About Blue Shoe Arts Gallery and Program

About Blue Shoe Arts Studio and Gallery

“Princess” paintings donning jeweled crowns, real earrings and pendants, staring wide-eyed from framed canvas!
Raggedy Ann turning into Lucy Long Legs, a wild and crazy lady from the 60’s!
Where in the world can you find this stuff????
At BLUE SHOE ARTS, of course!

You may ask, “How did you select the name Blue Shoe Arts?” and we will answer…
We began the studio/gallery in an old shoe factory built in 1909 by Goddard Shoes in Lancaster, Ohio; hence the reference to “shoes.” Then, the “blue” part came into play for several reasons… Joseph A. Greene, our first official artist, mostly painted his cartoon characters in royal blue tennis shoes. “Blue” and “Shoe” rhyme - it sounds rather catchy, don’t you think?
The domain name was available (important for having a website!) And, of course, “Arts” tells you what we do, so there you have it. And don’t let anyone tell you any differently!

THE WHO

Who are we at Blue Shoe Arts?
We are artists with disabilities and artists without disabilities, learning together, teaching each other, enjoying expressing ourselves through creative artwork.

We are men and women who are given the opportunity to create art in the studio, to actually have a career we love doing! We are very lucky people who receive income from our art which makes us happy. We are on our way to becoming more financially independent.

We are also staff and volunteers who help to gently guide and direct our artists, helping them to discover hidden talents and encouraging them to grow in and through their art.

THE WHAT

Blue Shoe Arts is a happenin’ place. It’s a studio/gallery working with artists with disabilities with support from Fairfield County MRDD. Blue Shoe Arts is owned by Fairfield Industries, a sheltered workshop providing services for 190 adults with developmental disabilities.

THE WHEN
The Blue Shoe Arts studio is open on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday each week from 9:00-2:00; the gallery is open from 8:30-4:30. Our artwork can also be seen and purchased at various art shows and exhibits (see Events)

THE WHERE
Blue Shoe Arts is located just north of Lancaster, Ohio on the southwest corner of Rt. 33 and Coonpath Rd. We’re about 30 minutes southeast of Columbus. (See Directions for finding us.)

THE WHY
Why is Blue Shoe Arts a needed program in an MRDD-sponsored sheltered workshop? Because not everyone is suited to work on an assembly line. Creative souls just don’t do well with repetitive work day after day. And when people get bored or upset with repetition, they just refuse to work. Just like you can’t force a square peg in a round hole (without a lot of sanding!), you can’t force a creative soul to work on an assembly line and enjoy it. The system needed an alternative choice for these people and an art studio was just the ticket. And it’s working! Just see the results in the Gallery and on the “Artist” pages.

COMMENTS FROM CHERYL FEY, ART DIRECTOR