"...[ Arista Baltronis'] entire artistic career—from process to the “final cut”—has been about finding the magic moment when the creation emerges full blown and becomes a work of art.  From acting, songwriting, casting, directing, painting, sculpting, and creating assemblages from a rich repertoire of material, she has applied the same conscientiousness and care.  Her attention to every detail, her ongoing search for perfection, has never wavered.  She is—simply put—a creator, in the best sense of the word."

​

Her curiosity from an early age led her to an interest in travel, teaching first in Beirut, Lebanon, and later, upon her return to New York, researching and drawing maps for the American Heritage Publishing Company.  Not being one to “sit still” for long, she became a working songwriter and balladeer and eventually a theatrical director.  Her interest in working behind the camera led to casting for CBS shows Search for Tomorrow, The Guiding Light and Grey Advertising.  It was during this time that she discovered her real passion: The Visual Arts.

Painting. Collage.  Assemblage.  

From water color, gouache, pen and ink, collage and assemblages to woodcarving, her  latest artistic venture is refurbishing old, sometimes antique, sometimes rusty or broken, tools of all kinds—meticulously cleaning and sanding each piece, and making it look like new.  The objects of choice encompass everything from a two-man saw, a nineteenth century scythe, rakes, hoes, hammers and most recently, horseshoes.  Then she applies the final touch... 
Swarovski Crystals.  Applied to the surface, by utilizing color, shape, size and various design configurations, these crystals transform the once old tool into a hanging, standing, or table top work of art. In the case of her horseshoes, each is different in  its color and design, each becoming the perfect way to bring this universal good luck symbol to one’s doorstep.  In the artist’s own words:
"I am having such fun with this new direction of work. It is very exciting and challenging to learn new skills and new techniques and apply them to an everyday object to make it into something completely unique." 

Exhibitions

Arista has been exhibited at the Alexandria Museum in LA where she received a Merit Award from that institution.

Solo exhibitions include: The Viridian Gallery (NYC), The J Walter Thompson Advertising Agency (NYC), and East River Savings Bank (NYC).  Her work has been published in the Kansas Quarterly and been seen on CBS’s Guiding Light. Her paintings, drawings and assemblages are in many private collections. 

Juried exhibitions are extensive: Triangle Gallery in Washington DC , East Tennessee State University, The Lucia Gallery, International New Talent in NYC, Long Island University’s  Brooklyn Campus and many more.   

The latest exhibitions of Hardware on the Rocks include the Seti Gallery in Kent , CT., the White Silo Gallery in Sherman, CT. and the Peter Lawrence Gallery in Gaylordsville, CT. "