1- Matt Shiarla | Back Lit Doe | $150
Watercolor paint
9′”x13″
Artist Bio: Artist, teacher, artist and family man documenting my loves and experiences through life.
Artist Statement: Back Lit Doe originated by a chance happening. The morning sun back lighting a doe in the woods. The original photo was captured form a game camera I had set up to watch nature in action. I was recording the yearly phenomenon of white tail deer buck antler grow. The light in this photo caught my attention. I said to myself I have to paint this light. I interpreted the light by using negative painting techniques and neutral colors to create the illusion.

2- Juniper Mainelis | The Carnival of Life is a Ride | NFS
Acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas
36″ x 48″
Artist Bio: Juniper Mainelis is an artist, singer-songwriter and poet who creates imagery inspired by mystical & imaginative themes. She describes her work as a sacred journey to open the portals of the imagination and self-healing. Using a process called Intentional Creativity, she creates sacred space in her studio to enhance her ability to tune into inspiration. Setting an intention, she holds her paintbrush while visualizing it as a sort of magic wand. Every stroke and mark become permeated with thoughts, prayers, and visions. The process stirs up emotions and even old wounds that are ready to be healed. She calls herself a Visionary painter, but also refers to it as Medicine painting. Many describe her imagery as a visual elixir. This technique combined with intention opens the door to the imaginary world, and it helps to understand there is a lot more going on in the underlayers than what you see…
Juniper love’s sharing her unique view, and believes the world needs more imagery of, and created by empowered women. She has won numerous awards at juried art shows and is a Grammy nominated vocalist. Often her paintings inspire her to write songs and poetry about them. Check out the website to see more of her offerings: https://www.heartsongzstudio.com
Artist Statement: Step right up. You won’t believe your eyes. The Carnival of Life is a ride… Get your ticket inside! You’ll be amazed, see for yourself, all the stages of a life’s journey are here.

3- Robert Putka | LIriope Emerging Through Melting Snow | $1,200
Acrylic paint on canvas
24″ x 24″
Artist Bio: Robert J. Putka received his BFA in art education at Kent State University in 1975. He taught art and theatre at Stow Munroe Falls High School from 1975 through 2021. He has lived his life as artfully as he was able while mentoring his students in the visual and theatrical arts. His students received recognition through the Scholastic Art Awards program, as well as the Ohio Governor’s Art Show. Robert has exhibited his work at the Cleveland Museum of Art May Show, The Butler Institute of Art, Akron Art Museum, Massillon Museum, Mansfield Art Center, receiving the Martha Mitchell Swank award for painting, Cuyahoga Valley Art Center, Fairmount Center for the Arts, the Ashtabula Arts Center Tikkanen Painting Prize Show, Summit Artspace Annual Juried Show, and the Geauga Parks District Call of the Forest Show.
Artist Statement: So often we see paintings of beautiful lush gardens in the pinnacle of growth and glory, but often real beauty and power is in the winter when the garden waits in silent resolve for its moment to rise.

4- Carol Klingel | The Letter | $650
Acrylic and oil paint on canvas, mixed media
28″ x 28″
Artist Bio: 1969 BS Art Ed- Kent State University; 1992 MS Ed- University of Akron; 1970-2004 art teacher; memberships: AoRC, ASA, Artists of Group Ten, CVAC, PerSisters of Medina, program chair-Medina Co Art League; many group/solo shows including awards at Butler Midyear Show, Kent State Alumni show, Kaleidoscope (first place and people’s choice), Fresh Art, CVAC people’s choice, Medina Aquarius show (multiple awards including people’s choice), first place Fusion online juried Light and Shadow show; past scholastic juror, classes at Cliffside Artists Collaborative and in collection.
Artist Statement: This mixed media piece underwent many iterations before settling itself on canvas. A compilation of several deconstructed paintings, inspired by images from 1940s era dramas, the piece includes scraps of actual correspondence between my grandparents, and suggestions of wording relating to communication. The contents of a letter can turn one’s world literally and figuratively inside out and upside down.

5- Laurel Winters | Obsession | NFS
Oil over charcoal
20″ x 16″
Artist Bio: Winters received her BFA and MFA degrees from VCU. She has been a teaching artist across several schools, colleges and workshops. Her recent work focused on the state of the earth. This work begins a new series focusing on more domestic activities updated for our current technological world.
Artist Statement: This work is part of a new series translating previously routine domestic activities into their current technological equivalent. The technology is the focus and the light dominating the concrete world which begins to fracture.

6- Jennifer Vincik | Into The Night | $400
Acrylic on canvas
20″ x 20″
Artist Bio: Hi! I am an emerging Northeast Ohio artist.
Artist Statement: I really wanted to depict the perfect night sky on a summer evening.

7- Care Hanson | Life is But a Dream | $700
Acrylic paint
36” x 48”
Artist Bio: Care Hanson is a visual artist with an eclectic practice that includes acrylic on canvas, altered book journals, mixed media on recycled cardboard, nature mandalas, and hand stitching. Her BFA from BGSU dates back to 1980. Family life and office work took priority over art until 2013, when she joined her husband in retirement. Since then, art has been a daily practice & way of life.
Care’s paintings begin with random scribbles on the canvas. She paints without a set destination or plan, relying heavily on intuition and a spirit of ‘just try’. The canvas is layered and rotated until it rings true and feels ready for a title (the important final step). She values the creative process as a means of exploration, meditation and connection.
Artist Statement: This intuitive painting emerged at a time when the veil between life and death felt thin. It came when memories and presence and thoughts of all that lies beyond consumed my days.

8- John Sharp | The Barn | $350
Acrylic
18″ x 24″
Artist Bio: I graduated from Akron U in 1972 with a Degree in Communication Graphics. After working as a board artist for a few years, I decided to investigate paper recycling as a career. I enjoyed 40 years in the Paper Recycling Industry, after starting River Valley Paper Recycling. I continued to draw and paint as I was able to use my creative abilities to help me develop a company with a national presence. I love combining an emotional twist to representational images using color and shapes that may or not be true to the viewer,
Artist Statement: In this piece I reduced the image to just geometric shapes and used intense color that gave the painting a life beyond just the image of a barn. I like adding an emotion factor through the use of color.

9- Carol Klingel | Meeting | $450
Photo print on canvas, paper collage, color pencil, and graphite
24″ x 15″
Artist Bio: 1969 BS Art Ed- Kent State University; 1992 MS Ed- University of Akron; 1970-2004 art teacher; memberships: AoRC, ASA, Artists of Group Ten, CVAC, PerSisters of Medina, program chair-Medina Co Art League; many group/solo shows including awards at Butler Midyear Show, Kent State Alumni show, Kaleidoscope (first place and people’s choice), Fresh Art, CVAC people’s choice, Medina Aquarius show (multiple awards including people’s choice), first place Fusion online juried Light and Shadow show; past scholastic juror, classes at Cliffside Artists Collaborative and in collection.
Artist Statement: This collage overlaying a secondhand store photograph talks about a relationship between two players who hold the fate of that flower in their actions. I chose to depict it as a joyful, curious, engaging partnership in which bees and humans come together as equal partners.

10- m | Self Portrait (I Can Do Better) | $800
Altered digital transparencies, Dura-Lar, acrylic paint, and LED lighting in a shadowbox
20″ x 18″
Artist Bio: m is an award winning national artist, currently residing in Cleveland, OH. m’s recent work is an exploration into identity using shadows as the central focal point.
Artist Statement: Yeah, I can do better. The words I tell myself will govern my actions, how perceive myself, and how others perceive me. The words – I can do better – are ambiguous. What does that mean? Is something not up to my standards? Or am I not up to my standards? What am I telling myself, and where is that coming from?

11- Andrea Schepis | Bee “Dande” | $550
Acrylic and silica gel beads on canvas
20” x 24”
Artist Bio: Andrea Schepis spent 36 years as an art teacher in several Stow/Munroe Falls Schools. She received her BFA from Kent State University and has done post graduate work at Kent State University, Cleveland Institute of Art, Ashland University and two Earth expeditions through Miami University. These Expeditions took her to Belize and Peru to study Forest and Marine Ecology, Entomology and Ornithology. After these life changing experiences Andrea began to depict species at risk of extinction and source materials for her work from discarded materials, including floppy discs, various packaging and plastics, to keep them from disposal and possible environmental issues. She hopes those that view her work will be moved to consider their own impact on our environment. When not in her studio, Andrea works as adjunct faculty in Kent State University’s Art Education Department supervising student teachers, as a gallery assistant for Akron Soul Train Gallery, as a ski instructor for Boston Mills/Brandywine Ski Resort and teaching art classes in Stow and Hudson. She loves to ski, garden, hike and travel.
Artist Statement: Bee “Dande” In this work I chose to paint a bee, collecting pollen, on a dandelion flower and used bags of silica gel beads that I added paint to, in order to ensure that they will not be disposed of and add to the growing environmental issues due to plastics, as the pollen. I chose a bee considering their enormous decline in population causing issues which hugely impact agriculture worldwide and a dandelion, since they are so important to so many species, yet are seen by some as a lawn nuisance, to be eradicated with various toxic chemicals. I hope the large size will prompt those that view my work, to consider their own impact on our environment.

12- Thomas Baldwin | Garden Helper | $450
Wood carving
12″ x 12″ x 12″
Artist Bio: Tom Baldwin is an internationally award winning wildfowl carving artist. He recieved 2nd Best in the World at the 2017 Ward World Wildfowl Carving Championship, M & T Printing purchase award at the Canadian National Wildfowl Carving Championship, and has won back-to-back Best in Shows at the Wings and Water Festival, award of excellence at the 2014 Kaleidoscope Holiday show, 1st place at the 2015 Kaleidoscope Holiday show, top 5 runner up for the Akron Art Prize 5 years in a row and Best of Show at the 29th Annual Regional Juried Art Show at the Cuyahoga Valley Art Center. Tom also received the best sculpture award at the 70th Annual Ohio Exhibition at the Zanesville Museum of Art. Tom lives In Akron with his wife, Barbara, and their dog, Beanie.. You can see more of Tom’s work on his website: songofwood.com
Artist Statement: Sometimes it is more interesting to create a smaller and less complex sculpture. Although I am known for pieces with a very detailed and complex narrative, I felt like maybe “less is more” this time. This piece was simply inspired by my own observations of birds as they visit my own back yard. We always seem to have a left outside thru winter garden tool. In this case our feathered friends found it.

13- Amber M. McElreath | Midnight Moon | $400
Assemblage
13.5” x 5.25” x 4.5”
Artist Bio: Amber McElreath is an Akron-based assemblage and collage artist who uses found objects in her work to tell autobiographical stories in a surrealistic style. Most of the work is very small which is meant to convey intimacy and vulnerability. Her two inspirations are Frida Kahlo and Joseph Cornell. Amber was born in Landstuhl, Germany and raised in East Liverpool, OH. She got her BFA in Fine and Professional Arts from Kent State University and graduated with her MA in Art Therapy and Counseling from Ursuline College. She became an artist assistant to Brooklyn-based artists, James Seward and Erin Racheal Hudak. She has shown her artwork in the Cleveland metro area. Her solo exhibition, Memories, Dreams, and Ruminations was in 2016 at Studio 2091 Mothersbaugh and her two-person exhibition, Delivering Stores (with Karen Koch) was in 2017 at the Box Gallery in SummitArtspace. In 2023, she participated in a show called the Infinite Mix the YARDS Projects, in Cleveland. In 2024, she was in a two-person exhibition with Annie Becker at Gallery 202 in Cleveland. Amber has an exhibit scheduled for July 2024 at 934 Gallery in Columbus, OH. Her work is in both public and private collections in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New York, Georgia, Washington, and Maryland. Amber is a Board-Certified Art Therapist and the Intern Coordinator at the Art Therapy Studio. She belongs to the Artist Archives of the Western Reserve, Artists of Rubber City, and Akron Soul Train. She is represented by Gallery 202 at 78th Street Studios.
Artist Statement: My assemblages are autobiographical in content, and often surrealistic. I try to convey the emotions surrounding events. I create through the lens of my career as an art therapist. Once objects are paired together, a narrative emerges. I start having a “dialogue” with my artwork. It is a process where I’m asking myself questions and giving myself answers. By externalizing the conversation, it helps the meaning become more accessible to me. This helps unearth my subconscious feelings so I can move forward with a clear intent. I use basic theories from art therapy concerning symbolism and color. I consider how they represent or relate to specific emotions. While the specifics of my life events might be mired in symbolism within my work, there are universal emotions present in which the viewer can relate. Because my process and feelings filter thru my subconscious, I often end up with a surrealistic outcome. By disregarding the original purpose of an item, changing the scale of certain parts within the work, or by placing together items that juxtapose one another, the appearance of the piece is usually dream-like. My work presents my view of the human experience. Sometimes the viewer can see parts of my own story within the work and sometimes their own life experiences inform their interpretation. My goal is to tell my story in my own way and have the viewer connect with my work on an emotional level.

14- Kat L. Amsel | Milkweed Mice | NFS
Watercolor, ink, milkweed pods and seeds, thistles
11″ x 14″
Artist Bio: Kat L Amsel is a freelance artist working in a broad range of areas from tarot card art work design to pet portraits and plein air landscapes. Her personal artwork is mainly imaginative realism and wildlife art working in either acrylic or watercolor and ink. She is inspired by the natural world around us and explores this relationship by merging elements of nature into all of her work while also keeping an element of fantasy.
Artist Statement: Have been focusing on exploring painting traditional landscapes and native plants and animals and merging it with more whimsical fantasy elements, creating my own world. I like to incorporate natural materials in to my paintings when possible.

15- James Buckey | Blimp City 2 | $35
Digital matte stock print
17″ x 11″
Artist Bio: Buckey is an artist, designer, musician and educator out of Akron, OH who specializes in digital media. He has previously held roles as the program lead of both the Digital Arts and Music departments at Wayne Center for the Arts in Wooster, OH. Buckey currently works for the Akron Symphony Orchestra where he is the Director of Marketing – while also working as a graphic designer and artist, specializing in both branding and creative commission-based work. He has nearly 15 years of experience in design and printing, is an Ellet High School graduate, and is a devout and proud Akronite. His works have been in galleries across Northeast Ohio, and he has clients across 5 continents. When not creating, he spends his time celebrating life with his wife Nicole and dog Maple.
Artist Statement: This piece is a direct sequel to “Blimp City” which was recently featured in Wayne Center for the Arts “Golden Ratio – 50th Anniversary Exhibition”, where it was the first piece sold on opening night. Blimp City 2 is a digital painting, referencing original photography from E.J. Thomas Hall and the Akron Symphony Orchestra during one of their rehearsals. It also features imagery from various Akron landmarks, and shares the same stylistic approach of a ballooned or “blimp” overlay to create the effect of the image showing dimension that the original Blimp City used. Blue and purple tones were used against the natural browns, oranges, and yellows of the beautiful EJTH shell to speak to the blue and gold of Goodyear. Ultimately, Blimp City (in both their individual existence, and as a series) is a celebration of the city that raised me.

16- Janet Mikolajczyk | Orange | $160
Digital collage
16″ x 20″
Artist Bio: Janet Mikolajczyk taught art history at Cleveland State University for 15 years. My art is from found objects and found images. The subject matter may come from culture or history. I use the elements of form; space, color, and texture to create the composition. I want to involve the viewer in the process and have them recognize the objects or images in a new way.
Artist Statement: In Orange I use the element of color. Many of the figures were inspired by Oceanic art. I used some of my own photographs and used labels from everyday objects. In using these common objects it involves the viewer.

17- Valenz | World of Wonders | $425
Collage, mixed-media (wood, antique book paper, magazine images, personal photographs, found objects, vintage toys, ephemera, Lake Erie stone, spray paint, acrylic, etc.)
18″ x 36″
Artist Bio: “Tabula Temporis” (paper & wood) won “Accessible Expressions Ohio,” an annual juried, statewide exhibition & tour of visual art created by artists with disabilities. Presented by Art Possible Ohio in conjunction with the Massillon Museum, the piece was exhibited at the museum from March–May, 2023, then toured the state for a year.
“Tabula Cerebri,” 12-panel paper & wood collage, won a juried contest & was on display in the Healing Art Gallery’s exhibition, “Kaleidoscope,” at Stewart’s Caring Place’s Thomas & Lisa Mandel Cancer Wellness Center in Fairlawn, from April–August, 2023. The piece also appeared in the Cleveland Arts Network’s Journal, Winter 2022-23.
In July 2023, many Valenz collages were on display throughout Wild Oscar’s, the Akron Civic Theater’s underground theater in Akron.
In August 2023, “The Outdoorsman’s Handbook” was on display in the Akron Art Museum as part of Creative CONNECT.
In October-December 2023, “Don’t Forget the Blood” was featured in the Alliance for the Visual Arts’ 21st Annual Kaleidoscope Juried Exhibition in the Betty & Howard Taylor Main Gallery of Summit Artspace.
“Vanishing Anima”l & “Faggots to Burn” won places in the 92nd Annual Juried Exhibition of the Akron Society of Artists, which showed November, 2023 at the Mike & Mae Collins Gallery in Hudson, OH.
He has a solo show in September 2024 at the Box Gallery of Summit Artspace.
Member of the Ohio Collage Society, the Akron Society of Artists, & Artists of Rubber City, from which he received a COG grant in 2023.
Artist Statement: In only my second year so far making collages, this piece marks a turning point in my quest for a maximalist re-presentation of the ostensible chaos (but underlying superstructure) of my cancer-addled brain. It’s all about neuroplasticity, the new visual connections that I can feel my brain forging every day, even as an oligodendroglioma attacks the language expression center of my left frontal lobe.

18- Kim Barnes | Native Son | $750
Mixed media, colored pencils
42″ x 30″
Artist Bio: Kim Barnes is a mixed media artist based in Northeastern Ohio, specializing in fabric and colored pencil drawings that celebrate portraiture of people of color and anything that brings her joy. The collaboration of drawings and textiles makes for fascinating works that marry the human form with beautiful fabrics of mixed hues, form and textures. Kim studied Finance at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, receiving a BBA. Her love for the creative arts led her to learn and to study her craft through continuing education coursework, alternative mediums and self-discovery. To date, Kim has had an 8-piece collection exhibited at Westfield Insurance Company’s home office in Westfield Center, Ohio, as part of the very first employee solo art exhibition (August 2021 – November 2023). She has also had works exhibited in group exhibitions as part of the 100th Annual Spring Show – The Erie Art Museum – Erie, Pennsylvania (2023); Ohio Art League 2023 Fall Juried Exhibition – Capital University Schumacher Gallery – Columbus, Ohio; 21st Annual Kaleidoscope Juried Exhibition – Summit Artspace – Akron, Ohio (2023); The New Masters 3: Woman Artists of Northeastern Ohio – Wasmer Gallery Ursuline College – Pepper Pike, Ohio (2023); Ohio State Fair Fine Arts Exhibit (2022) – Columbus, Ohio; The 49th and The 51st Annual Juried Art Exhibit – The Valley Art Center – Chagrin Falls, Ohio. (2020 and 2022) and Embracing Heritage Black Arts Exhibit and She/Her/Hers Woman Exhibits – Summit Artspace – Akron, Ohio (2020).
Artist Statement: My artistic style is a harmonious marriage of fabrics, notions, and colored pencil portraiture featuring people of color and anything that magnifies joy and enlightenment. The combination of materials used creates interesting layers of color, texture, and realism – bringing the subject to life. This form of expression allows for such an amazing array of styles, a blending of cultures and endless possibilities without limitations.

19- Edlisa Santiago | Broken Home (I Was Left Behind) | NFS
Mixed media (crayon, watercolor, ink, crayon, colored pencil, glass, collaged paper)
10″ x 5″ x 1″
Artist Statement: This artwork is a double-sided accordion-style, interactive, pop-up, glass, artist’s book that follows a poem I’ve written. In both the poem and the book, I employ the motif of a neglected house, reminiscent of the homes I’ve resided in, to symbolize my experience with childhood abuse, neglect, and abandonment. Like those abandoned homes, I was left behind.

20- Jules Briggs | We Are All Mad Here | $3,000
Oil and collage on canvas
35” x 47”
Artist Bio: Julia (Jules) Briggs is a Cleveland, Ohio based artist with a studio in Lakewood’s Screw Factory. She holds an MA in Philosophy & The Arts from University of Warwick, England and a BA in Studio Art from DePauw University, Indiana. Following her undergraduate career, Jules worked for two years as a bronze foundry artist in a small Buddhist monastic community in Northern California. Her countless life-size and miniature sculptures contributed to the revitalization of Tibetan art and have been donated to monasteries in India and East Asia. Jules’ personal paintings and sculptures have appeared in galleries both nationally and internationally including 6 Spin Street Gallery in Cape Town, South Africa, Carlisle Arts & Learning Center in Carlisle, PA, and Morpho Gallery in Chicago, IL, to name a few. She has created graphics for non-profit arts organizations and podcasts, appeared on artist jury panels, and is a freelance portrait painter. Jules likes walking to Lake Erie from her home in Gordon Square Arts District of Cleveland and reading fantasy fiction novels in her free time.
Artist Statement: This painting symbolizes my cousin and I competing to reach the heart of the tree, where the madhatter jeers at us. My cousin and I have a fragile relationship built on competition and sibling-like tension. Though we love each other, we are both trying to reach a “higher goal” faster than the other. The madhatter is a character of wisdom and unrelenting and harsh truth.

21- Ryan Anderson | Fun Bust #1 | NFS
Found objects, wood, wax, yarn
17.5″ x 18.25″ x 17″
Artist Bio: Maker of fun monsters and other wierd stuff as time permits.
Artist Statement: Done for the joy of doing it. Nothing else.

22- J.J. Thornberry | Engulfed | NFS
Pencil, dry pastel, marker, spray paint, paper, cardboard
28.5” x 42”
Artist Bio: I am an artist and art educator living in Summit County. My background includes earning a BFA from Cleveland State University in Graphic Design, coaching collegiate softball at University of Akron, and completing a Masters in Visual Arts Education from The University of Akron. I currently teach high school art with a focus in drawing, painting, and Advanced Placement Art & Design. Personally I am still working on a balance of teaching and creating, but my preferred mediums are drawing on toned paper.
Artist Statement: In this self portrait I wanted to explore a feeling I experience often in my career as an educator. There are seemingly thousands of moving parts occurring simultaneously every single day in my classroom – giving instruction, differentiating my teaching style, meeting every student where they are, providing love or discipline or attention or advice, collecting data, assessing learning, communicating to families, meeting state standards – all while often worrying about the physical, mental and emotional health of my students. Some days it seamlessly functions. Other days the swirling, chaotic pace engulfs me. This work explores that feeling of constant motion, of feeling the stress beginning to build and trying to focus and slow down the chaos.

23- Andrew Raz | The Pond | $650
Digital print, photography
14″ x 42″
Artist Bio: andrewrazwork.com
Artist Statement: The Lily Pond is fragile with its co-habitations, its self nuturing and its complex structures. Much like a city.

24- Ja Miller | It’s There that We Found More Than was Lost (Faintly Like a Whisper, Familiar Like Her Ungloved Hand) | NFS
Acrylic, crayon, and hand-cut stencil graffiti on canvas
40″  x 30″
Artist Bio: Hawaii-born Ja Miller is a Korean-American abstract expressionist and filmmaker, who has lived in Akron since 2003. Abstract expressionists Gerhard Richter, Jason Craighead, Taylor O. Thomas and Ty Nathan Clark have strongly influenced him, as well as street artists, Blek Le Rat and Shepard Fairey, and filmmakers, Jim Jarmusch and Sophia Coppola. Music plays a big role in inspiring Ja’s art and he considers mewithoutYou, Comrades, Tina Boonstra, and Sonic Youth particularly influential. Ja’s films have been accepted into Flickerings Film Festival, Highland Square Film Festival, and The Akron Art Prize Film Festival. His paintings have been accepted into a number of past Summit Art Space’s Fresh Art Exhibitions. Professionally, Ja is a filmmaker, photographer, and graphic designer. He studied photography and graphic design at Indiana Wesleyan’s School of Art.
Artist Statement: “It’s There that We Found More Than was Lost (Faintly Like a Whisper, Familiar Like Her Ungloved Hand)” is an abstract expressionist work with particular focus on using words and language as art. My work is heavily influenced and inspired by music and If These Trees Could Talk’s new song, “Trail of Whispering Giants” served as my primary inspiration and source material for the overall emotional quality of this painting. The song is a complex and beautiful 8-minute instrumental work that, provokes feelings of despair, hope, and especially the discomforting tension of waiting in liminal spaces. This painting is also inspired by my favorite scene in my favorite movie, “Only Lovers Left Alive.” Jim Jarmusch describes the vampiric state of the two main characters in his film as a metaphor for the fragility of humans. The specific scene I explored is one of the darkest and brightest moments in the film, where the heavy weight of despair a character carries is countered with the brief light of hope that the other character offers/symbolizes. Many of the color choices in this painting reflect the color palette of that scene. The song and the film scene were pushed through my own long endless struggle with chronic physical pain, and my own search for buoyant hope amidst a sea of relentless heartache. The title comes from a poem by E.E. Cummings and a nod to the song and film that inspired my painting. This work also contains lyrical thoughts by the band mewithoutYou.

25- Gwen Waight | off to the beach | $600
Found object assemblage
25”x13”x17”
Artist Bio: My studio is in Peninsula, Ohio in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. I have resided and worked in Ohio for 19 years. I received my degree from the University of Iowa in sculpture and worked in my dad’s ceramic studio for ten years. It was in my father’s studio that I learned my appreciation of three-dimensional space. It was also my dad’s non-sentimental nature of tossing/ burning all things deemed unnecessary clutter that rooted my deep need to covet and collect almost everything. I studied ceramics and sculpture in college however never felt like clay was the medium by which I wanted to express myself. With found objects and assemblage I truly discovered my voice. The objects I lean towards always seem to have lived and have a story to tell….some objects are complete memories for me and just as a writer will string words together to create a work I assemble objects to create my art. Often in my studio I will have three or four different pieces going at the same time. I start sometimes with an idea first and search for the objects that are going to express that idea or I start with an object or several objects that shout so loudly that they need to be together.
Artist Statement: This found object assemblage uses mostly things I have picked up from the beach; garden hose, a flip-flop, balls, styrofoam, rope and such. I have added some old hardware, a shoe shine box, cord, chain and buggy wheels to make a piece that looks like it is ready to roll off to the beach or perhaps has already been. It has a definite feel of fun and whimsy but there is also an underlying sense that it is not all fun and games.

26- Andy Tubbesing | Clan Bobo | $600
Acrylic
22″ x 18″
Artist Bio: Forty years in commercial art has forged a perverse weakness for typography and garish colors, and bred a wary respect for deadlines. Which is good, because nothing would ever get done if I waited for the muse. Creating art is a perilous enterprise, a trek through uncharted territory on a moonless night. Yes, a process of joyous discovery – but also of constant damage control. My art tends to be representational, although the stuff represented may not exist. Fleeting glances around corners, over hills, or through windows into otherwise unseen worlds. Onlookers have labeled these worlds somber, low-brow, weird. Who am I to argue? Takeaway thought: Much as I moan about art as a Perilous Trek on a Moonless Night, it seems the only thing more difficult is not creating art.
Artist Statement: You see before you the last known images of the Bobo siblings (Melanie, Chester the elder, Zeno, Chester the younger), shortly before The Incident. After the war, Pap Bobo cobbled together a couple school busses and an ancient Airstream trailer back in the pines, south of Mechanicsburg. Home, sweet home. Pap and Ma Bobo whelped four kids – Melanie, the twins, and young Chester. Pap and Ma shuffled (vanished is more like it) off this coil, and the Bobo brood kinda reared themselves. They went to school some, and Zeno once got a job in Holtztown. But they mostly stuck to those murky pines, flanked by the W&G tracks (“Stay away from railroad property, y’hear!?”), the Blood Red Pond, and the crackling power lines. Direful place, full of yelps and meandering lights and that godawful smell. Then came The Incident. Scroggsville, just west of the pines, emptied out one sunny afternoon – poof! Where’d the whole town go, all those people? No answer to this day. Clan Bobo dropped out of sight, too. Maybe vamoosed ahead of the sheriff, maybe perished with all of Scrogsville. Maybe those weird woods finally took ‘em. Or maybe they’re still there, just waiting out a bad spell.

27- Joshua Foster | Mis Colores | $450
Acrylic on canvas
16″ x 20″
Artist Bio: I have been creating artwork under the name Ramen Shaman for the past five years, but creativity has always been a significant part of my life. I worked as a graphic designer and web developer for ten years, but a mental breakdown prompted me to reconstruct myself creatively. Self-teaching has been my method of learning everything I know, and I aspire to encourage others to embrace their artistic expression without fearing inadequacy. Remember, it’s okay to be lousy before being great! My art dives deep into my experiences with death, anxiety, and depression, each piece a dark but honest reflection of my inner world. It’s like a visual diary, where struggles become art and darkness becomes a space for self-discovery and healing. Through my vulnerability, I hope to offer both myself and some form of release.
Artist Statement: The entirety of our existence represents a distinctive hue, and these, here, are the colors that uniquely define me. This piece explores the concept that each person’s unique existence contributes to a collective palette of human diversity. It highlights the profound nature of individual identity, suggesting that everyone is a blend of experiences, emotions, and perspectives, adding their distinctive hue to the broader tapestry of humanity. Life can be portrayed as an ongoing artistic process where personal choices shape one’s existence. This concept encourages embracing one’s identity, celebrating both strengths and imperfections with pride. It emphasizes the interconnectedness of individuals in crafting a shared human experience, recognizing that personal growth leads to evolving colors over time. Ultimately, this philosophy joyously celebrates individuality, diversity, and the continuous journey of self-discovery.

28- Tammy Mclaughlin | Humanity’s Footprint | $1,950
Mixed media, acrylic
48″ x 36″
Artist Bio: Tammy McLaughlin currently resides in Akron, OH. Although born in Arizona she was raised in Ohio and attended Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia. Her early influences were the great surrealist Salvador Dali and influential female artists Frieda Kahlo and Georgia O’Keeffe. She works primarily in mixed media acrylic & charcoal, but continually experiments with new mediums and techniques.
Artist Statement: In an era where humanity’s footprint is indelible and widespread, we are reminded that our actions will reach far beyond our fleeting individual lifetimes. The marks we leave on Mother Earth, tell a story of responsibility and consequence. My biggest source of inspiration is the female form and the intricate beauty found in nature and the world around me. Through my art, I aim to capture the essence and strength of women while also paying homage to the natural world. I enjoy experimenting with different textures and materials to create depth and movement in my pieces. Each creation is a reflection of my inner thoughts and external experiences, and I hope to offer a different perspective and inspire others to appreciate and protect the beauty in our world.

29- Joe Dill | Bethesda | $3,250
Bamboo reeds on canvas
48″ x 36″
Artist Bio: Born and raised in the suburbs of Cleveland, I returned to the city after earning my Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Design & Technology from Northern Kentucky University. I also hold a Masters of Urban Planning, Design, and Development from Cleveland State University. Art has always been a passion of mine and I have been creating for as long as I can remember. My work is mainly mixed media wall art and the bamboo reeds I use are common in most of my pieces. I recently purchased a home in the Jefferson Park neighborhood of Cleveland’s west side and have been able to set up my studio there. Aside from art, I can be found baking, camping, dancing, or working on DIY projects around my place.
Artist Statement: This piece is an experiment in the abstraction of the human form. I took direct inspiration from the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park as the jumping off point for this piece. I sought to draw through and across the statue of Bethesda to find shapes, rather than follow the silhouette of the figure. I paid close attention to how the statue interacted with light and let that guide how I played with the texture of the reeds. I intended to mirror the highlights and shadows created by the sun on the statue in the way I changed the direction of the reeds on the canvas. In reducing the statue in this way, I hope to encourage the viewer to be able to see their surroundings as shapes and geometry in a similar style.

30- Helena Sarah Richardson | Weevil Woes | $6,000
Chenille, cotton, ribbon, wool
69” x 43” x 1″
Artist Bio: Helena Sarah Richardson is an artist working primarily in drawing and weaving processes. She weaves strings and structures, colors and textures into storied cloth. The act of weaving is a meditation — words into strings. The loom brings order to the chaos of loose threads and wild fibers, both natural and synthetic. Originally from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, she earned a BFA in painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art and an MFA in Textiles from Kent State University
Artist Statement: Another recorded dream turned into a story page.
How many shuttles do you like to toss across your loom?
A tale of carrots and royalty.
“Mr. Boll Weevil plopped down upon the banquet table.
Soup splashed the king in his face!”
Could these 2-weft layers be a picnic blanket or regal banner?
How many ribbons are too many?
Are these material collaborations the right ingredients for this recipe?
“Soup, weevil, bread, and mustache, all ruined
in one swooped fall.”

31- Katherine Foote | He Could Never Hide Who He Was | NFS
Wood, canvas, embroidery thread, silicone calking, cotton batting, darts, copper, oven dry clay, nail polish
25.5″ x 19.5″
Artist Bio: Katherine Foote is a 30 year old lady born, raised, and currently residing in Wayne County Ohio. She graduated from Kent State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture in 2015. She is a proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community. Katherine is a domestic violence survivor. She is an advocate for mental health care and many of her struggles with anxiety, depression, CPTSD and social phobia can be seen in her artwork. She has always had a distinct fondness for birds, the deep dark woods, and being particularly strange. Katherine is currently in school at the University of Akron for a degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology. She is currently employed as a Technologist in a production quality lab in the automotive industry.
Artist Statement: Forrest Bryan Conwell committed suicide in the farmland behind his childhood home on August 20th, 2019. He was 32 years old. He was a gay man born in a hateful time and a bigoted place. He was never able to hide his identity; not that he ever should have had to. This piece was made in remembrance of the bullying he only ever alluded to enduring in his lifetime. The symbolism is blunt because there is nothing blunt about what gay children have to go through in growing up here. Forrest was many things, but most of all he was the kindest person I have ever known. He loved decadence and dark things and bushy eyebrows. He had a wicked sense of humor and could make one hell of a pizza. He adored Britney Spears, Barbie, and the Addams Family. He was my family. I only wish for him to be remembered through my artwork.

32- Lou Camerato | Caged | $350
Assemblage
25″ x 11″ x 12″
Artist Bio: Lou Camerato, offers a fusion of assemblage/found object art and collage that not only is a feast of the senses, but reveals the inner mysteries of his soul. Every piece he creates is an immersive experience, bursting with metaphorical imagery that exposes his deepest struggles and triumphs. Lou’s passion for his craft is evident in every intricate detail, taking viewers on a journey exploring the relationship between thought & emotions. Lou’s art is a powerful testament to the triumph of the human spirit. Lou attended Hartford Art School and holds a bachelors’ degree in accounting & finance from Central Connecticut State University. Throughout his artistic career, Lou has participated in various regional and national juried and non-juried exhibits and has won several awards. He is often part of many Northeast Ohio and National art shows as well. Lou’s work has been exhibited at the Canton Museum of Art, The Massillon Museum, Little Art Gallery in North Canton, Summit Art Space, The Gallery at Lakeland Community College, The Ohio and National Collage Societies, Cuyahoga Valley Art Center, Butler Institute of American Art 87th National Mid-Year Juried Exhibition, National Collage Society, Invitational Show (Contemporary Debris-Valley Art Center), Akron Society of Artists 92nd Annual Juried Exhibition, 2023 Stak County Artists Exibition-Massillon Museum. He is a member of Akron Society of Artists, Artists of Rubber City, Ohio & National Collage Societies, Cuyahoga Valley Art Center Lou is President and Signature Member of the Akron Society of Artists and a board member of Summit ArtSpace.
Artist Statement: “Caged” all at once is a quest for peace within the Palestinian-Israeli narrative, symbolism intertwined with instinctual emotion and a visual dialogue that banishes boundaries and confronts the realities of two peoples maladapted by history. The centerpiece of this assemblage is the juxtaposition of two doves delicately encased within a fine fabric cage. The doves, universally recognized symbols of peace and freedom, find themselves contained within a structure that conveys confinement and constraint. The torn sides of the cage represent the longing for liberation, revealing the doves and signifying the yearning to break free from the confines of conflict and division, while the makeshift repair wires again trample freedom and crush hopes. At the base of the cage lay the shredded & intertwined conflict colors of Palestine and Israel, emblematic representations of the two nations locked in a struggle for identity, land, and recognition. The flags coexist beneath the hopeful doves, suggesting the possibility of coexistence and mutual understanding despite the historical complexities and ongoing tensions. Elevating the composition, a Palestinian key rests atop the structure, serving as a poignant symbol of heritage, belonging, and the longing for return. The key carries the weight of generational narratives, evoking the memories of displacement and the persistent hope for a homeland. At the bottom we see the bolt of a sliding lock interestingly without the lock itself, suggesting an end to the imprisonment of violence. I created “Caged” to serve as a visual narrative on the shared aspirations for peace and reconciliation.

33- Josh Chefitz | CYNOSURE | NFS
Ink, gel, paint pens, acrylic, glue on cotton paper
24″ x 18″
Artist Bio: I work at a Montessori school as the guidance counselor and last October, I sat in on a kindergarten art class. Making art of any kind has been something I’ve shied away from for the last 40 years or so. On that day, I drew these grid doodles that I used to do in Middle School when I should have been paying attention. It kind of just came back to me while I put pen to paper. I showed this doodle to my artist friend and he told me to make more, sent me links for some specific pens and told me where to buy paper. I’ve never felt good about making art. I just felt it wasn’t something I could do, but I’ve always wanted to create. Since that October day I’ve been creating. And now it feels good.
Artist Statement: Astronomy buffs might know that “cynosure” is the northern constellation Ursa Minor, also known as the North Star which is used as a guide by navigators. This piece also borrows from its secondary definition: “a person or thing that is the center of attention, attraction or admiration.” Here, the soul has the left their body. The only remnant from its previous state is the stake through their head. They float to their end as they begin to transform into an angel, passing the satellites and space debris.

34- Susan Yingling | Land Rover | $225
Photograph laser engraved onto painted paper
11″ x 19″ / framed 16″ x 20″
Artist Bio: Susan Yingling holds a BFA from Kent State University and taught visual art in the Akron Public Schools 35 years, the majority of that time serving the students of Margaret Park Elementary School and the George C. Miller South School for the Visual & Performing Arts. Susan is a resident artist in Summit Artspace and utilizes the Akron-Summit County Library’s Tech Zone on Main in her photography and collage work, focusing on the laser engraver as a means to develop photographic images. Her recent work has been a combination of photography and collage, engraving the photos onto painted glass and using paint samples to add color. She looks for spaces that will engage the viewer, and works to enhance the printed images through strong contrast and flat applications of color behind the glass. Her work includes images from travels and adventures, and invites the viewer to pause, reflect and recall their own special places.
Artist Statement: This old dusty Land Rover was tucked away in the back of a public garage under a bar in Portland, Oregon. I was intrigued by the stories it could tell about the places it had been and hoped that I could capture its ruggedness through my engraving. I used this image to explore the layering of paint colors under the black.

35- Shirley Ende-Saxe | Accuse not Nature | $500
Collage, mixed media
17.5″ x 20″
Artist Bio: Formerly an art teacher in public schools at all levels K-college, Shirley Ende-Saxe is a mixed-media (collage) and water color artist influenced primarily by Surrealists and Expressionist artists. Her collage work references time, art history, gender and the environment.
Artist Statement: A gentle comment on Nature and the desire to control and profit. The title is part of a quote from Milton “Accuse not Nature, she hath done her part; do thou but thine and be not diffident of wisdom, she deserts thee not, if thou dismiss her not”. It’s timely.

36- Carol J. Stevens | Life’s Patterns | $1,050
Acrylic collage
24″ x 36″
Artist Bio: Highlights: Signature Memberships from: National Watercolor Society (NWS), Ohio Watercolor Society (OWS), Kentucky Watercolor Society (KWS) Board Trustee of Ohio Watercolor Society for three terms Education: BS in Art Education from Bowling Green State University Additional classes from the Cleveland Institute of Art and Cleveland State University 30 years of workshops and seminars with professional artists and mentors Teaching Experience: K-8 in Lorain City Schools Various adult classes and workshops Ohio and Florida Mentor the annual “Art and Creativity Retreat” at Sandscrest in Wheeling, WV, Selected Awards and Exhibitions 2019-2024: “ Watercolor Ohio” 2022 Sarah Kass Award, KWS: ”Aqueous 2023 USA” “Aqueous 2021 USA” “Aqueous 2020 USA, Cheap Joe’s Art, Silver Brush Award OWS: “Watercolor Ohio 2021”, CAC- Don Getz Award “Watercolor Ohio 2020” “Watercolor Ohio 2019”, Ohio Watercolor Society/ Blick Award Summit Artspace: “Fresh 2021,22,23” Artists Of Rubber City 2023, Akron Society of Artists 2023“Kaleidoscope 2020, 2021 “ Valley Art Center (Chagrin Falls) “50th Annual Juried Exhibit” Phyllis Lloyd Award, The Butler Institute of Art “83rd National Midyear”, Honorable Mention
Artist Statement: We begin life by observing and learning from the patterns of our families and surroundings. This painting began with collaged Simplicity patterns like the one I fashioned my first dress in Miss Pry’s 8th grade home economics class. Many alterations have been made. Time has passed. Lessons learned. Simplicity has become complexity. Underneath it all I still find many of those early patterns.

37- Dan Rowland | Deco | $1,750
Photographic print
20″ x 30″
Artist Bio: I have been a photographer for over 40 years and a professional photographer for over 30 years. I have shot hundreds of thousands of images on digital and thousands of images on film using 35mm, medium, and large (4×5) format cameras. I have taken classes at the university level for commercial photography and fine art photography, as well as many classes and weekend seminars to improve my photography skills. I have won awards in many juried shows and been published in many genres of photography, including commercial, architectural, landscape, nature, sports, portrait, food, and model/boudoir, in books, magazines, newspapers, calendars, and even playing cards. I currently work as a commercial photographer in Akron, Ohio, and for the last 2 years, I helped judge print competitions for the Cleveland Photographic Society.
Artist Statement: If I had to narrow all the photography, I have done over the years down to one sentence or phrase, it would be the relentless pursuit of making every photograph better than the ones that preceded it. With all of the computer-generated AI images available, I have been striving to get back to my photographic roots. While I am shooting digital photography, I am doing it in almost the same way I would have back in the days I used film. The photographs I have entered were not computer generated but were done in camera. Photoshop was used to edit the images for color and contrast the same as negatives would have been in the darkroom. My purpose was to show that while AI might be the next thing, it is not the only thing, and that knowledge and imagination are just as important as ever.

38- Gary Nolan | String Theory #5 | $150
Digital print
8″ x 8″ (12″ x 12″ with frame)
Artist Bio: Gary Nolan is a semi-retired employee of the U.S. space program. He is also an avid programmer, graphic artist, photographer, organic gardener and beekeeper.
Artist Statement: An exploration of art generated through self programmed code. This image is a product of circle chords, image density sensitivities, and randomized connections all conforming to code based on general principles of reinforcement learning and self-organizing systems.

39- Norman Mallard | The Watcher | $100
Collage, found papers, upcycled frame
5″ x 8″
Artist Bio: Norman Mallard is a mixed-media artist living & working in Akron, Ohio. He was raised in the mid-1900s in Norfolk, Virginia, and spent his working career as an Art Director and Graphic Designer. Now (mostly) retired, he is concentrating on his lifelong love of art. He believes all homes should have original art to feed the souls of the people within. He works from his basement studio, where his hoarding can be somewhat contained.
Artist Statement: Voyeurism reigns supreme.

40- Luanne Bole-Becker | Shapes and Shadows of Home | $250
Found object assemblage
14″ x 18″ x 9″
Artist Bio: Luanne Bole-Becker Magic from the Mundane My artwork is a lot like me: quirky, whimsical, a bit disjointed, and full of vintage pieces and parts! I love storytelling through photography and assemblage, building magical worlds to explore. My work often includes:
– Surprises–unexpected angles and perspectives, quirky details, or pairing of incongruous elements.
– Vintage items I’ve accumulated over the past 40 years. These objects carry history, unique craftsmanship, and reflections of usage and decay.
– Whimsical creations that entertain.
– Behind-the-scene stories that intrigue.
– Immersive worlds that invite. I have exhibited regularly since 2019 throughout Northeast Ohio with acceptance and awards in a variety of galleries: Artists Archives of the Western Reserve (Cleveland) Ashtabula Arts Center (Ashtabula)
Bryn Du Mansion (Granville)
Carrington Arts (Sandusky)
Center for Artful Living (Westlake)
Cleveland Photographic Society (various sites)
Creative Space Avon (Avon)
The Jenks (Cuyahoga Falls) Lakeland Community College (Kirtland)
Photocentric/Waterloo Juried Arts (Cleveland)
Piqua Annual Fine Art Exhibition (Piqua)
Stella’s Art Gallery (Willoughby)
Summit Artspace (Akron, Barberton)
Westlake-Bay Village Rotary Art Festival
Willoughby Artsfest (Willoughby)
Artist Statement: My best friend gave me copies of the blueprints to the type of home she lives in. I started with the goal of honoring how a house is built physically, but expanded that to explore the complexity of how a house becomes a home. Over time, we experience and imbue it with years of life experiences, good and bad. It may take some digging, but the home carries stories across the generations.