When you open the door of
Crooked Door Studio, the most wonderful greeter in all of the galaxy comes
running towards you with ridiculous speed and looks up at you with precious
puppy eyes that are to die for. Meet Gert, the best moral support you could possibly
have during a painting session!
Shawnna Sue, the owner of Crooked Door Studio, was just as great and
adorable as Gert. She thinks Marysville is becoming the perfect place for
Crooked Door Studio, “First and foremost, I LOVE Marysville. It's still a small town, where you can go to
the grocery store and see your neighbors... but it's growing too, which is
providing awesome opportunities for growth.
People are looking for something social to do, where they don't need to
leave Marysville... and I provide that. You can come to my studio for an evening, spend $25, and
have fun and laugh and hang out with friends. I have a lot of people that eat at
restaurants uptown, then come to the studio, then head out after for drinks
Uptown. As our Uptown grows, it's just
going to get better. I'm thrilled to be
part of that.”
Spending my Friday night in a judgement-free and relaxed atmosphere
painting my stomping grounds football field,
The Ohio State University’s Shoe, surrounded by awesome community members
was dangerous amounts of fun.
There was only one rule during our Cocktails and Canvas class, “The
glitter stays at the glitter table!” With a class full of girls, I’m sure you
can assume why this had to be repeated a few times. I thought my painting would turn out to be a
mess of scarlet and grey, but Shawnna Sue assured me that it wouldn’t be
terribly difficult and she was right, anyone could’ve followed along to create
an awesome piece!
Obviously, Gert was really worn out after a few hours of hard core
painting, as was I!
Crooked Studio puts on a lot more classes than just Cocktails and
Canvas, they do Stich and Bitch, Creativity and a Canvas, Open Studio, Cookies
and a Canvas regularly. You can check out their calendar on their website.
Shawnna Sue also mentioned the special events they put on, “In addition to our
regular classes, we host fundraisers of all types. We also host private parties, birthday
parties, baby showers, bachelorette parties.
We have a Halloween party coming up on
October 28th, where our friends from Hat Trick will be performing.”
Art is so important to a community and we are so lucky to have Crooked
Door Studios and Shawnna Sue right here in Marysville, “Can you imagine an
Uptown without art? Without color? Art can help an Uptown like ours shine and
show how Marysville is different. Look
at our existing murals... the hot air balloons on the JT building, and the
covered bridge mural on the adjacent corner... these 2 pieces alone give passers
by a sense of what's important to the town. Art can make us stand apart from
every other small town in America. I
want to be part of that. I want to help
tell our story. This is such a complex
question too because I'm the person that has always used art to express
myself. I can't imagine not being able
to paint. I love that I'm in a position
in my life where I can provide a space for other people to express themselves
as well.”
If you want to have dangerous amounts of fun and unleash that
creativity inside yourself I definitely suggest you stop by Crooked Door
Stuido. Shawnna Sue would like community members to know, “Just because
Crooked Door is an "art studio,"
don't let that stop you from coming in and checking us out. We provide a cool atmosphere to come and hang
out and create... and who knows, maybe you'll pick up a paintbrush when you
come in... and maybe you'll like it.”
Thank you Crooked Door Studio, Gert, and Shawnna Sue
for making Marysville so much more than a town 45 minutes Northwest of
Columbus! I will definitely be a regular!
