Mike Elsass may be Dayton’s most colorful artist, and he works in what is definitely Dayton’s most colorful studio. Mike rents most of the top floor of one of the Front Street buildings. His space includes a beautiful gallery, several large production rooms, plus space that he rents out to other artists. Continue reading
Amy Kollar Anderson was one of the first artists I met as I was starting to submit my photos to art exhibitions. As Gallery Coordinator at Kettering’s Rosewood Gallery she networked with artists from around the country. She gave me valuable advice on the quality of my work and on where I should attempt to show it.
I took the above photo more than a year ago when Amy was ARTIST OF THE WEEK on my facebook page “Dayton at Work and Play.” Shortly after, she left her position at the Rosewood Gallery to become a full time artist. Continue reading
An artist friend said I had to meet Mychaelyn Michalec, a painter who was creating fabulous work in her basement in the dark. My friend knew I would be intrigued and would want to arrange a photo shoot, which I did.
When I arrived, Mychaelyn offered me a cup of coffee and showed me some of the art she has collected, all by Dayton artists. Continue reading
I first saw the artwork of Darren Haper online, and decided he was a Dayton artist I wanted to meet. Shortly after that I met the new Facility Coordinator at Rosewood Art Center, also named Darren, who was nice enough to help me carry my work into the Rosewood Gallery. I didn’t realize that these two Darren’s were the same person until I attended a show at the Dayton Visual Arts Center showcasing five young artists to watch in 2015. Continue reading
I first heard of Julie Beyer when she was the featured artist at the Ann Arbor Street Fair. Every summer, four art fairs are held in Ann Arbor at the same time. They attract more than 500,000 people.
The Ann Arbor Street Fair is the original of the four fairs and has often been named as the top art fair in the country. When I heard that the featured artist at this fair lived a few blocks from my home, I had to visit. Continue reading
Gretchen Durst Jacobs paints in a studio in her home in Dayton’s McPherson Town neighborhood. Continue reading
Terry Welker is both a successful architect and a successful sculptor specializing in kinetic art. His work is shown in galleries from Mexico to New Mexico and in exhibitions around the Midwest. About a year ago, Terry and his friend abstract artist Ron Rollins moved into a new studio in a formerly vacant storefront.
I have visited the studio three times in the last year, twice to watch Terry work and once to attend an art exhibition in Terry’s studio for two other artists. Continue reading
Bridgette Bogle was born in Roswell, New Mexico – site of the famous alien UFO landings. Leaving Roswell, Bridgette studied art in Texas, Glasgow and Rome before coming to Ohio State. She now lives in Dayton and is a full time teacher in the Painting and Drawing area at Sinclair College.
For the last eight years, Bridgette has shared this beautiful house with her husband and fellow artist Francis Schanberger. Continue reading
Katherine Kadish is one of the Dayton area’s best known artists. She’s had solo shows from New York to London, Seoul, and Nanjing. She’s been in group shows in many great museums, including the Philadelphia Art Museum, The Whitney in New York, and National Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C. Continue reading
I recently revisited the studio of Leesa Haapapuro. It is in the building that houses K12 Gallery for Young People and TEJAS (Teen Educational & Joint Adult Studio). It must be the busiest and most colorful art space in Dayton. I asked Leesa about the buffalo outside the building, and was disappointed to learn that she didn’t know why it is there. “It just appeared one day. I don’t know why.” Continue reading
studiophotos 