Carol Oldenburg to open art studio in Royal Square
She'll be sharing space with two other artists: Kara Oldenburg-Gonzales and Cheryl Migliarini
Carol Oldenburg is one of York County's best-known visual artists.
Oldenburg's works have been displayed at YorkArts, the Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts in Wilmington and at galleries in southcentral Pennsylania, Philadelphia and California.
Her work was included in the art exhibit at the State Museum of Pennsylvania that was part of the celebration of Gov. Tom Wolf's inauguration in January 2015.
She's also part of the State Museum's current show of work by Pennsylvania artists, and her drawing, "Harvest Moon," received the William D. Davis Memorial Award for Drawing.
In recent years, Oldenburg has been creating her art work in a studio in the converted garage of her York city home. She shares the studio with her daughter, Kara Oldenburg-Gonzales, a painter and illustrator, who also makes hand-painted Christmas ornaments.
But in the next month or so, their studio will move to a higher-profile location: East King Street in York's Royal Square neighborhood.
The new studio will be called OMG Studios.
The studio's name comes from the last names of the three artists who will work there — Oldenburg, Cheryl Migliarini and Oldenburg-Gonzales. They are taking the three back rooms at 56 Urban Provisions, a corner market. The market will consolidate its operations into the front room.
Migliarini is a veteran weaver who is branching out into oil painting. Each of the three artists will have their own room in the new space.
Their upcoming move to Royal Square is the latest development for a neighborhood that has become a hub for artists and craftspeople.
It's not only visual artists who call Royal Square their artistic home.
Nearby, the AK Beatz recording studio at Studio 117 on South Duke Street has become a spot where singers and musicians record their music.
Oldenburg, a landscape painter and portrait artist, said she was attracted to Royal Square because of the neighborhood's growing art scene.
"It's young. It's hip," she said.
Oldenburg said she will use her space as a place to do her artwork. It won't generally be open to the public. But she and her fellow artists are planning to have a grand opening for the public on First Friday in October, which is Oct. 7.
Migliarini, who has been doing her art work at her West York home, said she's looking forward to having a place to paint where she can interact with other artists.
"If you work in a space with other artists, it's very inspiring and it keeps you on task," she said.