Helen received her Degree in Art at The Ohio Dominican College. Her major influences in the arts have been her father, and later in life, her art professor at Ohio Dominican, Mel Rozen.
“Professor Rozen inspired my love of abstract art in various mediums, mostly in acrylics, which inspired my desire to paint non-imitating realities or objects of nature.”
Her exhibition will continue through the end of June.
New exhibition featuring quilts by Sara Deever January through February 2017
SARA DEEVER
SANE QUILTS FOR A CRAZY WORLD
ARTIST STATEMENT
I stitch for self-expression and therapy. I love to play with color, stitches, line,
and texture. When I sit and sew, I find great comfort and peace. Often insights will
come as the needle moves in and out in a slow meditative way.
My grandmother was an excellent embroiderer, who insisted that my sister and I
learn. I loved it and have continued; moving from stamped purchased designs to those
of my own creation. I discovered Mariska Karasz’s book ‘Adventures in Stitches’ in
1962. Later, in the 70’s, while making patches for jeans with a variety of sayings
on them, I decided to set myself a challenge: to see if the only text I stitched all
year could be scripture. It became a prayer process that I’ve continued and which
sustained me through my years as an urban high school teacher, when many of these
pieces were sewn.
For the crazy quilt pieces, I baste together interesting fabrics that may or may not
already have stitches on them. Then I embroider the edges together fastening them to
a muslin lining, binding the edge when I’m done. For the circles, I tightly sew the
fabric ground to a macramé ring and then stitch it. Sometimes I draw shapes or text
with chalk or pencil or air-erase pen. Sometimes I just stitch what feels right,
mostly working intuitively, playing with color, shape and stitch. As I begin, I may
or may not know what the saying or final design will be.
Natalie Hess – Artist Statement
By day I work as a graphic designer, and many times that skill-set flows over into my painting and printmaking through text or layout. This body of work, however, focuses on more abstract themes. I rarely had a subject in mind when creating these pieces. Rather, this work was driven by process and detail. I love learning new techniques, but my main goal isn’t to master a particular style. Learning the style and then changing it or pushing it to be my own is what drives my art. Bold, rich colors draw me in, and I tend to work with such colors often. Details in my art include subtle lines and added pieces, such as embroidery. I enjoy being able to look at a piece as a whole, but then get closer and see the intricate lines and strategically placed details. For me, this adds another layer to the piece.
New! Urban Acupuncture Center Racerback T’s in light and dark grey
As a life-long resident of Champaign County, Ohio, I have become more aware in recent years of the beauty that surrounds me. The gently rolling hills and well-maintained farmland offer pastoral vistas. The interplay of organic and ever-changing cloud formations contrasting with the geometric forms of barns, silos, and fields provide subject matter for my paintings. These landscapes are often located within a few miles of my home, scenes I encounter daily.
My paintings have the look of being painted Plein Air, but are studio creations. Three years ago I started painting on our screened-in porch. It offered plenty of natural light, and at the time was not often used.
I believe people still want to look at beautiful things. These are the landscapes, the rural vistas, I find most appealing. My paintings reveal the simple, honest, direct beauty of our local landscape.
Leigh Ann Inskeep-Simpson received her B.A. in Art Education from Otterbein College. She received her M.F.A. in Painting from Miami University. She teaches Art, Art History, and Photography at Urbana High School. She can be reached through her website at www.LeighAnnInskeep-Simpson.com.
5th grade artists at Liberty Tree Elementary School, in the Olentangy Local School District, looked at the strong compositions of flower paintings by artist Georgia O’Keeffe. Students then set to work simplifying a flower into simple shapes and lines with an emphasis on the composition itself. Their goal was to reach all 4 sides of the paper and abstract the flower to take on a new life all its own. These images were rendered in water-soluble oil pastels, with attention to thoughtful color selections and pairings. The work will be on display at the Clintonville location until early May.