Meet The Artists
Kat Bohn
I am a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and composer who explores all sonic possibilities, from dripping faucets to nature’s choirs. My work blends experimental soundscapes with traditional and unconventional instruments, incorporating the voices of the natural world.
One of my unpublished works, Awake and Alive, was inspired by sleepless nights in a Hunterdon County farmhouse, weaving the rhythmic calls of tree frogs and insects into a haunting track that places the listener between worlds. Similarly, my reimagining of Beautiful Dreamer transforms the classic into a plea—perhaps from the dreamer, or to the dreamer — to wake up.
Beyond solo work, I recorded with my original band Resilient, including Take Two (2020), tracked live in three days. I serve as the emergency on-call female vocalist for the Rock Orchestra, and just last week was recruited as a bassist for the Irish folk troupe, the Jolly Tinkers, with plans to contribute hammered dulcimer or bowed psaltery next year. I also performed multiple roles in A Levittown Christmas Carol, an original musical that sold out at New Hope Arts Center.
Other performances include seven years with Flannel, a ’90s grunge tribute band, playing at The Fillmore, Gramercy Theatre, and opening for Third Eye Blind. I also frequently collaborate at Broken Goblet Brewing, a multi-year winner of “Best Music Venue” in Bucks County.
Rain Black
Rain Black, M.P.H., CPH (He/They) is a mixed indigenous 2 Spirit autistic watercolor, beadwork, & twining artist and forager who earned his bachelor’s degrees in Biology, Public Health and Art from Cedar Crest College. He holds a Master of Public Health degree in epidemiology from the University of South Florida and is Certified in Public Health. He is a community educator with 8 years of experience focusing on topics around domestic and intimate partner abuse, queer and transgender justice, foraged art making, life skills, and public health. They also teach about native plants, forest conservation, and foraging on social media and in person. He is a founding organizer of Queer & Trans Lehigh Valley.
Rain has been a teaching artist for the Allentown Art Museum for their Nature’s Palette program. He has also run art classes for the Lehigh University Art Gallery and Widoktadwen: Center for Native Knowledge that focus on community artwork and making art from nature.
Erika Salus
I am a visual artist based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. I graduated from Moravian University in 2019 with a BFA in Studio Art, a minor in Peace and Justice Studies, and a focus in Artistic Exploration of Justice. I am a multimedia artist with concentration in digital and analog photography, collaging, and oil painting. Currently I teach Digital Photography at NCC and manage the Photography lab at Dan’s Camera, in Allentown.
Learning concepts and processes in photography was a highlight of my studies. After taking introductory courses, I continued on to advanced courses in Historic Processes. These classes focused on understanding the history of photography and practicing the techniques that were developed by the pioneers of photography preceding the use of modern / contemporary cameras. This involved image transfers in its simplest form by using essential oils to release the inks of a print onto a new material. Something that I would continue to use in my artistic practices.
In addition, I completed a S.O.A.R. Project (Student Opportunity for Academic Research) under Angela Fraleigh. I assisted Angela in the preparation of 3 large scale exhibitions, which involved research, hands-on, and administrative responsibilities. As part of the research, I tested the use of raw materials, such as vegetation, to create natural dyes on untreated canvas. This was a very exciting process to me as I’ve never experimented with this, and hadn’t really thought about sourcing my surroundings to create 2 natural dyes.
