Residency Artist - Visual Arts

Rob Gartzka and Kathie Johnson

7487 Horseshoe Bend Rd.
Ludlow Falls, OH  45339

Our work combines sculpture, painting and drawing. Our passion is sharing techniques, processes and ideas with others. We have led over 100 workshops and residencies in the Midwest. Each site is unique and therefore each residency is a new experience resulting in a new work of art. Participants add their ideas and creativity to the project. What emerges is a collaborative work of art that reflects the energy and creativity of the makers. As we build a vocabulary of images with color and form, we also build a relationship with each other. We are available individually or as a team for residency or Artist Express experiences.

We work and design together to create studio art furniture. The sculptural paintings start from many ideas, usually from closely observing the natural world. We handcraft each piece with abstracted shapes, using positive and negative space, carved surfaces and a palette of vibrant color.

Our sculptural furniture has been shown regionally and nationally including SOFA Chicago and SOFA New York and our work is represented by Mobilia Gallery, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Rob earned a BFA from Montana State University and Kathie earned a BFA from Arizona State University and we both received a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Cincinnati. Rob received the Governor's Award in Art Education and together we received three Ohio Arts Council Indiv idual Art Fellowships. Currently we teach art at The Miami Valley School, an independent collge preparatory school EC-12.