“A LITTLE R & R”  featuring the work of George Roby,and GR Hamilton, opens Friday February 12, 2010 from 6-9pm.

This exhibit is FREE and open to the public. Opening Reception:: Friday February 12, 2010 / 6-9pm. Closing Reception:: Saturday March 13, 2010 / 6-9pm

George Roby
A juxtaposition of degrees informs the work of the artists curated for this exciting show. For George Roby it is problem, and its natural solution. The way in which a piece of new sculpture can inform, or as the artist says, “solve” a question being asked in an earlier work. Roby is a respected Ohio potter, sculptor, and teacher. He was a student at Cranbrook and worked with Claude Conover. His works can be found in the collections of the Cleveland Museum of Art, The Butler Institute of American Art, the Columbus Museum of Art, and numerous private collections.

GR Hamilton

For the last five years GR Hamilton has been consumed with the art-making materials, and the material’s history. In his artist statement he elaborates on his latest process, “I began to put to use objects which I’d found and collected through the years: unusual flora, scraps of metal, bits of plastic, paint and paper, small figures, memorabilia, magazine clippings, autographs and a variety of secondhand finds and curbside cast-offs. This impulse was propelled by my interest in the work of Joseph Cornell, Max Ernst, Marcel Duchamp and the films of the Quay brothers. “

It’s been a busy year for the Mystery of Two camp. After releasing a self titled LP on Exit Stencil Recordings we hit the road playing the Midwest and East Coast including this years CMJ fest in NYC. Their travels have found them back in Cleveland prepping new material and working on various video projects, on of which will be debuting over the course of these events.

• Feb 6 th w/ Filmstrip ( Closing night for the Terry Durst gallery show )
• Feb 13 th w/ Buried Wires
• Feb 20 th w/ Freedom Feb 27 th  w/ Founding Fathers

Poster by John G.

It’s been a great year for Arts Collinwood, with more events, classes, exhibits and activities than ever.  We’ve finished our community center, offered new great classes, like stained glass and jewelry making, expanded our after school offerings with our new Portfolio Project program, brought in ten great gallery exhibits, hosted our largest ever Arts Fest – and now we’ve got a café!

Arts Collinwood now operates the café in our building, at 15601 Waterloo.  We’re open Tuesday through Saturday 11:00am to 11:00pm and Sundays from 9:00am to 5:00pm, offering lunch and dinner daily, plus beer, wine, cocktails and espresso and coffee drinks.  Look for more great events, like poetry and live music, along with our regular gallery openings.  And of course all of your purchases, from prints and paintings to soups and sandwiches, help to support art in our community.  So come by and visit and get up-to-date information on the new classes and events we’ll be offering this winter!

And please, if you are as excited as we are as about all we have going on, please consider BECOMING A MEMBER or MAKING A DONATION to Arts Collinwood!

Join us every Wednesday night in the cafe. Full bar, food and drink specials with lots of vegetarian/vegan options. The first set starts at 8:00, second at 9:30. No cover charge!

Lots of local folks—and plenty from outside the area—have already visited the Arts Collinwood Center at the corner of E. 156th and Waterloo. But if you haven’t yet, we’re offering you a good reason to come visit now. Arts Collinwood has taken over operating the cafe in our building, as another way to support arts programs in our community. Now, every time you grab a sandwich or a coffee, you can be helping make after school programs, gallery exhibits and community events possible here in Collinwood. And you’ll love the new menu!  We’re here Tuesday-Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Besides soups and sandwiches, you can also pick up registration forms, event information and flyers on all the latest arts happenings. Other good reasons to stop in soon:

• When the Cafe is open, so is the gallery next door!
• Every Thursday evening you can try your hand at life drawing, or maybe a little yoga on a Sunday afternoon.
• Plus live music, poetry and lots more.

Keep your eyes open for the announcement of this year’s Weekends on Waterloo holiday happenings and catch up on the great things going on in our own thriving arts district. We’ll keep the coffee hot for you.

Amy Casey and Jen Omaitz

Opening Reception: November 6, 2009 from 6-9 p.m. Gallery Hours: Thurs.-Fri. 6-9 p.m., Sat.-Sun. 1-4 p.m. Visitors are also welcome in the gallery when the adjoining Cafe at Arts Collinwood is open.

Amy Casey is a Creative Workforce Fellow. The Creative Workforce Fellowship is a program of the Community Partnership for Arts and Culture, generously funded by Cuyahoga Arts and Culture. Amy Casey is also Cleveland Arts Prize 2009.

Amy Casey

Amy Casey, Artist Statement:

For about the last ten years, I’ve been experiencing a sporadically recurring dream about the end of the world. Animals stampeding and buildings falling into dust around me, I wake up in a panic and with a heavy sense of inevitability.

Although I’m not trying to recreate this dream in my work, I think that like my dream, my paintings reflect my view of the nervous state of affairs the world seems to be in. Inspired by natural and unnatural disasters, personal fiascos and the never-ending stream of bad news coming in from the media, the world inside my paintings has been turned (sometimes literally) upside down. The sky is falling  and the ground has crumbled underneath anyone left to stand on it. In the wake of this, my created world tries to come up with coping plans to tie their world back together. This lets me explore ideas of anxiety and vulnerability, community, and the illusions of safety.  I am fascinated by the resilience of life. Every disaster is followed by rebirth, where we try to cobble together a plan b. out of what remains. My paintings celebrate this fascination and my love of the urban landscape and it’s creatures.

Jen Omaitz

Jen Omaitz, Artist Statement:
My work explores the construction and destruction of invented space. I work within the boundaries of my studio or a designated space to confront the possibilities of architecture beyond the frame of a canvas. For me art is a spectacle, an assemblage, a gesture of simulated repetitions: arranged, projected and reconfigured. My newest body of work consists of interlinking structures that explore the relationship between wall, ceiling and floor, between psychic space and physical space.

This series encompasses three-dimensional landscapes that appear frozen in the midst of a chaotic event. I incorporate drawing and painting with heterogeneous objects, igniting play between the structure of the gallery and the theatrics of a gesture and the painterly mark. This sense of theater is a formal extension of the shadows cast by the gallery lights, the configuration of the wall, ceiling, and the intrinsic architectural nature of the given space.

My work juxtaposes found objects, home building materials, architectural models and abstract painterly approaches to signify [imply] a shift between topography, natural disasters, and tension between physical landscape and landscape of the psyche.

Our talented Cleveland Institute of Art intern Sandi Petrie has created a visual tour of the Waterloo Arts District with a series of drawings. Check them out here!

Arts Collinwood is  5… almost! Join us for our Birthday Countdown! Five free events to thank our members for supporting us through out the years. Not a member yet? Come find out more and become one! Memberships start at just $10.

Jewelry Making and Stained Glass:

Veteran artist Michelle Biondo demonstrates techniques for making cut china jewelry and stained glass. All materials are provided and everyone has a chance to complete a small project, or begin a larger one to finish another day. Monday, March 9, 7-8:30pm. Free to Members!

Sketchbook Journaling with Karen Sandstrom:

This former PD reporter claims sketchbook journaling as an avocation. Learn how to create your own memorable and meaningful journals, more poignant than pictures and no drawing experience required. Wednesday, March 25, 6:30-
8pm. Free to Members!

Mommy & Me Workshop:

Creative toddler time for you and your little one. Let small people explore and play in our wide open space with others their age. For parents and their children 4 and under.  Thursday, April 2, 10am-noon. Free to Members!

Family Open Studio:

Come play with clay! Have fun making art with your family in our new community center, and let us clean up the mess!  Children must be accompanied by an adult.Saturday, April 25, 1-3pm. Free to Members!

Arts Collinwood  5th Anniversary Bash:

Rock the Arts Center with live music, free food, prizes and goodies. Our way of saying thanks for helping us come so far in such a short time – we couldn’t have done it without you! Saturday, May 16, 6-9pm. Free to Members!