Artists In Residence
2026
Kelly Sullivan
New Jersey, USA
April 2026
Kelly Sullivan is an arts crusader. Whether in rural villages working with girls, in her local city of Lambertville, NJ, or with corporate clients around the world, Kelly imbues the power of art, and has a lot of fun sharing it.
Born and raised in Clinton Township, New Jersey, Sullivan knew she would be an artist when she was five years old, the year her grandmother surrounded her with paint and repeated simple but encouraging words: “Don’t be shy with the paint,” a refrain that stuck.
Sullivan began producing multi-artist/discipline shows in the 1980’s that evolved into hands-on experiential events featuring working studios set up to introduce inner-city kids to the power of art. Sullivan invented a collaborative way of painting she called FingerSmears®. Incorporating hundreds of painters, FingerSmears® use only one canvas, and no brushes.
Since that week in 1994 when Sullivan staged her first FingerSmear®, over 100,000 people from around the world have participated in her collaborative paintings. FingerSmears have continued to shape her career throughout her life.
This work led to an artist residency invitation where Kelly orchestrated a school wide integrated art exchange in Alta, Wyoming that collaborated with 7 sister schools around the world.
Kelly Sullivan shares her humorous and moving stories from a lifetime of art crusading from classrooms, to corporate teams, to remote villages around the world. Her workshops and presentations address our societal need for creativity, compassion, and connectedness. That same energy and ethos is visible in her fine art paintings.
Karin Richter
Alberta, Canada
April 2026
A professional artist for 30 years, Karin’s work has been featured in exhibitions locally, nationally and internationally. She is an enthusiastic art instructor to many aspiring artists in classes and workshops across Canada and leads groups on painting holidays on land and at sea in Canada, Europe and Africa. She is a sought-after juror, critic and organizer of art events.
An elected member of the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolor (CSPWC), the Alberta Society of Artists (ASA), the Society of Canadian Artists (SCA) and Pastel Artists Canada (PAC) with a Master and Eminent Pastelist designation, Karin has received many awards including the Immigrant of Distinction Award in 2010 for her contributions to the arts community. She is the author of 2 instructional books “Make Your Mark in Pastels” and “Success Every Time in Acrylics”. Her work and writing have appeared in several trade publications including the Pastel Journal.
Daniel Criblez
New York, USA
March/April 2026
Daniel explores and creates across the artistic mediums of film, music, and fine arts. His practice is rooted in intuition, metaphorical themes, and the many dimensions of his mind. Criblez believes any idea can become valuable through openness and committed execution, a philosophy that allows him to continually expand his characters and subjects. He is an experienced art director and curator through his co-founded event and production company, Ambient Pasta, where he leads community-based projects and collaborations. Seeking to escape the confines of his own mind and limitations, these creative endeavors serve as a path toward freedom.
Dan is hosting a Creative Drawing Course at Allende Arts on Friday March 27 at 3pm. More info…
Estrella I, 2025
acrylic on canvas pad, wood panel,
plywood, gold leaf, found object.
8 x 11 x 2 in.
Lone Star, 2025
Acrylic on canvas pad, wood panel, plywood, doily 14.5 x 14.5 x 2 in.
Sofia Love
New York, USA
March 2026
Born and raised in Boston, MA, but with deep family ties to the Mexican border town of Laredo, TX, Sofia Love’s acrylic paintings serve as a negotiation between ancestral memory and contemporary identity. The cowgirl (or vaquera) recurs throughout her practice – gun slinging, brown, and frequently nude – framed by expanses of desert. She’s a real, historical cowgirl. She’s the artist traversing her own imagination. For Love, vaquera is an object of desire and an extension of herself.
While Love creates traditional canvases, the majority of her works take the form of nichos, intimate yet elaborately decorated altars that can be found in homes across Mexico. Dedicated to deceased ancestors or particular saints, nichos blend folk spirituality with Catholicism, smuggling pre-Colombian vernacular traditions into contemporary, Westernized culture. Love’s nichos draw on this history to produce art objects that exist at the border of painting and sculpture, with frames that extend the content and imagery of the paintings they enshrine.
The resulting works each have interiors and exteriors, the painting and the frame, in which ambivalent scenes are surrounded by totems and animals that seem to hint at the psychological subtext of the central image. Figures reappear across the framed nichos like characters in a narrative. Skulls, moths, storks tell stories that are only partially legible from an external perspective. Like the vaquera herself,
Love’s layered compositions refuse any easy interpretation.
Simon Ott
Brussels, Belgium
March 2026
Simon is a multidisciplinary artist from Belgium who uses music and movement as a pretext to create connections.
Alongside his solo project of dreamy gay pop under the name Ultradouxx, his love for improvisation and collective energy has led him to join and co-create several artistic collectives.
For several years he has been exploring movement improvisation in contemporary dance while also singing in Ravekoor, an autonomously led choir that performs mostly at night.
His newest community project in development is a musical drama titled « Les Lucioles », the fireflies, which reflects on the disappearance of the night.
Music created at a residency in Colombia last year : Le Bobbele and Qui suis-je pour dire non .
Bill Taylor
Toronto, Ontario Canada
February 2026
Bill Taylor is a Toronto-based producer, writer, and director whose work spans feature documentaries, doc-series, scripted film, and television. His producing credits include Antidiva: The Carole Pope Confessions (CBC, Telefilm, Rogers, Ontario Creates) and Secrets of the Bunny Ranch (A&E). As a filmmaker, he wrote, directed, and produced the feature Don’t Get Killed in Alaska and the acclaimed short Silver Road, which screened at more than 30 international festivals, has over 3 million views on YouTube, and aired on CBC and MTV Logo. His scripts have been recognized by TIFF Studio, the Austin Film Festival, The Red List, and other major competitions, while his directing has been supported by the National Screen Institute, the Canada Council for the Arts, and the Ontario Arts Council. Blending a sharp producing sensibility with a writer-director’s creative vision, Taylor is committed to telling emotionally resonant, socially conscious stories across genres and platforms.
Rouzbeh Delijani
California, USA
November 2025 - Feb 2026
Rouz is a classical oil painter working in portraiture, figures, and landscapes. His work combines realism with a touch of impressionism, focusing on themes of connection, truth, and everyday human experience.
Patrizia DiDiomete
Vancouver, BC, Canada
January - February 2026
Patti’s interest in art began when she moved to Vancouver Island to pursue her counselling career. She studied art at North Island College and mentored with several established local artists. Her exploration of materials in clay, stone, metal, concrete, paint, and canvas has resulted in the creation of sculpture and paintings which emphasize form and colour. DiDiomete works intuitively and expressively.
Sara Thorn
Melbourne , Australia
January 2026
Sara Thorn is an artist and designer, originally from Melbourne, Australia. Working across diverse mediums. Her ongoing exploration of the intersections between mythology, dreamscapes, divine feminine archetypes, and visual storytelling is through painting and textile-based media. Previously known for her work as a textile and fashion designer, Sara has exhibited internationally and conducted workshops globally on creativity and the sacred arts.
2025
Kharma Lindsey and Martin Rascon
Arizona, USA
November 2025
Kharma Lindsey is a drum builder, sound carrier, and sacred vocalist whose art bridges ceremony, creativity, and community healing. Living in the Four Corners region of the United States, she crafts ceremonial drums, rattles, and instruments using ethically sourced hides, bone, fur, and natural elements — each piece born as a living ally for prayer, rhythm, and transformation. She will be crafting and creating with local materials during the November stay at Allende Arts Center along with a hands on workshop for self crafting!
As a licensed Psilocybin educator for Emerald Valley Institute, licensed by the State of Oregon, Kharma weaves her artistry into her healing practice, using interactive, community based art, sound, and vibration as vital tools for psychedelic integration. Her offerings guide individuals and groups in transforming expanded-state experiences into embodied wisdom through drumming, chanting, writing and somatic connections. These immersive workshops will be offered here on Sundays during November 2025.
Kharma co-creates Embodied Alchemy - breathwork and sound immersions, with her beloved Martin Rascon, an Outdoor Educator and coach.
Together, they blend music, breath, somatic expression, and movement into immersive journeys that release trauma and awaken creative potential. Together they weave the fabrics of community and deepen communal belonging across the globe. Their life’s work reflect a devotion to sacred expression, ancestral remembrance, and the integration of spirit into everyday life.
During their stay this November, they will host Sunday full day workshops and will be crafting a new line of instruments with local materials. They can be found in the afternoon/evenings at the Allende Arts Space, so come by and say hello! View Workshops
Roanne Kolvenbach
New York, USA
October 2025
Roanne Kolvenbach is a writer, sewist, designer, voter and optimist. In January of 2025 she rented out her apartment and said goodbye to her family, to spend the year wandering the world, traveling between art residencies. In October she landed here, at Allende Arts Space for the month, and the magic of San Miguel de Allende took hold. She spends four mornings a week at a local ceramics studio, and the afternoons working on a memoir about her mother’s recent death. “San Miguel opens your heart.”
Purposefully blurring the boundary between art and commerce, Roanne's sculptures, objects, and jewelry have been exhibited in the United States at over 200 galleries, boutiques and department stores. She's taught at Parsons School of Design in New York City and is a recurring workshop instructor at the Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill. Her favorite days are spent early in the morning on the beach with her dog, and in the evening grilling sourdough and tomatoes for her kids to eat with fresh mozzarella and a little basil.
