Published: April 24, 2009 03:26 pm      

Miniature art show comes to Brownsburg

BROWNSBURG — Joe and Deborah Ashby, owners of Artistic Designs Gallery here, are once again looking forward to displaying art the size of a postage stamp.

Their third annual Miniature Fine Art Show will open to the public May 2 at the gallery, located at 152 E. Northfield Drive here.

“The miniature part of it is the art is all 8x10 (inches) or less,” Joe Ashby said. “We have pieces that are the size of a postage stamp that are just totally photographic. But it’s all original art, no photographs, all original stuff.”

Miniature art is finely detailed with a strong composition and a piece should be able to be magnified many times while still being able to hold its quality. It can be traced back to ancient Egyptian manuscripts on papyrus scrolls and was first identified around the seventh century.

The miniature art show is unique to this area, Ashby said.

“There are a number of these (shows) that have been going on since the 1930s in Washington D.C. and along the east and west coast, but very little in the Midwest,” he said. “It’s a very unique thing.”

There will be artists from across the county at the show, as well as a few local and even some international artists.

“We have some from Canada, and the possibility of England and Australia,” he said. “There is a lady from Lebanon that lives just north of the county line and we have a Nineveh artist and an artist from Beech Grove, but then we have people from all the way across the country.”

The art includes all mediums, Ashby said.

“Oil, water, color, acrylic, some bronze sculpture, and wood carvings,” he said. “Debbie and I ran across some artists doing this in Charleston, S.C., at the southeastern Wildlife Exposition and we just loved the concept and the idea, so we thought we’d try it and see. It’s something you don’t see in Indiana.”

Ashby said he was just excited to see the art again.

“I enjoy seeing the show myself, I love the art,” he said. “It’s very finely detailed and to see what artists can do in such a small space is just awesome.”

The show opens with a reception from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 2 with the availability to meet the attending artists. Ashby said there will be hors d’oeuvres and refreshments throughout the day. The show closes at the gallery on May 30.

Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, closed Sundays. For more information or to contact the gallery call 852-0252.

charlee.beasor@flyergroup.com