2019 Spring Art Fair preview: letting the cat out of the bag

The CCAD Spring Art Fair on Saturday, April 6, 2019, is the second art fair appearance for Destiny Ryan (Fine Arts, 2020), who first showed her work in fall 2017. At this year’s juried art fair, she will be selling hand-built ceramic cats that are fired once, then hand-painted in acrylic paint. She will also be selling handmade polymer clay earrings and polymer clay pins, vinyl stickers, button pins, and prints of my paintings and drawings. Her items will range in price from $3 to $100. (Cat figurines will be priced $50–$100 depending on size and complexity of painted design, stickers and button pins will be $3 each, digital prints will be $15–$40 depending on size, polymer clay earrings will be $10–$20 depending on size, and polymer clay pins will be $7.)

Read more from Ryan below, and find additional examples of her work on Instagram.

What can people expect to see from you at the CCAD Spring Art Fair?

I will be selling hand-built ceramic cats that are fired once and then hand-painted in acrylic paint. I will also be selling handmade polymer clay earrings and polymer clay pins, vinyl stickers, button pins, and prints of my paintings and drawings.

What’s your philosophy/perspective behind your work?

I aim to make art that explores strange corners of the human mind and the complex emotional and physical responses to trauma and mental illness. I make large vibrant paintings and sculptures featuring cartoonish anatomical figures to articulate my experience with being inside of a human body. My goal for my work is to create conflicting feelings of amusement and discomfort that keep the viewer engaged and searching for meaning. Aside from my main body of work, I have been exploring mediums such as polymer clay and ceramics. This has been a refreshing activity for me as a way to have fun and express myself without too much pressure on perfection or meaning.

Why did you want to participate in the CCAD Spring Art Fair? What kind of significance does it have to be selected for it?

I really wanted to participate in the CCAD Art Fair to get more engaged with the CCAD community and to make some extra money for art materials. I wasn't sure if I would be selected because a lot of my work has to do with mental illness, which can be very stigmatized. I am very excited to have been selected for the CCAD Art Fair! I am so grateful for this opportunity to get to know other members of the art community in Columbus, and to get my name out there.

How has your CCAD education influenced the work you will be offering for sale?

As a Fine Arts major, I am encouraged to be very thoughtful about my subject matter, content and form. This has influenced my studio practice immensely and I will forever carry my knowledge of color theory and value structure with me. However, my education at CCAD has also taught me that it is important to experiment and follow your creative intuition. My cat figurines, earrings, pins and stickers are all influenced by my acquired knowledge of art and design principles, as well as my imagination and experimentation.

CCAD Spring Art Fair

Saturday, April 6, 2019

First Look: 9–11 a.m. Tickets cost $25 online or $30 at the door.

General Admission: 11 a.m.–3 p.m. Tickets cost $7 online or $10 at the door.

Parking is free and ample.

Buy Spring Art Fair tickets now.