Thu 11/20 – Wed 12/31
What drives us to create? The answer is multifaceted, and part of the answer can be found at The Log Cabin Gallery, which begins its Winter White Out Exhibit in Peninsula on Thu 11/20. There you will find the essence of the artist’s need to connect, and the interaction between the one who creates and the one that responds to the creation.
It’s no coincidence that The Log Cabin Gallery causes philosophical thinking—the gallery is set back away from a Western Reserve Town made by the Ohio-Erie Canal in an antique log cabin set back in the woods of the Cuyahoga Valley. There, visitors find the gallery entrance facing the canal, and an open wood fire warms the heart and reminds us that art and nature and God are intertwined.
Proprietor Diane Seskes has chosen talented and award-winning artists for this annual show. Artists include Pat Bakos, Don Herman, Russ O’Brien, Nancy Webb, and Jennifer Worden. You’ll find jewelry, hand-dyed silk, paintings, pottery, architectural clay, photography, quilts, hand-cut paper, and rugs crafted by artisans of Northeast Ohio and shown in the tranquility of a tucked-away space in the woods.
Your best chance to explore the gallery may be during one of the special weekends—warm up around the campfire, purchase freshly roasted chestnuts, and enjoy complimentary cookies during the Candelight Walk from 5-9PM on Thu 12/4. Return Home to the Heart of the Holidays on Saturdays, 12/6, 12/13, and 12/20, when live reindeer, elves, the Grinch, and Santa enliven the experience.
The artists have created quite a collection of fun gift items and home decorative arts for potential purchasers. Heidi Holub, a “treasure hunter,” creates unique jewelry with found and recycled objects. Patricia Bacos, also a collector, uses found minerals and stones to create gemstone trees. Steve Bloom makes 40 varieties of soap, and his wife Barb practices Shibori, a Japanese technique for dying silk.
Christine Weigand’s architectural cards are interesting compositions in paper. Claudia Taller’s Ohio’s Lake Erie Wineries and her new book 30 Perfect Days, Finding Abundance in Ordinary Life will be available for sale. Gabriele Bryant creates flat window panels in art and Deanna Clucas tries to put her thoughts into two-dimensional paintings. Cathie Gordon’s primitive rugs, Bob Hansen’s wild bird carvings, and Tamara Gunnels’ stained glass might just find a place in your home or that of your best friend.
Don Herman, Heidi Holub, and Tammy Lang create jewelry for your sister or your secretary. Lisa Kane’s stained glass shows up in traditional panels and suncatchers but also in boxes and candleholders. Add to your pottery collection with pieces from Lucas Clay or Nancy Webb or find a paperweight crafted by Russ O’Brien for the boss’s desk.
Mike Peterson’s architectural clay creations will put a bit of whimsy in your home, and Dave Repicky’s ceramics will impress you with their composition. Jennifer Worden’s glass sculptures and Lucille Seskes’ Amish-inspired quilts make thoughtful wedding presents.
At the heart of the gallery, Diane Seskes’ photography is hard to pass up. The photographer goes out of her way to compose art through the view of the lens, sometimes lying on the ground and shooting up into the trees. Diane should be applauded for opening up a place where local artists and art lovers can interact and discover what’s possible when one pays attention. The artists are scheduled to be at the gallery on specified dates—if you have a favorite artist, you should find out when he or she will be at The Log Cabin Gallery.
The annual show begins this weekend and continues through Wed 12/31, open from 11AM until 5PM Thursdays through Sundays and Mondays through Wednesdays by appointment. During Peninsula’s Candlelight Walk on Thu 12/4, The Log Cabin Gallery remains open until 9PM. Find the log cabin up the hill from Route 303 (Main Street in Peninsula) located at 1671 Main Street in back up North Canal Street.
Cool Cleveland contributor Claudia Taller will be at The Log Cabin Gallery signing copies of her books on Sat 12/13. Her newly-released book 30 Perfect Days, Finding Abundance in Ordinary Life, is available from Amazon and in a Kindle version.
Read more about Ohio’s Lake Erie Wineries at http://ohiolakeeriewineries.blogspot.com. Claudia’s next book, Ohio’s Canal Country Wineries, will be released in May 2015, but in the meantime, get a copy of 30 Perfect Days, Finding Abundance in Ordinary Life, a reflective memoir.
Peninsula, OH 44264