The deadline for submissions will be here before you know it as April 30 is right around the corner. Don’t miss this opportunity to have your work included – we want nothing more than to see the artists of Stark County (hearted and otherwise) to succeed. This book is one small way to get your work out there.

Indigo Ink Press, a new nonprofit independent publisher in Canton, Ohio, has announced that it will launch with Stark ARThology, the first book dedicated exclusively to the work of talented and creative visual artists in Stark County, Ohio.

Local artists are invited to submit work for consideration in the book through April 30, 2010.

About the Book

Stark ARThology will be a coffee table style hardcover book that showcases artwork through stunning oversized visuals. The book will feature artists who work in all visual media – including painting, pen and ink, pencil, photography, ceramics, jewelry, fiber arts, mixed media and more.

The book will be sold through local galleries, studios, art venues, specialty retailers and online through the Indigo Ink website and Amazon.com. The book will also be made available for free to high school and Stark County District Libraries. A portion of the proceeds from book sales will be donated to ArtsinStark’s SmArts Program.

The book will be published this fall in time for the holiday gift-giving season and is made possible through a special project grant from ArtsinStark, The County Arts Council.

Artist Benefits

Artists selected for the book will receive two free copies and professional photography services for the selected piece(s), as well as a professional artist headshot photo. Stark ARThology will be celebrated at a launch party in November.

An advisory committee will select artists and pieces for the book. Artists must submit work by April 30 to be considered. Submissions are being accepted online and there are more details available on our website at indigoinkpress.org.

If you have any questions, please contact Jessica Bennett via email at editor@indigoinkpress.org, or call (330) 417-7715.

Do you Heart Stark Art? It’s time to put your money where your mouth is – give the gift of Stark County art from some of our top picks. There’s something here for everyone on your list, trust us! And there’s still plenty of time to get your friends and loved ones incredible gifts while supporting the fantastic local artists in our community!

We’ve recognized 20 Stark County artists so far this year – painters, sculptors, jewelers, musicians, photographers, and more. Want to give the artist in your life the gift that keeps on giving? Send them over to our submission form. In a few minutes time, they’ll be on their way to hearted-artist status, and they might just wind up on our next gift list, too!

For the precocious niece Copper Blue Bottle with Top Diann Adams Price: $35 | Buy Online	For the history buff Trumpeter of Justice Ltd. Ed. Print Diane Belfiglio Price: Inquire | Buy Online	For kids of all ages Alien Light Switch Covers Bili Kribbs Price: $15 | Buy Online
For fans of Gustav Klimt Klimt Joe Martino Price: Inquire | Buy Online	For the classic car guru Classic Car Calendar 2010 Joanne Mariol Price: $27 | Buy Online	For the stylish fashionista Love Nest Liz Jacob, Yellow Finch Designs Price: $28 | Buy Online
For your funkiest friend Praise Steve Ehret Price: Inquire | Buy Online	For the new homeowner Upward Mobility Michele Waalkes Price: Inquire | Buy Online	For the enjoyment of guests Folk Music great for any holiday party Caboodle Tunes Price: Inquire | Book Online
For the contemplative art aficionado Still Life with Oranges and Grapes Lynn Digby Price: Inquire | Buy Online	For the environmentalist Eco-Friendly “Fat Cat” Tote Kelli Swan Price: $15.99 | Buy Online	For the aloof CEO Past Times Thom Metz Price: Inquire | Buy Online
For the office green thumb Bamboo Vases Laura Kolinski-Schultz, TerraKi Teaware Price: $42 and $30 | Buy Online	For the eternal optimist Field of Red Tulips Print Renie Britenbucher Price: $28.99 | Buy Online	For man’s best friend Custom Pet Portrait Sue Steiner Price: from $80 | Buy Online
For Alice in Wonderland fans The Caterpillar Megan Mars Price: Inquire | Book Online	For the brooding stranger at Starbucks Stormfront Christopher Triner Price: Inquire | Buy Online	For the world crusader Good Morning Katmal Stephen McNulty Price: Inquire | Buy Online
Contact for details or to view a portfolio: Joan Henninger Georgia Shankel

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The difference this week is really quite simple. Conservation photographer Stephen McNulty’s work is literally imbued with benevolence.

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In the fleeting moments before the eagle sails over his prey, in the delicate, symbiotic palette of shallow tide pools, and in the resplendent electricity of the tiny frog’s environ, we find no hint of the remoteness of the locales. Instead, there is an intimate and accessible component, a beckoning, voyeur view of magnificent creatures and habitats.

The scenes Stephen shows us from his travels – be it Alaska, the Caribbean or Polynesia – are captured impeccably. They go a long way to replicate the wonder he must have experienced first hand, separated by a single, simple lens.

For more about Stephen, be sure to click over to his permanent Hearted-Artist gallery. You can also see his work in person at Cyrus Art Gallery or The Joseph Saxton Gallery of Photography, where he is the general manager.

Please let us know what YOU think about Stephen’s work by leaving a comment below, and by rating his portfolio. Come back next week – same time, same place – to check out our next hearted artist!

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P.S. You’ll never be cool like Stephen if you don’t submit your artist portfolio! And if you’ve already submitted, we’ll be picking another hearted artist next week – it might just be you!

Visit the gallery and browse the collections of these artists, and be sure to spend some time revisiting their feature articles. Take the time to rate them, or leave a comment so they know what you think of their craft. And keep in mind that the holiday gift-giving season is almost upon us – there’s no better gift than the gift of unique local art.

Do you know an awesome artist who is living, learning and creating in Stark County, Ohio? One that should be represented at Heart Stark Art? Spread the word and send them our way, it only takes a few minutes to submit a portfolio online.

Tune in next week as we unveil artist No. 17 in our Stark County arts family.

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Alliance artist Lynn Digby’s intensity is outshone only by her ability to evaporate the features of her subjects, reconstituting them with an aura of true merit that we can take along with us.

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Lynn describes her work as contemporary realism. She acknowledges her actions with the brush, the certain exposing quality of her technique that lays bare even the most cleverly concealed. She has a way of relegating the complexities of the human form to simple themes that resonate stoically.

Her talent in portraiture is in showing us that which we ignore or overlook, those truths of our essence that we can’t or won’t face. But by bringing the feared worst of us, she unearths the best.

More of her works in oil and watercolor can be viewed in her online collection. Contact Lynn to discuss the painting of your own essence, or stop by her gallery at Second April.

Check out more of Lynn’s work over at her permanent Hearted-Artist gallery.

Please let us know what YOU think about Lynn’s work by leaving a comment below, and by rating her portfolio. Come back next week – same time, same place – to check out our next hearted artist!
[ratings]

P.S. You’ll never be cool like Lynn if you don’t submit your artist portfolio! And if you’ve already submitted, we’ll be picking another hearted artist next week – it might just be you!

Sometimes I want to resurrect antiquity. Sometimes I want to wrap it around my wrist. The affordable work of Canton jewelry designer Elizabeth Jacob affords me both luxuries.

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Elizabeth’s jewelry, created under the flag of Yellow Finch Designs, is supremely modern and divinely throwback, and her work is as meticulous as it is free form. Elizabeth understands the world her wearer wanders, the fast-paced flurry of life for the modern woman, and her understanding shows.

From vintage buttons and discarded embellishments of a bygone era, Elizabeth crafts unique pieces that are wearable while maintaining the delicate artistic soul of each piece.

And now for something really unique – first and foremost a lover of language, each of Elizabeth’s pieces comes with a clever poem or clip of prose. Poetic baubles for your baubles, if you will.

From her piece, Willow:

Find a piece that speaks to you online, complete with lyrical accoutrements.

Check out more of Elizabeth’s work on her website, or click over to her permanent Hearted-Artist gallery.

Please let us know what YOU think about Elizabeth’s work by leaving a comment below, and by rating her portfolio. Come back next week – same time, same place – to check out our next hearted artist!

[ratings]

P.S. You’ll never be cool like Elizabeth if you don’t submit your artist portfolio! And if you’ve already submitted, we’ll be picking another hearted artist next week – it might just be you!

When released, this stream, bubbling just below the surface, eclipses the finite but beautfiul shell that has been restricting its flow. And so we have a whole new vision in the word “bombshell.”

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To define her work solely in terms of well-illustrated, buxom beauties would be to miss the crux of her message.

Megan’s In the Blood is more self-empowering than self-deprecating; more self-portrait than sexy siren. It shows the artist’s dual nature, and indeed the dual nature of every woman who wishes at once to please convention and damn the lot of them. The inner battle between good and evil here is more akin to the battle between passion and decorum. One’s perspective leads to judging which is which.

All of her pieces, in fact, display this countenance, the ability to be grim while beautiful, to be shocking while lovely, or to be disarming while at peace. The women she brings to life look as though they can fend for themselves. As though had Megan not given them life with pen or brush, they would have forced their way out of the tube or bottle on their own steam.

Megan Mars’ work is beautiful, so much less for the bomb shell than for the bomb core.

Check out more of Megan’s work on her website, or click over to her permanent Hearted-Artist gallery.

Please let us know what YOU think about Megan’s work by leaving a comment below, and by rating her portfolio. Come back next week – same time, same place – to check out our next hearted artist!

[ratings]

P.S. You’ll never be cool like Megan if you don’t submit your artist portfolio! And if you’ve already submitted, we’ll be picking another hearted artist next week – it might just be you!