B&B Bios

Burnell Yow!

Burnell Yow! (the exclamation point is part of the name) is an intuitive artist who works in the varied media of painting, collage, assemblage, sculpture, and digital art & photography. Notable work includes “Fifty-Two Collages in 52 Weeks,” and the “Dolls of the Apocalypse: The Last Toys of the Last Children on Earth.”

Since 1995, he has maintained a full-time studio called Raven’s Wing, which is currently located near Fitler Square in Philadelphia. Yow! is a member of the Philadelphia Dumpster Divers and is a volunteer with the Philadelphia Open Studio Tours (POST), an annual event in which over 200 artists open their studios to the public for two weekends in October.

Since 1995 the artist has maintained a full-time studio in Philadelphia, PA. He has been written about in 500 Cabinets: A Showcase of Design & Craftsmanship (Lark Books), American Style Magazine, Art Matters, Philadelphia Magazine, Synapse, The Sunday Inquirer Magazine, The Philadelphia Inquirer, City Paper, Weekly Press, Computer Graphics World Magazine, Red Herring Magazine, and in Andre Codrescu’s Exquisite Corpse: A Journal of Life and Letters.

Betsy Alexander

As a child, Betsy Alexander spent most of her time making art in the basement, or music in the living room. By the time I she was 10 years old, it became obvious she would have to choose one or the other. There just did not seem to be enough time to be good at both. She decided that since she seemed to have fewer ideas in art, she would devote herself to composing.

Twenty-seven years later, Ms. Alexander met her soon-to-be husband, visual artist Burnell Yow! As lifetime collectors of glass and odd objects, both enjoyed going to flea markets, and Burnell enlisted Betsy in helping him pick up trash off the sidewalk for art projects. Around that time, AOL began mailing CDs to everyone on the planet (perhaps you’ve gotten a few yourself). Wasteful use of resources had always bothered Betsy, so she asked all her friends to save theirs for her, thinking one day she would make something out of them.

Then eleven years ago she decided to make an art journal for her mother’s 70th birthday. When it was finished, she realized how much she had enjoyed “returning to the basement” to make art. So she began to knit. The idea to use her collected photos of church signs and all those CDs to make art crosses soon followed. Then came a series of small paintings of Alaskan sunsets inspired by webcam photos. Photography, jewelry making, and assemblage art came next. Forty years after giving up art because she had few ideas, Betsy found she had more ideas than time. She also realized making art was a nice way to recharge from composing, teaching and performing music. As she states, “With art it is just you and the materials and the ideas, and when you are done you have a finished piece that you can enjoy anytime (no performers needed!) It is concrete and tangible, unlike the ephemeral art of music. ”

Betsy Alexander believes to be human is to create, and that everyone can be an artist, or a composer. You just have to be willing to experiment, make mistakes and have fun doing it.

Her work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions. She is a member of the Philadelphia Dumpster Divers and participates in the Philadelphia Open Studio Tours.