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Ohio Star: Clintonville Farmers Market

Posted on November 14, 2017 by admin

12″ x 12″
2017
$100

I created this photoquilt block for a show at Global Gallery, a coffee shop that also sells handcrafted fair trade items from around the world. The theme of the show was the Clintonville Farmers Market, the hub of which is Global Gallery. The market features an array of vendors that sell fresh produce, local meats and cheeses, coffee, honey, flowers, and more. People from around the neighborhood, and throughout the city, make a pilgrimage every Saturday. In addition to all of the great stuff for sale, I really enjoy the community spirit and civic pride on display. One of my favorite features is the bike corral, which is operated by Baer Wheels, a local bike shop across the street from the market. They will keep an eye on your bike while you shop the market so that you don’t have to worry about your bike riding off without you. The original photo of the corral is below.

Original image for Ohio Star: Clintonville Farmers Market

Although there are lots of colorful sights at the market, this image is the one that stuck out for me. First, the bike corral may not be the first feature you think about when you think about the Farmers Market, but it’s a useful service that helps people get to the market under their own power, which I think is fantastic. Second, I really like the colors in the mural on the half wall. It’s an interesting wedge of rainbow that breaks up the larger areas of brick and concrete. Finally, I love the random lines and angles of the bike frames, wheels, and shadows. When they are reflected in their mirror images, they kaleidoscope off in all kinds of interesting directions. In the detail below, you can see how the bike parts and mortar lines between the bricks line up to create this effect.

Detail of Ohio Star: Clintonville Farmers Market

This 12″ x 12″ block is available for purchase, framed or unframed. Please contact me directly for pricing and other details. See more 12″ blocks or 24″ blocks.

Ohio Star: Park of Roses

Posted on July 6, 2017 by admin

72″ x 48″
2017
$500

This photoquilt was inspired by a show at Wild Goose Creative, called What Is It About This Place? A Neighborhood Art Show Featuring Works by or About Glen Echo, SoHud, and Clintonville, Ohio. It is part of my series of Ohio Star photoquilts, which incorporate the Ohio Star quilt pattern and feature places around Ohio. This one began with this picture of the gazebo at the Park of Roses in Clintonville, which is a neighborhood in Columbus, Ohio. I took the picture just before sunset, which accounts for both the silhouette of the structure and the color of the sky, which fades from bright blue to yellow to orange.

Original image for Ohio Star: Park of Roses

As with my other Ohio Star photoquilts, I used a different part of the original photo for each row of blocks in the quilt, which is why the different kaleidoscopic shapes evolve from the top to the bottom. The geometric latice-work of the top also contrasts with the curling filigree scrolls of the railing, creating unique and interesting shapes when they meet in different parts of the quilt.

Close up of Ohio Star: Park of Roses

Closer close up of Ohio Star: Park of Roses

This photoquilt was on display at Wild Goose Creative for the month of July, 2017. Even if you’re not able to get there in time for this show, check them out. They are a great, non-profit community arts organization that is worthy of your support.

Photo of the opening at Wild Goose Creative by Erin Aluise, used with permission.

Ohio Star: State Fair

Posted on May 22, 2016 by admin

24″ x 24″
2016
$200

The Ohio State Fair attracts almost a million visitors to Columbus each summer. Whether you go for the animals, the butter cow, the deep-fried foods, the games, or the rides, as the cliche goes, there is something for everyone. This photoquilt came out of a series of panoramas I took at the fair in 2015. In this photo, both the straight and the curved lines of the ferris wheel reflect and refract against the cloudy blue sky as fairgoers stream past or line up for a ride. The wheel never fully resolves into a circle, instead merging into its neighbors, each of which is held in place by red steel girders which sometimes float in the sky. The overall effect is like that of a zipper, stitching the fair to the sky.

I usually choose more austere subjects for my quilts because I tend to be drawn to clean lines and shapes, like in the Columbus Museum of Art. But there are times, like in Ohio Stadium, when I can’t avoid a crowd, which usually sprials off into a tunnel of heads and feet. When I use pictures with cleaner shapes, I feel like I have more control. But, sometimes, I need to step outside of my comfort zone to see what happens when I start with a photo that is a bit messier and less organized. Sometimes art, like life, and like the state fair, can be a bit messy and hard to control.

This quilt was displayed with You’re Not Going to Wear That, Are You? at the 2016 Ohio State Fair, where it received a Juror’s Choice Award and was called one of the most impressive works in its category by Nancy Gilson in the Columbus Dispatch.

Ohio Star: State Fair photoquilt – original image

Ohio Star: State Fair photoquilt block ($100)

Ohio Star: State Fair photoquilt close up

Ohio Star: Columbus Zoo

Posted on May 19, 2016 by admin

24″ x 24″
2016
$200

The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium is one of the finest zoos in the country. Opened in 1927 and made famous by Jack Hanna, the Zoo has recently opened polar and African savanna regions. On a recent school field trip with my youngest daughter, I was wondering how I would capture this sprawling place in one photo. The front gates make a nice picture, and the manatees are a unique favorite, but neither one could really be framed in the way I wanted. Fortunately, we made our way to the polar bears during feeding time. There was a crowd up top, so we moved down below the water, where the bears were diving in and swimming around after bits of fish that were being tossed in by the keepers. The fish that swim with the bears were also enjoying a meal. With everything swimming around and the morning sun shining through the water, I got several interesting pictures of the bears, the fish, and the rays of light streaming through the water. When sewn into to the Ohio Star pattern, the diving bears multiply and the fish become brushstrokes that create shapes and designs that I didn’t expect. Overall, the palette really captures the feeling of being underwater.

Ohio Star: Columbus Zoo - original image — Ohio Star: Columbus Zoo – original image

Ohio Star: Columbus Zoo - 12" block — Ohio Star: Columbus Zoo – 12″ block

Ohio Star: Columbus Zoo - closeup — Ohio Star: Columbus Zoo – closeup

Ohio Star: Mark Koenig

Posted on February 14, 2016 by admin

24″ x 24″
2016
$200

This is the first piece I’ve done in collaboration with another artist and, therefore, the first time I’ve based a photoquilt on a photo that I didn’t take. I’ve always liked my friend Mark Koenig’s photos because of his eye for dramatic color and line. I recently gathered enough courage to pay him my ultimate compliment, “I like your photos so much that I’d like to cut them up and sew them back together.” I admit that this is an odd compliment to pay someone, but Mark knew what I meant and agreed to lend me a photo for a photoquilt. I first met Mark here in Columbus, and he took this picture in Ohio, so an Ohio Star photoquilt seemed appropriate.

After talking with Mark about a few of his photos, we decided on this image because of the jewel-toned color palette, the interesting angles, and the shape of the lights and the shadows they cast. It was taken at Knowlton Hall at Ohio State, which I’ve photographed for a photoquilt before, but working with someone else’s photo put an interesting spin on the process. For example, I usually don’t include people in my photos, but Mark’s friend Tiffany appeared in this one. I was leaning towards cropping the photo in a way that excluded her, a slight that he assured me she would forgive, but her boots and their shadows still managed to sneak into the corner of the image.

In the end, some of the shapes and patterns that are seen in my other Ohio Star photoquilts appear again in this piece, but, at the same time, Mark’s work shines through and the result is a unique combination of both of us.

See more of Mark’s work on Instagram.