Who is Paula Atwell

This lens is about me and the work I am doing both as an art gallery owner, and a jeweler. First, let me tell you about my wonderful gallery, Lake Erie Artists Gallery.

Lake Erie Artists Gallery is a unique gallery in Cleveland, Ohio that focuses on work by local northeast Ohio artists. My goal is to put Cleveland artists and their work on the map both locally and nationally. I am so proud to be from this great city, and so very excited to promote local artists.

I feel so lucky to be doing what I do every day. Even on my absolutely worst day, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work on two of my passions--promoting Cleveland and art.

So how did I get to this place anyway? Well, it took a very long time to finally have the courage to leave my job with guaranteed pay and hours (I had worked for Borders for the last 8 years, and other jobs before that) and to take a leap of faith. My husband, Jack, is essentially supporting us in this growth phase, and I can't thank him enough for his support and encouragement.

I started out with a partner, but over the last couple of years I have become the sole (and soul) owner of Lake Erie Artists Gallery.

Lake Erie Artists Gallery is filled with wonderful art, the work of over 80 artists of all types, including photography, fiber art, paintings, ceramics, jewelry, glass, and much, much more. We also carry books about Cleveland, and by local authors.

We have an online store, and some auxiliary stores on Zazzle.com, and etsy.com.

How many of you have been here to Cleveland? Well, I have lived here since I was just 3 years old and I have to tell you that this city has a lot to offer to anyone. We are a big city and a small town wrapped up together. People here are friendly, and supportive with a true midwestern charm, yet we have a wonderful art museum, orchestra, colleges and universities, and world class health institutions. And that is only the beginning.

My gallery is located inside Tower City which is a mall that was created from the old train station attached to Terminal Tower. It still retains amazing marble floors and pillars, as well as carved and painted ceilings and many of the original brass storefronts. Tower City is located in the heart of Cleveland near Lake Erie and the Cuyahoga River right on Public Square.

My job is to create a space that people want to see and return to time and time again as well as raise awareness of our gallery both in person and in any other way possible.

Cleveland is in what I feel is the beginning of a renaissance. There is all kinds of major construction going on downtown especially on one of our main drags, Euclid Avenue, where the city is creating a new bus line that will go directly between Public Square and University Circle. And I am going to make sure that Lake Erie Artists Gallery stays at the forefront of the renaissance.

I have been working feverishly over the last year to raise awareness of our little gallery here. I have networked, meetinged, met, been introduced and introduced in return, and gone from group to group telling people about us and inviting them to our events. I have sent emails, made phone calls, passed out cards and flyers, offered discounts and coupons--all in order to get people to walk into our store. AND I have gathered a cadre of artists that grows and matures and improves as the gallery grows and matures and improves.

We do not just carry work by anyone who says that they are an artist. They have to pass a jury process and prove that they are worthy of being included in our group of interesting, dynamic, and creative individuals. Artists are judged first and foremost on their work, but they also have to be the right kind of person. If they are uncooperative, unpleasant or rude--we don't want them.

We are creating a community of artists, who can use the gallery as their base of operations and trust that their fellow artists will respect them as people.

I spend a lot of my time at shows both in Cleveland, and out of town creating awareness and meeting people--in June 2008 alone I am doing five different outside shows including one in Maryland--and still coming in and manning the gallery 3 to 4 days a week as well as directing all gallery operations, financials, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

My own main art form is jewelry. I have been creating jewelry for over 12 years, and I just love making new designs, and trying them out on myself and others.

My favorite medium to work with is fine silver, in the form of Precious Metal Clay. I design my pieces in PMC, then have them cast into fine silver.

I have narrowed down my style immensely since I started making jewelry, and now primarily make jewelry with an organic style. Other than the fine silver, I use vintage glass, fused glass, natural stone, and freshwater pearls. All of my findings (earwires, chains, etc. for the uninitiated) are made from sterling. Eventually, I would like to learn to work with gold, but that would take me into an entirely different market.

My newest artistic endevour is that of watercolor. I am really just beginning to learn how to paint with watercolor paints.

I was fascinated by the effects of watercolor, and decided to learn how to paint. Little did I know that watercolor painting is considered the most difficult kind of painting, harder than both acrylics and oils.

I jumped right into the lessons, and have produced about seven paintings that I am proud of. I have even sold one original. Pretty exciting! The Sunflower in this lens is a painting I created in honor of my sister, who loves sunflowers.

I am a lover of the green movement, keeping the earth in good shape for our children.

Since I have two children of my own, I would like them to have a wonderful quality of life.

Therefore, anything I can do in my business to promote green art and other green businesses is high on my priority list. Several of the artists in the gallery make art out of recycled materials.

I also have other lenses on green weddings, green wedding gifts, green showers, and green art.

The attached picture is of my daughter, Bryn, on her 11th birthday. My parents always make her a big giant cookie replica every year.

Here is my other daughter, Tamar, holding the tent in place at the Farmer's Market as it starts to blow away. She is 15.