Glad you asked! There is always a lot going on and we are happy to share it with you! If you are on Louisville’s Bardstown Road this Saturday, May 21st between the hours of noon and 8:00pm, please stop by and check out our latest art works. The other merchants on this cool and busy street will be offering sidewalk sales and StudioWorks will be conducting a 20% off everything sale too. Since we are not usually open on Saturdays, this is an excellent way to check out our program and new space if you haven’t had the chance to do so already. We are pleased to be a part of the Bardstown Bound event which is being sponsored by the Highland Commerce Guild and area merchants. Remember 80% of the sale price goes directly to the artist with the balance returning to the program for materials. Here’s a recent view with artworks on the floor to be sorted and framed for the sale.
Among the new works being offered for sale are fine examples of embroidery and cross stitch by Carol Thorp and Nancy Anderson. Both artists are doing their own original designs using needle and thread. Here are examples of Carol’s work with a few in process shots thrown in for fun.
This is the beginning of “Sleepy-head” being transferred to cloth after starting out as a color pencil drawing. The rainbow radiating under the sleeping dog is Carol’s version of a rug pattern.
This piece looks great in its frame and will be a part of our sale. Carol finished a second dog-themed embroidery and this one features a Dalmatian on a colorful rug. It will also be framed and exhibited.
Fellow studio mate, Nancy Anderson is fond of doing cross stitch which is a craft form her mother taught her many years a go. By doing cross stitch, Nancy can remember her mom. When Nancy originally came to us she did commercial patterns exclusively, but now she is doing her own original designs. Here are two examples that will be on view this Saturday. Nancy loves abstraction, color and geometric forms!
This is the square-themed cross stitch piece and now the one based on multi-colored circular shapes. There is a lot of metallic threads in this one. Nancy is getting faster with each new work she undertakes.
With all the color playing around these circles it reminds me of the iridescent colors you see on soap bubbles! Nancy has also completed a triangular-themed cross stitch as well. Within the past month we have been graced by two great helpers. First, Erin O’Bannon is interning with us for ten weeks. She attends Jefferson Community and Technical College’s humanities department and has a strong interest in art and healing. Erin will be with us for about ten weeks and once she completes her internship she has expressed an interest in volunteering. Thanks Erin!
Our second helper comes to us as a volunteer. Her name is Mary Margaret Sparks and she is an artist and curator with a special interest in social causes. Formerly, she worked at the Louisville Visual Art Association and we are lucky she chose to volunteer with us one day a week. Currently, she is organizing an art exhibition on mountain top coal removal which is an issue of concern in Kentucky. Here’s a nice image of Mary Margaret in front of the StudioWorks’ front entrance.
Both Erin and Mary Margaret are talented and compassionate and appreciate what we are doing at StudioWorks. In return, our artists really look forward to working with them. It’s a reciprocal relationship where everyone learns from each other. The other “new” news is that the frozen yogurt shop we share our building with has opened!
Sweet CeCe’s Frozen Yogurt and Treats is a Nashville based business and Bill and Betty who operate this franchise also are from the Music City. It’s great having neighbors who are supportive of our efforts and I’m sure we will support them as well! Here’s some proof of that.
David and Eric are clearly enjoying their samples. Here are a few more of the StudioWorks crew giving the many flavors a try and joining in the fun!
I’m sure Sweet CeCe’s will figure into a few blog posts in the future! To close, here is a hand drawn sign that Bradley Bohannon made to welcome our new neighbors to the Bardstown Road and Eastern Parkway corridor. Bill and Betsy were nice enough to place his sign behind the counter! Good luck to Sweet CeCe’s and welcome to Louisville!
Hand Over Hand: 