Stephanie Streeter, left, Lauren Cieslak and Susan Forthofer cut the ribbon for the final Public Art Vermilion Tiny Art Gallery reveal. (Larissa Beriswill – The Morning Journal)
Public Art Vermilion, a program of Main Street Vermilion, has revealed its last of three Tiny Art galleries placed around the city.
The new miniature gallery is located outside of the Main Street Vermilion office, 685 Main St., and is the second featuring works of an artist, according to Lauren Cieslak, Public Art Vermilion board member and project coordinator.
Though the works in the group’s second gallery, located in Ritter Public Library, 5680 Liberty Ave., were made by Chad Fredorovich, an artist and founder of the Cleveland Mural and Paint Company, the latest reveal features works of art by tattoo artist and painter Stephanie Streeter.
Streeter, who received an education in fine arts and has been tattooing for a decade, said the miniature paintings in the gallery all are portraits highlighting women in her life, who she has either tattooed or was inspired by in her career.
“I’ve always been interested in expression,” she said. “Drawing women’s faces is something that I’ve done even since I was a tiny child.
“I think that’s a really cool way to get to honor these people who I’ve tattooed heavily.”
In art school, Streeter said her muse was the human body and women, which she depicted in paintings and transferred over to her career, is in regard to her large number of female clientele and the subject of tattoos she’s designed.
Instead of making tattoo oriented pieces for the art show, the tiny paintings, one of which depicts Cieslak herself, keep the focus on the expression in the different women’s faces.
“I think it’s a full circle moment being able to share something with the community,” Streeter said. “This is a way just giving tribute to the women who have given me large portions of their body to tattoo.”
Each painting, according to Streeter, is made with a “transparent orange pigment,” and begins with light sketch that locks in where the heavy shadows are located.
Oil paint is added for color, however, the entire process uses a layered technique due to the pigment, and each small canvas has 15 to 20 layers and took around eight to 10 hours to complete, Streeter said.
“The last layers on these are so thinned out, they’re barely even a color,” she said.
The art gallery not only is the last of the galleries to be revealed, but also comes with an importance significance, Cieslak said.
She said it is dedicated to her grandparents, Frank and Ruth Martin, and named in their memory.
The couple were “creatives” themselves, but never considered themselves to be artists, despite their work and support for the arts, Cieslak said.
“This one is actually the reason this whole project started,” she said. “I wanted everyone to be able to feel like an artist in some way.”
Cieslak said the miniature gallery’s placement also is noteworthy as her grandfather’s office overlooks the site from a neighboring building.
She also wore an upcycled two-piece outfit made out of her grandmother’s linen artwork, featuring her many creations and designs, and paying homage to her creativity.