Special 2008 Calendar

Aaron Collett - ( a 12 year old young man and his grandmother, a Women of Westerville)

My grandma is a big inspiration to me.  She is always there to back me up in good times and bad and is always willing to help someone. 

My grandmother used to be a 3rd grade teacher in Westerville City Schools so I get a good amount of help on my homework. 

My grandmother got me into quilting during spring break when I asked her how to make a quilt.  I wanted to try because my sister and cousins were quilting with her and I wanted to see what it was like.  She showed me a style using freezer paper in which you lay it on another fabric called felt.  I would first draw what I wanted my quilt to look like on the freezer paper and then cutting piece by piece the waxy side of the paper and when ironed would stick to create my image. 

My grandmother encouraged me along the way and didn’t say I did things wrong and would help me only when I asked.  I received a lot of compliments and I feel relaxed when I quilt letting the fabric speak how I feel. 

I feel great when I quilt, not pressured or rushed and I work to impress myself and no one else.  My grandmother has helped me to open myself to the world through my art. "

Nancy Vance - Watercolors -

"Re-Invention"
 
My current work shows a re-invention of myself.
 
After becoming a widow in 2005, I began a new journey, a new direction in my life. After living in the country in a century-old farmhouse for 23 years, and commuting to work in Worthington, I moved to Westerville, purchased a lovely newer home and decorated it with bold contemporary colors. I took solo vacations to Arizona and California. I got back into the ‘dating game’, which is quite different than dating back in the early 80s. I have learned a lot about myself and others.
 
My art has also changed. My previous focus was contemporary art quilts. I created well over 150 pieces and exhibited in many juried shows all over the US, winning numerous awards. But after the move in 2005, my focus shifted to painting. I was very excited to have the opportunity to take art classes locally. I studied watercolors with Charles Rowland for over a year, and have recently began to take classes under Stan Pierce. I also enjoy taking digital photographs, some of which have been reference for the watercolors displayed in this exhibit.
 
The watercolors in this exhibit show southwestern architecture scenes from Sedona, Arizona and Balboa Park in San Diego, California. The flower painting echos my continued interest in the simplicity of nature. It shows dogwood blooms from Hocking Hills, using a limited color palette of yellow ochre, burnt sienna and indigo blue.
 
As I did in my art quilts and now in my watercolors, I create my art not to tell a story or evoke a response, but just to delight the eye.

Artist Eleanor Chapman, Photographer Bobbie Brooks -

This collection is obviously very special to me (Pat Denino), as it is a visual
journal of the spiritual and emotional aspects of my most recent
cancer journey.

I've chosen two images that include my "sisters" who
have walked beside me throughout the year of healing. Both, by the
way, have given me permission to allow their images to be seen. The
third image, of me alone, could only exist because of the support of
my sisters…

Ultimately, though I benefitted by exploring my own emotions, this
was intended from the start to be a gift of my own transparency
outwards. Ultimately, this isn't about cancer. It is about facing
ourselves, our fears, and finding the light within.

Susan R. Fagan

I count myself lucky to have become a part of the Westerville community 12 years ago, thanks to my husband’s transfer.  We had lived in NJ for many years, and have really grown to love Ohio in general and Westerville in particular.

Identity as a woman is a complex and multifaceted issue, experienced both uniquely by each individual and also collectively by women across time and space.  The works I am submitting look at three aspects of my artistic meditations on the feminine mystique.

The first work, Sheel-na-gig, references a particular depiction of woman found in Celtic cultures, and most especially in Ireland.  In this piece I honor my ancestry.  Though the real explanation for the sheela-na-gig (old crone) figure is lost in the mists of history, many scholars believe she has an apotropaic function and is truly a guardian of the portals to life and death.  This piece is a relief print over a monotype, installed in a shadow box, a figure in a world of its own and simultaneously connected to all.

The second work, a ceramic piece with various glazes, is called Exploring Nun. This Piece refers to a personal journey from the convent to secular life, and acknowledges that both sides remain perpetually present.

Silhouette, the third submittal, is a monotype with ink drawing. The choice of marks acknowledges both the delicacy and the strength of women. The figure has no face, for she is a surrogate for all females

Barbara Allen Frost

Metal enameling is ground colored glass fused in a 1500 degree kiln to a metal base, usually copper.  I LOVE TO ENAMEL!!  I only wish I had known more about this a lot earlier…….In fact, I did know about it a very long time ago, when I was a teenager.  One of my mother and father’s best friends, Charles Bartley Jeffery, was a world-class metal enamelist during the 1950’s and 60’s.  He was also one of the teachers of the medium at the Cleveland Institute of Art, which has continued to be a “hotbed” of enameling fervor from that time until now.  My brother attended the Institute, and eventually studied art under Jeffery and the other notables there.  I wish I had been so lucky…..I only went to children’s summer classes there.

Today, I fully realize that my own work is still very much in its infancy, and that my style is constantly evolving.  Sometimes it feels as if my art has a life of its own, going where it will, with me just performing the required actions.  Many disasters have occurred in the process, but I am discovering that as my proficiency increases, I am able to turn more of these negative moments into positive developments.  It’s even been a way to “discover a new technique”!

Etching the copper base material using designs of my own making was one area that I started to explore very early in my enameling career, and still use this “basse taille” technique as a basis for many of my pictures and jewelry items.  (See the photograph above.) 

Recently I have been creating detailed three-dimensional flower pictures using as inspiration the dramatic single blooms of Robert Mapplethorpe and Georgia O’Keefe.  Since I have a special love of orchids, I have been incorporating this into my work, using my own photography.

I have always identified myself in my own mind as being an architect.  More recently, I find I am introducing myself as being an artist, and am comfortable now with this new image.  The more I have been creating from within, the more I feel I am creative in all aspects of my life.  Surrounding my self with others who share this passion for enameling in particular, and art in general, has helped enrich my life greatly, and theirs too, I hope.  I am so lucky to have found this passion and feel fortunate to pass on to others some of my enthusiasm, along with some of the techniques and processes I have learned along the way.  

Cat Dreams Quilt   by Connie Wood

There was a time when I was known as the cat rescue woman of Uptown Westerville, (east of State); several felines lived at the shop and slept in wooden bowls on the desk.  They had their own fan club, especially Dirty Chin.  Folks would come in with presents for Chin and cameras in hopes of getting photos of all three in bowls.

Back in the day when Calico Cupboard was still on the corner of State and Main and Dirty Chin’s Motorwear was still in Uptown Westerville, I had occasional time on my hands while minding the shop.  It was easy to mosey over to Calico Cupboard and feast on the incredible variety of materials.  They had quite a selection of cat-related prints and that got me thinking, itching really, to do something with those luscious fabrics.  The Westerville Library had a book on quilts and the simple cat and mouse patterns were easy to replicate into cardboard patterns.  So, I started, thinking that 8-inch squares would be a good size to balance the hand appliquéd pattern.  I made thirty squares and closed the shop.  No correlation, it just happened that way.

In August of 2001 a sister in California sent me airline tickets to come visit her in early October.  Having not seen her in 5 years, I was very excited to go.  When September 11’s tragedy happened friends asked if I was still planning to board a plane and fly to California.  Sure.  If you’re going to die, make it for something instead of fear something.  For some reason there were only two things important to complete before flying from Columbus.  One was the quilt top and bottom because no one would assemble those like I would.  The other was some sort of will, a ‘To Whom It May Concern’ sort of thing.

I assembled the Cat Dreams top using some left over material (also purchased from the legendary Calico Cupboard) from some sundresses made for nieces.  The back is made from accumulated garage sale finds and some curtains I once made from a sheet.  The ‘To Whom’ was written then sealed in an envelope with shiny fun fairy and star stickers.  The top, bottom and ‘in case of’ were all put into a manila envelope and given to my dear friend, my sister, Renee.  She returned them to me later in October. 

The Women of Westerville Exhibit opportunity reminded me of unfinished Cat Dreams: good friends, tough times, laughs and tears all sitting in an envelope waiting.  When assembly time came I discovered that the back was short 4 inches so I rummaged around and found a piece of material that Renee gave me this March.  It had been dropped off at Gallery202 by a woman I didn’t know along with other items for the gallery to recycle into the art community of Westerville.  That material is the perfect addition. 

The circle is unbroken.  It is what cats dream of.  It is what Uptown was for Chin and me.  Unseen hands providing what we need, hallo across the alley, a ‘got yer’ back attitude, friends forever.  After all, worms love apples…fish love worms…cats love fish…

Kathryn Smithson

For as long as I can remember, art has been an important part of my life. It speaks to my soul.

I loved art class from grade school on, and in my high school years picked up drawing as a hobby. I stopped art for a while while I was raising my kids, and went back to it in 2003, when I picked up colored pencil and pastel. I find that I really like the way pastel works.

My favorite things to draw/paint are animals. I always draw the eyes first. They are the windows to their soul, and I feel like they are watching me as I draw the rest of them. I sort of develop a “relationship” with them as I create them! Some pieces seem to “draw themselves” because I become so involved in it.

I hope to be able to create my work as long as I am on this earth, and hope to get better with each piece I do.

Lisa Towner

Renee Kropat

I don't always see myself as an artist - more of a catalyst to help move others from wanting to doing art. I attended art school just to make sure that I could and found out that I enjoy the process and am absolutely delighted when what I see in my head, appears out of my hands.

I prefer to take ready made objects often found in the trash and just create. Often they are functional pieces of art such as a table or a lamp. Recycling is important but using found objects allows me to assemble my ideas faster.

I have also become fascinated with power tools. I love the sound, the smells the feel of the energy running through my hands and arms. The "aha" moment, when I actually cut straight or drill without going through the table is wonderful.

For this exhibit, I will be creating a "coffee" bar for the gallery out of found pieces - doors, old dishes, and more. Visit the gallery and see the progress - and yes I will be using power tools.

Women's Art - St Ann's About Women, For Women by Women

Several years ago, a group of local women met for three brief sessions and created an incredible piece of art for the St. Ann's Women's Pavilion. Read the story!