MULTIMEDIA

Kevin Smola gallery

Ron Shaw gallery

Dina Verplank gallery

Polina Osherov gallery

Derek Powell gallery

RELATED EVENTS

• Stutz Artists Open House

One summer 15 years ago, a few artists with studios in the Stutz Business Center decided to throw a party. So they loaded up some kiddie pools with ice and beer, and invited friends over to view their works.

Flash forward to 2008, when that casual get-together -- now known as the Stutz Artists Open House -- has evolved into one of the city's "must-see" arts events. Over two days, up to 9,000 guests drift in and out of 60-plus studios in the Stutz, a former car factory that spans a city block.

The kiddie pools are gone, but the event's premise is the same: To literally open doors between audience and artists, bringing both together in a non-intimidating environment. And yes, you can still get beer.

Here, meet five Stuz artists with an open door policy:

Derek Powell: Turtles to landscapes

Studio A350

Works in: Oils

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figured prominently into Powell's first art show, at Lincoln Middle School on the Northwestside. A teacher there recognized and encouraged his artistic talent, and the school presented his first show, "Derek Powell: Artist."

Lately, his expressionistic paintings have focused on landscapes. "I like the combination of some abstract elements, but also to kind of suggest something real," the 32-year-old Powell says, adding with a laugh, "once you see it, maybe that will make more sense."

Powell takes a literal world view as an artist. In Benin, West Africa, he designed educational materials focusing on the prevention of AIDS and malaria. He also studied in Europe, earning his MBA at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.

Powell's new to the Stutz neighborhood -- but knows the place well, having worked there after college. "It's not stuffy at all. And Friday night is almost like a party-type atmosphere. There are a lot of people, and it's a good buzz."

Prices for Powell's paintings run from $200 to $2,000. Learn more at www.limnersociety.com/pages/derek/derek2005.html

Polina Osherov: Photo 'Magic'

Studio B420

Works in: Photography

If you visit Polina Osherov's studio during the Stutz Open House, you'll find yourself in the middle of a live-action shoot as the artist demonstrates two of her specialties -- wedding and fashion photography.

The Russian-born photographer will team with a trio of models -- along with makeup, hair and wardrobe people -- to create different looks and moods, from classically romantic to edgy. "I have some good models who will hopefully strut their stuff really, really well," she says.

Working with a digital Canon 5D camera, the 36-year-old artist and mother of two creates wedding portfolios that include traditional poses, fashion-inspired shots and photojournalistic-style snapshots. Afterward, she edits each image for a personalized approach to her art.

"You do have to have a great image to start with, but to me, the work is only half done when I'm done shooting. There's a lot of magic that happens when I import those files and play with them."

Portrait sessions start at $250; weddings start at $3,500. Learn more at www.polinaosherov.com

Dina Verplank: Girl on the edge

Studio C300

Works in: Oil paintings, drawings

Scorned lovers, take heart. Broad Ripple artist Dina Verplank is creating a series of "violent love" paintings with a "very Valentine's doomsday feel. It's kind of girly, with a severe edge," she says.

The works mark the Herron graduate's return to color, a departure from her focus on black-and-white imagery. The 27-year-old artist works in abstract and figurative forms.

As a picture framer by day, Verplank gets insight into the kinds of art that people buy for their own homes. Indy residents, she says, embrace a variety of styles. "I'm seeing more original art, I'm seeing more diversified art. I still don't think it's 100 percent. But it is getting better."

To aid the cause, she reasonably prices her own original creations ($8 for note cards, up to $800). "Last year (at the open house), most of the people who bought my art were people my age, and I thought that was really neat."

Ron Shaw: Strictly abstract

Studio No. A365

Works in: Oil paintings

Fans of traditional landscape paintings won't likely linger too long in Ron Shaw's studio. His "ultra-contemporary" oil paintings deal with no specific subject matter, nor does he give them names.

"The imagery is so ambiguous; I like people to bring their own experiences to the painting," he says. "I don't want to tell the viewer what to see."

Shaw began interpreting the world through art as a 4-year-old living in Guyana. There, he would sketch birds, apple trees, cars -- "kid drawings," he says. In 1980, when he was 8, his family moved to Indianapolis, where he later graduated from the Herron School of Art and Design.

Open House guests will find Shaw's approach to networking as bold and unusual as his art. "I think people are always intimidated to talk to the artist. (So) when they come in, I get up on my table and I yell out my name and tell them what I do, and if they have any questions to talk to me."

Shaw's paintings range in price from $450 to $1,000.

Kevin Smola: Marrying thoughts and images

Studio No. D480

Works in: Oil paintings

As young as age 3, Smola used art to work through complex emotions. That year, he was trying to adjust to a move to Indianapolis from California, and to his parents' earlier divorce.

He has used art to communicate happier sentiments, too. Smola proposed to his wife, Kate, with a piece painted specifically for her. He got doen on bended knee during one of his shows.

Now, the 27-year-old artist still creates his abstract expressionist works to "express thoughts and feelings and emotion through color and texture."

Still, it's not all about him. He also celebrates shared life experiences that draw people together. "I really don't paint these pieces just for myself. I paint them for you, I paint them for your neighbor, I paint them for everyone else."

Prices run $75 to $6,000 (the latter for a series of seven paintings). Learn more at www.smolaart.com

New this year

The One-Peek Show: Four head-spinning floors of art studios -- where to begin? Start at the new Stutz Art Space Gallery on the ground floor. There, each Open House artist will display one piece of representative work, so you can decide which studios you want to check out.

Proletariat-friendly prices: Many artists will offer lower price points "for people who may want to be able to pick up something for under $200," says Jerry Points, president of the Stutz Artists Association. "We don't want to scare anyone away."

Beatlemania: Stutz artists celebrate the Fab Four in a theme show on the second-floor "car room." A letter from Yoko Ono, a concert at Candlestick Park, even the chance to party with Paul McCartney's band members -- all are behind these unusual tributes to John, Paul, George and Ringo.

More food: Vendor choices from independent area eateries are expanded, with food -- and drinks -- available on all floors.

If you go

What: Stutz Artists Open House.

Where: Stutz Business Center, 1060 N. Capitol Ave.

When: April 25 and 26.

Hours: Friday, 5:30.p.m. to 10.p.m.; Saturday, noon to 5.p.m.

Admission: $12; $6 re-entry on Saturday with Friday ticket stub; children 16 and younger admitted free on Saturday.

Where your money goes: Proceeds support the Stutz Residency Program, two scholarships that provide studio space for emerging local artists.

Parking: Free on-street parking on Capitol and Senate avenues and 11th Street.

For more information: Visit www.stutzartists.com

- By Julie Cope Saetre / Indy.com Correspondent