Find visual artist showcases at the 2025 Westerville Art Hop, in Uptown galleries and shops

Apr 7, 2025 | 0 comments

Visual art and artists will be featured across historic Uptown for the 2025 Westerville Art Hop, set for noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 26.

Uptown’s galleries both will showcase extensive spring exhibits, featuring the work of between 20 and 30 artists in each. And another score of visual artists will set up in shops across the district, creating and displaying their artwork for sale.

Here’s a rundown of the Hop’s visual artists plans:

David Myers Art Studio & Gallery

David Myers Art Studio & Gallery, 7 W. Main St., will showcase the exhibit, “The Art of the Story” during the 2025 Westerville Art Hop April 26.

With artwork from 30 studio artists, ranging in age from 6 to 87, “The Art of the Story” features a diverse array of media.

“The range of expression and storytelling is truly extraordinary, with viewers captivated by the powerful visuals, evocative words, and the deep emotions and ideas conveyed by the artists,” said artist and gallery owner David Myers. “These works offer a profound and immersive experience, inviting a unique glimpse into the hearts and minds behind the exhibit.”

Jenna Sulser’s art will tell her stories through a distinctive, collaborative, and multimedia process, adding another layer of creativity to the exhibit. Additionally, the gallery will highlight the original works of Eddie K. as part of these captivating displays.

The Art Hop from noon to 4 p.m. April 26, is “an opportunity for our community to celebrate the Arts and immerse ourselves in the creativity and talent of local artists!” Myers said.

Daylight Artist Collective

Daylight Artist Collective, 9 E. College Ave., will feature its spring juried exhibition, “Intertwined,” at the 2025 Uptown Westerville Art Hop. The exhibit features the work of more than 20 local artists.

“We are all connected to one another in some way and those connections can have a profound impact on our lives. Whether we are a part of the same community, travel similar paths in life, or journey through hardship with one another, “Intertwined” explores the idea of how we experience our connection to the community around us,” said Daylight founding artist Janine Crum.

“Intertwined” features works of art that explore and highlight the harmonious connections we encounter, and celebrate the resilience that emerges when we journey with one another throughout various seasons of life,” she said.

Artists in shops at the 2025 Westerville Art Hop

Sandra Brandt

Sandra Brandt is primarily a watercolor and acrylic artist. She has always enjoyed traveling, dating to her service in the Ohio Army National Guard. Going to beautiful locations is critical for her reference photos for her artwork. She is retired from the Ohio Department of Transportation, and lives in Muskingum County, Ohio. Her favorite subjects are landscapes, urban scenes, pets and people, always searching for inspiration in her surroundings. She has a great passion to communicate her soft but deliberate technique to all that reflect in her paintings. Nothing gives her greater satisfaction than knowing someone has chosen her work and is displaying it in their home! She is a member of Columbus Urban Skechers, Southeastern Ohio Watercolor Society (SEOWS), Community Artists of Westerville (CAW) and the Zanesville Museum of Art.

Kevin Buckland

Recognized for his elaborate and engaging paintings, Kevin Buckland works exclusively in watercolor and is noted for his mastery of the medium. Born and raised in Knox County, Ohio, his painting can come from anywhere, anytime and from any subject matter. Mostly a studio painter, occasionally Buckland will venture outdoors to paint on location. He doesn’t limit himself to any particular subject, and is open to any possibilities that watercolor provides. Accomplished both as an artist and instructor, Buckland’s notable past organizational involvements include: past chairman of Art At The Arnold; PBS blogger on the Civilizations Art Series; member, Ohio Watercolor Society Board; member, American Watercolor Society and Central Ohio Watercolor Society; owner of Buckland Gillespie Design. Read much more about the artist at kevinbucklandart.com.

Savannah Caines

Savannah Caines is the chief photographer of Ce Moment Photography. She creates keepsake photos and films “for the wildly sentimental at heart.” Caines specializes in portraiture of newborns and families, seeking to produce vivid and emotive imagery in the beauty of everyday moments. Caines also collaborates with small businesses to craft tailored content to elevate their brands.

Lindsay Ciulla

Lindsay Ciulla aka Hearts & Stars is a multi-disciplinary artist, musician and community organizer based in Columbus, Ohio, since 2003. Ciulla studied instrumental and world music in addition to exploring art courses at Ohio State University. Her mediums are variable, most of her artwork is wearable and is influenced by her Sicilian/Southern Italian heritage and by nature, healing, inter-dimensionality and elemental energy. Mostly self-taught, Ciulla’s pieces are the results of creative exploration. Featuring beads, chain and wire, precious/semi-precious metals and stones, her work channels the bold energy/style of her ancestors and colorful memories from her childhood in the late 20th century. Find Hearts & Stars on runways, in galleries/ boutiques, and at local and national festivals and markets.

Dean Gledhill

Westerville resident Dean Gledhill is a watercolor artist. Following an accomplished career as an architect, Gledhill has turned to developing his lifelong love of art in retirement. His primary interest is in keeping traditional watercolor techniques alive through landscapes and architectural images. In addition to a passion for creating watercolor art, Gledhill is a busy musician playing guitar and singing solo performances and with his band the Juke Jammers, playing around the Columbus area. His combined interest in music and building things led him to begin crafting cigar box guitars. A member of the Community Artists of Westerville and the Arts Council of Westerville, he has close ties to the community. Some of his artwork and cigar box guitars may be purchased at Uptown’s Ohio Art Market, 30 N. State St.

Pam Hartford

Pam Hartford said art has been a part of her life since she was a child. There were many art classes taken in grade school, high school, and college. Though a minor in art was completed in college, an art career was not pursued immediately. Instead, she focused on a professional career in analytical research. After more than 25 years in that field, the call to be an artist finally won out and she was able to return to her passion of painting and drawing. “Today, my focus is on capturing the emotion of a moment in portraiture or figurative work of people and animals/wildlife working primarily in watercolors, pastels, colored pencils, and charcoal,” Hartford said. She is active in several professional societies, including: the Central Ohio Watercolor Society, currently serving as president; the Ohio Watercolor Society, a signature member; the Ohio Pastel Artists League, currently serving as president; and the Women’s Palette. View samples of her work and submit commission requests at pamhartfordart.com.

Margo Hayes

Margo Hayes is a Columbus based multi-disciplinary artist who has been painting, sculpting, and fabricating practically since birth. Her work spans a variety of mediums including mixed-media oil paintings, hand-sewn satirical accessories, and live-drawn depictions of the local performing arts scene. Margo enjoys connecting with people through her work, which explores themes of femininity, fantasy, and humor. She is excited to continue this journey in life and art, sharing the joy of self-expression with everyone she meets.

Megen Leigh

Megen Leigh is a largely self-taught watercolor artist living in Westerville. She is known for painting whimsical fantasy landscapes and playful abstracts with watercolor and fluid inks using a variety of techniques. She is a resident artist at High Road Gallery in Worthington. She has shown work in several local galleries including a solo exhibition at The German Village Meeting Haus, and several juried group exhibitions. She is also a frequent exhibitor at art festivals and science fiction conventions around the Midwest.

Rob Mandell

Rob Mandell is an award winning self-taught digital and photographic artist. He enjoys taking ordinary objects and turning them into interesting pieces of art. His artwork is very diverse, imaginative, and wildly creative. He is influenced by prismatic refraction of light and color through objects. Mandell is a native of Cincinnati, now living in Westerville. After working in the corporate world for more than 30 years, he retired in 2014, at age 50, due to Multiple Sclerosis progression. Since retirement, he has developed a passion for photography. And in 2018 Mandell began to dabble with digital artwork. He has been an active member and past president of the Community Artists of Westerville since the fall of 2015.

Meredith Martin

Meredith Martin has been an established artist in the Columbus area since 1996. Her work in pastels, oil, and oil pastels reflects her experience living in the West and has been influenced by her studies in pre-Columbian art and architecture. Energy, color, and the inspiration of nature are hallmarks of her paintings. A fine arts graduate of Otterbein University, Meredith has shown work and is in collections throughout the United States. Starting as a member of Studios on High in Columbus, she established her own gallery, Sunbear Studios, in 2003. This gallery enjoyed three separate locations, expanded to over 40 artists, and, after 19 years in business, closed in 2022. Meredith and Sunbear Studio are now part of the Front Porch Guild, an artist’s collective, in Granville, Ohio, where Meredith displays and shows recent work featuring western, wildlife and portrait art. She also shows yearly at The All American Quarter Horse Congress.

Elyse McCabe

Elyse McCabe is a visual artist whose work transforms the beauty of nature into surreal and immersive dreamscapes. Blending realism with a touch of the fantastical, her art invites viewers to reimagine the world around them, sparking curiosity and appreciation for the environment. With more than a decade of experience, Elyse’s pieces have been featured in local galleries and business art campaigns, earning recognition for their vibrant use of color, texture, and composition. Her work often blurs the line between reality and imagination, creating intricate visual narratives that celebrate the ordinary magic found in nature. Through her art, Elyse continues to advocate for making green spaces more accessible, using her work to inspire deeper connections with nature and encourage environmental awareness.

Lisa O’Connell

Lisa O’Connell taught herself to paint during the pandemic. Over the last five years, she has displayed at hundreds of festivals and art shows. “So at 56, I found my true passion and never looked back,” she said. Check out her artwork at #Hooraylisapaint on Instagram.

Kathy Rausch

Westerville resident Kathy Rausch focuses her artwork on creating – and teaching others to create – mandalas. Mandalas evoke feelings of calmness and well-being, joy and delight, she said. “The more you look at a mandala, the deeper the meaning becomes. Having a mandala that has meaning for you in your office, yoga studio, or home, encourages calmness, mindfulness, and even healing. Creating your own mandala is even more powerful.” Rausch began teaching others to create their own madalas in 2013, and has since taught more than 1,000 people in person and via Zoom. Her book, “Activate Divine Creativity: The Life-Changing Magic of the Mandala” has reached people all over the world.

Kathryn Smithson

Kathryn Smithson is a pastel artist in Westerville. Her specialties are birds, animals, and flowers, and she also accepts pet portraits by commission. She is a past treasurer of the Westerville Art League, member of the Ohio Pastel Artist League (OPAL) and a member of the Arts Council of Westerville. She has been drawing since high school but more seriously over the past 21 years.

Hilary Stone

Hilary Stone is a Westerville-based artist who produces gouache and ink paintings of animals featuring overly-complex, personified explanations of their behaviors, thoughts, or motivations. Some are highly relatable. Some are just weird. Most are a bit of both. Occam’s razor notes that the most simple explanation is preferred — but what fun is that?

More about the 2025 Hop

Visual art won’t be the only medium on display during the 2025 Westerville Art Hop. The noon-4 p.m. event April 26 also will showcase everything from authors to live dance and theatrical performances, popup public art demonstrations, singer-songwriters providing live music, and student art displays.

Over the next few weeks, we will break down the 2025 Art Hop action, with a series of posts in this In & About Uptown blog.

If you haven’t already caught it, be sure to read our story about the Singer-Songwriters who will be part of the 2025 Art Hop, and read this school district story about participating Westerville students. Look for even more coverage in the weeks ahead.

singer-songwriters 2025 Art Hop

Donate to support the Arts Uptown!

Please show your support of the arts in Westerville and help UWI stage showcase local artists of all genres – with events like the Westerville Art Hop – through making a small donation!

Scan the accompanying QR code to contribute any donation amount, and make a difference at the Art Hop! Your donation fuels creativity and strengthens our community!

Uptown Westerville Inc. is a recognized 501(c)(3) organization, your contribution may be tax deductible. Please consult your tax advisor for further details.