Ryan Murray–spray paint stencil artist and muralist–received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Carnegie Mellon University in 2014 and currently resides in Springfield, MA. He is represented by Art for the Soul Gallery. 

Through his work, Ryan often unearths and examines unsettling but important conversations about the stigma of mental illness, with the goal of normalizing the discussion and treatment of mental health in black communities. To examine Black mental health is to examine the effect of events in both the past and present, socioeconomic factors, how patterns of suffering repeat themselves, and the burden of certain societal expectations.

Ryan utilizes repeated symbolism and autobiographical elements in order to address the reality and the reasons that people of color suffer in silence more than their white counterparts. Some of these works incorporate elements from photos taken during childhood, while others are derived from collages made during the artist’s therapy sessions.

Ryan is a recipient of grants from the Community Foundation of Western MA, Mass Cultural Council, and Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation. He has exhibited in numerous western MA locations, Pittsburgh PA, and even abroad in Florence, Italy.Find more of Ryan’s work online at ryanamurray.com.

Jennifer Ablard’s work is an exploration of the process of making cyanotypes. (To make a cyanotype, a light-sensitive emulsion is applied to durable paper, then a photo negative, plant, or other solid object is placed on the paper, and the arrangement is exposed to UV light.  After exposure, the print is processed using tap water.) Jennifer is “enthralled by the unpredictability of the process. Each print is unique, subject to the variables of length of exposure to UV light and the technique used to apply the chemistry! The source photographs are drawn from a lifetime of work.”

Having seen the world through a camera for her entire adult life, Jennifer’s work reflects a love of the outdoors, nature, and the abstract found in everyday life. Her work is intended to evoke questions of ‘where?’,  ‘how?’, and ‘what?’.   

Jennifer has long supported the Northampton Survival Center as a volunteer and donor. You can find more of her work online at jenniferablardphoto.etsy.com and bsky.app/profile/japhoto.bsky.social.

John Higby has been painting and performing with YO-YOs for over 25 years. 

Follow John online at instagram.com/yoyopeople and bigyoyoart.com.

Ruth Sanderson is a graduate of the Paier College of Art in Connecticut, and has illustrated over ninety books for children including titles she has authored as well as retellings of The Twelve Dancing Princesses, Papa Gatto, Cinderella, Goldilocks, and The Snow Princess. A recent title from 2022, A Storm of Horses: the Story of Artist Rosa Bonheur, received a number of starred reviews and accolades. Ruth had two board books published in the fall of 2024: Good Morning Farm Animals, and Good Night Farm Animals. 

Ruth’s award-winning art has been included in exhibitions around the country, and her fairy tale illustrations were featured at the Norman Rockwell Museum in a solo exhibition in 2014. Ruth lives with her family in Easthampton, Massachusetts. Find more of Ruth’s art online at ruthsanderson.com.

Jesse Morgan creates whimsical landscapes with an emphasis on space and dynamic light sources, immersing viewers into an alternate reality. A graduate of the Williston Northampton School, Jesse went on to complete a Bachelor of Studio Art at Lafayette College. He has participated in shows all over New England and works as a freelance graphic designer and illustrator, taking commission-based projects and helping clients with visual branding and marketing materials (including but not limited to logos, print collateral, posters, and general visual digital design). 

Jesse is also the label artist for Loophole Brewing of Springfield, Massachusetts and personalizes custom-painted shoes for clients. To see more examples of his work, find Jesse online at jjm4design.com, instagram.com/jjmfour, and facebook.com/JesseMorganDesign.  

MMK Chapman is a local artist and client of the Northampton Survival Center, whose work has been featured by a number of local organizations. 

Pamela Acosta Hernández is a Mexican artist and illustrator from the borderlands along the Rio Grande Valley now based in Northampton, Massachusetts. She received her BFA from what is now the University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley, and subsequently pursued studies in traditional animation at the School of Visual Arts. Her work finds inspiration in literature and nature. She creates visual narratives about a myriad of beings, quests, and the symbiotic relationships formed between beings and their environments, exploring how we construct, transform, and are transmuted by our surroundings. Her work is characterized by figurative narratives explored through visual poetry and magical realism. She is currently developing a body of work that deals more closely with the poetics of flora, fauna, and connections in the natural world.

More of Pamela’s work can be seen at her website pamacosta.com and on Instagram at instagram.com/pamacostah.

Jaxson Fisher is six years old and from Leominster, Massachusetts. He enjoys painting, drawing, and building things. He also enjoys being outside and has a very big desire for exploring mother nature. Most of the time you can catch him drawing up a scene of Pokémon or building spaceships with Lego. His imagination takes him everywhere!  

Malaika Ross is a Caribbean American visual artist who creates two-dimensional art about soil and the botanical world. She is a graduate of Hampshire College and earned her B.A. with a focus in soil microbiology; her Div III thesis was titled “The Impact of Solar Arrays on Soil Microbial Activity.” In 2019, inspired by the shapes of soil microbes she shifted her focus from soil research to drawing soil microorganisms and later adopted an expressive approach to botanical painting of introduced and native flora in Western Massachusetts. 

Find more of Malaika’s work at malaikaross.com and instagram.com/malaikaross_studio. 

Alicia Saxe is a local collage artist and client of the Center. 

Mabel Enman is 10 years old and lives with her mom and dad in Florence, Massachusetts. She loves dance (especially ballet), performing on stage, reading and writing stories, drawing, and swimming. She has three fur-siblings, including a little corgi named Edith, a huge Maine Coon named Barnacle, and a black cat named Yogurt that definitely loves her the most!

Gabriel Ribeiro is a Brazilian artist raised on Cape Cod. An animator and self-taught painter and illustrator, Gabriel took full advantage of the natural beauty and artistic community on the Cape to learn drawing, painting, and storytelling through art. These days Gabriel spends much of his time painting the Cape’s beautiful landscapes and letting his imagination wander as he writes about the hidden magic there and all around us.

Find more of Gabriel’s work on his website drawgabedraw.com and at instagram.com/drawgabedraw.