words + pictures from the studio of Joan Colbert
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SummitLive365, a portal for artists, venues, performers, organizations and creators is now up and running. The site is a product of ArtsNow, a non-profit organization founded in July of 2015 with the purpose of connecting arts, culture and community in Summit County Ohio. The directory for visual artists is a welcome resource, too: Joan Colbert on SummitLive365.
This year’s Open Studio was a delight! Once again the weather was at its springtime best (maybe the Sunday following Mother’s Day is magical) even though it rained for much of the preceding week. Thanks to everyone who stopped by and congratulations to door prize winners, Wendy, Dan and Annie Lou!
When asked, I normally say that it’s been about twenty years since my first open studio. Actually, this was number twenty-two. In the early 1990s Akron/Summit County artists participated in Cleveland’s NOVA (New Organization for the Visual Arts) Open Studio Days. When NOVA folded, many of the Akron area artists continued to host open studios, but interest waned after a few years. Apparently I never got the memo that the event had been discontinued. . . and I’m glad I didn’t!
After the last guests departed Dylan let me know just how much work was involved in being a semi-official greeter all day!
Tulips and daffodils from the garden greeted studio visitors during the May Downtown Akron Artwalk.
Artists of Rubber City announced a benefit event to raise funds for The BOX Gallery and it promises to be fun. Artists were asked to donate handmade postcards, aka 4 x 6 inch art, for a show and sale. The first of my submissions, Thicket, is a monotype, while the second is a bit of mixed media using a windowed envelope with its printed lining, titled The Purloined Letter(s).
Like Edgar Allan Poe’s purloined letter, the contents are hiding in plain sight. Discerning the message is almost as puzzling as deciphering the meaning of Jacques Lacan’s writings on The Purloined Letter. His quote, “Which is why we cannot say of the purloined letter that, like other objects, it must be or not be in a particular place but that unlike them it will be and not be where it is, wherever it goes.” is lettered on the front. I doubt whether even C. Auguste Dupin could figure out that message.
For a few years now, art exhibits have been greeting travelers who pass through the Akron-Canton Airport thanks to the efforts of artist, Michele Waalkes, and funding from both the airport and Arts in Stark. Summit and Stark County artists are paired in the exhibits that run for about four months. Currently my work, alongside digital illustrations by Michael Weiss, is on display at the security gateway. Should you be flying through CAK between now and August be sure to take a look!
It’s a busy Saturday of comings and goings at Summit Artspace!
Gallery schedules will not be in sync for a few months, so the March Artwalk features the closing of Time Capsules in the first floor gallery and the opening of skin{d.e.e.p.} and VS (Versus)::0.02 [gridiron] by Margarita Benitez and Markus Vogl in the BOX gallery.
In addition to the gallery exhibits, Crafty Mart’s Nerdy Pop-up Market amid the third floor open studios make Summit Artspace a must on your artwalk itinerary!
Over a year in the making, Time Capsules opened Friday evening at the Summit Artspace Gallery. Artist Terry Klausman proposed the exhibit and invited fellow assemblage artists, Bret Hines and Gwen Waight, to join him in filling the space with sculptures and wall pieces that rework all manner of materials into engaging, often thought-provoking, artwork. Even amid the distractions of opening night festivities, Tim Fitzwater captured some interesting views of the artwork – take a look at ZipperCityBlog.
In keeping with the theme, Terry has installed an actual time-capsule-in-progress in the gallery. Artists are invited to add their own contributions to the visual artists of 2015 collection which will be sealed at the close of the exhibit. The crate will then be stored at the Akron-Summit County Public Library, to be re-opened in fifty years!
Time Capsules
Bret Hines – Terry Klausman – Gwen Waight
January 30 – March 7, 2015
Summit Artspace
140 East Market Street
Akron, Ohio 44303
Hours: Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
February 13, 2015 update: Akron Beacon Journal review by Anderson Turner – Three Dimensional Works Inspire Creativity at Summit Artspace
the BOX gallery, a project of Artists of Rubber City, opened its 2015 exhibit schedule with two exhibits, curated by Rosa Maille: Meditation/Creation, featuring the work of Tom Baldwin and Barbara Sabol, Claudia Berlinski, Mardi Gauer, Clarissa Jakobsons and Laurel Winters, in the front gallery and Peculiar Moments – drawings by Mark Jaroszewski in the small box. On Friday, January 16, there was an opening party featuring poetry readings by Clarissa Jakobsons and Barbara Sabol. The official opening reception will take place on Friday, January 30, 2015.
update:
Anderson Turner, writing in the Sunday, February 8, 2015, edition of the Akron Beacon Journal, reviewed both Meditation/Creation and Peculiar Moments in Finding Beauty in Nature at the BOX gallery.
Akron’s only remaining independent art supply store is closing its doors on Christmas Eve. A constant presence on Carroll Street since 1970, the business began long before that as Pockrandt’s Paint & Supply. Years ago every entity that had a graphics department had an account at Ruppel’s. While employed at the Akron Public Library and later the City of Akron, trips to Ruppel’s for the necessities: display board, paint, ink and pens, also involved browsing among all of the other goodies. At the time I wouldn’t have believed that I would ever be nostalgic about One Shot Lettering Enamel or sheets of Chartpak Transfer Type – never say never! In recent years I have stopped in whenever I needed my favorite paper (Strathmore series 500 sheets) and mat board (Crescent 1613 rag) – and, yes, I purchased the last three sheets of that board.
Ruppel’s was affected by changes in both the art supply business and their customer base, all of which was covered in Betty Lin-Fisher’s article in the Akron Beacon Journal. Although it’s sad to say good-bye, I wish the best to Harold Ruppel and Steve Rarick and hope our paths cross again.
