There will be a Local Artists Showcase from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. downtown at the Bloomington Convention Center.
Marc Tsuchida, a local puzzle maker, will be there to sell his craft.
His craft is sold on a small scale, so he said this convention is beneficial to him as it widens his scope of customers. This is especially important, Tsuchida said, because his puzzles are on the more expensive side. However, he said the work he puts into them makes it worth it.
Making each puzzle is a seven to 10-day process.
First, he adheres a photo to a piece of wood and lets it sit for a couple of days to fully dry. Then he cuts pieces out of the puzzle one by one. From there, he sands the backs of the pieces and seals the front of the puzzle with acrylic. Lastly, he applies wax to the backs.
But puzzles are not Tsuchida’s main line of work. He is also the managing director of Cardinal Stage Company.
“I fell into a career working in the arts,” he said. “My day job is in the performing arts.”
After living in Bloomington for a number of years, he realized that he needed a new gift to give to friends and family for holidays.
“I’m always looking for Bloomington-themed gifts,” he said. There’s only so many Indiana-shaped pieces of limestone someone can give before they lose their appeal, he said.
Tsuchida grew up in a house with a family that played with puzzles. While he wouldn’t describe the moment he thought of making puzzles as an “aha” moment, he eventually came up with an idea he could sell upon realizing there was an untouched product market in town.
The subject matter of his work ranges from photos of campus to downtown. He also takes photos of licensed local art and makes them into ?puzzles, as well.
Martina Celerin, a three-dimensional weaver, is ?another artist featured in the showcase.
She makes small tapestries that protrude forward into three-dimensional landscapes. Her work can be found on the walls of Bloomington Bagel Company.
Most of the weaving is made from reclaimed or recycled materials. Yarn is the primary material.
“I mess with different fiber techniques,” Celerin said.
Her work focuses on the representation of nature.
Celerin earned a doctoral degree in plant sciences from the University of Western Ontario, after which she came to IU for a postdoctoral position as a molecular geneticist in the Department of Biology.
The initial idea for her product came after moving to Bloomington with only enough money saved to buy furniture.
Looking at her bare walls, Celerin decided to create weavings from reclaimed materials to create a ?decorative tapestry.
After her studies, she decided to venture into the arts.
Her creations start out as simple weavings. However when she approaches the bottom of the product, Celerin said she starts expanding her weaving technique to accumulate loops and create ?volume in her structure.
At the end, she creates a woolen “hill” of sorts on which she includes wool-wrapped wire trees. The end product is a highly realistic representation of a land or waterscape. This process is used for the majority of her work.
This scrappiness of her materials lends an eccentricity that matches nature, ?she said.
It also helps that Celerin reduces waste by taking on people’s leftovers.
For her, the showcase is beneficial because it supports the local arts community. Bloomington contains an eclectic mix of artists, Celerin said. That’s part of the charm of the city.
“You either support it or it goes away,” she said. “That’s true with the arts.”
