04/03/2012 / Tim Friar -
MEDIUM RARE
Grid Furnishings will host an opening reception May 5, 2012 during Gallery Hop for Medium Rare, featuring the artwork of Erin McKenna and Taylor Hawkins, graduating seniors at Columbus College of Art and Design and two of six winners in the fifth annual Award for Excellence in the Visual Arts competition sponsored by the Association of Independent College and Universities of Ohio (AICUO). The art show, celebrating works by McKenna, a mixed-media sculptor, and Hawkins, a painter, will continue through June 30, 2012. McKenna and Hawkins have installed large-scale work thoughout Grid Furnishings’ 1,600-square-foot showroom.

“I am exploring materials and their relationship to the body. The materials I use are personal and included fabric, jewelry, panty hose, nail polish, lint, and hair,” said McKenna, a Columbus native, of her mixed-media sculptures. McKenna, whose work won her the 2012 Grand Award in the AICUO competition, also was nominated for the Windgate Fellowship Award and the International Sculpture Center Outstanding Student Award.

“Mass media has given young artists like myself a chance to see art from all aspects of the world reflecting our different cultures, therefore making it a constant race, a race that I have indulged myself in while realizing that there are multiple ways to paint a picture,” said Hawkins, of Louisville, Ky. He recently won the Workman Prize and has had one of his paintings displayed in the Ohio Governor’s Office.

This is a must see show.

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03/30/2012 / Tim Friar -
Mother’s Day in Short North
Home-On-High, a consortium of home décor retailers in the Short North, invite central Ohio families to Ohio’s to the Short North for shopping and dining to celebrate Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 13, 2012.

Activities planned for the day include special hours for many stores, allowing families to have ample time to combine dining at one of the districts many restaurants and shopping at galleries and specialty retailers. Many of the stores will have guest artists or complementary refreshments to help families celebrate.

Parking is free at meters on all Sundays, plus most Short North restaurants will be open Mother’s Day. Deepwood, Hyde Park Prime Steakhouse, Marcella’s Ristorante, Martini Modern Italian, Rigsby’s Kitchen, and Sushi Rock will all have special brunch hours opening at 11 a.m.

Grid will be celebrating Mother’s Day with mimosas!