Artwork

It's Just a Shadow You're Seeing That He's Chasing - Art Opening

We are excited to host Dr. Markus Wobisch and his fantastic black and white photography on September 22 from 6-8pm. The exhibition, “It’s just a shadow you’re seeing that he’s chasing,” takes its name from a line in Bob Dylan’s “Mr. Tambourine Man” and features black and white photos that Wobisch created from shapes found in Louisiana Tech’s Integrated Engineering and Science Building.

Wobisch says his photography is very much connected to his work as a particle physicist, as his goal in both fields is to pare down what he sees into basic elements that may not be obvious to casual observers.

“Getting to the core of things – that’s what I do as a particle physicist and as a photographer. Making sense of a whole through its constituents. Stripping off non-essential pieces to reveal the fundamental building blocks underneath. In particle physics, it means understanding macroscopic matter through interactions of elementary particles. In my photography, I strive to comprehend my environment by deconvoluting its structures into basic geometric shapes and their shadows and reflections.”

His choice to focus much of his work on the Integrated Engineering and Science Building stems from the excitement he felt when he moved his office into the building.

“The new building’s beautiful architecture with its wide-open spaces had an immediate positive impact on my interactions with students simply because it encourages social exchange. We are closer together now – literally and figuratively. And because of that, the quality of my life as a physics teacher has changed in a wonderful way.

“This experience has inspired me to capture the spirit of the Integrated Engineering and Science Building by spotting its not-so-obvious details from unusual, yet telling points of view. My medium of choice is black and white photography which allows me to focus on basic shapes, their shadows, and reflections, without the distraction of color.”

The exhibition will run from September 22 through October 22.

Ruston Art Encounter

We are excited to announce the Ruston Art Encounter!

The Ruston Art Encounter is not your typical art crawl. It is an interactive, experiential art event that is coming to downtown Ruston beginning this July 30th. This new grassroots collaboration, initiated by Ruston Artisans owner Judi Null, is collectively supported and managed by Ruston’s art-related businesses, Ruston's downtown community and the Friends of Ruston MainStreet. It has long been the vision of Ruston Artisans and many other businesses to recognize Ruston as the art destination it is.

A unique art-related event will be conducted in the fabulous downtown area of Ruston on the last Saturday of every other month from 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. We encourage people to visit our Farmer’s Market before engaging in each art encounter. Afterward, head over to our walking art trail that features over one hundred artists and over 20 art-related merchants, businesses and organizations within a one-mile area. After the Ruston Art Encounter, we invite you to shop, dine and perhaps stay overnight in one of our many hotels.

The following events have been scheduled:

July 30, 2022 - Sidewalk Chalkwalk – Visit our chalk walk of beautiful art displayed throughout downtown Ruston. Our artists include Jessica Ann (Creative Exchange); Ron Mckinney (Dixie Center for the Arts); Chlese Jiles (The Frame Up); Katelyn Vaughan, (The Fabric Shop); Keldrick Dunn (Cotton Top); Ruston Mirror by Creative Exchange (Railroad Park); Ashley Greer (Heard Freighthouse Food Park); Jean DeFreese Moore (The Depot Coffee House); Meredith Anderson (The Children’s Shoppe); Adam Williams (Limitless Grooming); Daniel Myers (Fine Line Supply Co); Emily Ezell (No. 9 Books & Studio 301); and Noah Blessing (Ruston Artisans). Your kids can join the artists at the Origin Depot Bank on Alabama and Monroe to create their own works of art. There will also be pop ups and fun activities along the path to and at the bank. You will also have an opportunity to vote on your favorite chalk artist. The winning artist will receive $500. Her show at the Dixie may be over, but keep an eye out as we heard that Mary Poppins is a big fan of chalk art!

September 24, 2022 – Murals and Street Art – Showcased in this walking tour are our fabulous murals and an opportunity to help in in creating portable street art mini-murals, as well as small works of art along the path. Our art-related business will be open to showcase their artworks, and classes on how to create street art will be held. Many artworks on display will also feature street art.

November 26, 2022 – Christmas Stroll – In addition to lighting the downtown Christmas tree, you will encounter strolling musicians, culinary art, performance artists and of course all those perfectly unique artistic gifts. You can celebrate all day and get your shopping done. A one-of-a-kind Christmas experience!

January 28, 2023 – Performance Encounter – Warm up the winter month with our art merchants as visual, culinary, performance and other artists showcase their talents. You will have an opportunity to practice with an artist. We promise hot coffee and chocolate somewhere on your journey!

March 25, 2023 – Edible Art – Enjoy the flavors of Ruston’s culinary artists, in addition to encountering unique textiles dyed from food and plants and visual arts featuring a food theme. We can taste it already!

May 27, 2023 – A Day of Plein Air – Encounter artists lining our streets with easels and paint brushes as they create art before your eyes.


Our planning committee this year includes Dylan Sanders and Ryan Botts, Creative Exchange; Judy Copeland, Dixie Center for the Arts; Henry McCoy, Fine Line Supply Co.; Judi Null, Ruston Artisans; and, Amy Stegall, Ruston Main Street Director/Community Coordinator.

The talent in Ruston and the local area is exceptional and many local businesses, corporations, non-profit groups are supporting that talent through their sponsorship and donations. A list of our sponsors and donors will be listed on our advertising in recognition of their contributions. We would also like to thank the Ruston Community Men’s Shed for creating our chalkboards. If you would like to donate to the Ruston Art Encounter, contact Judi Null at 318-254-3322 or Amy Stegall at 318-251-8647. All donations go toward paying our artists and expenses. No monies donated go toward any of the businesses.

Maps and information regarding each unique encounter may be picked up at Experience Ruston Convention & Visitors Bureau and at each business listed above. Shop, eat, play and stay. Ruston is your art destination!

Tips for Buying Decorative Canvas Prints for Your Home

Finding affordable decorative artwork for your home can be a challenge. According to Statista, the art market had a valuation of about $65.1 billion in 2021, so finding the perfect artwork for your home can be like finding a needle in a haystack. Luckily, there are ways to save money while getting exactly what you're looking for. Canvas printing can be a great solution, for example. Follow these tips to find the perfect canvas prints for your home without breaking the bank.

Use Any Photo Your Love

Canvas printing is a great option for anyone who wants to create decorative artwork. Any photo you have can be printed on canvas to create a one-of-a-kind art piece that is perfect for your home. Pick a theme for the room you're currently improving, then get to work finding photos that will fit the theme. There are some ideas below that you can use to create amazing art for your home for a very affordable price.

Let It Be a Family Affair

Those candid shots of family members stored on your phone will likely look stunning in black and white. Canvas printing options can be scaled to any size from small to extra large. A great option is to choose a single photo that includes the entire family as a statement piece and surround it with smaller photos of each individual family member.

canvas printing

Keep It Natural

Take photos around your neighborhood or go through photos you have already taken to find nature pictures for canvas printing. Play around with the photos a bit in a photo editor to come up with some unique looks. It is amazing what a single leaf can look like with a little editing. Beach photos, mountain photos, and photos of your favorite flowers are just a few ideas that you can use to create beautiful art for your home.

Create an Urban Look

If you lean more toward an urban vibe in your home, there are plenty of options to create great artwork for your walls. If you do not have access to the city streets right outside your door, there are stock photos online that you can use for canvas printing to bring that urban vibe into your home.

Finding great decorative wall art for your home is as easy as looking for photos that you love and having them printed onto canvas. It is a great way to save money without sacrificing style. When you're ready to get custom canvas prints for your home, order prints from our experts at Fine Line Supply Co.

The Benefits of Using Our Art Printing Services

As an artist, you need to ensure that the content you feed your audience is high quality and well polished. While you can print the content yourself, art printing services do a better job. They have better machines, ink, and canvas to make your work stand out. Here are some benefits of using our art printing services.

Offers You Convenience
The work of an artist or photographer never ends, and the workflow can be overwhelming. You have deadlines to meet, with a lot of work to be done in such little time. What if you hired a qualified art printing service to do some of your work? Regardless of your background as an artist, you only need to order the services you need to make your prints. You don't need to add your expertise because we will do all the hard work for you. You can provide us with a digital file of your artwork or we can create one for you with our artwork reproduction service.

Improved Quality for Your Work
In 2020, the global sales of art and antiques reached an estimated $50.1 billion. More people are buying printed art. However, the best quality pieces always fetch the best prices. No matter how good your work is, it won't bring out your skills and expertise well if it isn't printed professionally. You need to use quality printing materials to produce the best quality images.

Art printing services use the best quality ink and archival papers depending on your work's requirements. The outcome will elevate your photography or artistry to the professional level because it is more appealing. We also offer different papers and will package or frame your work.

Not all art printers are the same. If the prices are cheap, be wary of cheap quality. In other words, you get what you pay for. Don't expect your clients to buy a cheaply printed thin canvas that will fade within a year.

Added Expertise
Using our art printing service will give your work the difference between ok and fantastic. We use the best and latest technology to produce your work. We can also recommend which papers are best for different art pieces.

Buy From a Printing Service
Your work deserves to reach the right audience and fetch a good price. However, you can't achieve this if you don't print your images well. If you want that extra touch of professionalism, uniqueness, and expertise in your work, contact us today to see how we can help you!

2022 ART ON 45 - Art Auction and Reception

We are pleased to be hosting the ART ON 45 show again this year. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet and celebrate the artists and their 43 pieces of art created on 45rpm records. These spectacular works are sold in a online auction to support the Louisiana Center for the Blind. Each original comes with one copy of the ART ON 45 book showing the entire collection. All proceeds go to the LCB.

The bids will be placed online so that non-local bidders can join in the fun. The bidding starts on March 17 and continues through the in-person gathering on March 19th from 6 - 8pm.

“…the pieces will be auctioned to support the work of the Louisiana Center for the Blind (LCB), located here in Ruston. According to their motto "Changing What It Means to Be Blind", the LCB offers a wide range of innovative programs and services to blind people of all ages to guide and assist them on their journeys towards leading independent and self-sufficient as well as fun and exciting lives. For instance, this includes (visual) art experiences. Partnering with the LCB invites opportunities to exchange thoughts about the meaning and perception of (visual) art for all. We are excited about working together!” - Christiane Drieling

Important Announcement

Happy New Year to all of our devoted customers! We wouldn’t have made it 12 years in business without your continuous support. So, THANK YOU, from the bottom of our hearts.

We have some big news to share, but before we do, we wanted to reflect on our past.

Amanda & I left our jobs, 12 years ago (at just 26 & 28 years old) and moved to Ruston on a wing and a prayer, in hopes of starting a small business that we dreamed of for years. We loved Ruston while studying at Louisiana Tech, and we found the perfect excuse for moving back. Our hopes were to provide the best art supplies & fine art printing to the local community and college students. You helped us fulfill that dream, and then some!

Over time, our services grew to include artwork reproduction, photo & negative scanning, photo restoration, mounting and laminating, canvas printing, custom framing, laser engraving, and more. As you can imagine, we outgrew our location at the old corner drug store and we moved up the street to where we are now. As our services continue to grow, so does our need to focus.

This June, after the Peach Festival, we will be making a huge change. We will be releasing the art supply part of the business to, the newly opened, Creative Exchange (112 W. Alabama Ave). This decision was not made lightly. We have lost a lot of sleep, but we know this would be the best way for us to focus on our great services.

Dylan & Ryan at Creative Exchange have an immense love for the arts and the artists who create it. We feel that they will be great stewards and continue those relationships that we have thoroughly enjoyed for over a decade.

We will continue to have space for artists and makers to showcase their work.  Custom orders for art supplies, kits, etc will continue until June.

We greatly appreciate your continued support and we wish the best of luck to Dylan & Ryan in their new endeavor.

Thank you, again, for your love and support.

Sincerely,
Henry & Amanda McCoy

Quarantine Print Sale

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Since you are sitting at home, now is the time to order those prints you've been meaning to for so long.

From now until April 30th, get **35% off** online print orders of $20 or more. Use code COVID19 during checkout. The discount applies to all prints and mounting! If you are in the 71270 zip code, you can opt for free local delivery.

Discount cannot be combined with other discounts, specials, or rewards and must be used in the online ordering system. Discount is 35% off retail price, or 23.5% off online price.