From BOWLING GREEN ARTS COUNCIL
A glassblower, a ceramicist, woodworkers and painters are the first artists chosen to participate in the Bowling Green Arts Council’s (BGAC) inaugural season of Community Supported Art (CSA).
Ellen Fure Smith will join Amy Davis, Ian Dawson, Regina Hilton, Flannery Murnen and Linda Shetzer in providing original art to CSA shareholders over the summer.
Community Supported Agriculture has become a popular way for consumers to buy seasonal food directly from local farms. With the same buy local spirit in mind, this new kind of CSA will support local art, artists and collectors.
Fure Smith is a well-known name in the Bowling Green community as an award-winning artist and furniture maker who has called Bowling Green home since 2013. She is a staple at the Black Swamp Arts Festival and was the designer and primary builder of the downtown parklets.
Davis began her woodturning career in 2018 when she purchased a lathe and took a wood turning class at Woodcraft in Toledo. She began with spindle turning, and eventually progressed to turning bowls. She ended up teaching at Woodcraft for four years, mastering her technique.
Dawson has worked under Hans Rubel learning the art of metalwork, and more recently started taking glass workshops at Gathered Glass, Firenation, and the Toledo Museum of Art. As a student at BGSU his adventure in glass has taken off and he will be traveling to Murano, Italy to further study this art form.
Hilton’s work in ceramics focuses on the utility of art and how her pieces can be used as part of one’s daily existence. The pieces are shaped, compressed, and manipulated, reflecting her personal touch or gesture with the material.
Murnen is a visual artist and musician based in Bowling Green. They use a wide range of mixed media, including analog and digital photography, collage, drawing, and painting in acrylic, gouache, and ink. They like to focus on the small and seemingly mundane to express their beauty and tenderness and celebrate their magic by telling a story pairing original writing with visual works.
Shetzer is a fine artist who worked as an educator for 30 years. In 2022, Linda stepped out of the classroom and into her home studio. She works primarily with watercolor and acrylic, and her subjects include florals, landscapes, architecture, and animals.
For the inaugural year, 25 shares will be available for purchase by the general public. The two pick-up evenings will be events in themselves. Member shares cost $250for the season and can be purchased at bgartscouncil.com.
The goals of the CSA program are to support artists and to create an engaged community of local arts supporters. CSA supports artists in the creation of new work, in establishing relationships with local collectors and patrons, with the chance to participate in the launch of an exciting new model of art support and distribution. CSA share member benefits include multiple works of art from local emerging and mid-career artists, the opportunity to develop relationships with the local artists and the art community, discovering new artists, and exploring a variety of disciplines represented in our arts community.
The BGAC is a volunteer organization working with local artists, arts organizations, and arts supporters to provide inspiration, enjoyment, and learning opportunities in the Bowling Green community.
