This month through April 2012, we are welcome local artist Matt Mahler for his second engagement at the Studio. Matthew holds a Bachelor of Science in Biological and Agricultural Engineering from Louisiana State University. He has attended various fine arts painting and sculpture courses since his first course with Mrs. Carolyn Pellegrin in 1994. He has studied painting at the Baton Rouge Academy of Art and the Arts Center in St. Petersburg, Florida. He has also studied sculpture in Pietrasanta, Italy with Artida Arts, Inc. and in Rutland, Vermont with the Vermont Carving Studio. His works are noted for the attention to detail and bold architectural and seascape images.

He currently resides in Raleigh, North Carolina with his wife, Luisa Mahler and children, Nicholas and Emily.

Matthew Mahler is the 2012 Signature Artist of the Triangle Chapter of the American Red Cross’ Carolina Nights Ball being held at North Ridge Country Club in Raleigh.

For commissioned art inquiries, please contact Matt at mattsartjourney.com; email him at: mattsartjourney@mac.com or call direct to: 919.880.1737

Studio 180 Salon supports the 2012 Cary Art Loop. Artist’s works will be featured at our Final Friday show and reception on February 24th from 6 – 9pm.

• Studio 180 Salon will be featuring artist Timothy Orikri ;
• Chocolate Smiles chocolatiers will have chocolates after hours;
• Graceful Expressions dance education will be featuring youth art exhibits;
• Styles Group Fitness will offer at wo-week free invitation to join for those attending the event;
• West Trinity (blues / Rock) you really have to SEE them to fully appreciate their sound!

Chocolate Smiles Village enthusiastically support the local Cary fine arts community and look forward to playing an integral part of the renaissance of downtown historic Cary. Working together brings out the best in ourselves and for ourselves. Chocolate Smiles Village is located at 312 W. Chatham St. Cary, North Carolina.

About the businesses of Chocolate Smiles Village:

• Chocolate Smiles chocolatier specializes in handmade chocolates and chocolate confections. It has a longstanding tradition of fine creations in the greater Cary area.
• Graceful Expressions dance education specializes in youth ballet, tap and dance classes.
• Studio 180 Salon is dedicated to fine hair care and coloring services and products.It is based in Cary, North Carolina and serves greater Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Apex, Holly Springs, Wake Forest and surrounding areas of the triangle Carolinas.
• Styles Fitness Group is a fitness boutique specializing in small group personal training for women. It is based in Richmond, Virginia with a regional location in Cary, North Carolina.

This month through January 2012, we are pleased to show works by artist Timothy Orikri.

Artist’s Statement:

“To me, a true work of art can be described as a juxtaposition of complexity and simplicity. Art must be filled with strong emotional content and be based on the perception, expectations and experiences of the artist. I always make every effort to create my paintings based on these three concepts, but most especially, art must be timeless, with as much intrinsic relevance in today’s world as in the future.

The most obvious attribute of my work is the use of color as a means of expression. In addition, I enhance the color content of each canvas with touches of light and shadows by using texture and three-dimensional forms to add emphasis to the desired effect. For the most part, I rely on colors as a major element in projecting the emotional content in my works. One of the major objectives in creating my paintings is in my desire to fulfill an emotional response, rather than focusing on the subject matter.

I always choose to present my work in strong, bold colors, with an overall reliance on lines and forms to give it its distinctive nature. Through the use of these colors and forms, the subject is transformed into its essential, formative concepts, both of simple and complex nature.

As an artist I am constantly searching for diverse formats to express myself. This search has not only enabled me to create artworks that are unique and relevant to modern trends, but has also enhanced my aspiration of being innovative and resourceful, by creating imaginative, thought-provoking pieces.”

A raffle will be held for one of his pieces and all you have to do is attend! Also, proceeds will be presented to a cancer charity (details forthcoming) in honor of a dear friend of the artist, whose mother is a breast cancer survivor. Visit Timothy’s website at www.timothyorikri.com.

Studio 180 Salon is located within Chocolate Smiles Village at 312 W. Chatham Street, Cary. Public transportation to all stops on the Cary Art Loop to be provided by the Cary C-Transit system.

This month through October 2011, we are pleased to show works by artist Jack Stone. Jack grew up in the city of Baltimore and the surrounding countryside. He worked in his youth on farms and ranches, and traveled all 50 states with family. After a years tour with the Marine Corps as a medic in Vietnam, Jack took a BA in Journalism from U MD and studied art at Maryland School of Art and Design. He completed an MFA at UNCG.

After a career in the graphic arts industry, Jack has taught art and painted since 2002. His paintings include rural subject matter, and have been collected regionally. Jack and Paula Stone have three daughters and seven grandchildren.

Visit Jack’s website at www.brushfirestudios.org.

Studio 180 Salon supports the 2011 Cary Art Loop. Artist’s works will be featured at our Final Friday show and reception on September 30th from 6 – 9pm.

This month through July 2011, we are pleased to show works by artist Marissa Rose Ladd

Born into a ‘powerhouse of creativity & entrepreneurial spirit’, Marissa was taught the fundamentals of craftsmanship throughout the many facets of her traditional, Italian-American family upbringing. From humble beginnings, the seeds of imagination and endless possibilities were sown into the fabric of her formative years; each caretaker instilling their own brand of moral character and strong core values, adding color after color to her palette. Within the inherited cultural parameters of this super-sized family, and even as a toddler, it was imperative for a young girl to firmly grasp the basics of modernized domestic duties: cooking, mending, child-rearing, housekeeping. Fortunate to have been raised by a ‘career parent’ mother, while grandma occupied the first floor of the two-story home they shared on Long Island, Marissa’s family encapsulated her in a stable, loving, super-fun, and nurturing environment which spawned the diversity of her artistic abilities that she has carried well into adulthood.

“It became much clearer to me, especially after the move [to North Carolina, in the late 1990’s], that not all children were brought up inside this ‘bubble’ of boundless potential, from where I derive much of the inspiration that’s evident in my current, artistic style. I began to discredit statistical reports on studies of my generation, wherein scientists hypothesized that those children who had been assured – and reassured – as they grew up in the early to mid-eighties, that they had each come to existence “anointed” as a very special sort of superhero, that it would inevitably turn our civilization into scattered, poorly adjusted, self-serving individualists.” Marissa subscribes to certain ideals once held by Randy Pausch, a well-respected and incurably optimistic professor who taught at Carnegie Mellon University. He is best known for the “Last Lecture” he’d given not long before tragically losing his battle to Pancreatic Cancer in July of 2008. During this inspirational and moving speech, Dr. Pausch mentions that one of the most wonderful things his parents did was let him paint his bedroom as a kid.

Marissa, the oldest of five in a now-blended family, wholeheartedly agrees. “My brother, sister & I…we were always told we could save the world, you know – in our own little ways; we were encouraged, with overwhelming enthusiasm, [Thank you, Miss Tolve] that were each “delightfully” different and would someday contribute to society by way of the natural course of things to come, if only we gave it our best. So I did. I was soon awarded this incredible opportunity to attend specialized programs for the academically gifted, once my ability to separate myself from fleeting, pop-culture trends took root. I think those experiences; not only the freedom given by my parents – they would say, “yes”, even when I insisted upon painting a ceiling-scape in my bedroom at age 7- but also the hands-on, individualized attention in the classroom, alongside the freedom to “just be Marissa”, is really what translates to my adaptive and intuitive skill set that’s poured into the work I’m producing today.” The impressions left upon Marissa’s heart by each role model, protector, teacher, and *especially* her “wise counsel in the world of creative adventures” are contributing factors which surround each goal she sets, and every ounce of her realized successes, thus far. Today, Marissa uses a multitude of techniques to create richly colorful, meaningful works. From Faux-finished backdrops and traditional calligraphy to wood burning, to hand-painted acrylic canvases, the variety is really what keeps this artist motivated and engaged. Armed with challenging ideas, she creates as she goes, sometimes morphing a project many times before it’s completion. To the free-spirited girl, who wanted to wear her beauty-pageant gown to her grade-schools’ science fair unveiling of a fully-operational, hydroelectric generator, one she built alongside a classmate, “Special, just like everyone else” is not a phrase that she has ever been able to quite comprehend.

Studio 180 Salon supports the 2011 Cary Art Loop. Artist’s works will be featured at our Final Friday show and reception on April 29th from 6 – 9pm.

This month through April 2011, we are pleased to show works by artists Scott Plaster and Perry Boswell.

NC Whimsical Artist Scott Plaster is from the North Carolina Piedmont Triad area and has been creating whimsical paintings for 30 years. His line of”Whimsical Animals” has been featured in the Community Arts Cafe and the GoTriad NC artists section and is available for sale in art galleries, art boutiques, and shops around the NC Triad region, and from the Mountains of North Carolina all the way to the Coast. Matted ready-to-frame art repro¬ductions of the original whimsical oil paintings are sold in various sizes, art note card sets, art greeting cards, art posters, and even stickers.

Scott grew up in Denton, NC and was exposed to art at an early age. He still remembers how his father would draw Picaso-esque figures for his son to paint with basic student tempura paints on manilla drawing paper. When some kids were awaiting video games and toys from Santa Claus for Christmas, Plaster was eager to get paint, canvas, and pastels. Plaster was oil painting by the age of ten and found his inspiration in the works of Van Gogh, the French Impressionists, other early modern artists, and North Carolina artists like Bob Timberlake and Andrew Wyeth. As a self-taught artist, Plaster began subscribing to The Artists’ Magazine as a teenager and immersed himself in art history and technique books of a broad variety. Plaster maintained these interests into his young adulthood, but he did not initially pursue a career in art.

For more information about his work Visit Scott’s Website

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but that concept could not apply more than in the collage “stories” of Perry Boswell. These unique collages of Davidson County native and teacher are part antique, part history, part memorabilia, and part artistic creation. Boswell features his work at the Cosmic Cow Society.

Boswell explains, “I have become fascinated with the personal information that people leave when they pass away. I often find it in old books, locked drawers, and dusty boxes tucked away in remote corners. I’ve come to look at these scraps as fragments of the soul.” Scouring booths, boxes, and racks at antique stores, flea markets, and yard sales for items that speak to him, Boswell reconstructs these stories in the form of creative collages that incorporate a variety of artistic techniques in their construction. A line of music from a hymnal might reinforce a theme. A 100-year old scrawled note on the margin of a book might form part of the story line. Family photos from an album might demonstrate the passage of time. Three-dimensional items add texture, interest, and color. Each of Boswell’s creations tells a story that cannot be absorbed in a single sitting or reading, like a complex work of literature that can be read and reread. Every time you look at one of Boswell’s creations, you see a new detail that adds to its story.

For more information about his work Visit Perry’s Website

Studio 180 Salon supports the 2011 Cary Art Loop. Artist’s works will be featured at our Final Friday show and reception on January 28th from 6 – 8pm.

This month through January 2011, we are pleased to show works by artist Addison Paige. All artists are drawn to making art from basically the same deep need to create something visual to express who we are and what we have a need to say. Addison is an artist because it is who she is and what she does. She couldn’t imagine doing anything else with her life. Art colors the way she views the world around her, and the world affects the way she makes art. Her work is full of past influences, personal history, and emotional interactions.

She has worked with many different types of art and materials over the years from painting wood to making custom clocks and mirrors sold through galleries across the country. In 1995, Addison joined her brother, Eric Paige, and founded “What will the neighbors think?” Soon after, they began producing custom plexiglass works.

Studio 180 Salon supports the 2010 Cary Art Loop. Artist’s works will be featured at our Final Friday show and reception on October 29th from 6 – 8pm.

This month through September, we are pleased to show works by artist David Welch. A native of Wilmington, NC, David is on a never-ending journey of self discovery as an expression of his inner creative spirit. He began as a child sketching anything and everything with pencil, then moving into pen and ink comic book character design. As a teenager, he became fascinated with clay sculpting and charcoal portraits.

Over time, David has showcased his works in media such as character design for animated film shorts and comics as well as several murals including one featured at the NC School of Communication Arts to honor the families affected by the 911 attacks.

“I loved the creative expression that art allowed me to have no matter what medium was available. No rules just the quiet bliss of my imagination.”

David now lives in Sanford, NC with his wife, Karen and sons, Gabriel and Israel. For more info visit http://www.daggerroom.com/jdwelch/ or email David at:jdwelchideastolife@gmail.com

Studio 180 Salon supports the 2010 Cary Art Loop. David’s works will be featured at our Final Friday show and reception on July30th from 6 – 8pm. Click here for map or directions to Studio 180 Salon.

This month through July, we are pleased to show works by artist Richard Jason. Richard has been working with wood as a craftsman for 20 years. He has recently discovered a new twist to his passion – how to bring nature closer to those who may not be so fortunate to truly experience and appreciate it.

Each piece is individually custom handcrafted with birch or oak so you are guaranteed that your piece will be a “one-of-a-kind”.

Richard’s works will be on display and for sale at Studio 180 Salon starting in April, 2010 and we will be hosting an artist reception on Friday, April 30th 6-9pm.

http://studio180salon.com/Artists/artist-currently-showing-richard-jason.html