UMGC 6th Biennial Maryland Regional Juried Art Exhibition Catalog

May 24–August 9, 2026

Cathy Abramson • Kobina Ahoto • Esperanza Alzona • Maremi Andreozzi • Melissa Avera-Cook • Paige Billin-Frye

Helen Blumen • Jeff Bohlander • Kristin Bohlander • David Brosch • Kay Campbell • Schroeder Cherry

Patricia R. Dobbin • Steven Dobbin • Cheryl Edwards • Maluchi Enyi • Luc Fiedler • Michael Fleishhacker

Maggie Gourlay • Robin Hamill • Cheryl Hurd • Teresa Jarzynski • Sunhee Kim Jung • Sharmila Kapur

Tom Kenyon • Elisabetta Marmolo • Ulysses Marshall • Marla McLean • Cindy Mehr • Maroulla Morcos • Carly Mul

Susan Due Pearcy • Lana Portolano • Kenzie Raulin • Lesley Riley • Tatyana Shramko • Elzbieta Sikorsha • Ann Stoddard

Michael Sweet • Linda Syverson Guild • Richard Weiblinger • Jonathan West • Marcie Wolf-Hubbard • Al Zaruba

MY SINGLE-MINDED AIM IS TO GIVE EXISTENCE TO FANTASY.

Artist Claes Oldenburg

Gregory W. Fowler, PhD President University of Maryland Global Campus

On behalf of University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) and the more than 100,000 learners we will serve this year, it is an honor to introduce the 6th Biennial Maryland Regional Juried Art Exhibition (BMRE). This exhibition continues a proud tradition at UMGC, celebrating the extraordinary talent and rich cultural life in Maryland; Washington, D.C.; and Northern Virginia.

This year, artists from across the region submitted work representing a dazzling array of perspectives, techniques, and creative voices. Our juror—the celebrated artist and visual storyteller Preston Sampson —accepted the daunting task of selecting some 45 outstanding works for the exhibition. The effort was made more difficult not by limitations but by the strength of the submissions, and his final selections reflect the depth of artistic excellence and the richness of stories and ideas that define our region.

These works invite us to pause, reflect, question, and connect. They span mediums—painting, sculpture, fiber, photography, mixed media, and more —and offer a dynamic cross section of contempo-

rary artistic practice. Above all, they remind us of the role that artists play in showing us our world in new and imaginative ways.

At UMGC, we embrace learning as a lifelong journey, and the arts enrich that journey and deepen our connections to the communities we serve. The BMRE supports and furthers our mission by offering emerging and established artists a professional platform to share their work and introducing our community to ideas and perspectives that spark curiosity, fire the imagination, and broaden our understanding of the world.

We are grateful to all who contributed to this remarkable exhibition—our distinguished juror, the members of our team, the talented individuals whose works are on display, and the countless patrons and supporters who champion the arts and our Arts Program.

And so I say thank you and congratulations to the artists whose work is represented here. Their creativity and vision inspire us and enrich our world, and we are honored to showcase their talents!

Eric Key Director, Arts Program

University

of Maryland Global Campus

As in previous years, one of the primary goals of the 6th Biennial Maryland Regional Juried Art Exhibition (BMRE) is to introduce local artists to the curators and staff of the UMGC Arts Program. The BMRE is also a way to acknowledge the tremendous artistic talent in our region.

This year’s BMRE attracted many artists, each of whom could submit up to three works for consideration. The quality of these submissions provided juror Preston Sampson with the challenge of selecting approximately 45 works for the exhibition. Sampson, a nationally celebrated local artist, was tasked with curating this exhibition in a theme as he saw fit. The selection of accepted artworks is not a critique of any artist not included but a testament to the strong artistic talent in our community. This abundance of talent should be celebrated. It should inspire artists to strive for excellence and encourage them to participate again and again—not only in this competition but in other juried art exhibitions across the country. As more curators become aware of artists, more

opportunities will arise for those artists to showcase their works. Hopefully the BMRE is a stepping stone for artists to gain the national recognition they seek.

As a regional exhibition, the BMRE was carefully designed to provide artists living in Maryland, the District of Columbia, and Northern Virginia another professional environment in which to showcase their works and to introduce those artists to new viewers, collectors, art patrons, writers, and others in our art community. Although the works in the exhibition are not for sale in our gallery, they are available through the participating artists. This is another way in which UMGC has elected to support artists as they make a living, while at the same time exposing our audience, students, faculty, and staff to a varied body of artworks by a culturally diverse group of artists.

The UMGC Arts Program extends special thanks to Preston Sampson and to all the artists who participated in the process. We look forward to your continued participation and support.

ART IS ESSENTIALLY COMMUNICATION. IT DOESN'T EXIST IN A VACUUM.

About the Juror

Preston Sampson, a classically trained artist working in the mediums of painting, printmaking, and pulp painting, received a Bachelor of Arts in studio art in 1984 from University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP). He taught art for more than 10 years in the District of Columbia public school system and for several years at the Community College of Baltimore County.

Sampson’s most recent exhibitions include the solo exhibit Preston Sampson: Letters from Home at UMGC and the group shows With Passion and Purpose: Gifts from the Collection of Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.; Eternal Paper at UMGC; and Art Is a Form of Freedom at the Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia. His work is in national and international collections, including those of the African American Museum in Dallas, Texas; University of Colorado Boulder; the David C. Driskell Center at UMCP; Hampton University Museum in Virginia; Yale University; Spiritmuseum in Stockholm, Sweden; and Museo della Carta e della Filigrana (Paper and Watermark Museum) in Fabriano, Italy.

Exhibition

Award Winners

1ST PLACE | President’s Best of Show Award

Melissa Avera-Cook House on Fire

2ND PLACE | Jurors‘ Choice Award

Marla McLean

John Lewis Prayer Wheel for Good Trouble

3RD PLACE | Award of Merit

Jeff Bohlander

Buckminster’s Dome

Arts Program Honorable Mentions

Teresa Jarznski

The Elixir of Tea

Carly Mul Rhythm v1

Linda Syverson Guild Circles 3

1ST PLACE

President's Best of Show Award

Jurors’ Choice Award

Marla McClean

John Lewis Prayer Wheel for Good Trouble

2024

mixed media

51 x 19 x 16 in.

The John Lewis Prayer Wheel for Good Trouble was created to stimulate thought on our human obligation to make good trouble and take part in healing the world through big and small daily acts to end injustice. Viewers are encouraged to reflect on healing and intentions as they move the wheel clockwise. The macramé on the stand alludes to the Selma bridge and the history of Bloody Sunday. The ancient painted symbols speak subversively today: the Adinkra Sankofa tells us to go back to the roots of our story and pass it on to move forward. The Buddhist lotus reminds us that we rise out of the mud into compassion. Love doesn't look like a hallmark card; it looks like action.

Award of Merit

Buckminster’s

2025

mixed media on canvas

60 x 48 in.

Arts Program

Honorable Mention

Teresa Jarzynski

The Elixir of Tea 2026

tea bag, tea bag label, and beads on wood base

3½ x 2 x 2 in.

Arts Program

Honorable Mention

Carly Mul Rhythm v1 2025

fiber

53 x 42 in.

This quilt came to life as a response to the intensity of the presidential election of 2024—this massive noise of contrasting opinions!

Arts Program Honorable Mention

Linda Syverson Guild

Circles 3

2025

fiber

8½ x 8½ x 8½ in.

HONORABLE MENTION

Esperanza Alzona

Facial Identity

2025

cast aluminum on marble base

7 x 14 x 7½ in.

We are identified and judged by our faces.

Although a U.S. citizen from birth, I endure racial epithets for Chinese, Japanese, and more. When I explain that my parents were Filipino, I have been told, “All you Oriental people look the same” and “Go back to where you came from.” My face elicits prejudice.

My work in sculpture focuses on representations of concepts and qualities of humanness. I wish that viewers seeing my works find resonance and relevance of “being human” as I express in physical form facets, abstractions, and iterations centering around the mind-body connection and human experience.

Women of Hull House is a portrait of some of the most influential women of Hull House, a pioneering settlement house founded in 1889 in Chicago. The group portrait depicts cofounders Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Star; Julia Lathrop, a children’s rights activist;

Florence Kelley, a labor reformer; Alice Hamilton, an occupational and public health specialist; and Mary Rozet Smith, a philanthropist. These women shaped the social reform movement and the United States in the early 20th century.

Peony 2025

hand-colored salted paper print

9 x 13 in.

Salted paper printing, invented in the mid-1800s, is one of the historical photographic processes explored by artists today. The emulsion is painted onto the paper, leaving characteristic brush strokes. Then the print is exposed using UV light,

either in the sun or with UV light bulbs, in a contact print frame, so the negative needs to be the size of the final print. I hand-color the prints with watercolor paint, making each a one-of-a-kind piece of art.

Kristin Bohlander Microcosm Inward 2025

wet and dry felted sheep wool, natural and hand dyes 54 x 36 in.

2025

Delineated 2049

2025

digital photograph printed on aluminum

24 x 36 x 11/4 in.

This high-contrast image depicts a portion of a parking lot, the cracks filled in with salt treatment after a winter storm. The various patterns I observed, reminiscent of tributary-like lines of a river or even lighting strikes, intrigued me.

The graphic quality of the subject pushes the medium of direct photography, while the metal print, with no frame, reinforces the clean lines and modern style.

Steven

Dobbin

When I’m Distressed 2025

rusted wheelbarrow, found plastic letters dimensions variable

Intimate Island Couples

42 x 12 x 12 in.

Pupukanoie is the Hawaiian name of a land snail that is said to be able to sing.

Michael Fleishhacker

Armenian Quarter, Jerusalem

2025

silver gelatin photograph 12 x 14 in.

Maggie Gourlay Mapping Stories 2025

hand-dyed ecoprint and screenprint on cotton 39½ x 24½ in.

44 x 36 in.

This improvisational work, inspired by Irene Roderick’s technique, started with a fractured courthouse steps block with a tan center. I didn’t recognize its significance until after the fact—the courthouse steps pattern, symbolizing home and security, are broken. The brown center represents mourning. The direction of the points of a triangle can indicate power and direction, but these triangles are in disarray, contradicting the calm usually associated with that hue. The bits of coral, however, are slivers of optimism and hope.

The work was pieced and free-motion quilted on a domestic machine.

Cheryl Hurd Grounded, Roots and Remnants series 2025

fiber, thread, and beads

21 x 16 in.

The vision and creation of the Roots and Remnants series are centered on family, history, and storytelling. The series is about the roots that stabilize, hold, plant, and ground us to the earth where we are, but the roots can be reestablished and replanted. Roots represent home, family, language, rituals, traditions, culture, food, and art.

In the context of diaspora, Grounded becomes the act of planting oneself in unfamiliar soil while carrying the memory of the original land. It is the beginning of belonging. Grounded speaks to the moment when one, voluntarily or by force, pauses long enough to feel the earth beneath them again, reclaiming stability after relocating.

Kapur Whispers of a Moving Self 2025 charcoal on Yupo paper 14 x 11 in.

Elisabetta Marmolo

Am I Pretty?

2026

oil on cradled birch panel

30 x 24 in.

Am I Pretty? is a self-portrait staged in the intimate space of a dressing room, where the act of self-presentation becomes an examination of judgment and visibility. The figure applies lipstick while confronting her reflection, accompanied by the unsettling presence of a she-werewolf—an alter ego that embodies instinct, otherness, and suppressed identity. The mirror frame and exposed bulbs recall theatrical display, suggesting that femininity is not merely seen but evaluated. The painting probes how standards of beauty operate as quiet forms of discipline, internalized and rehearsed daily. By juxtaposing careful self-fashioning with a feral double, the work questions whether self-worth can ever be disentangled from external scrutiny.

Cindy Mehr Orchid

2025 oil on canvas 36 x 36 in.

This painting presents an orchid emerging from a woodland floor interrupted by fragments of plastic debris. The flower—often associated with fragility and cultivated beauty— becomes an anomaly within a landscape altered by human presence.

monotype on artist-made paper with charcoal, pastel, and ash 13 x 11 in.

Lana Portolano Attachment

2026

oil on canvas 52 x 43 in.

Kenzie Raulin

It Depends Where You Stand

2025

colored pencil, paper, and books

13 x 36 x 9 in.

In our polarized country, truth now seems to be defined by which side you are on. This experiential piece literally defines that point.

2025 ink and crayons on Arches watercolor paper 34 x 34 in.

Ann Stoddard

America Border Wall, Nogales AZ, 1-5-25, II 2025

pigment inkjet photograph 28 x 22 in.

Looking at Mexico through the border wall, viewers may wonder, “What is America?” On January 5, 2025, the concertina razor wire glittered and sunlight passed through the wall from Mexico, casting striped shadows onto the roadway of Nogales, Arizona. The Arizona side of the wall was deserted, which the border patrol agent said was typical. The thriving, culturally rich MexicanAmerican town of Nogales that I recalled from childhood was gone. The border wall had divided families and communities; destroyed the economy of Nogales, Arizona, and the wildlife habitat; and challenged the water resources.

Michael Sweet

Threshold of Eternity

2025

acrylic on canvas

28 x 22 in.

Inspired by my mother’s passing, this work explores the raw turbulence of grief alongside the beauty, hope, and spiritual solace found in death. It meditates on mortality, healing through beauty, and the enduring bond between the living and those we have lost.

Life Drawing 2026

encaustic, charcoal, oil stick, and mat board on panel 20 x 24 x 3½ in.

Al Zaruba Jungle Therapy 2026

acrylic on canvas with lenticular fragments 48 x 36 in.

This work is inspired by my youth in Panama. The outline of the machete is from my actual machete, given to me on my 16th birthday. I used it in visiting other Central American nations, especially in exploring the Maya ruins in Guatemala— the first place my family allowed me to travel by myself, at age 17. I first dreamed of becoming an archeologist, but became a visual artist instead.

Cathy Abramson

Next in Line

2025

oil on canvas

30 x 40 in.

Kobina Ahoto

Umbrella Movement

2025

acrylic on canvas

60 x 48 in.

Esperanza Alzona Facial Identity

2025

cast aluminum on marble base

7 x 14 x 7½ in.

Maremi Andreozzi

Women of Hull House

2025

acrylic on canvas

36 x 48 in.

Melissa Avera-Cook House on Fire

2024 oil on canvas

36 x 48 in.

Paige Billin-Frye

Peony

2025

hand-colored salted paper print

9 x 13 in.

Helen Blumen

Bethesda Metro

2025 fiber 17 x 25 in.

Jeff Bohlander

Buckminster’s Dome

2025

mixed media on canvas 60 x 48 in.

Kristin Bohlander

Microcosm Inward 2025

wet and dry felted sheep wool, natural and hand dyes 54 x 36 in.

David Brosch

Addy Sea 2025–26

linoleum block print 22 x 30 in.

Kay Campbell On the Edge 2025 fiber 44 x 22 in.

Schroeder Cherry

Day Dreaming, Salvador series

2025

acrylic with objects on wood 40 x 32 in.

Patricia R. Dobbin

Delineated 2049

2025

digital photograph printed on aluminum 24 x 36 x 11/4 in.

Steven Dobbin

When I’m Distressed 2025

rusted wheelbarrow, found plastic letters

dimensions variable

Cheryl Edwards Knowing 2025

mixed media ink stain on raw canvas

72 x 60 in.

Maluchi Enyi

Intimate Island Couples 2025 India ink over oil pastel on wood panel 36 x 36 in.

Luc Fiedler

Pupukanoie 2025 forged steel 42 x 12 x 12 in.

Michael Fleishhacker

Armenian Quarter, Jerusalem 2025 silver gelatin photograph 12 x 14 in.

Maggie Gourlay

Mapping Stories

2025

hand-dyed ecoprint and screenprint on cotton 39½ x 24½ in.

Robin Hamill

Fractured House 2025 textile 44 x 36 in.

Cheryl Hurd

Grounded, Roots and Remnants series 2025 fiber, thread, and beads 21 x 16 in.

Teresa Jarzynski

The Elixir of Tea 2026

tea bag, tea bag label, and beads on wood base 3½ x 2 x 2 in.

Sunhee Kim Jung

Unseen on Eyes 8 2025 oil on canvas 40 x 40 in.

Sharmila Kapur

Whispers of a Moving Self 2025 charcoal on Yupo paper 14 x 11 in.

Tom Kenyon Vanishing Point 2025

woodblock print

29 x 47 in.

Elisabetta Marmolo Am I Pretty? 2026

oil on cradled birch panel 30 x 24 in.

Ulysses Marshall Where U Mom 2025

mixed media on canvas 40 x 30 in.

Marla McLean

John Lewis Prayer Wheel for Good Trouble 2024

mixed media

51 x 19 x 16 in.

Cindy Mehr Orchid 2025 oil on canvas

36 x 36 in.

Maroulla Morcos Hathor

2025

Volterra alabaster marble on Belgian black marble base 15 x 15 x 10 in.

Carly Mul Rhythm v1 2025

fiber 53 x 42 in.

Susan Due Pearcy Ashes to Ashes 2026

monotype on artist-made paper with charcoal, pastel, and ash 13 x 11 in.

Lana Portolano Attachment 2026 oil on canvas 52 x 43 in.

Kenzie Raulin It Depends Where You Stand 2025

colored pencil, paper, and books 13 x 36 x 9 in.

Lesley Riley Bloodroot Revisited 2025 digitally enhanced cyanotype 30 x 40 in.

Tatyana Shramko Thundercloud 2025 carved feather rock 16 x 26 x 15 in.

Elzbieta Sikorsha Swirl 2025

ink and crayons on Arches watercolor paper 34 x 34 in.

Ann Stoddard

America Border Wall, Nogales AZ, 1-5-25, II 2025

pigment inkjet photograph 28 x 22 in.

Michael Sweet Threshold of Eternity 2025

acrylic on canvas 28 x 22 in.

Linda Syverson Guild Circles 3 2025 fiber 8½ x 8½ x 8½ in.

Richard Weiblinger Steeped in Solitude 8343 2025

archival digital print 20 x 30 in.

Jonathan West Adam and Eve 2025

acrylic on canvas 48 x 36 in.

Marcie Wolf-Hubbard Life Drawing 2026

encaustic, charcoal, oil stick, and mat board on panel 20 x 24 x 3½ in.

Al Zaruba Jungle Therapy 2026

acrylic on canvas with lenticular fragments 48 x 36 in.

CONTRIBUTORS

Eric Key

Director, Arts Program

Treston Sanders

Curator

Sandy Bernstein

Senior Writer/Editorial Director

Barbara Reed

Senior Editor

Olya Kalatsei

Senior Web and Graphic Design Manager

Jennifer Norris

Senior Web and Graphic Designer

Laurie Bushkoff

Senior Account Manager

Scott Eury

Print Production and Vendor Relations Manager

René A. Sanjines

Fine Arts Technician

Tawanna Manago

Administrative Assistant

Artwork photography courtesy of the artist unless noted otherwise.

Additional artwork photography:

pp. 7, 17, 26, 32, 37, 49: John Woo

p. 9: Pete Duvall

p. 11: Mark L. Guild

pp. 12, 24: Greg Staley

p. 23: Patricia R. Dobbin

p. 35: Curtis Martin

Cover artwork details, left to right:

Melissa Avera Cook, House on Fire

Kay Campbell, On the Edge

Sunhee Kim Jung, Unseen on Eyes 8

Patricia R. Dobbin, Delineated 2049

Cheryl Edwards, Knowing

Michael Sweet, Threshold of Eternity

ABOUT UMGC

University of Maryland Global Campus was founded more than 75 years ago specifically to serve the higher education needs of working adults and military servicemembers. Today, UMGC is the largest provider of postsecondary education in Maryland and continues its global tradition with online and hybrid courses, more than 175 classroom and service locations worldwide, and more than 100 degrees and certificates backed by the reputation of a state university and the University System of Maryland. For more information, visit umgc.edu.

ABOUT THE ARTS PROGRAM AT UMGC

Since 1978, UMGC has proudly shown works from a large collection of international and Maryland artists at its headquarters in Adelphi, Maryland, a few miles from the nation’s capital. Through its Arts Program, the university provides a prestigious and wide-ranging forum for emerging and established artists and brings art to the community through special exhibitions and its own collections, which have grown to include more than 3,000 pieces of art.

Artworks are on display throughout the College Park Marriott Hotel & Conference Center and the Administration Building in Adelphi. The main, lower-level gallery in Adelphi is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week, and the Leroy Merritt Center for the Art of Joseph Sheppard is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week. More than 75,000 students, scholars, and visitors come to the Adelphi facilities each year.

UMGC ARTS PROGRAM MISSION STATEMENT

The UMGC Arts Program is dedicated to furthering the university’s objectives by creating a dynamic environment in which our diverse constituents, including students and the general public, can study and learn from direct exposure to our art collections, exhibitions, and educational programs.

Catalog published in conjunction with the 6th Biennial Maryland Regional Juried Art Exhibition

UMGC Arts Program Gallery

May 24–August 9, 2026

© 2026 University of Maryland Global Campus. All rights reserved. Copyright credits and attribution for certain illustrations are cited internally proximate to the illustrations.

ISBN: 979-8-9932665-2-7

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND GLOBAL CAMPUS

3501 University Boulevard East Adelphi, Maryland 20783-8000 USA

umgc.edu/art