Dahlia Disquisition, collage, 2010

The same words that Paula Lasky uses to describe herself could be attributed to her art.  "Bright, happy, beautiful, awesome" and a little bit "odd" are adjectives that only begin to scratch the surface of Paula and her creations.  Recently, Paula has been inspired by botanicals and many of her works include flowers.  The flower in the banner is one of Paula's beautiful blooms.  The original is on display at Aladdin's eatery in Grandview and is no doubt brightening up countless dining experiences.

Paula painting another bloom!

A native Ohioan from Salem, Paula finds art to be "relaxing".  She also loves that her paintings and collages can bring out emotions.  She claims that she likes "to make other people smile" and it is hard not to when you see her brightly painted creations.  Her good nature and wit shines through in all she does.  She is a joy to have at the studio and has grown in her talents exponentially since coming to Open Door.  We are so proud of all that she has accomplished.

 

Ashley Pauley started her career at Open Door in February 2008. Born and raised in Columbus, she has been involved in the arts since childhood, finishing her junior and senior years of high school in the vocational Fine Arts program at Ft. Hayes in Columbus. Ashley then began working at Recreation Unlimited, a camp for children and adults with disabilities, and her passion for creating art with a purpose grew from there. She then studied Graphic Design at Bradford and graduated with high honors in 2006. Her passion for the arts and working with people is currently reflected in her work at Open Door. Ashley's love for illustration and spray paint can be seen in her personal art work usually featuring monsters or robots and can be found on consignment at Open Door. 

In the image above, Ashley is standing in front of a great piece by artist Marty Freireich.  She is also wearing one of the new Open Door t-shirts.  The design is done by Randall Perkins and is on sale now!  See below for more details about the new t-shirts.

Before.

We get lots of exciting donations here at Open Door.  In this section we feature what happens when one of our creative participants reworks the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Various wood pieces that are leftovers from a laser cutter were donated to Open Door.  Since their arrival they have inspired many fabulous works including the one below.  During the summer transition program, Xavier created this amazing relief with a variety of shapes placed strategically to create an image.  With the addition of paint, an exciting work of art was complete.  Open Door always takes donations.  Big thanks to the supplier of the wood pieces!

After!