Bio - Ursula Roma

I am a fine artist, designer and sculptor. In 1986, I received a BFA in 1986, and my MFA in 2011, and have pursued illustration, graphic design and fine art as my career since graduation. I have my own business, Little Bear Graphics, where I do commissioned work for non-profit organizations and local and national clients in various mediums including acrylic, oil and watercolor painting, collage, and pen and ink.

I also create mixed-media wall art and sculptures using found objects and salvaged materials. As a seasoned salvager, I see potential in all kinds of discarded shapes and found objects, and find myself bringing them home to realize their destiny in future artwork.

I collect utilitarian items such as tools, musical instruments, implements of farming, cooking, and early computing. Re-using the materials I collect honors the artisans handiwork that is rapidly vanishing with mass production. There is no precise linear planning of each piece. The process is more an image of the whole, predestined by its parts. I see the shape, and associate it with something else, then proceed to transform it into that vision. Items such as rusted scrap found in junkyards, flea markets and factories hold the potential to be transformed into pieces of art. Garbage night, dumpster diving and basement investigations, all turn up inspirational supplies.

My paintings are often whimsical, light-hearted , playful interpretations of the relationship between people and animals. Animals take themselves less seriously than people, so they tend to be a fun subject for paintings. I try to capture these moments and other natural settings as I illustrate my vision of these essential connections.

All of these mediums can be viewed in the profile section of this site.

Ursula Roma
513.542.5722

Awards:
Recipient of City of Cincinnati’s 2008 Individual Artist Grant, $5,000

Recent shows:
Local group exhibitions include:
DesignSmith Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio - August and September 2007
Together Gallery, Newport, Kentucky – July—August 2007
Great Cincinnati Foundation Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio - January 2004
YWCA Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio - 2004 and 2005
Mockbee Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio - 2003 and 2005

Local solo exhibitions include:
The Winds Cafe, Yellow Springs, Ohio - September 2008
St. John’s Unitarian Universalist Church, Cincinnati, Ohio - February 2008
Kaldi’s Café, Cincinnati, Ohio - June 2006
Melt Café, Northside, Ohio - April 2006 and October 2008
Sidewinder Café, Northside, Ohio - March 2006 & Dec 2008 - Feb 2009
YWCA Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio - January 2006
Stained Glass Theater Gallery, Newport, Kentucky - October 2004
SS Nova Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio - April 2002

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ARTS Across Kentucky