It's The Little Things...(Small Wonders Opening, 6/8 @ ODAS!)

It's time we all acknowledged the truth: Things that are awesome, are made awesom-er when they are small.
To convince you of this Scientific Fact*, I present to you exhibits A through E:

Exhibit A: Candy

Good.**

BETTER. (Look- fun is in it's name)

Exhibit B: Octopi

Beautiful, and slightly terrifying 

Beautiful and SO WEE.
BETTER.

Exhibit C: Antipasto plates

Normal size: A delicious and savory way to begin a meal

Tiny Size: inedible, but completely adorable.
BETTER.

Exhibit C: Even things that are already small are better when they're smaller

You can hold it in your hands!

YOU CAN HOLD 30 OF THEM IN YOUR IN YOUR HANDS
WAY BETTER.

Exhibit D: Art

What a big and impressive piece of art!

Smaller, but SO MUCH BETTER!

The really great news is that if you are a fan of small art (and with all the above evidence you'd be foolish not to be) you'll have a chance to check out over 100 miniature (no larger than 12"x 12"x 12")  paintings, drawings, sculptures, even fiber art at Open Door's Small Wonders, opening this Saturday, June 8th, from 5p to 7p.

But wait! There's more!

Small Wonders is a collaborative exhibition featuring artists from Open Door Art Studio and Cincinnati’s Visionaries and Voices. The show will be up through July, but with Father's Day, Graduation gifts and Happy 'It's No Longer Ohio Winter!' celebrations coming up, these wonderful and affordable works of are will be flying off the walls. Plus our openings have great snacks. 

Please join us for this big night of small works!  

*disclaimer: not real science
**All pictures, except for the last one, belong to someone else and have been linked to where I found them.
They are used purely for fun and hilarity, not for profit.

Wallace Peck- Opening Tomorrow @ the Lindsay Gallery

It's not a secret that Wallace is an amazing artist, and a total rock star. The past year has been a big one for Wallace- he was chosen as an emerging artist for the 2012 Columbus Arts Fest, he was part of a three person show at Open Door, and he made lots of new friends.

because who wouldn't want to be friends with this smile?

2013 is also proving to be a big year for Wallace- He was featured in our second annual This Inspired That exhibition AND this week he opens his first ever solo show at a major Columbus Gallery. (!!!) We are all so proud of Wallace and can't wait to celebrate with him at the opening, this Friday, May 31 from 6pm to 9pm at the Lindsay Gallery.  

Come on out and meet the man, the myth, the legend, Mr. Wallace Peck himself.

Mother's Day is Coming- Are You Ready?

Ah, Mother's Day- The day to celebrate mother's, maternal bonds, the influence of motherhood in society, and all the ladies who've raised or help raise new humans into functional adults. It's the one day out of the year to show your mother (or mothering person) just how grateful you are for them, the one day on which we pause to say thank-you for everything they've done for us. It's also in two days, so if you haven't gotten an appropriately awesome gift for that awesome person, you'd better get moving. No pressure.

Whistler's Mother. Tell me this lady doesn't look like she deserves more than just a scented candle?

Good news! Just in time for this crazy important holiday, Open Door Art Studio is having a BIG SPRING FLING SALE, this Saturday, May 11 from 12pm to 5pm

"But Cat, are you sure I'll be able to find the right gift for my mother?

Yes. Yes I am.*

And to prove it, below are just a few of the literally hundreds of pieces of art we have for sale, any of which would make excellent Mother's Day Gifts:

Old School Vacuum, Rex Lynch

Okay, so everyone knows; don't get your mom/wife/significant other who cleans up your messes a tool with which to clean said messes. But an amazing, original watercolor drawing of an Old School Vacuum? Totally cool.

Splat, Marty Freireich 

Speaking of cleaning up messes, here's a Splat so beautiful your mother won't want to clean it up!**

And Baby Makes Three, Margaret Stromire

Don't have time to get a family portrait taken? No worries, get your mom a family portrait- With Elephants!

Linda Carter as Wonder Woman, Jenny DeBrier

Taking a messy, loud ball of emotions and impulses and transforming it into a functioning adult? If that's not a superpower I don't know what is. Celebrate your mother's inner Super Heroine with this lovely painting. 

Rosy Disposition, Linda Hoffman

Flowers are always a safe bet, but you know what doesn't last forever? Flowers. You know what does? Paintings of flowers. You tell me which one makes a better gift.

Cutie Koala, Carolyn Morgan

And if by some chance your mom doesn't like superheroes, flowers, non-objective paintings or elephants, there's no way she won't love a koala. They're scientifically proven to be the Outback's cutest animal***

So there you have it! Just a tiny sample of the amazing work we have available. Double plus bonus: Every work of art is one-of-a-kind (so no worries about a copy-cat sibling getting her the same thing) and directly benefits our artists and the studio.

Your mother would be proud.

*Full disclosure- I am not a mother, but I've been someone's kid for most of my life and feel like I've got a pretty good idea of what makes a successful Mother's Day gifting experience.

**(Which is good. Because it's a painting. And permanent.) 

***this is not real science. But it is true. 

Back in Time for Daffodils- It's the Open Door Exhibition Season!!

Greetings and Salutations! Happy Springtime! 

I love cocoa and holidays and big fuzzy sweaters as much as the next person, but around mid-February I hit my limit and start seriously considering hibernation as an alternative to Ohio winter.

This is a koala yawning. Your argument is invalid. 

Another late-winter bummer is the absence of exhibitions and openings in our gallery space. True, it's nice to give ourselves time to catch our breath and stock up on new art and ideas. True, it's usually too gross out for anyone to come out to a chilly, evening opening. Still- I missed seeing you guys!

Though things have been quiet around the ol' blog, we at Open Door have been busy as Christmas elves- plotting plots and scheming schemes- all in preparation for our SHINY! SPARKLY!
2013 EXHIBITION SEASON
here just in time for sunshine and violets and baby animals!

"But Cat! I can't wait! I've waited all winter and I need Visionary Art and I need it NOWZA!"

Well then, you're in luck because our first show of the season, This Inspired That, opens this Saturday, April 6th from 5pm to 7pm. 

"OMG YES!"

This Inspired That is a collaborative exhibit featuring Open Door Art Studio and artists from Creative Arts of Women (CAW). For this exhibit each CAW artist selected a piece of art made by an artist from Open Door that inspired them and then used that spark to create a companion piece. Both works are displayed side-by-side in this engaging and exciting exhibit.


Click here for more information about the show and to RSVP!
(If over 100 people RSVP by this Saturday I will attempt a cartwheel. In public. You know you want to see that)

Open House!

The time has come for Open Door Art Studio to open its doors even wider for its Annual Open House event!  The exhibition in the gallery, titled Pieces of Me, will feature self portraits from the artists of Open Door.  These wonderful creations, in various mediums and styles, allow viewers to see the artists the way they see themselves.  In addition, the studio will be filled with a wonderful survey of contemporary, outsider art.  

Opening Reception:
Saturday, November 10th from 5:00-7:00 p.m.
1050 Goodale Blvd. Columbus, Ohio

Light hors d'oeuvres and beverages will be served in this unique and inspiring art setting!

Are You Afraid of the Art - Opening This Weekend!

That's right Boos and Ghouls, you have less than seven days (seven days!) until the Halloween event that will put the 'Art' back in "Heart-stopping,' the 'Ooo' in 'Spooky,' and the 'Wee!' back in 'Halloween'! Are You Afraid of the Art, opens this Saturday, Oct. 13th (eek!) from 5pm to 7pm, giving you plenty of time for tricks and/or treats after.

Are you Afraid of the Art will feature art work from Open Door artists, as well as artists from the Columbus arts community. The work ranges from scary to adorable and, in some cases, a most puzzling combination of the two. The opening will feature enough treats to make a dentist weep and costumes are highly encouraged. (For real. We will all be in costume and may deem you less than fun should you come in your regular clothes. Unless your regular clothes are some form of costume, in which case, rock on).

Of corpse, I don't want you to come ill prepared, so I thought I'd share a few of my frightful favorite pieces of art that feature the strange and spooky.

1. Caravaggio's Medusa

Yikes! Here's a lady I would not want to mess with (although I feel she and I could exchange hair-care tips) Carravaggio, the Italian Baroque painter, painted this image of the Gorgon queen in 1596 while living in Rome. Carravaggio, who is famous for being a bit of a hot head himself, had recently left Milan due to "certain quarrels". (Definitely more Tricks than Treats with this guy) Snakes to his awesome use of dark and light, Carravaggio had a large influence on the painters of his time, as well as today.

2. The Nightmare by Henry Fuseli

Don't you just hate it when you're trying to get to sleep and that big demon won't stop sitting on your chest? I know I do. Henry Fuseli, on the other hand, found it so inspiring he painted this image not once, but three different times. For a complete and truly bizarre interpretation, check out the image's wikipedia page. What can we learn from this piece- don't look a creepy-gift-horse in it's blank and bottomless eyes? Don't mess with Swiss Artists?  

 3. The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters  by Francisco Goya

This print is arguably the most famous of Goya's Los Caprichos series. Los Caprichos was a set of 80 prints in which Goya, a hard-core Enlightenment Fan, critiqued everything about the society in which he lived (sort of like an 18th century Steven Colbert). Goya's monsters are some of my favorites, as some of the scariest monsters to me exist in real life (example: clowns) 

 4. from The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch

Hieronymus Bosch's paintings are like a 'where's Waldo' of creepy little buggers. I don't even know where to start- the owls? The little gremlins? Awesome! I could look at this painting all day. Little is known about Bosch's life because he left no diaries or letters. Probably because he was too busy coming up with amazing beasties.

5. James Ensor's skeletons

Aw, look at these two guys- so happy! And that one has a hat! Everything's better with a hat (Don't believe me? Ask the internet). Although a 19th century painter, Ensor's bizarre paintings of skulls, carnival masks and puppets had a large influence on many of the 20th century surrealists.


Do you have a favorite piece of monster art? Perhaps you'll have a new one after this Saturday!

Are You Afraid of the Art
Saturday, October 10th

5pm to 7pm

See you there!

sources
wikipedia.com
my brain

my smart coworkers

SCREAM FOR ENTRIES

Boogerlops by Brandon Boggs

Open Door Art Studio is excited to announce a call for entries for the upcoming show “Are You Afraid of the Art?” in conjunction with “Sugar High” an annual Halloween masquerade event! The artists at Open Door have been hard at work creating creepy, crawly artworks of all kinds and are now looking for local artists to join in the fun!

Theme

Monsters, goblins, ghouls, ghosts, haunted houses, jack-o-lanterns, and graveyards; if it screams Halloween we want it for our show! Halloween can mean so many things, from memories of dressing up and trick-or-treating to self-induced sugar highs to horror films. Get creative and show us what Halloween means to you!

Entry Guidelines

Open Door will accept 2D work no larger than 30 inches in any direction

3D work is welcome and will be considered on a case-by-case basis

Artwork must fit into the theme of the show

Artwork is limited to 3 entries per artist

Artist is responsible to submit their artwork ready to hang and be displayed for exhibit

All artwork must be original

Drop Off

Artwork will not be accepted after October 8^th. Open Door is a working studio for the artists we serve, please drop off your artwork within the dates and times listed below so that we can give you our full attention and not disturb the artists at work.

Saturday September 29^th 12pm-5pm

Monday October 1^st 9am-5pm

Saturday October 6^th 12pm-5pm

Monday October 8^th 9am-5pm

Show Dates

The opening reception will be held on Saturday October 13^th from 5pm-7pm. We ask that artists please attend the show and bring your friends! Please feel free to wear a costume or Halloween-themed attire! The artwork will be on display through October 26^th and any unsold work will be available for pick-up beginning Monday October 29^th.

Pricing

Artist will receive 70% of the selling price of their artwork and should figure this in to the price on the application form. Open Door receives the remaining 30% that goes directly back into operating costs, supplies, and resources for the artists we serve. Artist will be required to sign a consignment agreement when dropping off artwork.

Entry Process

Entries are due by Thursday October 4^th 2012 

There is no fee to enter!

Email the completed entry form and jpeg images, at least 1MB, each of your work to: 

ODASEntries@gmail.com

Please type “Sugar High” in the subject line of your email 

Please name the jpeg images according to the artwork title and artist last name (ex. JSmith_Frankenstein)

Artist will be notified of their acceptance by email within 2 business days of receiving the application

Artwork will be accepted per Open Doors discretion

Artwork must match the image received with the entry form

In the body of your email please include:

Name

Address

City, State, Zip

Email Address

Phone Number

Entry #1: Title, Size, Media, Price

Entry #2: Title, Size, Media, Price

Entry #3: Title, Size, Media, Price

Email submissions are preferred but mailed submissions with photos will be considered and any costs associated with such submission (postage etc.) are the responsibility of the artist. Submissions should be mailed to:

Open Door Art Studio

ATTN: Sugar High

1050 Goodale Blvd.

Grandview Heights, OH 43212

Twenty One Eyed Tony by Margret Stromire