Columbus Avant-Garde Art & Craft Shows: September 2025

Meet Gary Board from A Board and a Dream…

Hello, My name is Gary Board and I have been interested in woodworking for most of my life, but I got away from it for a long time when I was working a corporate job. After almost 30 years in that world I finally had enough, and A Board and a Dream was born. I have only been doing this as a business since the beginning of 2025. This will be my first show, so I am excited and nervous about it all at the same time.

The inspiration for my one-off pieces is to find the beauty in things that would normally be discarded, like recycling pallet wood or using off-cuts from the lumber yard that some might consider scrap. When making pieces for specific clients, I want to help them bring their vision to life and give them the best piece possible. I also make epoxy resin crafts, and even that started out as a way to use resin that was left over from my charcuterie board.

I first got into woodworking doing projects with my dad as a kid. The interest was fed through the years watching Norm Abram on “The New Yankee Workshop” until I finally started making pieces for family and friends. I discovered my talent just by trying it. My first project was a toy box for my nephew, and when people liked it I realized I might be able to be good at it. My creative process is to look at a specific material and see what it lends itself to, and then I follow that vision until it comes to life.

In 5 years I hope to be doing more custom work for clients, but still making one-of-a-kind pieces that I ship all around the world. The message behind my work is that it is never too late to follow a dream. I feel lucky to be able to do this full time, so I put everything into my work so I can continue to do so.

Meet Betsy Lenihan from Ceramic Artist & Owner of Lazy Dog Ceramics...

The love I have for ceramics began in the early 1980s, watching my paternal grandmother and great aunt paint pieces. As a teenager, I was captivated by my mother’s intricate Old World-style Santa figurines, which sparked my own passion for the craft. However, life took me in other directions—college, grad school, marriage, career shifts, and more—leading to a 20-year break from ceramics. In 2021, during the pandemic, I rediscovered my love for painting after picking up a Santa or two, and I haven't looked back since.

Over the next two years, I dedicated myself to mastering acrylics on bisque and antique techniques, inspired by the methods I had watched my mother use years before. With the encouragement of friends and my husband, I took the next step in late 2023 by launching Lazy Dog Ceramics. The business focuses on producing high-quality finished pieces while supporting a cause close to my heart—local dog rescue organizations. As passionate animal lovers, my husband and I channel a portion of all proceeds toward helping rescue efforts. With no children, our furry family members are our babies.

I hold an undergraduate degree in Organizational Communications and an MBA with a focus on Entrepreneurship and Leadership. My 25-year career in business strategy and tech leadership has been fulfilling, but ceramics serves as my creative outlet and therapy. Looking ahead, I plan to retire in 10 years and fully dedicate myself to ceramics.

Over the few years, I have immersed myself in learning, with guidance from my mentors. Through them, I have expanded my knowledge of glazing, painting techniques, kilns, and slip casting. In the next 5 years, I look forward to refining techniques, learning new techniques, and continuing my passion and expertise in ceramics—excited for the creative journey ahead.

2024 Columbus Fall Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show

Sunday, September 21, 2025

10:00am-4:00pm

Makoy Event Center

5462 Center St.

Hilliard, OH 43026

For more information, contact Becki Silverstein, Event Coordinator at becki@ag-shows.com

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Meet John Huenemann from Brackett's Wooden Games...

Hi, I'm John (aka Brackett)! I've been woodworking for about four years, and I am passionate about art, music, gaming, and my amazing, wonderful family.

This is my first time at an Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show. I'm inspired by vintage and historical aesthetics, and mentally challenging puzzles.

My creative process is 100% ADHD-fueled chaos- I look up records of ancient and vintage board games, puzzles, and toys, and recreate them with a modern look.

In five years, I hope to have expanded my product line, and found more ways to create and play. I hope my work gives people a chance to connect to the past while enjoying the present.

Meet Greg and Pamela Feldman from G&P Fine Craftory...

G & P Fine Craftory is the husband and wife collaboration between Greg and Pamela Feldman-Hill. We live in central Ohio, and we have always been “makers.” Greg is an ex-IT Manager who took up woodworking as a hobby in 2016, and has since turned this into a full-time business. He enjoys doing built-in bookcases for clients, custom charcuterie and cutting boards for gifts, and laser cut trivets and other items. Pamela is a professionally trained artist who has created artwork and illuminated manuscripts for clients all over the world for over 45 years. Hand painting ceramics and wood cut outs, including hamsas and cat shapes, and mandala-inspired coasters and trays are her meditation and passion. Pamela and Greg often collaborate on various products and designs. Our goal with the products at G & P Fine Craftory is to bring beautiful creations into daily life with fine craftsmanship and joy. Greg has been woodworking for 8 years, and Pamela has been creating art professionally since the 1970’s. Our collaboration with G & P Fine Craftory was born in 2021.

This is our fourth year participating in Avant-Garde shows.

What inspires us to create.. adding beauty to our daily lives while we keep our hands and minds busy definitely motivates us to create!

How we got into our craft.. Greg started woodworking as a hobby after refinishing some tables and cabinets for our house and discovering that he enjoyed working with wood. After he retired from Nationwide Insurance as an IT manager, he decided to pursue this passion full time, and converted our garage into a full wood-shop, with a CnC and laser machines. Pamela has always painted, and began hand-painting ceramics and wood cut-outs about 10 years ago as a way to fill time between her illuminated manuscript commissions. Creating work that is functional and smaller provided a nice outlet, and utilizes her love and knowledge of pattern and color in a new way.

Meet Jennifer Roberts from Imperfecting Art..

I’m a playwright and self-taught artist from the SF Bay Area. I moved to Columbus last March and am having fun adjusting to the weather and discovering the art scene here.

I started working in mixed media and clay six later in life, six years ago.

I’m inspired by dichotomy. The transitory nature of balance I'd experienced for most of my life made me keenly aware of the tension created between seemingly incompatible ideas trying to dominate space at the expense of the other: nature and human; body and mind; creation and destruction.

It's the investigation on how we can achieve equilibrium between oppositions that fascinates me. I want us to witness the beauty that comes in the textures of decay, see the dichotomy and harmony of nature and human, science and superstition… These are only a few contradictions I want to investigate.

I’d been doing some art writing for a local gallery and was inspired to finally follow my dream of creating art and storytelling in a new, visual medium. My grandfather was an artist and I’ve always wanted to express myself visually. That’s why I was also drawn to playwriting. It was scary to jump over to art, but was inspired by the quote by George Eliot, “You’re never too old to be what you might have been.”

That’s a tough question. I think I didn’t think about being talented until I was accepted into two online gallery shows and published in their catalogue. It was only then that I thought I may be on to something. There can be a stigma associated with self-taught artists who didn’t do traditional study. A lot of that questioning and lack of confidence came from this feeling that I didn’t belong, so it did take the validation of having my work shown to accept the term “artist.” Though looking back, I don’t believe having work in a gallery makes you more of an artists and if you are creating work, you are one.

My creative process.. I go into what I call, “sprints.” I have periods of time where I am in the studio morning to evening every day. Then, I crash. I use the downtime to take a class or work in my art journal and looking at art for inspiration.

In five years, I’d like to be a professional artist, meaning that I can support myself to some degree and take commissions on a regular basis. I don’t see owning a storefront, etc. but I would love to expand my studio.

I leave messages about my work to the viewer. I know what I’m looking for or exploring when I make it, but I want the viewer to look and interpret what they see however they wish.

My website is jenniferlynneroberts.com

Meet Cinnamon McKinley from Mandala Madra...

My name is Cinnamon McKinley, but I also go by "Smee". I'm originally from the East Coast - I grew up in Trenton, NJ. I moved here to the Columbus area with my family in the fall of 2023, and I have absolutely fallen in love with this city. I am an x-ray tech by trade and the mother of two beautiful neurodivergent teenage boys. We're all animal lovers - we have three dogs, three cats, and a hermit crab at home. We relax together by taking long nature walks or strolls around the neighborhood. I am a bird enthusiast and love listening to their songs while we walk.

I've been creating essential oil rollerballs and sprays for myself, family, and friends for several years now. However, it only just dawned on me to try to sell my wares over a year ago. I'm very proud of my recipes, and am constantly tweaking and improving them. This will be my third Avant-Garde Art & Craft Show. They really are so much fun.

I am inspired by a need to spread Self Love, and the relief of ailments that may get in the way of that Self Love.

My first essential oil creation was my Migraine Relief rollerball. I suffer from frequent migraines and was looking for a more natural way to combat that pain and pressure without adding more (or less) caffeine. I did my research, created a recipe and tried it out on myself. I found that it helped considerably, and I wanted to branch out into relief of other ailments. I now have rollerballs and sprays that help with menstrual symptoms, perimenopausal symptoms, insomnia, and anxiety. My favorite scent is my Love rollerball, which promotes Self Love and ease within one's own skin.

I describe my creative process and Meditative and Magical. My goal for five years.. I'm hoping that within five years' time, I gain enough momentum to work on my recipes and sell my products full time, while taking x-rays becomes a part time gig. That's my dream.

My work is all about Love - Self-Love, Love of others, Love of community. I am hoping to do nothing more than spread Love and relief.