As an artist, I have worked in a variety of media, including: mixed media, photography, painting, drawing, and collage. I use art to tell the story of universal human experiences such as life, death, love, anger, compassion, violence, and hope. For the past nine years I have been working on a three-part mixed media series on paper and wood dealing with plagues from ancient times to plagues found in my own lifetime. My recent work, Ten Plagues of Detroit™, deals specifically with the atrocities and afflictions found in Detroit – past and present. Some of the afflictions I am basing my mixed media pieces on are: “Plague of Violence”, “Plague of Arson and Fire,” and “Plague of Addiction and Poverty.” As an artist, I want to reflect the reality of Detroit’s condition back to its citizens and sojourners as a way to show its devastating realities, but also as a way to stir up hope and change. In spite of urban blight and blare, I see those in the city whose very lives claim that Detroit is “rising from the ashes.”  I plan on capturing these gestures of restoration in the third part of the mixed media series – Redemption of the Plagues.

     Yvette Rock received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York City and a Master of Fine Arts in painting from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Between 1999-2004 she served as Artist-in-Residence for the Detroit-based non-profit organization InsideOut Literary Arts Project, teaching art classes to Detroit Public School children. 
     Rock has also been involved in several community-based mural projects. Some sites include: Neighborhood Service Organization, Qualicare Nursing Home, Ann Arbor Academy, and Neutral Zone. From 2001-2002 Rock served as Adjunct Assistant Professor at UM School of Art & Design, creating and co-teaching “Detroit Connections”. In 2003 she founded an after-school program called Bezalel Project, a ministry of YouthWorks-Detroit.The program engages Detroit children from grades 2-8 in academic, arts and leadership training. 
     Rock has recently exhibited her piece, “Magalys” in the Detroit Artists Market’s juried Biannual Exhibition and her photographs of flora and landscapes will be on exhibit at Oakwood Hospital in Dearborn, Michigan from June 25-Septemer 21, 2012. Her upcoming solo show opening November 4, 2012 at Michigan Women’s Center and Hall of Fame, “Tenuous Equilibrium,” will feature over twenty photographs of Detroit’s people and spaces. 
     Rock is also the owner and founder of future Detroit art museum, Live Coal Gallery. Live Coal Gallery fosters a passion for art, community, and learning by connecting aspiring, emerging, and established artists. Visit www.livecoalgallery.com for more information about the museum.