The Artists

Anthony Romero
Philadelphia, PA
Ceramicist

“My father is an immigrant from Honduras, and after meeting my mother in America, he moved to my home town and started a landscaping business.

My family didn’t have a lot of money, but I was able to help by working during high school doing labor intensive jobs. I knew I enjoyed doing physical work with my hands, but there was still a void inside of me that I needed to fill.
I started studying science to understand the world around me better and accidentally took a ceramics class that unknowingly started my career in art. After high school I saved up enough money for equipment and built an art studio. At the time I only intended to work with clay as a hobby, and soon after I went to college to study electrical engineering on the dream of a paycheck. After two years I made a decision to switch my focus to ceramics, because I realized I might not get another chance to pursue my passion. That changed everything and has given me the best version of myself to take on the world. I have been studying ceramics for 8 years, and graduated in 2019 from the Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University with a bachelors in fine arts concentrated in ceramics. I have received scholarships, fellowships, grants, internships, and opportunities to show my work in exhibitions and shops in multiple states and plan on doing this as long as I possibly can.”

Spencer Dick
Philadelphia, PA
Mixed Media Artist

“I was a big metalhead when I was younger, and started out copying Slayer and Iron Maiden album covers--I think having that soundtrack in the background led me to using a lot of really harsh contrast in my art.  Trying to capture the feeling of that music visually.  Even now that I've moved on from centering my life around metal bands from 20-30 years ago, I think that still influences my work.  Other than that, I've always drawn inspiration from ancient religious artwork; stuff that's more symbolic of nature. African mask-making has always intrigued me.  Each one represents such distinct, unique emotional qualities, and are rich in color, texture, and shape. I’d say there are nods to Basquait and Picasso—more of the dark, emotional type of process.”

We were first introduced to Spencer's work at W/N W/N Coffee Bar, where he was the bartender at the time.  His intense style executed in strictly watercolor was immediately intriguing.  After a conversation (and a few cocktails), we challenged him to use coffee as a medium to paint --a style first experimented with by early Mexican painters who would paint with different shades of brewed coffee, roasting beans darker or lighter, to mimic the style of watercolor.

“As far as working with not traditional materials, for the kind of work I do it's not much of a hurdle.  Working very gritty and texturally, I'm always looking to combine new things in."