Tuesday, December 20, 2011

CCAD President Art Installation

As a student of CCAD, I was of course walking around campus not sure what was going on on the quad. I saw fencing making up wavy shapes. The next day it was even bigger. While grabbing a coffee before a final, I asked the person working our coffee place what was on the quad. She proceeded to tell me it was one of Denny's sculptures. Denny Griffith is CCAD's president and decided to create a sculpture on our quad that would bode well with the surrounding environment and architecture. Before reading this blog post written for the CCAD Blog, I was wondering how cool it would look covered in snow, if it was even going to be up that long. When I ran into the article about the sculpture I was happy to find out that it will be on our campus until spring. If your around Columbus, you should drive by, or stop and look. It's pretty cool! (I'll be sure to post pictures after it's covered in snow!)  

Photo from CCAD Blog. Make sure you check it out! Link above!

Monday, December 5, 2011

Past Judges Busy as Ever

This past week, two of our past judges had opening exhibitions.

Thursday night (December 1, 2011) I attended the opening of the Annual Thumb Box Exhibition at the Ohio Art League at the South Campus Gateway, where a past judge, Adam Brouillette had three little pieces. This exhibition has the name Thumb Box for a reason. All pieces, both 2D and 3D may not exceed the size of 6”x6”x6”. The show was really great, seeing pieces so small from artists that usually make larger works was different and nice to see. (One of our judges for 2012, Andrew Ina, had pieces in the show as well!) Having the pieces smaller made them more affordable to buy for gifts for the upcoming holidays. This exhibition is up until December 31, 2011. Please go check it out! Maybe you’ll find the perfect painting for your sister or best friend…or even you! Also try and guess which piece was my favorite. (I’ll give you a hint…you’ll probably guess right, I had so many favorites!)

Sunday was the opening of Illuminating Art in German Village at Gallery 831. Every year the residents of German Village take pride in the lighting of the neighborhood. Going strong for a third year, Illuminating Art opened on the same day as the lighting event (hence the name). This show is put on by the German Village Art League, whose president is Ryan Orewiler, also a past judge. This exhibition is up until December 31, 2011 as well. I didn’t get to go to the opening, but I will be checking it out this week sometime!  
Check out this great article by Melissa Starker about Illuminating Art

Advertisement from gvartleague.com

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Meeting with Wynter Whiteside



Just recently I had the opportunity to meet with one of our 2012 second round judges, Wynter Whiteside. Talking with Wynter felt like I was catching up with an old friend. She is really personable, passionate, fun, and really excited to be involved with the AICUO Excellence in the Visual Arts Awards.

Wynter is from central Ohio, attended Fort Hayes Arts and Academic High School in Columbus, Ohio and is an alumnus from the Columbus College of Art & Design. She told me that while she was at CCAD, she spent a semester studying abroad in Ireland.  She described her experience to be wonderful and beautiful and gave me the advice to bite at any opportunity I have to study abroad. So, readers, I pass that along to you as well. “Rolling hills…countryside…castles…” the imagery she was talking about sounded unreal. Any artist would be silly to not be inspired by being in such an environment.

Wynter was a fine art major. She is a painter and embroiderer who also happens to love curating. I asked how, after 8 years of being a curator, she would describe it. She said, “it’s more about producing a visual idea, an organic project, and seeing things come together”. The curated shows are “a process of thought”, she explained, “they are like a piece of artwork within itself”. She loves the instillation and “constellation of ideas” that are all brought together in one place. Just from sitting across from her and talking I could just tell how much she loves curating. “[Curating] is very fulfilling to me” she went on to say. I truly believe her.

I asked her what I thought would be a hard question to answer, “what has been your favorite show that you have curated?” Without missing a beat, her face lit up with a huge smile and she answered “Sugarcraft”. Sugarcraft was a show in 2008 hosted by Kasia Kay Art Projects in Chicago, IL. She showed me pictures and it was everything I had ever wanted to see in a gallery. I really love girly, fun, cute, silly artwork and this was exactly it. The show was filled with cute artworks from around the world. Sugary subject matter included cupcakes, cakes, and candies. It was her favorite show because it had artists from all around the globe, the gallery space was great, the woman she worked with was amazing, and she networked a ton. She told me all of the artwork was sent to her house, here in Columbus, so she had to rent a U-Haul and drive all the work to Chicago. Can you imagine?

I remember when I was in high school I saw one of her shows at the Mahan Gallery (which isn’t open anymore) in the Short North in Columbus. I was blown away. I was even more blown away that there were real tiny cupcakes sitting on little shelves as part of her artwork. From then on I have always remembered her work and was really grateful she accepted the opportunity to be one of our judges.

I asked if she was currently making work, and music to my ears the answer was “yes, for the past 4 years”. She said there is even more embroidery and the paintings are very large. I cannot wait to see them!

Along with Sugarcraft she said another one of her favorite shows she curated was “Genuine Bunny Lovers” which had bunnies in a pin in the middle of the gallery and bunny artwork on all the walls. We started talking about bunnies, my scary bunny run-ins and that I only like to pet them from far away distances. She is a bunny lover and owner and assures me that they’re harmless. We got on the subject of cats and I knew the meeting went great!

Personal Pieces





Below are images from Sugarcraft! How fun!
(The embroidered circles, painting with pink selves in photo 3 are Wynter's!)










Monday, October 3, 2011

"Through to Our Bones" - Daniel Ferlan, a show curated by Wynter Whiteside


"And Then Came the Sparkles" by Daniel Ferlan

Friday night I had the pleasure of meeting another 2012 Second Round Judge, Wynter Whiteside. Like I’ve said before I have been e-mailing back and forth with all of the second round judges, but it is always great to meet face to face.

Wynter Whisteside is a grad from the Columbus College of Art & Design, she is a fine artist and also a curator.

I met Wynter at the Sharon Weiss Gallery in the Short North in Columbus for the opening night of “Through to Our Bones” an exhibition of work by Daniel Ferlan, curated by Wynter.

I went to the exhibit not knowing what kind of artwork I was going to see, I didn’t know what to expect. I must say I was pleasantly surprised. Ferlan’s work was pretty cool. His paintings have  a sense of humor and a sort of dark undertone. But he uses a lot of playful colors and imagery to evoke the sense of romance and love, which is what this show was about.

The pieces were on the smaller scale, nothing taking up a huge part of the wall, but I think that kind of scale would have taken away from the pieces. Ferlan’s pieces are painted so smoothly and with care that when looking at them you have such an appreciation for the craftsmanship. Along with the painted pieces there was a film looping on a TV in the gallery as well. My favorite pieces were two little paintings by the TV incased in a plastic frame with flowers and decorations inside the frame with the painting. This is definitely a show worth stopping in to see! Not to mention, Columbus Alive named this show one of the top 3 exhibitions to see this fall!

“Through to Our Bones” – Daniel Ferlan will be at the Sharon Weiss Gallery until October 31st, 2011.

Look out for the next blog post! I’ll be interviewing and meeting with Wynter very soon!

Until then, get out there before it gets too cold and enjoy some artwork!


"My Little Darlings" by Daniel Ferlan

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Second Round Judge Excited to Judge for a Second Year

A little less than a month ago I went to an art opening at the Ohio Art League, an exhibition called, “Impossible Things”. My friend and roommate was in the exhibition, so while looking at the art work and making small talk I noticed that Stephanie Sypsa was working. Stephanie is OAL’s Gallery Director and 
Organizational Administrator, and was a past judge and will be a judge for us again for the 2012 awards. I hadn’t met her before, but I had just been e-mailing back and fourth with her, like all of our judges. I went over and introduced myself to her and thanked her for being a judge again for 2012. It was really great meeting a judge that I hadn’t met before and to get to talk in person. Stephanie said that she was more than happy to judge again for our competition and that the process was super easy.

Our judges will be updated soon! We have really great first and second round judges lined up!




Wednesday, August 24, 2011

New Sponsors Get A New Home

This past weekend one of our newest sponsors, Shadowbox Live, just opened up at their new location in downtown Columbus in the Brewery District. The new space is larger with more seating (about 300 seats) than the old Easton Town Center location. I read a great article about the opening weekend that you can check out at Columbus Underground.
The actors and music were right on point like they were already comfortable with their new home. If you live in town or are just coming to visit, I’d say stop by for a show. Downtown has so many great things to offer, and with the arrival of Shadowbox Live it has even more.

Shadowbox Live is located in the Brewery District in downtown Columbus. 503 South Front Street, Columbus, Ohio, 43215.

Current and Upcoming Shows:


Get out there and support great businesses that support us!

Shadowbox Live in their new location, Brewery District, Columbus. 

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

CCAD Professor and AICUO EVA's Judge Exhibits at Sherrie Gallerie


I thought I would give you all a good reason to stay inside a few more minutes on this hot Ohio day to enjoy a new blog posting!
It is really exciting for us to see Hiroshi Hayakawa, a previous and current EVA’s second round judge, exhibit his work in a gallery we worked closely with for the AICUO Walking Exhibition in May earlier this year, Sherrie Gallerie.
The series that he has on display, “Vista Interna”, are sculpture like pieces that give viewers an opportunity to interact more with artwork. His pieces are wooden boxes with peepholes and old school cranks to make hands come to life on the inside of the boxes.
Read Melissa Starker’s Exhibit Review in the Columbus Dispatch, she writes a great article about the show. I also suggest if you are in the Columbus area, heading down to the Short North to check out Sherrie Gallerie and Hayakawa’s work. If you can’t make it to the Short North then click here for his blog, he has great pictures and explanations about his current and even past work!
"Vista Interna #5" - Front

"Vista Interna #5" - Back

"Vista Interna #5" - Inside

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

South Euclid Commercial District and Vacant Buildings Get a Make-Over

Poster created by
Notre Dame College
Student, Kirstie Hegedus.

Art can make anything look better or more enticing. One of our member institutions, Notre Dame College just recently began collaboration with South Euclid to begin to exhibit artwork through the Storefront Art Initiative. Storefront Art Initiative gives opportunity for current tenants of South Euclid’s commercial district to showcase art work of current young artists and also give the opportunity to make vacant storefronts more appealing. I think we can all agree, seeing artwork in a vacant building window would bring a fresh view to the area. What a great idea! For more information check out their website.  http://cityofsoutheuclid.com/economic-development/biz/storefront-art-initiative.html\




Photos of one of the Storefront Art Initiative displays.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Past Award Winner Gets Accepted into National Portrait Gallery’s BP Portrait Award Show in London

Today is my first blog post as the new AICUO Art Awards Coordinator. My name is Cindy Ellis and I am officially taking over for Noel Ang. This month we wanted to feature and blog about one of our past award winners from our second competition year, Mark Bush.

Mark recently was accepted into the National Portrait Gallery’s BP Portrait Award Show in London for his portrait, “Daniel”. Mark is a fine arts graduate of Columbus College of Art & Design. When looking at his work sometimes it is hard to decipher whether you are looking at a photograph or not, his body of work is no doubt realism. You can see some of his work being shown at Hammond Harkins Galleries in Bexley, Ohio. Also check out his website to get a peek of more of his recent works.  

We are always pleased to see our past nominees and finalists doing great things in the art community, congrats Mark!


Thursday, April 14, 2011

2011 AICUO Awards Reception

AICUO Award Winners (from left to right) Christopher Greathouse, Rose Hermalin, Ken Aschliman, Katherine Richards, Wendy Birchfield, Rachel Shelton, and Anh Hoang Vu hold up their unique physical awards.

The AICUO Awards reception took place last night on the Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) campus. Activities began at 5:00 p.m. with the Student Panel Discussion in the R.W. Corns Building, then proceeded to the finalists' exhibition in the OWU Ross Art Museum.

The reception room boasted a showcase of the six finalists' works, ranging from 3-dimensional media to traditional oil painting, and a central table displaying the physical metal awards. After an interval of mingling and viewing the artwork, Todd Jones, president of AICUO, announced the various winners of the night, beginning with recognition for Caleb Boller, winner of the AICUO Sculpture Design Contest.

Next, Jones revealed the AICUO People's Choice Award winner to be Christopher Greathouse from Denison University. Each winner received a unique metal sculpture as a reward for their accomplishments, a legislative commendation from their hometown, and a prize package from our various in-kind sponsors.

AICUO President Todd Jones (left) with
Grand Award Winner Ken Aschliman 

Following the People's Choice Award came the announcement of Ken Aschliman from the Columbus College of Art & Design as the Grand Award Winner. Along with the prizes listed above, Ken also receives a $2,500 cash prize as well as the chance to sell a piece of art to the AICUO office for permanent display.

The other award winners were honored at the reception with a presentation of their award sculpture, commendations and gifts from our sponsors. These winners include:

Wendy Birchfield from The Cleveland Institute of Art
Rose Hermalin from Oberlin College
Anh Hoang Vu from Ohio Wesleyan University
Katherine Richards from The Cleveland Institute of Art
Rachel Shelton from The Cleveland Institute of Art

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Short North Walking Exhibition

painting by Ryan Orewiler

The 2011 AICUO Awards have added a brand new exhibition to the program. This May, each of the six AICUO Award finalists will be showcasing their work in the Columbus Gallery Hop.

For those of you who don't know, the Gallery Hop is a monthly event in the Short North Arts District of Columbus, Ohio. Visitors from all around flock to see the new exhibits in Columbus' most successful galleries, which are open for extended hours. The sidewalks are usually bustling with people shopping around at the distinguished stores in the area, watching street performers, and going in and out of galleries, bars and restaurants.

Those who attend the Hop this May 7, 2011, will be able to see the six AICUO Award finalists' work in a Walking Exhibition of the Short North. Each of the artists have been paired up with a specific gallery to display their work as finalists in the AICUO Award.

Make sure to thank the participating galleries (listed below), who have kindly donated a portion of their space to help promote the success of these emerging artists.

Brandt-Roberts Galleries - Ken Aschliman

Grid Furnishings - Wendy Birchfield

pm gallery - Rose Hermalin

Sherrie Gallery - Katherine Richards

Studios on High Gallery - Rachel Shelton

Terra Gallery - Anh Hoang Vu

Monday, February 28, 2011

AICUO Finalists Revealed


On February 18, 2011, the first round of judging culminated in the selection of this year's winners for the AICUO Award for Excellence in the Visual Arts. You can see these exceptional senior students' portfolios on the official AICUO Art Award Web site, www.aicuoartaward.com. They are:

Kenneth Aschliman - Columbus College of Art & Design
Wendy Birchfield - Cleveland Institute of Art
Rose Hermalin - Oberlin College
Katherine Richards - Cleveland Institute of Art
Rachel Shelton - Cleveland Institute of Art
Anh Hoang Vu - Ohio Wesleyan University

The competition isn't over yet, though. A second round of judging will decide which of the award winners deserves the coveted Grand Award title, which comes with a substantial monetary prize and other significant privileges.

There is also a competition among all 22 nominees for the online People's Choice Award. Visit the official Web site to vote for your favorite piece by these fine student artists from institutions all across Ohio. The voting process is unlimited, so feel free to click on as many people as you like, as often as you like.

All winners will be revealed at the AICUO Art Award Reception on April 13, 2011. Check out the reception page for more information.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Caleb Boller: 2011 Sculpture Design Champion


The winner for the 2011 AICUO Sculpture Design Contest has been chosen! After much deliberation, Caleb Boller, from the Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD), received the highest marks for the Sculpture Design Contest. View Caleb's entire entry designs here.

As a junior at CCAD, Caleb studies Industrial Design and also focuses much of his energy on ceramics. Ever since a high school program that he took in his hometown of Roanoke, IN, Caleb has had an interest in all things 3-D. A renowned ceramics teacher, Bill Hunt, drew Caleb to the college, and a Silver Portfolio Scholastics scholarship and CCAD scholarship led him to decide that the central Ohio college was right for him.

For the next step of the Sculpture Design Competition, Caleb will be working with a professional local sculptor (TBA) to bring his pieces to life. Attend the 2011 AICUO Awards Reception on April 13 for the unveiling of the final sculptures!

You can view more of Caleb's work on his Coroflot account at http://www.coroflot.com/cboller.

Monday, January 24, 2011

The 2011 Competition Begins

A couple of weeks ago marked the student upload deadline for the 2011 AICUO Award for Excellence in the Visual Arts. There have been some astounding student portfolios uploaded, and I can't wait to see the judges' top decisions come mid-February.

This year, we received 22 nominations from 12 different colleges and universities, more than we've ever had before! Once the top six finalists have been chosen, the AICUO Award site will be updated, and everyone can begin voting for the People's Choice Award.

In the meantime, check out the panel of excellent faculty judges on the blog!