issue of Status Hat (March, 2011), and one of his photographs appeared in the DIALOGUE issue (April, 2010).

Dr. Jan Rivero lives and writes in Chapel Hill, NC.  She is an ordained United Methodist minister who has pastored local congregations and college students for thirty years.  She is married to Dr. Jeffrey Pugh and together they have four children and three grandchildren.  She enjoys traveling, fine food and wine.

Writing by Jan Rivero appears in the CITIES issue of Status Hat (March, 2011).

A veteran of World War II, Delbert R. Gardner (1923-2008) taught college English for twenty-one years, and variously served as writer/editor for U.S. Army training materials; usher in a 1940s movie palace; fireman on a locomotive; pinsetter at a bowling alley; salesman of pianos, vacuum cleaners, and insurance; cab driver; and journalist.  Over forty of his poems and stories have appeared in The Literary Review, Poetry Digest, American Poetry Magazine and more.  An aficionado of the Pre-Raphaelites, Dr. Gardner wrote the books "An Idle Singer" and "His Audience: A Study of William Morris's Poetic Reputation in England, 1858-1900."

Catalog librarian by day, Lyn C. A. Gardner coedits the journal Virginia Libraries.  She’s served as editor at a maritime museum and had stories, poems, art, and articles published in American Arts Quarterly, The Cape Rock, City Primeval, Challenging Destiny, The Leading Edge, among others.  Though she misses the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, Gardner is pleased to make her home in Tidewater, Virginia, where she is blessed to be near her close-knit family--and almost always has a view of the water.

Links: www.gardnercastle.com/GardnerCastle.htm and find more of Lyn’s writing here: http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/.

Poetry by Lyn Gardner, and her father Delbert Gardner, appears in the CITIES issue of Status Hat (March, 2011).

Bonnie Bruno is a children’s book author and self-taught photographer whose work reflects the vibrant colors, textures, and ever-changing face of nature. In addition to photography, she loves the challenge of transforming original photos into imaginative, detailed montages with the help of a digital pen tablet.

Bonnie spent 21 years as a military wife, which fed her love for travel and adventure. Twenty years ago, she and Nick settled in western Oregon, where they enjoy camping, gardening, travel, cooking, and exploring the history of the Pacific Northwest. They’re proud parents of a son and daughter who live in the area, and three granddaughters who remind them of the blessings of faith and family.

Visit Bonnie’s website at http://bonniebruno.com; Photography shop: http://bbrunophotography.etsy.com; Photoblog: http://bonniebruno.wordpress.com; Seedplanter Designs and also find her on Twitter

Bonnie's work appears in the SPICE issue of Status Hat (Feb. 2011)

Daniel Nyohaku Soergel completed study of the standard Kinko-Ru repertoire under the mentorship of Ronnie Nyogetsu Seldin and Yoshio Kurahashi and performs regularly in the New York metropolitan area. In 1998 after ten years of study of traditional Honkyoko, he was awarded the title of Jun- Shi Han (master) of Kinko-Ryu from the Ki-Sui-An Dojo, the largest and most established outside of Japan. The performance name of "Nohaku" was chosen by his teachers to commemorate the receiving of the Natori (teaching certification). "Nyohaku" means "like the essence of whiteness" and reflects the spiritual nature of shakuhachi performance.

To find out more about Daniel: www.konkle.com/shakuhachi

An interview with Daniel, and some of his music, appears in the SPICE issue of Status Hat (Feb. 2011)

Ellison Bay Pottery Studios in Ellison Bay WI is the home of potters John T. Dietrich and Diane McNeil. Housed in a remodeled fruit barn, the building also includes John and Diane’s gallery and home.  Surrounded by aged apple trees and tall arbor vitae, they are renewed daily by the beauty of living on part of the Niagara Escarpment.

In his forty-fifth year of functional pottery making, John has developed a distinctive signature style that is instantly recognizable. He started on a dare and studied for 2 years in college before deciding his path was as a studio potter.  He was assistant to Wisconsin’s Master Potter Abe Cohn for six years before starting his own pottery in 1974.

Diane, a self taught author and artist, began to work with clay almost by accident and certainly not by choice.  For her, clay was impossible to ignore, and impossible to say no to.  She has been a potter and co-owner at the studio since 1994.

For more information about John and Diane and Ellison Bay Studios, see these sites: Ellison Bay on facebook; blog and their Etsy Store

Ellison Bay's pottery appears in the SPICE issue of Status Hat (Feb. 2011)

Jennifer is from a suburb of New Orleans, Louisiana. She studied English and Studio Art at Pomona College in Claremont, CA. She graduated in May 2010 and moved to Prague, where she is now working as a copywriter (and trying not to freeze). She loves reading, writing, learning, and making things.

You can see more of her work at jenwineke.weebly.com or contact her at jwineke@gmail.com.


Jennifer's writing appears in the SPICE issue of Status Hat (Feb. 2011)

Ken Ford - aka 10/4 Technology Journeyman Artist - works and lives among the basalt ranges associated with the formation of Wollumbin (Mt Warning) near Byron Bay, NSW Australia. Known locally as the Rainbow Region, it is the chosen destination for alternative thinkers in Australia. A Ceramics graduate of the National Art School, East Sydney Tech in 1973, Ford has spent a lifetime acquiring and utilizing an ever increasing variety of skills and techniques to make artworks. Printmaking and photography have become the dominant practices over the last 2 decades, including extensive investigations into the digital realm since 1994. Ken Ford has kept his work fresh by continuing to move on, learn new skills and stay focused on the big picture of touching his audience through the imbued emotions and sensations that he impacts into his work.

Find more of Ken's work on these sites: 10/4 CV - http://10-4cv.blogspot.com/2008/01/10-4-cv.html; http://imagepro.photography.com/tenfour; http://tenfourtechnology.blogspot.com; www.myspace.com/tenfour-art and on Facebook

Ken's art appears in the SPICE issue of Status Hat (Feb. 2011)

A native of the Sonoran Desert, Laura Maher has studied poetry at the University of Arizona and the University of Texas at Austin, where she was awarded the Michael Adams Thesis Prize. Her work has been published in Crazyhorse and The Blue Guitar Magazine. She lives, teaches, and writes in Tucson, Arizona.


Laura's poetry appears in the SPICE issue of Status Hat (Feb. 2011)

Jan Allington takes photographs. She was born to paint, but life intervened. She has sneakily accumulated some work despite said intervention, and now she has quit her day job and is forging her own artistic path. Over the last three years she has had several shows, including the Bellevue Arts Museum’s ArtsFair, several group shows and solo shows at MTZ Gallery in Las Vegas, and odd group shows across the Seattle area.

To see more of her work visit: www.soulonfire.com

Jan's photography appears in the Jan, 2011 issue of Status Hat:  HATS

Robin Landry is an insurance research analyst and is also currently working on a Master's Degree in Education from Ashford University.  She also volunteers as an ESL tutor and as a Youth Ministry leader in her church.  Robin in married to David, a self-employed landscaper and has one son, Aaron, a sophomore at Lincoln College in Normal, Illinois.  In her spare time she enjoys reading, writing and ballroom dancing.  You can find more or her work at these sites:  http://www.helium.com/users/408004 and http://playingnicely101.blogspot.com/.

An article by Robin appears in the Jan. 2011 issue of STATUS HAT:  HATS!

Chicago-based milliner Sarah Azzouzi is a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) holding a Bachelor in Fine Arts with a concentration in millinery and textile design. Using heat press techniques, embossing, and screen-printing on materials varying from straw, rabbit felt, and sinamay, Azzouzi strives to create headwear fit for every taste/personality. Zzouzi Hats combine art and function, experimenting with fabric manipulation that channel Azzouzi's experiences in fiber sculpture and garment making. Through her work, Azzouzi seeks new and innovative design through vintage and alternative inspiration, drawing from personal and cultural histories. She is the recipient of several Millinery awards, displays in galleries in the Chicago area, and has been featured on several blogs and publications.  Zzouzi Hats are available for sale in local fairs, and for purchase on Sears.com and Zzouzi.com.  You can find out more about Sarah and her work on these sites as well:  http://sarahazzouzi.blogspot.com, and http://www.facebook.com/zzouzihats

Sarah's work appears in the Jan. 2011 issue of STATUS HAT:  HATS!

Leland James was the winner of the Portland Pen Poetry Contest and the Writers’ Forum Short Poem contest. He was runner up for the Fish International Poetry Prize and received the Franklin-Chistoph Merit Award for poetry. A short story of Leland’s won the Conclave Character Prize in Fiction. His work has placed or been a finalist in several other competitions including The South Carolina Review, New Millennium Writers, Tom Howard, St. Louis Writer’s Guild, Aquillrelle, Morton Marr, By Line, and the Bridport Prize. His work has appeared in numerous publications in the US, England, Ireland, Scotland, Belgium, and Israel and been published in three anthologies: 2008 Fish Anthology: Harlem River Blues, Poets Amongst Us, Aquillrelle Poetry Two, and Voices Israel 2009.

Leland's poetry appears in the Jan. 2011 issue of STATUS HAT:  HATS!