Notre Dame College's Art Department Presents:

Art and Letters an Exhibit of Paintings by Judy Melvin, Mike Gold and Randall Slaughter

South Euclid - January 29, 2009 - Notre Dame College’s Department of Art presents new works by three regional artists Judy Melvin, Mike Gold and Randall Slaughter. The exhibit of over thirty paintings will open on January 29, 2009 with a reception from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in the Ground Floor Corridor of the Administration Building. The exhibit will be open during regular college hours from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. daily. A gallery talk will also be presented on February 6th from 11:45 to 12:45 p.m. in the ground floor corridor. All events are free and open to the public.

All three artists work in mixed media techniques employing acrylic inks, paint, and collage material. The three artists met while employed by American Greetings where Judy Melvin and Mike Gold developed a collaborative method of creating paintings. One artist would begin a work with a color background or quote and then pass the painting to the other artists continuing this process until both artists deemed the work finished. Judy however, retired from American Greetings recently and moved to Pittsburgh so the collaboration has taken a different turn in the past few years. Both Mike and Randall are currently lettering artists for American Greetings although the two have developed different approaches to lettering and design.

All three artists incorporate lettering in their paintings yet the legibility is secondary to the overall composition. Mike mixes many contemporary lettering styles into his painting technique often working multiple layers into each design. Judy has developed a series of ink layer techniques that she calls her “sink art”. She uses wet ink pouring techniques to build up layers of background designs, colors and shapes which she then draws and letters into. Randall is the youngest member of the group and achieves a raw, edgy look to his canvases incorporating found objects, scraps of cardboard and a rough graffiti type of lettering in his compositions. All three artists achieve subtle but sophisticated styles that require close inspection to catch the nuances of color, texture and text woven throughout each design.

For more information call Rachel Morris at 216-373-5320 or rmorris@ndc.edu