Blake Street Shops and Studios are permanently closing on January 1, 2015!
Dear Friends of the Blake Street Shops and Studios,
It is with regret that we must announce that we will need to close our doors for good the first of this year. Unfortunately, the owner of City Market has decided to lease the property to a solo tenant, so those of us who remain must vacate January 1st. This means of course, that we can no longer accept applications for guest artists and musicians. We would like to thank those of you who have shared their fabulous art works and music with us in the past and for being part of our Blake Street Family.
We will all be relocating, so check our individual websites for updates on where we will be. And please come visit us in our new venues!! In the meantime, we invite you to come help us celebrate our FINAL FIRST FRIDAY this coming Friday Dec. 5, 2014. The gallery walk event goes from 6-10 pm. We look forward to getting a chance to say goodbye to you in person. Hope to see you there!
Best Wishes for a joyful and blessed holiday season,
Victoria Powers Studio Ten, on behalf of the remaining tenants, Jenn Hales, Lea Alston, Dion Hickman and Gerlethia Mason.
Since 2003, I have created my entire body of work from hand cut stencils and spray paint. Recently I have begun to explore the use of texture and acrylic paint to add an element of spontaneity to my work. This added element also allows me to contrast the idea of predictability that is afforded by the stencils. Drawing from nature and my fondness of the human form, I now shape my work to follow the lines and character of the human face to give something more to the overall work. With this challenge to my work I find it exciting contemplating the infinite possibilities I can imagine in depicting my subject.
“I AM SAVED!” features work by Kimberley Pierce Cartwright, a local artist who experiments with a wide variety of media, including fiber, wood, ceramics and paint. For this exhibit, Cartwright used discarded wood to create impressionable works of art. Cartwright is inspired by a needful purpose to consume less of everything and to make use of the bounty of materials that can be repurposed in art making and everyday life. She explains, “As a reuse artist, I feel that every speck of material is precious.” All of the artwork in “I AM SAVED!” is made from reclaimed materials. Cartwright elaborates on the artwork’s message, stating that “the expressions are simple and the message is clear that discarded materials can live another life as objects of unusual beauty and uniqueness.”
A Slowboil Collective group exhibit just in time for the Holidays.
An artist is someone who creates art. An activist is one who engages in intentional behaviors to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Through his illustration, graphic art, and painting, Franco synthesizes art and activism to form a genre all his own—visual activism. Franco’s visual activism embodies his strong urge to create and sustain justice and opens up the space for truth to prevail. By doing so, the characters and images he creates grab more than your attention; they spark consciousness.
At once easy to digest and thought-provoking, Franco’s work makes statements about the laudable triumphs and continued struggles of those who have fought and who continue to fight for social equalities. Franco’s bold and engaging aesthetic can be most recently seen in his pop art examining culture through the lens of popular Latino and Asian food products. Additionally, music is always a strong influence, whether hip-hop, funk or rare groove.
As a kid, I filled my head with so many cartoons, comic books, and video games that this is now how my subconscious naturally speaks to me. All my dreams, thoughts and feelings manifest in my head as fantasy creatures.
In my early 20’s, I trained at the Joe Kubert school in northern NJ for illustration and comics. But soon after became interested in gallery art, specifically surrealism. I feel like Cartooning is the perfect medium to communicate my ideas since that’s how my mind works anyway. 
My name is Jeehyun Hoke, an author and illustrator for Children’s Books. With my whimsical and playful art, I have been working with self-published authors, publishers, and companies. I illustrated My Lemonade Stand Can’t Stand Me, published by Peak City Publishing, LLC., and self-published Boy & Little Violet Flower. My most recent project was concept and character design for an electronic game company, Want. I am also often involved with local art scenes, like Sparkcon, Woman Craft Gallery, and Cafe Driade.
Evocative, intelligent and introspective, the mixed media assemblages of Marty Matthews invites interpretation. Where one might see a deconstructionist commentary on common philosophical themes, another will inevitably see on iconographically charged yet open-ended works of art. Marty asks the viewer to examine their own ascribed interpretation of each piece and hopefully discover a small truth about them selves.
