I live in an area that is in the midst of an artistic transformation, yet for some reason I rarely take advantage of what my community has to offer. One Saturday night, not so long ago, I saw a post for an open gallery night where the galleries on one street were joining forces and welcoming all to explore what they had to offer. Rather than spend another night in my pajamas, I decided to see what was going on. 

When I arrived, people were milling about, drifting from one exhibit to another. Vintage pin-up girl posters with live music, indie horror flicks, and hip-hop dance lessons were some of the first things I encountered. At the end of the street was the Cella gallery, www.cellagallery.com, where a themed group show, inspired by Grimm's Fairy Tales, was on display. The room was crowded--it was by far the most popular exhibit on the street. There were approximately 30 works ranging from pencil sketches to acrylic on canvas, but perhaps the most interesting were the mixed media pieces using books as the foundation. Hardcover boards became the canvases, a long braid hung from the spine of "Rapunzel", while "Hansel and Gretel" sprung to life from the opened pages. The most clever was called "Grimm Future" by W.B Fontenot. A vintage hardcover that was opened enough so you could see the computer jacks to plug in the book while all the words were blacked out. Very grim indeed. (I was told that if you did plug it in, it was loaded with a computer virus....nice touch!) 
The curator, Shannon Currie Holmes, plans on making this an annual exhibit with the hope of having 100 artists participate. Sign me up...this sounds like a great idea!

Visit the exhibit online at http://www.cellagallery.com/Site_2/Oct_8_Gallery.html 

--Cheryl Diesel, Brentwood