Christmas Decorations Short North 2009

The above picture is above Fabian Pizza and shows some kickball size lighted globes along the roof along with the arch lights.
Gallery 83 used the holiday lighting tradition to bring attention to their (way) off the beaten path gallery. Below, they even framed some of their artist drawings out front.

Corsets are becoming big in the North Short North and Mrs. Santa is no exception.
The Katheryn Gallery (above) knows how to frame their windows for the holidays.
What The Rock (above) took the theme of "Let It Snow" in a different way. Let is be known that it didn't snow in late 2009 until December 11th, long after this picture.
Late Night Slice (above) climbed to new heights to give us holiday lights in their lot location. Of course, they were also showing a movie on the opposite wall, but now they have a tent for people to eat in out of the cold wind.
Monkey's Retreat went overboard with the lighted snow men (above and below).
Waldo's (below) offered live models with lighted hairdos as part of their display.

Holiday Hop Dec. 5, 2009: cold but busy

The December Holiday Hop is most anticipated through-out the year, but this year is seeing many boutiques closing up shop. Still, the gallery hop must go on and there is much to see and do. At the new Travonna Coffee House a reading by Leah-Carla Gordone of her new book "The Motorgirl Memoirs" brought a bit of bohemia to the Northern Short North. Hoppy Holidays!


The Mahan Gallery (top) was showing a display of sixties style model drawings on wood panels by Suzannah Sinclair that could be from softcore mens magazines. Terra Gallery, meanwhile, was showing off their new neon signs and a wide variety of small works for gift giving.
Gallery 83 (above and below), as usual, offered a wide variety of small works from young, local artists. It is becoming quite the stop for the art school set on the gallery run. Their ground floor rooms are in a rather roughly renovated space complete with a non-working bathroom gallery. Artists can sometimes be set-up on the lawn in front, and there is a balcony of an apartment above that shows one man shows.

Even the night club Circus (above) was offering small, cheap local art for sale, viewable from their picture window. This is the former High Five club at Fifth and High.

Stained Skin Tattoos does regular art shows like other tattoo parlors, but they are calling it the Donchatz Gallery after their curator Greg Donchatz. It is at Smith and High St., but the wall space is very small. Usually, a music ground is added for a late night party.

RoyGBiv Gallery did their annual holiday small works show (above and below) which included a string ensemble for a few hours. It wasn't hard to find a small work that interests.

Rivet Gallery was aglow for the Christmas Hop with amazing toy-like art made by real artists.
The Sherrie Gallery (above) is featuring ceramic artists this season.
The Sean Christopher Gallery (above) in the basement of the Greystone Apartments had a three room exhibit of poetry on art panels called "Strange and Unsteady Stars". Matt Bliton, Brenda Francis, and Ed Fradd worked together on this display.
Monkey's Retreat did a show with Chas Krider (above) that featured music, holiday displays, and the photographing of sexy models. The fun didn't run all the way to the end of the gallery hop, but you could still have your own picture taken by Chas.

Gallery 772 (above) is an ongoing gallery hop show in the upper hallways of the Body Shop at High and Warren St. The old concrete ramp that cars would drive up is lined with works by a small group of artists who remain nameless (or shy). They don't even seem to be trying to sell the works.

Many Changes in Short North storefronts

The Short North is the most volatile it has been for many years. Businesses are closing and opening right and left while new storefronts are being made available in large numbers in the North Short North. Even the OSU South Campus Gateway development is repositioning part of it as an "art alley" with the Ohio Art League moving up there. Above is the most unnerving of the closures as the chef Rosendale shutters his restaurant with three different themes and rooms (Modern Bistro, Details...). He himself went back to the Greenbriar Resort in West Virginia and they took the luster off of his Short North operation and the customers found other places to eat until he did something to bring them back. Now it is empty.
Old Work, New Home (above) and the Columbus Haberdashery are opening next to each other in the North Short North bringing the style of the past back to life.
Bakery Gingham (above) is a bakery that does everything from cupcakes to wedding cakes. It has opened a second location, this time in the Short North's Victorian Gate buildings at Russell and High. Yeh, we have a sweet tooth, but this is mostly about the many shops that cater to weddings in the area.
Funky and Functional has opened their large resale shop of collectibles from estate sales. Bargains and great "just looking" times.
Basil is a second Thai Restaurant for the Short North strip. This one is right out of Chicago and will offers Thai food from Chicago sources.
The above two temporary shops are in the former Ohio Art League space as they wait for a liquour license for Yusef Riashi"s wine and cheese store in 2010. Badcock clothing, of course, is available at Dr. Mojo and wouldn't need a second shop two block away. The bakery part will probably be part of this French wine and cheese concept that Yusef is bringing to Ohio.

Below you can see the papered-over former Starbucks in the Yukon Building. It wasn't a good fit for the Short North. They join another coffee chain called Cuppy's Coffee that closed in the Dakota Building. Yet, new coffeeshops spring-up. Cuppy's space is now occupied by Impero Coffee that brings an upper-crust style to your latte experience. Also, Travonna Coffee House (below two pictures) brings a large space into the caffeine-a-sphere.

November Gallery Hop 2009

The northern and southern most arches now have lights on the word "Short North". As more and more neighborhoods get arches over their streets, one cannot rest in identifying yours.
Big Rock and Little Rooster (above) ran a fashion show of their wedding fashions in their window. They're still looking for an appropriate mens shirt, apparently. The Short North is offering a lot of businesses that cater to the wedding industry and Big Rock is trying to be the central focus.
Mahan Gallery (above) continues with three thought invoking artists
Rebecca Ibel Gallery (above) showed some delightful paintings of women and girls swimming that look almost like photographs from a distance.

RoyGBiv (two pictures above) showed two abstract, minimalist, installation style artists. The bottom photo shows the rare event when one artist pulled one of many strings along the wall and released orange colored powder.
above is the Charlie Owens show at Rivet Gallery. He has shown his drawings of fashionable but stylized women here before.
Above three scenes are typical Gallery Hop scenes in late 2009. The top red window display of Flower Child is ushering in the holiday season. The middle shot shows a Hummer with LCD TV's on its roof displaying advertisements as it drives in the normal bumper to bumper traffic. In contrast is the lower shot taken at Late Night Pizza's outdoor lot where a bicycle rickshaw awaits customers.
That new lingerie shop in the Body Shop (Undone) has live models most gallery hops to please and interest the gallery hoppers.
Mindless Matter (above) continues to find cheap old furnishings that continue a 15 year old tradition at the Greystone Apartment building. The Painted Monkey used to do the same with artist painted small furniture in the the 1990's.
LOOT (above) has been showing the most interesting of antique collectibles at the corner of Russell and High for many years. The November window was particularly interesting
Hotel Lilly is really a barbershop, but its large art shows are increasingly worth a stop and look. However, it is never open for gallery hop and doesn't provide much information.
The Surly Girl Saloon is always quick to decorate for halloween.
The Segway Store was demonstrating a Segway wheelchair that seems to be able to demonstrate itself. It slowly moved its double wheels to keep balance while doing a wheely.
Phia hair salon continues to try one promotional gimmick after another. November (above) is all about Thanksgiving and nothing says that like a turkey box with multicolor feathers.

Upstairs at the Body Shop Building, 772 N. High, there continues to be a regular show of pop image paintings under the banner of the 772 Gallery (below).

The NEW Old North Columbus

The arches are up and the street is now open north of campus on N. High Street. For some reason they want the Old North Columbus to start just north of OSU property and extending to Arcadia Ave. North Columbus was a town around Hudson and High Street before Ohio State was thought of.
The oldest building is this 200 year old log cabin on Norwich Ave. just east of High Street that was moved here from the Hudson and High St. area of North Columbus. The rest of the neighborhood is mostly houses and storefront buildings over 100 years old with some recent new ones. It is the bohemia neighborhood for campus being home to many musicians and artists plus some of the most adventuresome eating establishments around.