Gallery to host miniature show

Art doesn't have to be big to be grand.

Clearwater Gallery will illustrate that point with its Fourth Annual Miniature Show on Saturday, June 20.

Some 25 artists will participate in the show, with almost all of them on hand for an artists' reception from 4 to 7 p.m.

The artists are required to work in a small format (120 square inches) which challenges them to test the parameters of their medium and often creates unexpected and exceptional results.

Gallery co-owner Julia Rickards noted that wildlife photographer David Ohlsen has taken negatives of photographs, that for a variety of reasons did not work in his usual large format, and created unique, one-of-a-kind distressed pieces.

Rickards said the show has many benefits for artists, the public and for the gallery itself.

"It really got started because we heard our collectors saying that they wanted to collect original art, but they didn't have that much wall space," Rickards said.

Beyond pushing and testing artists' creativity, the miniature show "is a great way for us to test-market an artist," Rickards said.

Because the art is smaller, it is also more affordable than an artists' usual work might be, allowing folks to break into the original art market without breaking the bank.

"It's very appealing to collectors - and to the regular Joe, for that matter," Rickards said. "They can afford it." For the gallery, the show offers an opportunity to work a little outside its traditional wildlife and Western motif.

There is an abundance of mediums: watercolor, mixed media fibers, wood, oil, acrylic, pastels, bronze, glass, photography and fabric.

"The show allows us to really push the envelope and show tons of mediums," Rickards said.

The gallery opens at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 20, with the artists' reception set for 4 p.m. For more information call 549-4994.