and the Ides of March Art Party
Finding a place to work — a place to be — is what printmaker Sarah Darby and silversmith jewelers Teresa Crompton and Kathy Patton had in mind late last year when they decided to create new display space Dovecote at the Screw Factory.
Now several months later, the ladies are ready to make their debut into the art scene with an open house of sorts taking place Fri 3/11 at the Lakewood venue. Joining the artistic trio will be invited guest artists Daniel Echeverry (glass), Jackie Adamany (Blue Orchid Handbags) and Meghan Willis (leather clutches of TsuruBride), as well as Cleveland’s newest food truck Umami Moto, selling their authentic Asian, Thai and Vietnamese cuisine.
CoolCleveland talked to Long Island native, former Kent State University student and current Fairview resident Patton about the mission and mindset of Dovecote, not to mention the upcoming laidback soirée.
CoolCleveland: Let’s start off discussing the creation of Dovecote. It seems like a dream come true for an artist or, in your case, artists.
Kathy Patton: We moved in November. It turned out we all had the same kind of goal to have a space like that. So it worked out really well. Teresa is a good friend of mine and Sarah is actually my husband’s cousin. We collaborated on different things before but these are people I can trust. It’s going to be our work and display space. Sometimes we’ll end up meeting at Starbucks to give people a painting or a piece of jewelry, so this will be much more official. It’s also where we’re going to make the work and sometimes we teach workshops and classes on the different things we do. People are always asking us if we can show them how to do things. So this will be a nice place to have space to do it and not be in someone’s basement or dining room table or whatever.
What kind of work and wares can we expect to see at your upcoming open house?
I specialize in sterling silver and enameled pieces, with a lot of patina, so they’re often dark and then pop to bright color with the enamel. But it’s playful and fun and you won’t find it anywhere else. Teresa’s jewelry is very modern and really clean and pure. She uses a lot of different materials like stone and silk. It’s really great how she puts things together. And Sarah’s work is just like looking right into her mind and you see all of these things she’s thinking about. There are often motherhood scenes and different issues of aging and growing up and where your heart is and where you need to go. Her etchings are just beautiful. They’re fun to look at too.
In your mind, what will the open house event be like?
We’ll have our work out there to see and you’ll get to know us a little bit. If there is something you’d like to learn how to make, you can talk to us about it. If there’s something that you’d like that you would want made differently, you can talk to us about that. If you just like drinking wine, that’s a good place to do that. A couple of the other studios in the third floor will be open too, so people will be kind of circulating around. You can get a feel of who works there. It’s just a really great place to be. It’s just to show everybody the space and drink a little wine, you know.
What makes this event seem even more interesting is the inclusion of the Umami Moto food truck.
They have the best Pad Thai I’ve had in a long time. They have lots of great stuff. It’s mostly Asian food. They were at the Last Minute Market (in the Screw Factory) and I had a chance to come out and stare at the truck. It’s beautiful with a skylight and all of these built in grills and different things. So they prepare and make the food right there. It’s all hand-made, it’s local and it’s great.
Hey, that description fits your open house motif.‘
Totally. This will be more like a party and really fun. It’s like a celebration, like christening our new space.
The Dovecote opening reception takes place from 6 to 10PM on Fri 3/11 at The Screw Factory @ Lake Erie Building/Templar Industrial Park, Third Floor, Space 337, 13000 Athens Ave, Lakewood. For more information visit http://DovecoteCleveland.com.
Free-lance writer John Benson spends most of his time writing for various papers throughout Northeast Ohio.
When he’s not writing about music or entertainment, he can be found coaching his two boys in basketball, football and baseball or watching movies with his lovely wife, Maria.
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