Nickel Plate Arts is featuring four artists of the month in July. They include Claudia Labin, John Dierdorf, and Chris and Aime Knuckles, and each of their exhibits will be at a different Nickel Plate Arts showcase location. Information on the exhibit dates, receptions, and artist details are available below.
Stephenson House
Claudia Labin
Claudia Labin
Born and raised in Paris, Claudia Labin has taken her talents around the world to Montreal, Rio de Janeiro, and Chicago before settling in Indianapolis. The now Carmel-based artist’s approach to her work is spiritual; Labin has always been attracted to mystery and mysticism, and she tends to shy away from political and social commentary or cultural statements. She has always gravitated towards mixed media, collage, and assemblage, as her art is all about process.
“For me, it is a way to solve a puzzle, to dive into the unknown and the unconscious, always looking for that elusive missing piece,” Labin said. “The idea comes first, then I find the material. The art comes out raw, authentic, and often unexpected.”
The artist looks forward to sharing her upcoming exhibit, Sculptural Forms. Specializing in mixed media collage and assemblage, her approach is experiential and primarily self-taught. Labin uses mediums that engage her tactile sense by utilizing multiple layers of collage.
“I want to leave mystery in a painting and let the viewer complete the painting by finding his own private meaning through symbolism and personal emotional response,” Labin said.
The full Sculptural Forms exhibit can be seen in the Stephenson House from noon to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday now through July 29. You can meet Labin during the July First Friday event from 6 to 9 p.m. in the Stephenson House on Nickel Plate Arts campus.
Meyer Najem
John Dierdorf
John Dierdorf
John Dierdorf, a past member of the Nickel Plate Arts board, has a passion for artwork that creates expression for architectural elements, trees, and flowers. Taking inspiration from time spent in his garden as well as the scenic landscape of his back porch, abstract impressionism is his preferred style and definition of his work.
During his years at the Ball State University School of Architecture, Dierdorf participated in design classes to study how to be a curious observer of one’s surroundings, how light and shadow impart character, and how these environments will affect people. He says he believes his architectural studies at Ball State provided a great foundation for his artwork, which he did not revisit until 2009.
“As a part-time endeavor, I began painting with acrylics on larger canvases, often creating hard edge images that were clearly influenced by Robert Indiana’s work,” Dierdorf said. “I also continued photography of buildings, architectural details of buildings, flowers, and landscapes.”
Today, the artist works primarily with acrylics and uses bold colors, as well as blended subtle tones, to create an interesting expression for subjects. The use of “loose, spontaneous brushstrokes” to capture the essence of the subject can be seen in most of his current pieces.
See Dierdorf’s full exhibit, Floral Celebration, in the Meyer Najem second floor gallery, located at 11787 Lantern Road in Fishers, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday now through Sept. 29. You can meet Dierdorf at his free public reception from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, July 28 at Meyer Najem.
Four Day Ray
Chris & Aime Knuckles
Chris & Aime Knuckles
Vintage Adventures began in 2015 when owners Chris and Aime Knuckles started attending auctions to seek out unique furniture pieces to refinish or repurpose for their home. Their first-ever sale took place on Facebook after the couple realized they had a few pieces they were not fond of for use in their own home.
As they continued to sell their products on Facebook, Aime realized that “[they] kinda had a knack for what [they] were doing.” Chris and Aime decided to make Vintage Adventures their “side-gig” as a means to make some extra money and spend more time together. They opened a booth space at the Antique Mall in downtown Noblesville before moving to a booth space in Logan Village Mall, which they believed better represented their brand. It was at this booth that the Knuckles realized they wanted to expand from furniture to wall art.
“Neither one of us started out as artists,” the couple explained. However, Aime and Chris had always been creative individuals. Through trial and error, the Knuckles realized that Farmhouse-style signs and wall art pieces were their specialty. Their method quickly evolved from carving each piece individually with a Dremel to using a CNC machine and its software to design and carve their pieces more efficiently.
“What excites us about our art is that it’s different from anything else we’ve seen,” they said. “Most of our pieces are our own reflections and memories from our own travels together but, we do have some pieces which share our love of things retro and vintage.”
The Knuckles’ full exhibit, The Artwork of Vintage Adventures, can be seen at Four Day Ray Brewing, located at 11671 Lantern Road in Fishers, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday and Monday, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, and from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, now through Sept. 29.
About Nickel Plate Arts
Nickel Plate Arts is an umbrella nonprofit organization that creates and coordinates arts and cultural experiences across communities in eastern Hamilton County and the surrounding areas to improve the quality of life for residents, strengthen local economies and enrich experiences for visitors. Nickel Plate Arts is a project of Hamilton County Tourism, Inc. Learn more at NickelPlateArts.org.