Emerging Artists

On Saturday we went to the Toledo Botanical Gardens for the "Accessible Expressions" art show. It was a showcase of Ohio artists showcasing professional, emerging and youth artists in a juried show. Two Findlay emerging artists were selected to participate in the show. Both of these artists receive services at Blanchard Valley Center and take part in the Center's Kan-Du Art Studio.

Personally, I didn't care much about the professional artists at the show. I was there to see the emerging artists and I was stunned by the art I saw.

The first Findlay artist that we saw was Diane. She graciously posed with her painting.



Her painting expresses her admiration for Robert Redford. Diane has a lot of personality and is very funny. At one point, when telling us about her painting, she leaned over and whispered, "Be careful what you say around my family. . .they don't know that I have a man in my life!" Diane's "man" is Robert Redford and if you ask her, she will tell you that they are married!



The other emerging Findlay artist was Mike. He wasn't at the opening but I fell in love with the colors and textures of his entry for the show.



We walked around the gallery for quite a while, absorbing the atmosphere and marveling at the layers and layers of meaning in each of the works. There were a couple of other paintings that just blew me away.




Self expression is such an individual thing and there are so many ways to make the world a more beautiful place. I'm inspired!