“ My work hones in on the universal feeling of being set apart and isolated. Something in everyone's life has not been allowed the chance to grow, whether it is a family, a character trait, or in my case a hand. Everyone can relate to imperfections ”

Isaac Powell's artistic awakening happened in 1999 under the direction of professor Gary Frields. Frields called into question "self imposed limitations" and encouraged his students to challenge these limitations without any predetermined assignments. Isaac's mixed media approach evolved from this questioning, employing a box format on Birch plywood to invade the viewer's space. He then tackles the surface with acrylic, graphite, and ink. Isaac has recently explored the fears associated from being born without a right forearm, and brings the prosthetic into the work as a design component. As he says, "This I have found is forcing me to work with an uncomfortable subject and driving me to become a more complete person/painter." Isaac, who has never actually worn his prosthetic, uses the interaction of imagery to transmit what he calls a "sense tension." The piece Questions of Symmetry is about the difference in Isaac's body and the idea of symmetry. The vessel, a beautiful object, stands steadfast in the center. "My body with the missing hand is hardly symmetrical. I (as an unsymmetrical being) am motivated and desire to create a form that is symmetrical and flawless."