The Artists of Red Flag Poetry

While Red Flag Poetry strives to share pithy poetry that brightens your day, we also do our best to give these great poems equally great backdrops. For this reason, we want to highlight the artists who have graciously contributed to the project.

Each artist is featured below with a short bio and a link to the postcard their artwork appears on. Some contributors have been cool enough for their work to appear on multiple postcards, and for those particular artists, we linked the first card they had a hand in creating. Links to their subsequent postcards can be found in their bio.

If you think your artwork would pair well with a poem, we are always interested in new submissions. Go to our submittable page and we'll be more than happy to take a look at your beautiful work.

Amanda Oaks is the founding editor of Words Dance Publishing. Her works have appeared or will appear in numerous online & print publications, including decomP, Stirring, Glamour & Elle. She is the author of two poetry collections: Hurricane Mouth (NightBallet Press 2014), and her co-authored split book, I Eat Crow ​(Words Dance 2014). She likes poems that bloody her mouth just to kiss it clean. More of her work can be found on her website.

Ellyn Faziani is an elementary educator who has a passion for photography and pastels. She draws inspiration and comfort from her husband, her two daughters and her corgis. Postcard 2, Postcard 3, Postcard 4

Emily McMichael is a theater major at Indiana University of Pennsylvania who works mostly in costume design and puppetry. She recently illustrated a children's book called The Gingerbread Man's School Adventure. When she's not making things, she enjoys big dogs, miniature versions of things, and reading about mummies.

Allen Forrest is a graphic artist and painter who was born in Canada and bred in the U.S. He has created cover art and illustrations for literary publications and books. He is the winner of the Leslie Jacoby Honor for Art at San Jose State University's Reed Magazine, and his Bel Red painting series is part of the Bellevue College Foundation's permanent art collection. Forrest's expressive drawing and painting style is a mix of avant-garde expressionism and post-Impressionist elements reminiscent of van Gogh, creating emotion on canvas. More of his work can be found on his website.

Chelsey McKee is from Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, where her passion for dance, theater, band, and art began at a young age. Not knowing what she wanted to do after high school, she came to Indiana University of Pennsylvania with hopes of finding out where her life would turn. She is currently a freshman undecided fine arts student with an increasing interest in graphic design. Until she settles on a concentration, she's enjoying her adventure through the unknown.

Morgan Cunningham is Pittsburgh born and raised, and a graduate from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. As a graphic designer and illustrator, she likes to keep things fun and fresh, and lives to create an end project that will be joyfully received. When she's not laying out print or web design, you can catch her illustrating her latest cooking zines or running around town with her camera. More of her work can be found on her website.

Clay Wegrzynowicz is a photojournalist based in the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania, where he works at Lafayette College. He is a storyteller and a documenter of life. His experience in the field enables him to accurately capture true emotion and feeling in his photographs, and weave a narrative around the pictures in order to tell a compelling story. His range of focus varies from capturing the energy of an event or wedding, to slowing down and telling a moving story with the face of one portrait. No matter the situation, he always strive to show his subjects in the best possible light.

Shawn McClure is a visual artist, writer, and charwoman who never laughs and can be often found ankle deep in seawater, longing for fins and gills. Her writing can be found in various journals around the web and in print, including Unbroken Journal, and Kindred Magazine. Her photographs can be viewed here, and a few pastel paintings are posted here.

Rory McLaughlin was born and raised in Holland, Michigan. From his time as a young boy—and all throughout his formal education—Rory has always had a love for creating. Whether it be writing poetry or creating works of visual art, Rory is fascinated by the creative process of making something from nothing. After graduating from West Ottawa High School in June of 1999, Rory continued his studies in visual art at Northwestern Michigan College before transferring to Central Michigan University. While at CMU, Rory earned a Bachelors of Science in Visual Art Education with a minor in English. In the years since earning his degrees from CMU, Rory went on to earn a Masters Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Marygrove College. Currently, Rory is the visual arts instructor at Brandywine Middle/High School in Niles, Michigan, where he has been employed for the past 12 years.

Christina Cassone was born in Bristol, Connecticut and raised in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. She discovered an interest in industrial structure and decay while living amongst the remains of Pennsylvania’s mining industry. Christina graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a BA degree in studio art, working in both 2D and 3D mediums to explore the various components of “structure”. Her work was featured in the Bartram’s Boxes: Remix exhibition at Philadelphia’s Center for Art in Wood, which was featured in an accompanying catalog. In 2014 she displayed at Johnstown’s Artworks gallery in the “Beyond the Surface” show. Additionally, Christina traveled to Freeport, Bahamas in 2012 with OneIsland, a group focused on recycled plastic art, to create a commissioned sculpture for UNEXSO. Currently, she is a resident artist at the Hollows Artspace in Bushwick, NY. More of her work can be found on her website.

Oriana Gatta is an assistant professor of English/Writing Studies at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. When not teaching or writing about comics, intersectional feminist rhetorics, and/or and digital research methodologies, she can be found a) taking pictures, b) printmaking, c) crocheting RuPaul Drag Race amigurumi, or d) working on a graphic memoir reflecting on her graduate education through the fictional character of Ursula the sea witch as alterego. Some of her photos and prints can be found on her website.

Nicholas Lashinsky is a hobbyist photographer who is currently studying Civil Engineering. More of his work can be found here.

Claira Heitzenrater (b. 1988) is a recent MFA graduate in painting from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania (Summa Cum Laude), where she also studied printmaking. She lives and works in Punxsutawney, PA. She has a particular affinity for cats, coffee and magic. More of her fantastic work can be found on her website.

Hannah Boston recently moved cross-country from rural central Pennsylvania to Los Angeles to major in theatre design. Her art style has graduated from anime-esque cats drawn in Microsoft Paint to large-scale charcoal portraits, and she hopes to be employed at some point in the future.

Joshua R. Williams is a writer, photographer, researcher, and professional nerd. He can be found on Instagram, @JRDubbleU.

Christine Raposas goes to school at Alfred University, majoring in studio art. Her favorite types of art are painting, photography, and ceramics.

Jackie Perry is currently a senior at IUP studying Communications Media and Journalism. She has plans to graduate in May 2018 and will also receive a certification in Photography and Digital Imaging. Photography started out as a hobby for Jackie and over the years has grown into her passion. In 2013 she began offering her services through her startup business, Jacquelindsey Photography. She offers clients family portraits, weddings and events. She schedules clients through her Facebook page.

Donald Winzer loves to read, write, and play his banjo in his free time. He's in the early stages of writing a film, which he would like to begin production on in Fall 2018.  Some of his favorite books are Story by Robert McKee and The Stranger by Albert Camus. Some of his favorite films include Brick directed by Rian Johnson, O Brother, Where Art Thou? directed by the Coen Brothers, and basically every Nicolas Cage film. He's an advocate for the oxford comma.

​Tori Grant Welhouse is a Wisconsin writer, photographer, active volunteer with Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets, and co-collaborator on Bramble Literary Magazine. She earned an MFA from Antioch International in London and published a poetry chapbook Canned with Finishing Line Press. More of her work can be found on her website.

Billie Sue Bracken is a young creator residing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is an artist in many mediums including digital media, videography, photography, painting, textile and yarn works. She spends her professional time working in promotions. If you have any inquiries regarding her creations, you can find her on her website or on Instagram, @suedledoodle.

Sarah Everett is a Communications Media graduate student at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. In addition to videography and photography, Sarah also writes her own music and sometimes labels postcards for Red Flag Poetry.

Dakota Smitley is a a studio art major at IUP with a computer science minor and a focus on drawing. Her work features realistic animals with a focus on dogs. Her work can be found on Instagram, @PlagueDoge.

Holly Day’s published books include the nonfiction books Music Theory for Dummies, Music Composition for Dummies, Guitar All-in-One for Dummies, and Piano All-in-One for Dummies, and the poetry books Ugly Girl (Shoemusic Press) and The Smell of Snow (ELJ Publications). Her needlepoints and beadwork have recently appeared on the covers of Your Impossible Voice, Sinister Wisdom, and QWERTY Magazine.

Jill Bergantz Carley makes her home in Calaveras County, California, where she lives a half mile from the stoplight and directly over the Mother Lode.  Her visual work has appeared in the DeYoung Museum, bG Gallery, and elsewhere. Her writing has been published by Transfer, Catch, Virga Magazine, and Silver Needle Press, among others.  Her poetry is currently shortlisted for 2018 The Walt Whitman Prize.  Her day job in engineering keeps her out of trouble. You can find more of her work on her website.

Fabrice Poussin teaches French and English at Shorter University. Author of novels and poetry, his work has appeared in Kestrel, Symposium, The Chimes, and dozens of other magazines. His photography has been published in The Front Porch Review and the San Pedro River Review as well as other publications. Postcard 2

Judith Skillman is interested in feelings engendered by the natural world. Her medium is oil on canvas; her art ranges from representational to abstract. Work has appeared in Minerva Rising, Cirque, The Penn Review, and elsewhere. She has studied at the Pratt Fine Arts Center and the Seattle Artist’s League under the mentorship of Ruthie V. Shows include The Pratt and Galvanize.

Zara Hanif is a Creative Writing graduate from Rhode Island College. She has been published in Shoreline, Clockwise Cat, Albion Review, and the Operating System. She enjoys writing about whatever strange concepts come to mind, and has a diverse style of poetry because of that. She is also looking to publish art, and this will be her first art publication.

Jennifer Lothrigel is an artist and poet residing in the San Francisco Bay area. She has just published her first chapbook through Liquid Light Press, titled Pneuma. Her work has also been published in The Bitter Oleander, Poetry Quarterly, The Haight Ashbury Journal, NILVX, and elsewhere. 

Audrey Simpson was born and raised in Hollidaysburg, PA. The arts have always been an important aspect of her life, and she continues to create art in her spare time. She currently attends Ursinus College where she is a double major in Biochemistry and dance.

J.E. Crum is a fantastical artist who creates whimsical drawings and paintings, mostly of vividly abstracted variations of self-portraits inspired by mythological beings such as dragons and mermaids - just to name a few. Working intuitively, Crum uses her art as a way to tell stories visually as narratives, expressing the artist's thoughts about fate, destiny, and the meaning of her dreams. J.E. also has an exciting career as an elementary art teacher of nearly one thousand children in a week between the ages of five to eleven in rural locals of central Pennsylvania. Crum shows her work in exhibitions, online, and donates work to help charities. She belwievs in the power art posesses to make others happy. More of her work can be found on her website.
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J. Ray Padadiso is a recovering academic in the process of refreshing himself as a street photographer and an experimental writer. His work has been published in After Hours Press, Cargo Literary Magazine, Chicago Quarterly Review, Fredericksburg Literary & Art Review, GTF Press, Into the Void, New England Review, Ofi Press, Otholiths, Quail Bell Magazine, Street Photography Magazine, Third Wednesday, and Typehouse Literary Magazine, among others.

Makayla Batey is a student at Carson Newman University with a double major of communications and photography, and a minor in English. She has loved photography her whole life, getting her first camera at six, and is always photographing everything. She loves writing poetry in her spare time as well as the occasional short story. Postcard 2

Sarah Simon is a New Yorker at soul, living and teaching English between Ecuador and Uruguay. Her first book, "Core Collection: Poems About Eating Disorders", can be found on Amazon.