Artistry Under the Dome lets artists shine

CARTHAGENA - Local painter Amy D'Lynn said she was thrilled when asked to take part in Artistry Under the Dome, the area's premier juried art exhibit and sale that returns for its sixth edition this weekend at St. Charles Senior Living Community.

"I just was so honored," said D'Lynn, who recently returned to her hometown of Celina after having lived in Columbus the last five years. "I've been wanting to do that for two years now, and it's amazing all the artists there."

D'Lynn's excitement is merited. The annual extravaganza exposes creators of all sorts to a wider audience and cements their status as working artists in the community.

More than 30 artists - all hand-selected by a planning commitee - will have their work showcased over the weekend at the living community located on U.S. 127. Artists must reside in or be native to Mercer and Auglaize counties.

"If you have been there in the past years, don't think this is the same as last year," co-organizer Sister Martha Bertke told the newspaper. "Each year this is a new experience, (with) some new art to see, some new artists to meet. And, just maybe you will find that new piece of art to buy."

First held in 2013, Artistry Under the Dome continues to grow in prestige, scope and size with more professional artists displaying and/or selling their works and more types of artistic media on hand, including clay, blown-glass art, woodwork, pottery, paintings, ceramics, jewelry and photography.

"It really is a beautiful experience to get everyone together and then have the community come in and see what we do," D'Lynn said.

Joining D'Lynn as first-time exhibitors are John Beyke, Randy Burris, Holly Gray, Naomi Harris, Caleb Luthman, David Maywhoor, Jerry Will and Phil Wood.

"We have nine new artists this year, which is remarkable that in Mercer and Auglaize counties we continue to discover artists," Bertke said. "As people visit the art fair, they can view great art displayed in 32 booths."

A meet-the-artists reception will be from 7-9 p.m. Friday and weekend hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Free-will donations will be accepted to help fund the event.

The exhibit also marks another high point in D'Lynn's career since having moved back to Celina. Speaking from Brew Nation, the site of her last art show featuring water colors and acrylics, D'Lynn said she left Columbus, where she had worked as a hairstylist, because "she needed to focus more" on her artwork.

"And to be with the ones that I loved," she added. "It's really been a beautiful journey since I've been back. Everything's kind of fallen into place and I'm not really sure why, but I know everything happens for a reason."

With the support and love from friends, family and the community, D'Lynn is carving out a living through commissioned art pieces, including those of people's beloved pets and pop art. Some of the work comes from big cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago and Columbus.

"(But) a lot of it is here in Celina," she was quick to point out.

D'Lynn said in her childhood she was always the little girl who loved animals and nature and carried around a paint set, encouraged by her free-spirited mother, Patricia, and her adventurous father, Richard, who died about five years ago.

Those passions have not subsided with time. Her work, which she characterizes as abstract painting, is flush with vibrant colors and rooted in nature and the cosmos. Creatures such as the "majestic" wolf and the crow, that "stealer of souls" and "nomad of the sky," often find their way onto her canvas, she said. Desiring a grounding with the earth, D'Lynn said she's even tapped pools of groundwater with which to paint while hiking in Hocking Hills.

D'Lynn typically begins the day with yoga and meditation, mixing in music and aromatherapy. Yet as a moon child she says she does her best work in the evenings.

"I kind of just let the colors gravitate toward me through meditation," she said. "I have a lot of dreams in color and I'll wake up at random hours and start painting. But other times it's a surprise. I don't know exactly what is going to happen. Once I'm so deep into meditation, my mind kind of goes to the past, present and future and it kind of goes in different directions."

D'Lynn recalled her time in Columbus, where at one point she had lived with a handful of other artists - a filmmaker, musician, graphic designer, etc. - in a spacious Gay Street art bungalow in the downtown district, as a fruitful period.

"When you're passionate about your art, I feel like it's important to be with like-minded people," she said. "It just makes you more inspired and when you're with that group of people you become more creative. You kind of feed off of each other."

D'Lynn came home to find a circle of artists via The Lake Area Arts Group that's been just as welcoming and encouraging as her former Columbus brethren.

"It's a beautiful thing when you get that many creative minds together ... because they really want to support you and help you reach your goals and inspire you," she said. "Sister Martha, she's a part of the Lake Area Arts Group. She's the one that also started the Artistry Under the Dome, and we instantly became friends. The moment I met her I knew that we were going to be friends."

It's a well-balanced organization that provides leadership - and a lot of fun for the members who are there for the right reasons, she said.

"The group just keeps growing, and I feel like we're just dipping our toes in it now. I feel like it's really going to expand and we're going to do a lot of great things for the community," she said.

D'Lynn agreed that an artistic movement of sorts is afoot locally, with local restaurants/bars either looking to host exhibitions or incorporating other West Coast ideas.

"I know the mayor is a huge supporter of the Lake Area Arts Group," she said. "I feel like Celina is a really magical place and there's a lot of support and love here."