Skip to main content

A Holiday Tradition, and a Great Reason to Join The Ohio Art League.

Each December The Ohio Art League stages their "Thumb Box Exhibition"; an event that offers a selection of small works by member artists. As an Art League member, I've gotten in the habit of submitting a small painting of a Christmas ornament each year. They're fun to do, and they provide a nice break from the parade of muted landscapes I paint the rest of the year. They usually look something like this:

Still Life (Ornament) #3

This year, members again have been given the opportunity to submit up to three works for the show. I'm going to try and honor that opportunity by painting not one, but three ornaments!

Anticipating success, I've already ordered the frames (from Hackman Frames, of course,) and begun the paintings. Truth be told, it will be close. I'm a notoriously slow worker and that's only been compounded by the fact that I've been really busy this fall. Right now I've got some basic compositions, values, and colors coming together. The rest of the work will involve glazes, modeling, and working the lights and darks.


"The Thumb Box Exhibition" runs December 2-18, so if I get these done (fingers crossed) they'll be on view there.

Also, if you're an artist, designer, crafter, or enthusiast, and you're not already an OAL member you should really consider joining. "Thumb Box" is one of two guaranteed opportunities you'll have each year to show (and maybe sell!) your work. There's also juried exhibitions, member exhibitions, workshops, receptions, and other opportunities for networking and socializing. The Art League is in the midst of a big membership drive (through December 2), so if you join before then, you'll get a free T-shirt courtesy of Skreened. All the details can be found at on the Art Leauge's Membership Page.

Join now, get a free shirt, and show your work in December. That's what they call win/win baby!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Ohio Historical Center: A Defense

A couple weeks ago I was contacted by Carrie Ghose at Business First to share my thoughts on architecture in central Ohio. The recent controversy surrounding the new Student Union at Ohio State had apparently sparked a number of conversations regarding what constitutes "good" building design. Carrie was following that story , and developing a second piece to get feedback on other notable Columbus buildings. At the time I offered a staunch a defense of what I believe might be the most maligned and misunderstood building in central Ohio, the Ohio Historical Center. Business First wasn't able to run the whole piece, so I've decided to turn it into a blog post. photo courtesy of OHS/ www.ohiomemory.org The refrain is a as old as the building itself, "It's ugly. It's just a giant brown box. It doesn't even look like a museum". Sadly, it's that exact line of thinking that poses the greatest threat to the building Architectural Record referre...

The Problem With Librarian Problems

So it's come to this; a curmudgeonly blog post about the state of the profession (complete with finger wagging, tsk-tsking, and even a little SMH thrown in for good measure). "Shake your fist at 'em Pops. These kids don't know from librarianship". That's how you do it, right? Oh, the irony. I've spent 15 years in the profession deriding Will Manley and his hectoring ways. Now I've apparently become him. Point being, I'm acutely aware of all the contextual layers of this post. I know the implications and risks of saying, "Hey, that's not cool". I've been around long enough to know how easy it is to dismiss the contrarian stance; to push back against even the slightest hint of correction (Trust me, I've done it plenty of times myself). More to the point, I've been around long enough to know how easy it will be to dismiss what I'm about to write. Please don't. It's important. It's important to us individua...

Can Retro Design Be Great Design?

It appears that Spyker (the high-end Dutch sports car company) is making plans to develop a car based on the original Saab 92 (1949-1956). If you've been following the tales and travails of the Saab brand you'll recall that Spyker saved t he car maker from almost certain liquidation after GM cut the Swedish niche-brand loose last year. Having been a Saab loyalist for nearly 20 years, I'm thrilled by the idea of a resurgent Saab entering the market with a new direction and focus (most Saab fans look on the GM years as time lost in the wilderness). And while I've always understood the 92 to be a lovely little post-World War II car (and quite innovative for its time), it raises an interesting question about what constitutes great design. Namely, can retro design be great design? It's a question worth asking since we're clearly living in a time when re-manufacturing the past has become a common practice. Whether it's cars (like the MINI Cooper , VW Beetle , a...